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by Jayaram V
The concept of liberation is one of the distinguishing
features of Hinduism,
Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is
variously referred to as mukti, moksha, kaivalya and nirvana in
the scriptures. Mukti means freedom from bondage. Moksha means
destruction of delusion. Kaivalya means aloneness arising from
destruction of all bonds; and nirvana means entering into a
stateless state of immutability and non-becoming. Liberation
also means acquiring self-knowledge (atma jnanam) of knowing who
you are or what your essential nature is or knowing the truths
concerning yourself and the world in which you live. In its
natural state the Self is free; but here upon earth a living being is bound
to things and nature. Life is a process of change, becoming and
being subject to the three cardinal functions of creation,
preservation and destruction. In liberation, the Self is forever
free from change and
becoming. In a liberated state, the individual Self exists as an
eternal and infinite being without any limitations except a few
that give It the distinction of an individual soul. The Self has
no gender, no form and no distinction. It is perfect and
complete in itself. It is pure consciousness that is self-aware
and self-luminous. What happens to a living being (jiva) upon death? Where do
they go?
According to the atheistic schools such as the Carvakas,
which prevailed in ancient India long before the advent of
Buddhism, the beings returned to the elements when they died.
Applying pure logic and depending solely upon the direct
knowledge they gained from their perceptions, they argued that
there was no eternal soul in the human body and therefore no afterlife
or heavenly life for those who died. Since there was no life,
they argued, people should make
the most out of their lives, pursuing both pleasure and wealth,
without wasting their time and resources upon religious duties
and sacrificial ceremonies. The theistic traditions however
cautioned people not to fall into the trap of materialistic
realism or the lure of physical pleasures, but live
with a sense of responsibility with an eye towards their
liberation. In their worldview, life extended beyond the confines
of the earth and the human personality had an invisible,
transcendental and subtle aspect, that was beyond that mind and
the sense and which could be reached only through transcendental
means. While they argued about the nature and existence of God,
they held similar notions about the liberation of the individual
beings from the suffering of life. They suggested that four possibilities existed
for each individual soul, upon leaving the world.
- The individual being secures a place in heaven to enjoy
the pleasures of heavenly life, if it indulged in righteous
actions and acquired merit during its existence upon earth.
- The being goes to hell to suffer greatly as a part of
Its-purification and penitentiary correction, if it deviated
from the path of righteousness and indulged in sinful
actions.
- The being goes neither to the heaven nor to the hell.
Instead, it remains in an intermediary state of limbo in the
middle atmospheric region as a ghost or a spirit because of
some peculiar circumstances.
- The being attains eternal liberation, if it has managed
through spiritual practice and past life actions to rid
Itself of all karma and impurities. It enters the highest
world of Brahman and remains there for eternity in the
presence of Isvara, the Universal Supreme Being.
Of these, the first three states are considered temporary.
Having exhausted the merit or demerit of their previous karmas
in these worlds, the individual souls return to earth to take
another birth as mortal beings and continue their existence.
However, liberation is permanent. Those who achieve liberation
never return to earth. What happens to them when they achieve
liberation? How do they exist and in what state? Few
possibilities are suggested in the scriptures for those who
escape from the cycle of births and deaths and enter into the
world of immortals.
- They cease to exist as individual souls and become one
with the Universal Self.
- They cease to exist as limited mortal beings. They
become eternal souls, their original and true state, and
remain in that state forever.
- They cease to exist as individual beings and enter into
a changeless state of emptiness or nothingness, from which
there is no return and in which there in no becoming, being,
striving or forming.
- Having attained liberation, an individual soul may
continue to progress further in the world of Brahman from
one cycle of creation to another and earn a place in the
pantheon of gods of the highest order.
How can one achieve liberation? Are there any specific
practices, which are necessary to attain liberation? Our
scriptures suggest various methods to purify the mind transcend
the obstacles and limitations to attain the stateless state of
pure consciousness. They allude to the following three broad
approaches, which are effective as means of liberation.
- Transforming and purifying the mind and the body to
achieve inner perfection, through righteous conduct,
virtuous living, self-restraint, detachment, equanimity,
sameness and dispassion.
- Cultivating right knowledge and proper discernment, by
practicing self-study or learning from wise masters or by
awakening the psychic centers or cakras.
- Practicing devotion, concentration, meditation and
self-absorption whereby the mind and body are completely
purified, perfected and stabilized.
To achieve liberation, we need to know the obstacles or what
stand in between liberation and us. Our traditions recognize the
following impurities, which prevent us from knowing who we are.
- Ignorance or delusion
- Desires
- Attachment
- Egoism
- Sinful actions
- Nature
There are many other factors and forces, which bind us to the
world and subject us to the cycle of births and deaths. The
above-mentioned ones are however important. They are also
interrelated. Thus, for example, desires arise from our
ignorance and delusion. They in turn enhance our ignorance. From
desires comes attachment. From attachment arises egoism. Out of
desires, ignorance, attachment and egoism, we indulge in sinful
actions. Again all these happen because we are subject to the
impurities of Nature, namely rajas and tamas. Because there are
many factors, which keep us chained to the corporeal and limited
existence and because Nature would not like too many
aberrations, achieving liberation is a very difficult and near
impossible process. To achieve liberation we have to focus on
all the factors that are responsible for our bondage and deal
with them either individually or comprehensively.
Liberation means freedom from all bonds, holds, desires,
limitations and death. Although we may think that we are free
and live in a free world, physically and mentally we are subject
to many limitations and relationships, which do not let us live
our lives freely or experience the freedom of unbound souls.
There are many invisible chains that hold us shacked to the
world. Everyone who lives here is a prisoner of his own thoughts
and actions. Our desires, fears, anxieties, emotions, feelings,
thoughts, cares, concerns, relationships, goals and natural
limitations hold us back. They come in the way of our happiness
and our ability to live freely and joyously. They keep us
confined to our little worlds. To achieve liberation we have to
break through the walls that separate us from the rest. We have
to overcome everything that holds us back or holds us in chains.
How can there be freedom, if we are conditioned to live like
slaves to our own fears and desires? To be free from the bonds
of the earth, we have to learn to live freely both mentally and
physically. The following three-step approach to liberation is
gleaned from various scriptures and presented here in a summary
form.
Physical liberation
This is the first step, also the most important, because none
can achieve liberation without becoming free from the shackles
of the body. In this, you have to free your body slowly and
gradually from the natural urges, limitations and impulses to
which it is subject. You have to control certain bodily
functions and activities such as hunger, thirst, breathing,
sleep, sexual desire, craving for physical pleasures, and your
attachment with your name and form. You do this by various
means, such as following a rigorous code of conduct, observing
restraints, regulating your breath, seeking the company of pure
people and keeping the body pure and healthy. Our fight for
liberation has to begin with body, because it is the primary
domain of Nature, where it holds its maximum power and strength.
Since Nature wields such powerful influence upon our bodies,
even the most advanced yogis and gurus often succumb to natural
drives and lose their way.
Mental liberation
The human mind is the most restless and unstable aspect of
our personalities. It is also one of the most limiting and
binding factors in our liberation. It is susceptible to external
influence and vulnerable to many internal weaknesses. Liberating
the mind from the shackles of the world is therefore of utmost
importance. You have to accomplish this by controlling your
thoughts, desires, impulses, emotions, feelings, cares and
concerns, anxiety, attachment, likes and dislikes, prejudices,
enmity, egoism, pride, greed. You have to cease to be
judgmental, critical, inimical, anxious, angry, fearful, proud,
deceitful or passionate. You have to cultivate detachment and
remain impervious to the problems and difficulties in your life.
Outside events should cease to bother you as you practice
equanimity and sameness towards all dualities and pairs of
opposites. You may accomplish these usually by cultivating
virtues and practicing dispassion, detachment, equanimity,
patience, forgiveness, tolerance, compassion, right thinking,
concentration, meditation and self-absorption.
Spiritual liberation
If the mind and the body are under control and if they
are purified and filled with the predominance of sattva,
spiritual liberation would naturally follow. However, it is
possible only when you are completely free from every
conditioning, desire and attachment. Nothing should disturb you,
overwhelm you or conquer you. You have to be like the lotus leaf
in the muddy waters of life, untouched by the impurities and the
action that happens around you. Usually, you arrive at it
through renunciation, detachment, surrender, faith, knowledge
and devotion. You practice it by studying the scriptures,
transcending your ignorance, cultivating right discernment,
following the scriptural injunctions, approaching a spiritual
master or a learned person, surrendering to God and performing
self-less and sacrificial actions, without desire and
expectations.
Spiritual liberation is possible for everyone. It is not some
metaphysical concept, which cannot be tested physically.
Achieving liberation is difficult, but not impossible. To become
truly free, we must learn to become free first in our minds and
bodies. We gain control over them and over the constraints to
which we are subject so that we may live like free souls,
without care or concern. We must cease to indulge in
self-promotion and self-perpetuation and learn to flow with the
flow of life. We have to open ourselves to the vagaries of life,
without fear or expectations, living like the dust particles
that float freely in the air without a will of their own. As
long as you have the notion of "I" and "mine", and as long as
you want to be something or have something, you cannot be truly
free here or hereafter. To be free spiritually, you have to be
free first both mentally and physically. Liberation in the mind
and body leads to the liberation of the Self. To let you Self
free, you have to let your life be guided by the will of
Brahman, giving up any notion of controlling it or directing it
out of care or concern. You have to to overcome your passions
and emotions through detachment and cultivate sameness. Sameness
(samatvam) is the key. If you are same to every duality in life,
you are already free.
Suggested Further Reading
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