Stripped down to its basics,
Moksha is universally defined as that unchanging state in which there is no trace
of grief. However, there are different opinions regarding its nature:
1). Those who do not believe in
the Vedas (Nastikas) say that death itself is Moksha because there is no
rebirth.
2). For the layperson living
happily here itself is Moksha.
3). Some believers in the Vedas
(Astikas) consider living in Vaikuntha (divine abode) as Moksha. However,
even the two gatekeepers of
Vaikuntha, namely Jai and Vijay had to leave it due to a curse . This shows
that the Sukha there is also not unchanging.
4). Even the happiness gained in
heaven (Swarga) is transient, as the examples of king Yayati and Nahusha in the
Mahabharata show. Therefore, attainment of heavens too is not Moksha.
5). The mere association with God
too cannot be Moksha, because Arjuna who had it could not avoid grief in the
battlefield. None of the above visions of Moksha conforms totally with the
scriptures, which tell us that Moksha is a state of eternal and unsurpassed
Ananda, and that it is our basic nature, our true self.
Our error lies in thinking our
mind-body complex as our ‘true self’. He who has understood his true nature
realizes that he has no connection with the body. Such a person is called by
the scriptures as A-Shariri, ‘one without a body.’ ‘Shariri’ in Sanskrit means
one with a body, and the ‘A’ preceding it negates it. The chief characteristic
of such a person is that he remains untouched by both pleasant and unpleasant
things.
Multiplicity is
Death-:
Another name for Moksha is
‘Bhuma,’ meaning a wholeness which encompasses all. Grief or fear is possible
only in duality. When there is nothing other than me why should I be afraid? .
Where one sees another, hears another, knows another, that is smallness; where
nothing other is seen, nothing other is heard, nothing other is known, that is
Bhuma.
Bhuma is ‘Amrita’, while
smallness is death . There is nothing here with multiplicity; he who sees
multiplicity, wanders from death to death . Many such mantras from the
scriptures clearly assert that non-duality means immortality and freedom from
fear. One who understands the Ananda of Brahman is not scared of anything .
Moksha is Jnana-:
One who knows Brahman becomes
Brahman . Moksha is actually nothing but realizing what is actually one’s own
true self. Therefore, there is nothing more to be done for Moksha other than
knowing that one’s essential nature (Swaroopa) is Brahman. When we say that “He
is singing standing”, there is no interval between his standing and singing.
Similarly, there is no interval between Knowledge of one’s self (Jnana) and
liberation (Moksha) as exemplified in the statement: “He became liberated
knowing his Swaroopa” .
The Way to Moksha-:
Such knowledge (Brahma Jnana),
results only from listening to (Shravana), thinking over (Manana) and then
ruminating over (Nidhidhyasana) the Vedic statements. Shravana means listening
to the teachings of the Guru with Shraddha (faith). In a rare case of one
having a very strong Samskara, merely hearing the teacher could itself lead to
realization.
However, normally, thinking over
what has been heard is necessary. This goes on till one is satisfied with what
one has heard. Thinking implies the use of logic; but this logic should be in
accordance with the scriptures (Shruti). Of course, inference is not forbidden.
However, we should never be tempted to use pervert logic.
When such an aspirant has a doubt
regarding the scriptures, he should not find fault in the latter, but instead
should conclude that his own previous wrong knowledge is impeding the correct
understanding and so he has to correct himself.
The Shraddha of the aspirant should be total
in the Shruti. At the end of this process of thinking, when doubts no longer
arise, it means that the lesson has been intellectually understood. The
identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul understood in this way
till now is only an intellectual understanding. To bring this intellectual
understanding into experience we need to do Nidhidhyasana, i.e. ruminate over
the conclusion with firm conviction.
In other words, applying oneself to what one
has heard one should go on retaining the knowledge that ‘Brahman is oneself’.
In due course the identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul
(Brahman) will come to one’s experience. When this happens it can be said that
one has Atma-Jnana, i.e. realized oneself as Brahman. Summing up, it implies
that birth of Jnana needs listening, logic and experience.
Karma and Jnana
There is a great difference
between Karma and Jnana. The knowledge of Brahman-atman identity cannot be got
directly from Karma. Moksha is not like heaven obtained as a result of Karma.
The difference between Karma and Jnana can be understood as follows: Karma can
produce fruit in any of the following four ways:
1). Produce (Utpadya), like producing a pot.
2). Through Modification (Vikarya), like milk to curd.
3). Obtaining the fruit by going somewhere (Aapya).
4). Through Rectification (Samkaraya): by adding a quality or removing
a fault.
There is no other way to generate
the fruit of a Karma, other than these four. Moksha however is not like
any of these because:
1). Moksha is not produced because it is eternal.
2). Moksha is not got by modifying something because it is unchanging.
3). It is not reachable because it is omnipresent.
4). Moksha is not rectifiable because nothing needs to be added to it
since it is complete and nothing needs to be removed from it because it is
faultless.
Some say that Moksha is possible
only by clubbing Karma with Jnana. Their contention is that Moksha is not
possible only with Jnana.
This clubbing of the two is
called the Jnana-Karma Samuchhaya , or the knowledge-action collective.
However, this is not correct because Jnana and Karma can never be together.
Karma is based on the multiplicity of the doer-the action-and the fruit of this
action.
This implies the acceptance of
multiplicity, which is the state of Avidya (the ignorant state which perceives
multiplicity in this world). On the other hand, Jnana is the state of Vidya
where all multiplicity is refuted. Therefore, Moksha cannot be the result of
clubbing together of Jnana and Karma.
