Moksha (Sanskrit: liberation) or mukti
(Sanskrit: release) refers, in general, to liberation from the cycle of
death and rebirth. 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 salvific sense as, say, in a Judeo-Christian context, but signifies dissolution of the sense of "I", or ego, and the
overall breakdown of nama-roopa (name-form). It is, in Hinduism, viewed as
analogous to nirvana, though Buddhist thought tends to differ with even the
Advaita Vedantist reading of liberation. Jainism also believes in moksha.
Hinduism, in support of the idea of moksha, posits the idea of atman and
Brahman. A common mistake is to view them, both spoken of as Self, as a monist
being of sorts, something possessing substances. In actuality, Hindu scripture like the
Upanishads and
Bhagvad 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.
Means to achieve Moksha
There a four yogas (unions) or margs (paths) for the attainment of moksha. They
are the ways of selfless work, of self-dissolving love, of absolute discernment, and of 'royal' meditative immersion.
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. Today, the two major schools of thought are
Advaita Vedanta and
Bhakti branches.
Bhakti sees the Self as God, most often a personified monotheistic
conception of Vishnu, Shiva or Devi (Mother Goddess). Unlike in Abrahamic traditions, this monotheism does not prevent a
Hindu from worship of other gods, beings or teachers, as they are all seen as rays from a single source. 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. Vedanta
finds itself split three-fold, though the dualist and modified non-dualist schools are primarily associated with the foregoing
thought of Bhakti. The most famous today is
Advaita Vedanta, a non-dual (i.e. no separation between
the individual and reality/God/etc.) perspective which often played the role of Hindu foil to
contemporary Buddhist philosophy. In general, it focused on intense
meditation and moral realignment, its bedrock being the
Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and the teachings of its putative
founder, Adi Shankaracharya. Through discernment of the real and the unreal, as a peeling of the layers of an onion, the
sadhak (practitioner) would unravel the Maya (illusion) of being and the
cosmos to find nothing within, a nothingness
which was paradoxically being, and transcendentally beyond both such inadequate descriptions. This was moksha,
this was atman and Brahman realized as the substance and void
of existential duality.
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