Moksha: Liberation and the Goal of Hindu Spiritual Practice

Moksha involves liberation from the chain of birth, death and rebirth (samsara) and represents the ultimate goal of human life. While there is also a concept of 'heaven' in Hinduism, which a person with good karma can enjoy after the death of the body, this is only temporary. Myths also describe various 'hells' for wrongdoers, but Hindus do not assume that any transgression, no matter how grave, could have eternal effects. The individual inevitably comes back to earth and the cycle from birth to birth continues until the final redemption.

This cycle (samsara), or the relative existence in the material world, is usually evaluated negatively, as a kind of prison, illusion, as something to which one is bound. Moksha refers to liberation from this bondage. Hinduism means with it the liberation of the soul and just as in Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism a liberation from the I-thought or ego, according to which one is supposed to experience a dualism of individuality and non-individuality ("I am, while at the same time I am not"). Enlightenment is also always associated with realization, which relates to the nature of this bond. In Hindu Advaita Vedanta philosophy, it is the realization that the world is an illusion, that one's own self is also an illusion, and that it is identical in nature with the formless divine, brahman. In the Upanishads, however, the soul is nevertheless described as individual, since it exists as part of the Paramatman, the absolute Supersoul. Thus, liberation from the ego mind is merely liberation from the illusion of the true Absolute Self caused by material energy (maya).

One problem with the concept of moksha is that by its very nature it is a phenomenon beyond human understanding, that is, defined precisely by the fact that it is beyond it. Therefore, descriptions of enlightenment are often paradoxical and are, much like the concept of God, beyond rational explanation. Much of the Hindu scripture on moksha deals with the negation or dissolution of mental religious concepts or ideas (Ribhu Gita, Ashtavakra Gita, Avadhuta Gita).

Many traditions describe enlightenment as a state of detachment, that is, liberated from the 'I' and attachment to the world. This state is also referred to as sackski (witness consciousness). For some, however, this state of being a witness means only the beginning, as it is still a state of duality. At the end, however, there is the complete unity of the world in brahman, the highest, formless being. The Buddhist sentence from the Mahayana "Nirvana is Samsara" could point in the same direction. Naturally, such an approach leads to a less negative evaluation of the world, since it is seen as one and identical with brahman or nirvana.

For the followers of Advaita-Vedanta, Moksha can only be attained during human life, not after death. It is said that for this ultimate goal, even the devas, the celestials, would have to be born as human beings first, since only in human life can salvation be attained. Their existence in the 'celestial' state is not infinite. The person who experiences perfect salvation during life is called Jivan Mukta (Jivan = soul, Mukti = liberation).

Others, however, especially believers in dualistic bhakti traditions, assume that one can only experience moksha after death by God's grace. This final enlightenment after death is called Videha Mukti.

When temporary enlightenment experiences are meant, we usually speak of samadhi. However, Sahaja Samadhi, the natural Samadhi, is identical with Jivan Mukti.

The traditions of Hinduism recommend three, sometimes four, different ways of attaining moksha: the way of love of God (bhaktiyoga), the way of knowledge (jnanayoga), and the way of selfless deeds (karmayoga). The doctrine of Bhaktiyoga, which includes some popular streams of Vishnuism as well as Shivaism, propagates that man needs the grace of God to attain salvation. While some argue that this grace is attained through loving devotion (bhakti), others assume that God's grace is attained without any action on one's part.

Especially in the directions of Vaishnava Bhakti Yoga, the path of many followers of Vishnu, salvation is not about the unity and identity of the individual with Brahman, but about participation and communion with God, similar to the ideas of salvation in Christianity. Here moksha is understood as a liberation from material existence after death as well as freedom from all mental attachments, not as a dissolution of all duality. For them, bhakti, the love of God and God's love for man, is the only prerequisite.

The path of Jnana Yoga assumes salvation through the pursuit of true knowledge and insight. According to the representatives of this path, the inexorable law of karma applies, according to which man is exclusively responsible for his own salvation. This corresponds to the view of classical Brahmanism and the philosophy of the Upanishads. In the Mahavakyas, Advaita Vedanta describes the soul (Atman) as identical with Brahman, the formless Supreme and absolute consciousness - Ayam Atma Brahma. The realization of this identity leads to the dissolution of the false ego-thought (Ahamkara) that overlays the Atman. Moksha here means the realization of the oneness of the individual with the supreme Divine, Brahman.

Karmayoga or Karmamarga, the yoga of action, calls for action without attachment to results. Often this term is also understood as the path of selfless service.

Some schools, such as Vivekananda, add Raja Yoga, which includes meditation and asceticism, as a fourth path to salvation.

The Indian Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU) sees Moksha or Jīvan Mukti as a central concept of its theology. Jīvan Mukti means translated: Liberation in life. What is meant by this is a life with God, so that after long practice the practitioner is free from external and internal influences. He leads a positive, value-oriented life, turned towards fellow human beings. However, it is first determined by the emotional closeness and loving relationship with God. For the religious-spiritual grouping, the One is a white point of light with an oval, golden-red aura of light.

The member experiences Moksha or Jīvan Mukti when he devotes himself to the spiritual Raja Yoga of the Brahma Kumaris with the aim of mastering his life. The world of salvation, i.e., without suffering and body, is for the Brahma Kumaris an otherworldly world of light, called by them the Supreme Place (Paramdham), a dimension of light without sound. The goal of all meditative efforts is not the final salvation as in Buddhism.

In Buddhism, the usual term for salvation is nirvana. In Jainism, both moksha and nirvana are common; their usage is interchangeable.