As the word suggests, Liberation is Freedom. What is this Freedom all about? Most people don't even realize that we human beings are prisoners – prisoners who suffer, caged in misery and sorrow. Every human being on earth suffers and there is no one who can escape from it. However, those who realize the Truth are the ones who can be liberated from misery and sorrow.
How can one be liberated from misery and sorrow? As long as we live in this body-mind-ego complex, the body suffers physical pain. The mind experiences all kinds of emotional pain and the ego experiences the agony when it is hurt. Realization is magical! It makes us realize that we are not the body-mind-ego that suffers. Thus, realization instantly liberates us from all misery, pain, and suffering.
For one to be liberated, one has to realize the Truth. But realization is not Liberation. Realization makes us aware of who we are not, just as it makes us conscious of who we truly are. While there are many methods of realization, realization actually happens in a ash. We human beings experience so many other realizations that happen instantly, in the moment, but we don't realize the Truth because we are covered by a dark blanket of ignorance. The moment we realize the Truth and we eradicate the ignorance, we start the journey of Liberation, our Ultimate Goal.
Most religions in the world advocate that there is a law existing in the universe that returns good for good and evil for evil. The Eastern cultures call this law the Law of Karma. The law states - what you give is what you get. Karma today, is a universally accepted law and even people in the Western world believe that as you sow so shall you reap. There are some differences in the ner points of this belief, with some advocating that we would go to heaven or hell, others believing that we will be reborn and still others believing in the nal day of judgement when we would be appropriately rewarded or punished by a God and his angels.
It hardly matters what religion we believe in because we all believe in the law of the boomerang – what goes around comes around. Thus, by inference, we believe that we cannot escape from this law. Unfortunately, there is no proof of this, but it is through inference that most of humanity accepts that our actions, good or bad, will invoke a similar reaction. If we plant mangoes, the universal law ensures that we don't get apples. What does this prove? Several universal laws exist but there is no way to prove them. Do we believe in the Law of Gravity? There is no proof but because of the fact that anything thrown up in the sky is pulled back to earth, we believe through inference that there is a law called the Law of Gravity that is prevalent on earth. So also, by inference, we believe that the universe is governed by the law of action and reaction.
Most theologies advocate that the Ultimate Goal of life is Liberation from misery and sorrow, going to heaven after we die or being enlightened with the Divine Truth. Each religion talks of being liberated from misery and sorrow or being blessed with eternal joy and peace. However, religions and their scriptures over the centuries, like the game Chinese whisper, have been misunderstood and misinterpreted. What has not changed globally is both the desire to be glad and not sad, just as we human beings seek to escape from all kinds of pain, misery, and sorrow. Not just momentarily, how can we escape from all our sinful actions and be liberated?
Those who believe in the concept of rebirth, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists amongst others, believe that we human beings will be reborn in a new body based on our Karma, our actions. Other religions believe that our actions, good or bad, are recorded and these decide our destiny. The seeker of the Truth, the one who wants to achieve the Ultimate Goal of life, tries to nd out the reality by going on a quest. It doesn't matter which religion one believes in. What matters is to discover the Truth. If we really go to heaven or hell after our death, then where is this heaven or hell located? Further, we have no doubt that the body is cremated or buried right here on earth and becomes one with it. Then who is the one who goes to heaven or hell? Finally, while we may be promised all kinds of pleasures and rewards in heaven, but without a body, how can we enjoy these pleasures?
Liberation is, therefore, something that has to be achieved during our life on earth. We cannot be liberated after we die, although, the nal reward of Liberation will come after death. A true seeker who realizes the Truth transcends body, mind, and ego and realizes that he is the Soul that must escape and transcend the Law of Karma. This Liberation is only possible through realization. But our own mind and ego are our biggest enemies. Those who realize the Truth continue to experience a war within. The mind is a rascal, and along with the ego, the ME (Mind+Ego) – stops us from both Realization and Liberation.
The secret of the Ultimate Goal is persistence. First, the seeker eliminates all untenable concepts. Then the seeker realizes tenable concepts like Moksha, Enlightenment, and Nirvana – MEN, and that they are no different from each other. Using methods of realization, the seeker overcomes ignorance, realizes the Truth and is liberated from misery and sorrow.
Realization opens the door towards the Ultimate Goal of Life – Liberation. However, realization doesn't guarantee Liberation. For a seeker to be liberated from misery and sorrow, not just in this life, but to escape from possible rebirth where we will suffer again and again, the seeker must transcend being the ego, mind, and body, not just through realization, but thereafter living a spiritual life from A to Z.
Liberation stops us from being worried and stressed,
It gives Peace and Joy and we are not depressed. If
only we realize we are the Divine Soul,
We have achieved Life's Ultimate Goal.