Do you want Moksh?
Why?
Moksha What we understand currently is …
In sanatan dharm (Hinduism) Moksha is also known by names – Kaivalya (Kapil Bhagwan saankhya yog), Nirvana (Baudh) salvation, freedom, emancipation, enlightenment in English…
The simple meaning of salvation or liberation that we understand is: Freedom (get rid off) from all kinds of suffering, bondages, desires and lusts, But this is very definitive and philosophical term and means to be freed from the bondage of unbearable pain of being born again and again and dying again and again…..
which means – to be free from the cycle of birth and death forever,
In other words, liberation or freedom from all suffering is possible only when our cycle of birth and death ends…and as per this definition, salvation is possible only when one attains God!
Why its so difficult to know what is Moksha?
- The language used in explaining this subject from those distinguished scholars (vidwaan pundits) is very difficult to comprehend by normal people like us. For example, an excerpt from an article on moksha-
“In the Indian philosophical tradition, salvation has been the ultimate goal, but there is no consensus among them about the nature of salvation, Some people consider it to be the ultimate state of knowledge, while others call it a state of bliss beyond happiness and sorrow, Some consider it to be a state of Abhayam, Ajaram, Amrutyupadam, free from the cycle of existence, while some call it eternal and omnipresent, free from the chain of cause and effect … ”.
When we do not understand a topic or have doubts or mistrust….like the afterlife, heaven, hell, reincarnation etc. then we should have faith and trust in the statements written in the scriptures as truth. Above all, the essence of the scriptures is the words of Shri Krishna, The God himself. The Bhagavad Gita first and the second most reliable is Shrimad Bhagwat Puran, which is Krishna himself. So we too will understand salvation from the words of scriptures / saints only
2. The second reason for not understanding salvation is lack of faith, ignorance about the scriptures, and there is no example of anyone coming after death and telling that he has attained salvation.
There is a kind of Moksha (salvation) like this too!
You cease to exist! That is, for example, you (the soul) are a drop of water, and if you are put into the ocean, then a kind of Kaivalya (oneness, sayujya) Moksha / salvation is achieved. Now, no one other than God can bring you back into existence.
Would you like to attain salvation in which you will cease to exist, you will not have any Existance, No body NO Senses?
Do you want salvation after death? Or do you want salvation while alive?
If one dies with many desires/wishes are still alive, it is “death”, he /she will have to take birth again. If one doesn’t have any desires while he is alive he has attained Moksha (liberation)
Understand this from an example-
If you go to the market to buy things and the money runs out and you are unable to buy all the things, then you will have to come to the market again… (will have to take rebirth), you have money but there is nothing left to buy, then why come to the market again?
one who is not free from desires while living is never free even after death. The person who believes that salvation has not been achieved now but will be achieved after death, deceives himself
– Swamy Sharnanand
Moksha means freedom from bondage, so what is bondage?
THE BONDAGE is “punarapi jananam punarapi maranam, punarapi janani jathare shatanam” this is in Hindi means – Cycle of repeated births, repeated deaths, repeated sleeping in the womb of a mother again and again.
Shri Krishna in Bhagwat Geeta says -जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च । (2/27) . , death is certain for one who is born, and birth is certain for one who is dead. Freedom from the cycle of birth and death can be achieved only by the grace of God….
The goal of human life? – Four Purusharthas
Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha
When a man does any work with the desire of getting the result, it is called Purusharth. There are four Purusharths – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Dharma is at the root of these four Purusharths. In the scriptures, attainment of Moksha is considered to be the ultimate goal of man, for this reason Moksha is called the ultimate Purusharth. The four purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha) are divided into two parts, first is Dharma and Artha and second is Kama and Moksha.
Kama means desire for worldly pleasures and Moksha means freedom from worldly desires, bondages and sorrows. The means of achieving these two goals of life, desire and salvation are Dharma and Artha. Kama is achieved through Artha and Moksha is achieved through Dharma. Also, money (Artha) should be earned in accordance with Dharma, desires are not fulfilled with money earned through unrighteous means.
Four Purusharthas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha
Dharma: Dharma is at the root of all four Purusharthas. All Purusharthas can be achieved only by following Dharma. Varna is also important, some Dharma are different in different Varna’s (Brahmin, Kshatriya, vaishya and Shudra are 4 varnas). Unfortunately many people don’t know their Varna – dharma, all knowledge about varna – dharma is vanished primarily due to foreign education system adopted
Artha – To attain material happiness and prosperity, it is necessary to have wealth. Before entering the household life, there is instruction in the scriptures that everyone should make a good arrangement for earning money as per principles of Varna – dharma. fulfilment of basic needs and material desires are possible only with money.
Kama: All the pleasures of the world come under desire. God has said that desires are the biggest hurdle in attaining God and getting salvation, Desires are the reason for bondage. If they are fulfilled, they increase greed and give temporary happiness but in the end they give only sorrow. If these are not fulfilled then anger arises which destroys wisdom and the person behaves un-righteously and falls into new bondages.
Moksha: The destruction of attachment is salvation, because attachment is the cause of bondage, and the literal meaning of salvation is liberation… or freedom from bondage. Freedom from bondage is not easy, and not possible without the grace of God. Thats why, if one wants to attain salvation, he/she must make efforts and strive to please God. Its only love that can please God, the true love for god…once God is realized ,moksha (salvation) is attained.
Types of salvation (Moksha) – Salokya, Samipya, Sarupya, Srashti and Kaivalya
There are 5 kind of Moksha (salvation) mentioned in the scriptures. Man gets rid of all bondages and sorrows forever and gets a supernatural divine body and lives happily in the world of God. There are 4 types of salvation for loving devotees, saints, sages and yogi’s seekers…
- Saalokya Moksha- living in God’s Abode
- Samipya Moksha – live in proximity to God, with God
- Sarupya Moksha – Attainment of similar form and appearance as God himself and live in God’s abode.
- Sraashti Moksha – to get Grandeur and magnificence similar to God, in God’s abode.
- Kaivalya or also called Saayujya Moksha- To Merge (Unite) with God as a drop of water dissolves and vanishes after falling in ocean (God), or as sugar or salt mixes with water (God). in this Moksha the soul loses its existence and only God can bring him back into existence.
Must to follow Rules if one Wants Moksh!
- Complete Surrender to God
- attain complete Vairagya (Dispassion, detachment from world)
- Complete Destruction of Vidya and Avidhya Both (Knowledge and wrong knowledge or Ignorance)
- All the sins and good deeds of infinite births have been destroyed
Loving Devotees do not want Moksha
The fifth Purushartha which is very dear to the loving devotees is better than Moksha (salvation). Love for God, devotion to God, Premanand (bliss of love). Lord Kapil is telling his mother Devahuti in his sermon-
“सालोक्यसार्ष्टिसामीप्य सारूप्यैकत्वमप्युत । दीयमानं न गृह्णन्ति विना मत्सेवनं जनाः” ॥३.२९.13॥
“My loving devotees do not accept these five rare kinds of Moksha even on my offering to them – Salokya, Samipya, Sarupya, Srashti and Kaivalya. In these Moksha’s first four are for the loving devotees, and Kaivalya Moksha is for the wise sages.
Those devotees who have deep love & faith for God, they prefer to worship and serve the God rather than aiming for Moksha!!!
How do we get Love and Affection for God and also seek the same from God?
Peace and liberation in life is possible only on attaining God. Realization of God happens only when our heart and mind has achieved purity through selfless actions and Love, and when we have mentally fully surrendered ourselves to him. we achieve realization of God with the pure mind and heart.
There are three flaws / deficiencies’ in the mind impurity, distraction and Veil (masking)
- The first defect is the ‘impurity’ of the mind.. the reason for which is the lust for good and bad deeds done in birth after birth, from era to era, from Kalpa to Kalpa. Just as we clean dirty cloth with soap, – to cleanse the mind of impurities (inherently present as impression in mind from the countless previous human births), we need to do selfless actions as prescribed by the sanatan dharm scriptures (Shastras).
- The second Defect of the mind is Vikshep (distraction), Its the restlessness of the mind., the only way to overcome it is devotion and faith for God. In other words, “love for God”. Love and devotion arises only when we know how the God looks like, What are his Virtues, qualities. Love for worldly objects also arises only when one has knowledge of their form and qualities; Similarly, to generate love for God, knowledge of his form, his vitues/qualities needs to be known. The means of knowing the form and Virtues of God is to listen to or read the holy character of God through history scriptures (Ramayan /Mahabharat) and Puranas, Bhagwat Geeta. The more we listen or read about God’s character / disposition in hindu scriptures, the more love and affection we develop for God. As your love and affection for God increases, mind will also start getting attached more to Gad than worldly affairs and distractions will diminish.
- The third defect of the mind is veil of ignorance. Ignorance that we are a body, we are someone’s son, someone’s husband, someone’s father etc, this is also an obstacle in the path of spiritual development and an obstacle in attaining the love of God.
Ref:1. लेख:मानव जीवन का उद्देश्य , शंकराचार्य श्री निरंजनदेवतीर्थ जी महाराज कल्याण – परलोक और पुनर्जन्मांक Geeta press page – 6-10
How to get the love and devotion of God!
Listening and reading the scriptures like Ramayan, Mahabharat, Puranas etc. is the only easiest and the best way to attain the love of God. Without this, bhakti (devotion) is not possible and without the devotion of God, restlessness does not end, peace is not achieved. By these means (Listening and reading Scriptures), we gain peace of mind, our attachments and attraction towards worldly desires reduces (detachment from worldly desires is Moksha), We Develop love and faith in the words of Guru, God, Scriptures, and that pleases the God. And When God is Pleased we attain GOD.
To attain Moksha is the Goal of human life, To attain God is Moksha the best Moksha!!!