Moksha

Moksha (Sanskrit for “liberation” or “self-realization”) is the highest goal of life in the Hindu religion. Also known as mukti (release), moksha refers to the sumum bonum of Hindu thought where one’s soul is freed from the karmic suffering of the samsaric world. Hinduism provides a number of spiritual paths and disciplines for a practicioner to attain moksha, and allows such diversity for different types of people. However, it is said that the attainment of moksha is very rare and countless incarnations are required for a person to reach this spiritual perfection. During moksha, one allegedly gains self-realization and complete awareness of ultimate reality.

As Hinduism's ultimate goal, moksha is the general equivalent term for what is called “salvation” in the Abrahamic religions; however, Hindu concepts of salvation are based on very different underlying presuppositions than the Abrahamic faiths and may not be commensurate. Moksha refers, in Indian religions, to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth and all the suffering and limitation entailed in embodied worldly existence. In higher Hindu philosophy, it is seen as a transcendence of phenomenal being, of any sense of consciousness of time, space, and causation (karma). It is not seen as a soteriological goal in the same sense as in, say, a Christian context, but signifies rather a dissolution of the sense of self as an egoistic personality - the undoing of conditioned mentality-materiality or nama-rupa (lit. name-form). Liberation is achieved by (and accompanied with) the complete stilling of all passions - a state of being known as Nirvana. Buddhist thought differs slightly from the Advaita Vedantist reading of liberation. Jainism tradition also believe in Moksha.

History of the Concept

Early Hinduism was primarily concerned with maintaining the order of this world by making sacrificial offerings to the Gods. Then a shift occurred, with more focus on the individual goal of attaining personal liberation, or moksha (Thompson, 3).

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Hindu Aims of Life

In classical Hinduism, there are four aims of life, known as the purusarthas that Hindus are encouraged to follow. These four aims of life are known as, artha (wealth), kama (pleasure), dharma (right conduct), and moksha (liberation). These aims were often understood in hierarcial fashion with the practicioner working upward from the lower more self-centered goals towards the higher spiritual goals of life. The first and second aims acknowledge and allow for pursuits such as material wealth and other indulgences and are most commonly associated with what is known as the householder stage of life. However, higher still is the goal of dharma (right conduct) which is considered to be a precursor to the pursuit of spiritual liberation. The recommended stages in which an individual should focus on this pursuit are when one has retired, and most importantly, when one becomes a renunciate, or sanyassin, one who is wholly devoted to attaining liberation (Thompson, 35).

Different Paths towards Moksha

Unlike other world religions that teach that the path to salvation is narrow, Hinduism allows for a plurality of ways to moksha depending on the personalities, tastes, and temperments of its different devotees. In general, four different spiritual paths are widely accepted in Hinduism to attain moksha. These paths are known as: karma marga, jnana marga, bhakti marga, and Raja Yoga. There are believed to be four yogas (disciplines) or margs (paths) for the attainment of Moksha. They are the ways of selfless work (Karma Yoga), of self-dissolving love (Bhakti Yoga), of absolute discernment (Jnana Yoga), and of 'royal' meditative immersion (Raja Yoga). Different schools of Hinduism place varying emphasis on one path or other, some of the most famous being the tantric and yogic practices developed in Hinduism.

Karma marga is a path that allows someone who is seeking liberation to remain within and contribute to society instead of becoming a renunciate, while also cultivating qualities important in the achievement of salvation. One can therefore act for the good of society while pursuing spiritual progress and adhering to standards of correct action.
Jnana marga is known as the path of wisdom, and places much emphasis on study and pursuit of knowledge. Often this includes the study of philosophy, and more specifically philosophies that address Brahman and one’s connection to the Supreme. Typically this includes the identification of ones soul, or atman, with the universal divinity (Thompson, 36).
The most common path is bhakti marga, or devotional Hinduism, which is widespread today. This path can be traced back to the Bhagavadgita, which demonstrated devotion as an acceptable path to liberation. Often bhakti involves cultivating a very personal connection to the divine through a conduit, found in the form of a deity (Thompson, 37). This path was popularized in part by Ramanuja of the Vishishtadvaita Vedanta philosophical school that advocated a more personal relationship with the divine. Bhakti typically includes devotional worship of a chosen deity, and the expression of single-minded love (Fisher, 102). Some of the most popular deities in Hinduism include Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesha, and many others. While it may be easy to mistake devotional Hinduism as a polytheistic form of faith, it is important to remember that Hinduism is fundamentally monistic. By worshipping various deities, devotees are really giving praise to one of the many forms of Brahman, the supreme underlying divinity in all things. Hindu deities are but one manifestation or expression of this universal and all-encompassing force. Bhakti sees the Self as God, most often a personified monotheistic conception of Vishnu, Shiva or Devi (the Mother Goddess). Unlike in Abrahamic traditions, this monotheism does not prevent a Hindu from worship of other aspects of God, beings or teachers, as they are all seen as rays from a single source. However, it is worthy of note that the Bhagavad Gita condemns worship of demigods, as it does not lead to Moksha. The concept is essentially of self-dissolution in love, since the ideal nature of being is seen as that of harmony, euphony, its manifest essence being love. By immersing oneself in the love of God, one's Karmas (good or bad, regardless) slough off, one's illusions about beings decay and 'truth' is soon known and lived.

In Hinduism, self-realization (atma siddhi) is the key to obtaining Moksha. The Hindu is one who practices karma and bhakti, known that God exists in many forms for the achievement of Moksha. There are however, other ways in addition to this.

Philosophical and Theological Controversies around Moksha

The main philosophical schools of India all have different approaches to attaining moksha, and therefore teach different methods and philosophies. In general, liberation occurs according to Hinduism when the individual soul (human mind/spirit) or atman recognizes its identity with the Ground of all being - the Source of all phenomenal existence known as Brahman. It is technically incorrect, nonetheless, to view them - both often spoken of as Self - as a monist being of sorts, something possessing substances, qualities or attributes. In actuality, Hindu scripture like the Upanishads and Ipanashad too and Bhagavad Gita, and especially the non-dual Hindu school of Advaita Vedanta, say that the Self or Super-Soul is beyond being and non-being, beyond any sense of tangibility and comprehension. Moksha is seen as a final release from one's worldly conception of self, the loosening of the shackle of experiential duality and a re-establishment in one's own fundamental nature, though the nature is seen as ineffable and beyond sensation. The actual state of salvation is seen differently depending on one's beliefs.

In Advaita philosophy, the ultimate truth is not a singular Godhead, per se, but rather is oneness without form or being, something that essentially is without manifestation. Moksha is union with this oneness. The concepts of Moksha and Buddhist Nirvana are comparable. Indeed, there is much overlap in their views of consciousness and attainment of enlightenment. For liberal Advaitists, Moksha is seen as complementing, rather than denying, the 'voidness' of Buddhism.

In dualist and qualified advaitic Hinduism, Moksha means union or close association with God.

Samkya school is dualistic and describes reality as consisting of the material world and spiritual world in tension. Essentially, our spirits are entangled with matter, and to achieve liberation, we must be able to discern between the two and separate our spirit (purusa) from the material realm (prakrti).

Raja Yoga is another philosophical school that is often misunderstood in the West. The word "Yoga" derives from the Sanskrit root yuj meaning "to harness, or control". The goal of yoga thus is to harness or control one's thoughts and mental fluctualtions so that one can discriminate between the tru self (Pprusha) and matter (prakriti). The eighth limb (stage) of Raja Yoga is that of samadhi, which is attaining absorption into the divine. At this stage one is unaware of any sense of individuality or self, having sunk so deeply into meditative contemplation. When the state of moksha is attained, all karmic forces are halted, and the purusa is left alone, free of prakrti. The one who has attained liberation may then continue with their life and assist others in achieving spiritual goals, but will do so with an enlightened frame of mind that is unencumbered by the entanglements of prakrti, and therefore has realization of their true identity. Unique to the Yoga school is the acceptance of this state of liberation while still alive and possessing a physical body; it is this tenet of the Yoga philosophical school which critics have declared contradictory to the idea of moksha as complete detachment from all matter (Fowler, 234). Yet, this concept of moksha as a state attained in life and not after death may be perceived by some as a more favourable or positive prospect.

The sixth school of thought, Vedanta, has many different schools and interpretations within it, but most are strongly influenced by scripture of the Vedic period, especially the Upanishads. In the Advaita Vedanta school, founded by Shankara, a non-dualistic approach is advocated. The divine inhabits all things, and there is only one reality. A phrase that illustrates this sentiment, is ‘tat tvam asi’, or that you are which expresses the unity between Atman (one's soul), Brahman (the Supreme). In fact, Brahman, the divine, is so all encompassing as to be ineffable. To attempt to express it would be to limit it within conceptual framework. Shankara does however distinguish between two different kinds of Brahman; saguna Brahman is the lower form, which can posses attributes, and nirguna Brahman which cannot be conceptualized in any way due to its all encompassing nature. The reason we don’t easily recognize Brahman for what it is, is because our world is essentially an illusion; in order to attain moksha, one must achieve self-realization through self-effort. Liberation in the Advaita Vedanta school is essentially being, knowing, and experiencing ones true self as well as the defeat of all ones misconceptions about the world and reality (Fowler, 277). In achieving moksha, the Atman remains as it always was, except that it now is perceived in its true form.

Ramanuja's influential Vishishtadvaita Vedanta school can be described as promoting qualified non-dualism. While Brahman is still the ultimate underlying force residing in all things, it is qualified by three attributes or components: the cit (soul), acit (matter), and Isvara (God) (Hiriyanna, 398). By acknowledging Isvara as being a legitimate part of Brahman, it makes it much easier for people to connect with the divine on a personal level, and attain liberation. This devotional theism is the defining characteristic of Vishishtadvaita school and its development helped popularize the practice of bhakti, or devotional Hinduism. The concept of moksha in Vishishtadvaita school is one that reflects a highly theistic approach, as the liberated soul maintains a personal relationship with God after having attained moksha instead of experiencing a separation from all other things. In contrast to Shankaras Vedanta school, moksha can be attained only by the grace of god alone, not purely by self-effort; hence devotion to God is very important in Ramanujas school (Fowler, 336). Additionally, Ramanuja also taught that anyone could attain moksha, salvation was not limited purely to male members of the priestly caste (Hiriyanna, 412).

Another Vedanta school was Dvaita Vedanta, founded by Madhva. A different philosophy is subscribed to yet again; in this case, reality is dualistic, and there is a difference between the world with all the souls residing within it, and the ultimate divinity. The material world is completely separate from God, and therefore moksha is attained by achieving awareness of the distinction between self and divine, not the unity between the two. Brahman reveals itself to beings through the means of a personal form of God; therefore Dvaita school is theistic in nature. Like in the Vishishtadvaita school, continuous devotion is essential to attaining moksha. This state of moksha is characterized as blissful and complete devotional surrender to God, as well as the retention of ones individual nature (Fowler, 376).

The concept of moksha as liberation from rebirth is a constant and widely accepted goal in nearly all Indian systems of belief. It is also a concept heavily entwined with philosophical matters and questions about the nature of reality, the divine, and salvation, and our own relation to each of these. While many philosophical schools of thought may have different ideas on how moksha may be achieved, and even what such a state may consist of, they all strive to attain such a goal and prescribe a method of accomplishing that goal.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions. Laurence King Publishing. London, 2002. ISBN: 0-13-099228-3

Fowler, Jeaneane. Perspective of Reality. Sussex Academic Press. Great Britain, 2002. ISBN: 1-898723-93-1

Goplan, S. Hindu Social Philosophy. Wiley Eastern Limited. New Delhi, 1979. ISBN: 0-85226-323-6

Herman, A.L. An Introduction to Indian Thought. Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey, 1976. ISBN: 0-13-484477-7

Hiriyanna, M. Outlines of Indian Philosophy. George Allen & Unwin LTD. London, 1958.

Koller, John, M. Asian Philosophies. Pearson Education, Inc. New Jersey, 2002. ISBN: 0-13-092385-0

Thompson, Mel. Eastern Philosophy. Hodder Headline LTD. London, 2003. ISBN: 0-07-142131-9

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