A Wisdom Archvie on Moksha

What is Moksha?

In Hinduism and Jainism, moksha (Sanskrit: liberation) or mukti (Sanskrit: release) refers to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Beliefs as to how moksha may be achieved differ considerably from tradition to tradition. Overall, three distinct approaches or margas (Sanskrit: paths) are recognized, with marga being synonymous with yoga:

• Karma Marga ("the path of action"): This path draws its inspiration from the Vedas and the teachings of Brahmans. It requires no visits to temples or shrines, nor any other form of ritual worship. All that is required is behaviour that results in the resolution of one's karma.
• Jnana Marga ("the path of knowledge"): intense meditation and self-reflection, usually with the aid of austerities. This path draws its inspiration from the Upanishads and the gurus that teach them.
• Bhakti Marga ("the path of devotion"): this breed is more popular than the difficult second path. It is the identification of a worshipper with a particular God. In effect, it is the total devotion to a single God, usually Rama or Krishna. The first great text of "devotionalism" is the Bhagavad Gita ("The Song of God"). Krishna appears in this text and says: "only with love can you come to me".
• Raja Marga ("the royal path "): this is the psycho-physical meditational path, more simply known as yoga in the West. It involves breath-control, meditational poses and the adoption of a moral lifestyle geared towards an actual experience or apprehension of the truth of Brahman or the One reality of being and non-being. It is seen in the Hindu Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, the Hindu Tantra tradition and other such related streams of Hindu thought.

Note however that Jains consider the third path invalid, as they do not believe it is possible to be granted moksha simply by the grace of God.

Courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

Introduction and links to related topics

Below are some short introductions. Click on the blue hyperlinked word to get more related articles.


Moksha - Moksha (Sanskrit). "Liberation." The same as Nirvana; a post mortem state of rest and bliss of the "Soul-Pilgrim".

Apavarga - Apavarga (Sanskrit) (from apa-vrij to leave off, fulfill)

Emancipation of the soul from the necessity of repeated rebirths; moksha or liberation.

Moksha Moksa - Moksha moksa (Sanskrit) [from moksh to release, set free probably from the verbal root much]

Freedom; freedom from sentient life for the reminder of a manvantara. Equivalent to nirvana, the absolute, mukti [from the verbal root much]

, the Palace of Love of the Zohar, the Gnostic Pleroma of Eternal Light, the Chinese nippang, and the Burmese neibban. "When a spirit, a monad, or a spiritual radical, has so grown in manifestation that it has first become a man, and is set free interiorly, inwardly, and from a man has become a planetary spirit or dhyan-chohan or lord of meditation, and has gone still higher to become interiorly a brahman, and from a brahman the Parabrahman for its hierarchy, then it is absolutely perfected, free, released: perfected for that great period of time which to us seems almost an eternity, so long is it, virtually incomputable by the human intellect. This is the Absolute: limited in comparison with things still more immense, still more sublime; but so far as we can think of it, ''released'' or ''freed'' from the chains or bonds of material existence" (Fund 183).

One thus released or freed is called a jivanmukta (freed monad), which is never again during that manvantara subject to the qualities of either matter or karma. But if these beings choose, for the sake of doing good in the world, they may incarnate on earth as nirmanakayas.

See also ABSOLUTE

Purushartha - (Sanskrit) "Human wealth or purpose."

The four pursuits in which humans may legitimately engage, also called chaturvarga, "four-fold good" - a basic principle of Hindu ethics.
dharma: "Righteous living." The fulfillment of virtue, good works, duties and responsibilities, restraints and observances - performing one''s part in the service and upliftment of society. This includes pursuit of truth under a guru of a particular parampara and sampradaya. Dharma is of four primary forms. It is the steady guide for artha and kama.
See: dharma.
artha: "Wealth." Material welfare and abundance, money, property, possessions. Artha is the pursuit of wealth, guided by dharma. It includes the basic needs - food, money, clothing and shelter - and extends to the wealth required to maintain a comfortable home, raise a family, fulfill a successful career and perform religious duties. The broadest concept of wealth embraces financial independence, freedom from debt, worthy children, good friends, leisure time, faithful servants, trustworthy employees, and the joys of giving, including tithing (dashamamsha), feeding the poor, supporting religious mendicants, worshiping devoutly, protecting all creatures, upholding the family and offering hospitality to guests. Artha measures not only riches but quality of life, providing the personal and social security needed to pursue kama, dharma and moksha. It allows for the fulfillment of the householder''s five daily sacrifices, pancha mahayajna: to God, ancestors, devas, creatures and men.
See: yajna.
kama: "Pleasure, love; enjoyment." Earthly love, aesthetic and cultural fulfillment, pleasures of the world (including sexual), the joys of family, intellectual satisfaction. Enjoyment of happiness, security, creativity, usefulness and inspiration.
See: Kama Sutras.
moksha: "Liberation." Freedom from rebirth through the ultimate attainment, realization of the Self God, Parasiva. The spiritual attainments and superconscious joys, attending renunciation and yoga leading to Self Realization. Moksha comes through the fulfillment of dharma, artha and kama (known in Tamil as aram, porul and inbam, and explained by Tiruvalluvar in Tirukural) in the current or past lives, so that one is no longer attached to worldly joys or sorrows. It is the supreme goal of life, called paramartha.
See: liberation, moksha.

Kaivalya - ("isolation"): the state of absolute freedom from conditioned existence, as explained in ashta-anga-yoga; in the nondualistic (advaita) traditions of India, this is usually called moksha or mukti (meaning "release" from the fetters of ignorance, or avidya)

Bandha - Bandha (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root bandh to enchain, bind, fetter)

A bond, fetter, confinings; in philosophy applied to life on earth, mundane bondage or attachment to this world, as opposed to mukti or moksha (final emancipation).

Kama - One of Hinduism''s four goals of life (purusharthas), together with dharma (religion), artha (profit), and moksha (liberation).
Kama incarnate is the god of erotic love, who incites lust by means of arrows made of flowers shot from a bowstring made of bees.

Arya - Arya (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root ri to rise, tend upward)

Holy, hallowed, highly evolved or especially trained; a title of the Hindu rishis. Originally a term of ethical as well as intellectual and spiritual excellence, belonging to those who had completely mastered the aryasatyani (holy truths) and who had entered upon the aryamarga (path leading to moksha or nirvana).

It was originally applicable only to the initiates or adepts of the ancient Aryan peoples, but today Aryan has become the name of a race of the human family in its various branches. All ancient peoples had their own term for initiates or adepts, as for instance among the ancient Hebrews the generic name Israel, or Sons of Israel.

Also applied as a title by the ancient Hindus to themselves in distinction from the peoples whom they had conquered.

Ashrama Dharma - "Duties of life''s stages."

Human or developmental dharma. The natural process of maturing from childhood to old age through fulfillment of the duties of each of the four stages of life- brahmachari (student), grihastha (householder), vanaprastha (elder advisor) and sannyasa (religious solitaire)- in pursuit of the four human goals: dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (liberation).
See: ashrama dharma.

Liberation - Moksha, release from the bonds of pasha, after which the soul is liberated from samsara (the round of births and deaths). In Saiva Siddhanta, pasha is the threefold bondage of anava, karma and maya, which limit and confine the soul to the reincarnational cycle so that it may evolve. Moksha is freedom from the fettering power of these bonds, which do not cease to exist, but no longer have the power to fetter or bind the soul.
See: mala, jivanmukti, moksha, pasha, reincarnation, satguru, Self Realization, soul.

Tirukural - (Tamil) "Holy couplets."

A treasury of Hindu ethical insight and a literary masterpiece of the Tamil language, written by Saiva Saint Tiruvalluvar (ca 200 bce) near present-day Chennai. Its nonsectarian wisdom has been adopted by Christians, Muslims, Jains and even atheists.

The text focuses primarily on the first three goals of life - artha (wealth), dharma (conduct) and kama (desire) - but also includes 13 chapters on renunciate dharma, relating to life''s fourth goal, moksha (liberation). In an extraordinarily compact verse form of 14 syllables, the poet presents 133 subjects of ten verses each on relationships, human strengths and foibles, statecraft and more. One of the world''s earliest ethical texts, the Tirukural could well be considered a bible on virtue for the human race. In fact, it is sworn on in South Indian courts of law.
See: Tiruvalluvar.

Paramapadha - Paramapadha (Sanskrit). The place where - according to Visishtadwaita Vedantins - bliss is enjoyed by those who reach Moksha (Bliss). This "place" is not material but made, says the Catechism of that sect,
"of Suddhasatwa, the essence of which the body of Iswara", the lord, "is made".

Mumukshu - One who aspires after moksha or liberation.

Paramavadhi - Paramavadhi (Sanskrit) [from parama highest + avadhi a termination, limit]

Highest ranges; a place or loka of purely spiritual character where, according to Visishtadvaita Vedantists, bliss is enjoyed by those who reach moksha or freedom in spirit and complete liberation from the manifested worlds. This place "is not material but made . . . ''of Suddhasatwa, the essence of which the body of Iswara,'' the lord, ''is made'' " (TG 249).