November 12, 2005
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"As my Plastic Surgeon said. If you gotta go. Go with a smile!"
Moksha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- For other uses, see Moksha (disambiguation).
Moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष, liberation) or Mukti (Sanskrit: विमुक्ति, 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 sense as in, say, a Christian context, but signifies dissolution of the sense of self, 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 and Surat Shabda Yoga traditions also believe 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 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.- In Advaita, the concepts of Moksha and Buddhist Nirvana are not so
disunited as to be incomparable. Indeed, there is much overlap in their
views of consciousness and attainment of enlightenment. For Advaitists,
the ultimate truth is not a singular Godhead, per se, but rather is
oneness without form or being, something that essentially is without
manifestation, and this, by many liberal Advaitists, is seen as
complementing, rather than denying, the 'voidness' of Buddhism.
- In dualist Hinduism, on the other hand, Moksha is not quite
analogous to Nirvana in Buddhism. For Vaishnavites and Shaivites,
Moksha means union with God. Buddhism, being a non-theistic religion,
does not focus on God.
- In Jainism,
Moksha and Nirvana are the same. When a soul (atman) achieves Nirvana,
it is released from the cycle of births and deaths, and achieves its
pure self. It then becomes a Siddha (literally one who has accomplished his ultimate objective), and hence a god, worthy of worship.
[edit]Means to achieve Moksha
There are 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.
Moksha in the sacred Hindu temple dance- 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. - 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 Shankara. 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.
Moksha in the sacred Hindu temple dance, as in the classical Indian dance too, is symbolized by Shiva raising his right leg, as if freeing himself from the gravitation of the material world.
In Surat Shabda Yoga beliefs, attaining Self-Realization and above results in Jivan Moksha/Mukti (liberation/release from the cycle of karma and reincarnation while in the physical body ?spiritual freedom here and now).
In Jainism, attaining Moksha requires annihilation of all karmas, good and bad; because if karma is left, it must bear fruit.
Moksha can be a name of a person too. இருள்சேர் இருவினையும் சேரா இறைவன் பொருள்சேர் புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு. 5
One must achieve Moksha on his own. An Arhat or a Siddha may inspire, but do not intervene.
[edit]See also
[edit]External links
Comments (2)
it's 3 am, i can't sleep so i thought i'd pop by and say hullo. so, hullo!
.Salt in bath water.
Really. I've heard of people doing something like that. Haha yea, well just imagine me and lina. There would be heads rolling.. lol.. I look at a picture of Lina before I go to bed now.. She can be my worrior princess..
<3 Adrina
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