The Hindu Faith, a faith that seems to have no beginning was called Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion. It advocates that Moksha is the Ultimate Goal of life. It is a state of eternal Bliss. Life is an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth into a physical universe. Hindu scriptures describe Moksha as the spiritual Liberation from this continuous cycle of death and rebirth and attainment of an eternal and blissful state that transcends all suffering of the body, mind, and ego. Before starting a thesis on the concept of Moksha, it must be clear that we are not reviewing Moksha as per the doctrine of Hinduism, which has drifted away from the original concept of Moksha. Rather, Moksha under review here is a highly spiritual concept revealed by the sages who lived centuries ago.
It is said that over 4000 years ago when the Hindu Faith, Sanatana Dharma, had still not transformed to become Hinduism, people accepted Moksha as the Ultimate Goal of life. Not only was it considered an escape from the cycle of death and rebirth, it was also Liberation from misery and sorrow when alive, with the realization of the Truth that we are the Divine Atman or the Soul. Today's Hinduism is very different from the original Hindu Faith, Sanatana Dharma. Hinduism of today seems to believe that there are thousands of Gods that the Hindus worship. Along with this, people perform rituals and follow superstitions that dilute the original teachings and beliefs. However, all sections of Hindus still believe that the Goal of life for every Hindu is Moksha.
Moksha, also known as Mukti, literally means freedom. It implies freedom from all suffering. The suffering of body, mind, and ego. How does one escape all this suffering? The Realization that one is not the gross body that suffers physical pain and one is not the subtle body that is tormented by fear, worry, and anxiety, results in Mukti or freedom from suffering. This ultimately leads to Moksha.
We, human beings seek happiness but unfortunately, our life is a mix of Joy and sorrow. We pray to God to fulll our desires and to solve our problems. But still, no human being can escape from misery. Life on earth is such that we experience both happiness and suffering. Suppose it was all pleasure and no pain, would anyone ask for freedom from this world? This constant suffering becomes the cause of seeking Liberation. Nobody really wants to suffer but because we live and die in ignorance, we continue to suffer. We suffer the pain of the physical body, the emotional pain of the mind and the agony of the ego. Don't we see people ghting to achieve material success and becoming miserable over petty issues? This is because we are so deeply embedded in ignorance that we don't realize that nothing belongs to us. Then, we become miserable because of fear, worry, anxiety, regret, anger, hate, jealousy, and revenge. And we continue to suffer due to the non-realization of the Truth that everything is Maya - a Cosmic drama. We must surrender and accept, realizing that life is Mithya, an illusion just like a dream that will soon be over. But we don't realize this and continue to suffer.
Moksha or Liberation from the continuous cycle of death and rebirth from this world is based on the belief that just like a dream, life on earth is also Mithya, an illusion – untrue and transitory. We think that only a dream is a dream, but our life is real. It is Satya, the Truth. Moksha advocates that life on earth is not Satya. It is not real. It is a myth but we realize this only at death. As long as we are alive, we don't realize that we are the Divine Soul. Instead, we think that we are a body-mind complex and we become prisoners, imprisoned in a prison of ignorance. We live a life enveloped by darkness.
The doctrine of Moksha attributes this to Maya – a Cosmic illusion. We believe in whatever we see and we think it to be real but in reality, it is not. This is because of the two powers of Maya - the power of projection and the power to conceal. First, Maya projects a myth – the constant unfolding of events on earth. By doing so, Maya's second power conceals the Truth. This dual power of Maya, rst to project an illusion and then, to conceal the Truth, stops us from realizing who we truly are. This leads us to getting caught in Samsara, the world and makes us constantly suffer.
This world is Samsara. In this Samsara, we are carried away by sensual pleasures and our desires make us miserable. This Samsara makes us attached both to people and to possessions and seeking pleasures, we live and die without realizing the Truth about the Mithya of Maya and Samsara – the truth that this world and its pleasures are an illusion. We don't realize that everything in this alluring world is not everlasting and eternal. It is like a momentary mirage in the desert and due to our ignorance, we think it to be real and we suffer. Moksha is Liberation from such ignorance. It is transcending such suffering, ultimately being liberated at death from this body-mind complex and being united with the Divine, rather than being born again and again, due to our Karma.
What is Karma? Literally, it means action. The Law of Karma states that whatever be our action, good or bad, the same will return to us. Karma is based on the universal law, 'As you sow, so shall you reap'. The law states that our present circumstances are not a matter of luck or chance. These circumstances are our own Karma or past actions that are returning back to us. But what happens to those actions that we perform, good or bad, that we do not redeem before our death? These are redeemed when we are reborn in a new body. There seems to be no other option but to believe in this doctrine.
How does it work? Every action of ours is recorded whether it is good or bad and the Law of Karma makes no mistake. It returns to us our good deeds as fortune or luck, just as it returns our bad deeds as our ill-fortune. In reality, there is no good luck or bad luck. Our destiny is the result of our Karma, our own actions. When something goes wrong in our lives and we can't explain it, Karma can. We must have committed some sin in the past. It may be in our distant past and we have forgotten about it or it could be in our previous life. But Karma doesn't forget. It records everything. Even after we die, our Karma remains in our account. The body dies but the ME - Mind and Ego don't die. As per the Law of Karma, we are reborn to redeem our sins or to enjoy the rewards of our good deeds. The sages of the Hindu land inferred that some people are born in fortunate and some in unfortunate circumstances due to their own past Karma. It wasn't luck. They believed that just like this whole universe runs on certain universal laws, so does our life which is controlled by the law of Karma. If there was no law of Karma that was unfolding, then why are some people born rich and some poor? Consider the universe - the earth rotates on its own axis, revolving around the sun. How does all this happen so perfectly? All this is controlled by certain universal laws. One such law is the law of Karma.
How does one achieve Moksha? How can one be free from both, suffering in this lifetime, as well as an escape from rebirth again and again that causes us to suffer? Moksha prescribes four doors that one should pass through before one is ready to start their journey of freedom or Mukti. These four doors are Vivek or Discrimination, Vairagya or Dispassion, Shat Sampat or Discipline, and Mumukshutva or Desire for the Divine.
The rst door is Discrimination. For one to attain Moksha, one has to live a life of Discrimination, referred to by the sages as Vivek. What does this mean? The mind is constantly producing thoughts, up to 50,000 thoughts a day. These thoughts make us sink in the Bhoga of Samsara, the sensual pleasures of this world. As such, it is impossible to get Moksha. What is the solution?
For one to discriminate, one has to activate one's intellect, the faculty that discriminates every thought and decides what is right and what is wrong. When our intellect takes charge of our mind, then no thought is executed into action without rst being ltered by the intellect. To attain Moksha one should live with Discrimination. In normal human beings, the intellect is weak and does not discriminate every thought. Thus, it becomes difcult to be in Yoga or Union with the Divine, which is the only way to Moksha because otherwise, one is constantly sinking in the ocean of worldly thoughts.
Prakash had a dormant intellect. His mind was king. Whenever he saw wine or whiskey, his mind would be attracted and he would soon be intoxicated. Once intoxicated, he would lose his power to make the right decisions in whatever he did. Instead of being the master, he became a slave. He could never achieve Moksha.
To achieve Moksha one must be a Stithpragya, one with a steady intellect. If one doesn't use this God-given gift that each one of us has, the Intellect, then we will fail to discriminate and sink in the miseries of this world. Though they appear to be pleasures on the outside, they are poison in reality.
The second door to Moksha is Dispassion or Detachment which is called by the sages as Vairagya. How is this possible? We are all connected to our family, friends, and society. How can we detach from the world?
A true seeker of Moksha doesn't try to run away from the world, but being in the world, he is internally detached. He is not attached to his possessions and people that he is connected with. On the outside, he appears to be a normal human being, but deep within he lives with detachment, disconnected from the world and connected with the Divine.
To be detached, one has to live with Dispassion. The moment we are passionate, and we desire and crave, we become a slave to our own passions. If one wants to attain Moksha, one has to live dispassionately, and detached from the attachments of this world so that one can be free to unite with the Divine.
Karan was very passionate about his success, but he also wanted to live a spiritual life and achieve Moksha. His Guru or spiritual master advised him not to start another business when he successfully wound up his old business in which he had made millions, far more than what he needed. It was an ideal time for Karan to transform his life. However, being passionate about being successful, Karan started another big business. His passion led him to become a slave of his desire. How could he achieve the Ultimate Goal of Moksha?
The third door is Discipline of body and mind. To achieve Moksha, one needs the perfect discipline of body and mind. The sages prescribed six wealths which were in reality, disciplines. To simplify the prescription and understand it, one needs the perfect discipline of body and mind. We human beings are said to be like a chariot with 5 horses. The 5 horses are the 5 senses that we are blessed with. The reigns of the horses is our mind. We, the Divine Soul, are the charioteer. To discipline our life, we must take charge of the 5 senses by controlling the mind. If we don't, then our 5 senses will behave like 5 wild horses and destroy our peace and bliss. We must discipline both our body and mind through Sadhana or Spiritual Discipline. This is not easy and it takes time to develop such discipline, but without discipline, one cannot achieve Moksha. Control of the body and control of the mind makes us live like a tortoise that has a protective shell. Whenever enemies attack, it withdraws within and protects itself.
Such is the way to live. Discipline creates Forbearance, Faith and Fortitude, key elements to attain Moksha.
The fourth door is Desire for the Divine and Liberation. The sages called this door Mumukshutva. We human beings are not able to be liberated because we desire and crave for worldly possessions. We fall in love with people, knowing very well that these relationships are temporary. Our ignorance makes us love an illusion and we fail to love the Divine. We fail to crave for Liberation.
There was once a prince. He was over 30 years old and the king and queen were very worried because he had not liked a single girl and thus, had remained unmarried. One day, as he was searching for some treasure in the attic of the palace, his eye fell upon the painting of a very beautiful maiden. It looked like she was in her early teens. He instantly fell in love with her. When he looked closely at the painting, it was dated over 15 years back. He decided that he would marry this girl and nobody else. He took the picture and asked the ministers of the kingdom to nd this girl. A search was conducted but this girl was nowhere to be found. The news reached the Queen. Obviously, she was keen to get the Prince married and called for the picture. She was aghast when she saw the painting. “Oh my God, this is the Prince himself”, she said.
Several years ago, a play was being performed in the palace and they could not nd a pretty maid. So the queen had dressed up the Prince as a gorgeous little girl for the drama. This painting was painted at that time.
The Prince was getting very disappointed that they could not nd the girl and the Queen did not want to break his heart by revealing the Truth. The advisor of the King was a wise man. He took the picture to the Prince and revealed the Truth. He said, “This painting is 'you', my dear Prince.” The Prince had a hearty laugh. How could he marry himself? His despair disappeared when he realized the Truth. The Prince overcame his ignorance and smiled at his love for himself, the pretty Princess in the painting, who was none other than he himself.
We too need a wise man to help us overcome the illusion. We need a spiritual master who will lead us to Moksha, making us realize that love in this world is not eternal. If we are fortunate to become Mumukshus, then our Desire for the Divine and for Liberation will lead us to be liberated. If one wants to achieve the Ultimate Goal of life – Liberation or Moksha, one must pass through the four doors which are pre-requisites for attaining Moksha.
When one builds their life on these 4 pillars, one has created a rm foundation to be liberated. These 4, together help us realize the Truth about Life, about who we are and why we are here.
Who are we in reality? If one wants to achieve Moksha, one must realize the Truth that we are the Atman, the Divine Spirit or the Soul. Every individual being is a manifestation of God. Every Soul, every Atman is God itself, and therefore, when we talk to somebody, we should realize that we are talking to a manifestation of God. Maybe the body and mind are not God, they are just illusions. But the soul inside every human is God. The truth is that we are all Divine beings going through a human experience. God exists in every animal, tree, and living being, and therefore, we should treat animals with care and love. When we touch a tree, we should realize that there is God within it. The fact is that we are the soul, the Atman! We continue to live as per our Karma - the Karma we brought to this world. When our Karma is over, this Jivatman or embodied soul will drop dead. Whether the Atman merges with the Paramatman, or the ME – the Mind and Ego continue their journey of being born again in some other form depends on our evolution as a realized soul. If our Self-realization is complete, we will be liberated and not be reborn. 'ME', our Mind and Ego, stops us from realizing that we are the Divine Soul, Atman or Energy. Due to ignorance, we are unable to overcome the mind, transcend the ego and control the senses.
What is our purpose on earth? The purpose of life is to realize God, for the Atman to unite with the Paramatman. For the Divine soul to be liberated and to be unied with the Divine Creator. Many of us think that the purpose of our life is to be happy, to raise children, to build empires, and to have name and fame. We don't realize that all this is transitory. Look at someone dying. Does that person take anything with him? Absolutely not! We should realize the truth that nothing belongs to us - not the wealth, buildings, or assets. They are all just possessions that come into our life and go during this short journey. We cannot even take our near and dear ones with us at the end of our life journey! Therefore, the goal is to be liberated and to unite with the Divine. God is everywhere and God is in everything! For the Atman to be liberated from the body-mind complex, to achieve Moksha, we must live in constant union with the Divine. This is called Yoga.
Yoga is a very important step on the path towards attaining Moksha. Real Yoga is not just physical exercise or breathing techniques, but a union with the Divine. Like a SIM card is constantly connected to its network, we must live a life of constant Yoga or union. It may be through devotion or through meditation, spiritual study, and acts of service to others. We must remain connected with the Ultimate Power whom we call God. Yoga must be made a way of life. The cycle of Yoga gives us an opportunity to live with Dhyaana Yoga, Yoga of meditation, Karma Yoga, the Yoga of action, Gyaana Yoga, Yoga of wisdom and education, or Bhakti Yoga, Yoga of devotion. Whatever be the Yoga, as long as we live in union or in Yoga, we can achieve Moksha or Liberation. A person who wants to achieve Moksha, becomes a true Yogi, one who lives a yogic life.
Dhyaana Yoga is the Yoga of meditation. A true Yogi spends his life in Dhyaana, which literally means concentration, focus, attention, and contemplation. It starts with silence. It calls for shutting off all our 5 body senses. It also calls for shutting off the mind. This is very difcult because the mind is like a monkey, it jumps from thought to thought. Even if we sit in a Yogic posture, with all our 5 senses switched off, it is practically impossible to switch off the mind. The moment we try to go into complete silence, there is one common possibility – we fall asleep. Yoga of meditation or Dhyaana is not about sleeping. It is about being awake while we seem asleep. It is about being conscious, awake and aware of our true reality. The Divine Soul in us, during spells of Dhyaana Yoga, gets connected with the Universal Cosmic Soul and there is a transfer of superconscious energy.
These moments of silence or Dhyaana help in many ways. First, it brings peace of mind by slowing down the production of thoughts. As it reduces thoughts, toxic energy that comes from fear, regret, worry, anxiety and other negative thoughts ceases to exist in that moment. At this point when one is in Dhyaana Yoga, silent and conscious, with their super consciousness united with the Cosmic consciousness, one receives Divine messages which become a command for the future actions of their life.
Once a Yogi nishes his spell of meditation, contemplation or Dhyaan, then what? If he has a clear direction from the Divine that appears as an intuition, Realization or telepathic thought, he gets into action. This is called Karma Yoga. The Yogi acts as the instrument of the Divine and executes the Divine Will with total devotion and dedication. Not for a moment does the Yogi think that he is doing anything. He realizes that he is nothing. He is not the ego, mind or body. He is the Divine Life Energy, the Soul, the Chi, the Prana or the Atman that ows in each of the approximately 37 trillion cells that seem to form his physical body. As a human being embodied in this body-mind complex, the true Yogi remains in Union or Yoga through his actions. He is conscious of the fact that these are not his actions. He is just acting on behalf of the Divine. He is doing nothing; everything is being done by the Divine. So, in the end, whatever be the result of the action, he offers it back to the Divine as a humble offering from a Yogi who is performing Karma Yoga or the Yoga of action.
Normally, people who are not Yogis, act as the ego, mind, and body. Their actions invoke an equal reaction as per the Law of Karma. This universal law states that what you give is what you get or as you sow, so shall you reap. It is the law of the boomerang that works on the principle - what goes around comes around. Normal human beings are faced with their past Karma in every circumstance of Life, just as their present action causes the Karma for future circumstances. The cycle of Karma goes on and doesn't stop at death. The body dies, but the mind and ego are reborn to face the previous Karma that have not been redeemed. However, a Yogi is free from Karma. Because he is a Karma Yogi, none of his Karma is his Karma. Karma means action, but the Yogi doesn't own any of his actions. Although he acts, he is acting on behalf of the Divine as the Divine instrument, and therefore, he is liberated from Karma. This Liberation from Karma not only liberates him from all suffering of the ego, mind, and body but also liberates him from a possible future rebirth. Thus, Karma Yoga has a profound meaning in the overall philosophy of Yoga.
The next Yoga is Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti Yoga is Union with the Divine through any form of prayer or devotion. When we are born, as kids, we normally have faith in a personal God. Whatever be our religion and whoever is our God, we love our God with heart and Soul. Our faith grows stronger into belief and trust and causes our enthusiasm. We visit temples because of Bhakti or love for God. Normally, the emotion of Bhakti is very strong, born out of Love for the Divine. It grows into a deep passion and obsession, seeking God above everything else.
Bhakti is common, but Bhakti Yoga is not common. Billions around the world have Bhakti or devotion, but not a fraction of them are in Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti Yoga calls for Realization that we are the Divine Soul, not the body that we seem to be. We are none other than the Divine Consciousness that is everywhere. Realization of this, when expressed in the form of Bhakti, creates a spiritual ecstasy unknown to man. No doubt all this is Bhakti - performing prayers and rituals, reciting the name of God, singing Bhajans or hymns, but it is doing all this in Union with the Divine that makes us enjoy Bhakti Yoga, with the realization that we are a manifestation of the Divine. Bhakti Yoga or the Yoga of devotion is magical because it creates that deep longing in an embodied Soul to be liberated and be united with the Divine. It is Bhakti Yoga that craves for the wave to become part of the ocean. Unfortunately, unlike the wave that naturally comes from the ocean and goes back into it, we human beings are prisoners in a body-mind complex, facing Karma due to our past actions. To be liberated, one of the most effective Yogas taught by spiritual masters is Bhakti Yoga.
When we love the Divine so intensely and we pray, we even cry in entreaty. This passion for the Divine creates a union that helps us remain in Yoga and nally achieve our Ultimate Goal of Liberation. Bhakti Yoga is also a very Joyous experience of a true Yogi. In this Yoga of devotion, a Yogi is so lost in his Union with the Divine, that he transcends the world and its allurements, remaining in a state of Divine Yoga. Some people spend their entire life in Bhakti Yoga. Unfortunately, sometimes, there is a very strong Bhakti, but no Union or Yoga. What is needed is Bhakti Yoga, being united with the Divine, in devotion with the Realization of Truth that the Lord is none other than the Divine Soul, that the Lord is no different from us, that we are nothing but a manifestation of the Divine. Sometimes, we need Bhakti Yoga to lead us into the nal step of Yoga - Gyaana Yoga, the Yoga of Education which helps us realize the Truth as we gain intuitive wisdom when in our quest and we are united with the Divine.
Gyaana Yoga is the Yoga of wisdom or Education. Yoga is not just about being in Union with the Divine through meditation, action, and devotion. We need Education. How else will we realize the Truth? Every child that is born must learn to develop their faculty of intelligence. We learn to discriminate between right and wrong, just as we learn to contemplate and build our devotion. However, each human being is covered by a blanket of ignorance, dark ignorance that we must be liberated from. No doubt, we can overcome this darkness by the Yoga of meditation, if we are spiritually inspired by an intuitive experience. We can also overcome this darkness when we serve the suffering humanity as a blessing from the Divine due to our Karma Yoga. Another way to overcome this darkness is through our devotion. Our devotion to the Divine can open the doors and enlighten us with the Truth. Whatever be the Yoga that triggers our Realization of the Truth, it takes the form of Gyaana, or wisdom.
The Yoga of education, wisdom or knowledge, Gyaana Yoga, is a Yoga that uses the intellect to discriminate and realize the Truth. A true Yogi who wants to be ever-united with the Divine, often spends hours, even days engrossed in the study of scripture. He reads theology and philosophy and tries to discriminate between reality and illusion to realize the Truth about our existence, the creation of this universe and the Creator. A true Yogi spends time in Gyaana Yoga till he has the spiritual 'Aha!' moment.
Some people divide Yoga into four distinct types as enumerated above but some believe Yoga is one seamless state of living life. It is only through Yoga that we can be liberated from the world and united with the Divine. It is Yoga that leads us to the realization of the truth.
What is this Realization all about? Normally it starts with the simple Realization that we are not the body. For this, Gyaana Yoga is needed. Education to understand what the body is, how it is formed, how it deteriorates and dies. Gyaana Yoga is also needed to nd the mind. Where is the mind? We can nd our toes and our nose, we can nd our heart and our brain, but where is the mind we cannot nd.
Without Gyaana Yoga or Yoga of education, we will never realize that the mind is an illusion. Ultimately, Gyaana Yoga makes us realize that we are the Divine Soul. In fact, it is this Yoga that makes us realize that we are nothing, just energy, a manifestation of the Divine. Gyaana is one of the 4 Yogas that keeps us constantly united with the Divine.
What stops us from Yoga? The doctrine of Moksha says that it is Avidya or ignorance. We live life thinking we are the ego, mind, and body. Our own mind stops us from realizing the Truth of who we truly are and why we are here. Together, the Ego and the Mind gets caught in a web of desires. We should let go of our desires and our ego. One of the most important components of achieving Moksha is letting go of the things that tie us to our life in the physical world. This is part of the reason that most people renounce society and live a simple, ascetic lifestyle once they are ready to achieve Moksha. Practising seless acts of service, such as helping the sick or the needy, helps us let go of our desires and attachments. When we start seeing beyond body-mind-ego, we start seeing Divinity in all the things around us. We realize that every living being is the manifestation of God and we start loving one and all as God.
Ignorance is a big obstacle on the path to achieving Moksha. In order to overcome it, one should spend time contemplating physical, mental, and emotional self-control. One should also understand the Truth that this world is an illusion and the goal of our life is Moksha. We should try to overcome ignorance using our intellect. We can overcome ignorance if we realize that we are not the ego, mind, and body. Although we live in a body-mind complex and though we are the Soul and we refer to ourselves as 'I', we must live with the realization that 'we are not this, we are that'. We are not the ego, the mind, the body but rather that Divine Energy, the power that gives life for our existence. Overcoming this ignorance helps us attain Enlightenment.
To overcome this ignorance, the Hindu Faith advocated the starting point to be 'Neti Neti – not this, not this'. 'Tat Twam Asi, thou art that' - What does this mean? “Not this, Not this” – you are not this body. These are important words from the Upanishads, and only those who are keen to seek the truth will understand it. Isn't it true that when we die, we leave the body behind?
This is a simple truth that we are not the physical body. We are the Atman, the Soul. How many of us truly understand the truth? Those who understand the truth realize the self and move on towards God-realization and the path of enlightenment. This path is tough and long but it starts with these three simple words: “Tat Twam Asi” meaning Thou Art That! We should think and meditate