View source for Moksha

{{short description|Spiritual liberation in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism}}
{{Other uses}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox Hindu term
| title   = Moksha
| en      = Emancipation, liberation, release
| sa      = मोक्ष
| sa-Latn = mokṣa
| bn      = মোক্ষ
| bn-Latn = mokkho
| as      = মোক্ষ
| as-Latn = mokkho
| gu      = મોક્ષ 
| gu-Latn = mōkṣa
| hi      = मोक्ष
| hi-Latn = mokṣa
| ur      = موکش
| ur-Latn = mokash
| ma      = मोक्ष
| ma-Latn = moksh
| jv      = ꦩꦺꦴꦏ꧀ꦱ
| jv-Latn = moksa
| kn      = ಮೋಕ್ಷ 
| kn-Latn = mōkṣa
| ml      = മോക്ഷം 
| ml-Latn = mōkṣaṁ
| ne      = मोक्ष 
| ne-Latn = mokṣa
| pa      = ਮੋਖ / موکھ
| pa-Latn = mokh
| or      = ମୋକ୍ଷ 
| or-Latn = mokṣa
| ta      = வீடுபேறு
| ta-Latn = vīdupēru
| te      = మోక్షము
| te-Latn = mōkṣaṁu
| mr      = मोक्ष
| mr-Latn = mokṣa
|ban=ᬫᭀᬓ᭄ᬲ|ban-Latn=moksa}}
{{Infobox Buddhist term
| title   = Moksha
| si      = මෝක්ෂ
| si-Latn = moksha
| th      = โมกษะ
| th-Latn = moksa
| ja      = 解脱
| ja-Latn = gedatsu
| ko      = 해탈
| ko-Latn = haetal
| tl      = moksha
| zh      = 解脫
| zh-Latn = jiětuō
| vi      = giải thoát
}}
{{Hinduism}}{{Jainism}}
'''''Moksha''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|əʊ|k|ʃ|ə}},<ref>{{Cite OED|moksha|access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref> {{small|UK also}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|k|ʃ|ə}};<ref>{{Cite Collins|moksha|access-date=2025-07-07}}</ref> {{langx|sa|मोक्ष}}, ''{{IAST|mokṣa}}''), also called '''''vimoksha''''', '''''vimukti''''', and '''''mukti''''',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=2602 |title=''The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism'', ''vimoksha'' |access-date=17 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222011614/http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=2602 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> is a term in [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], and [[Sikhism]] for various forms of emancipation, liberation, ''[[nirvana]]'', or release.<ref>John Bowker, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0192139658}}, p. 650</ref> In its [[soteriology|soteriological]] and [[eschatology|eschatological]] senses, it refers to freedom from ''[[saṃsāra]]'', the cycle of death and [[Reincarnation|rebirth]].{{sfn|Sharma|2000|p=113}} In its [[epistemology|epistemological]] and psychological senses, ''moksha'' is freedom from ignorance: self-realization, self-actualization and self-knowledge.<ref>See:
* E. Deutsch, The self in Advaita Vedanta, in Roy Perrett (Editor), Indian philosophy: metaphysics, Volume 3, {{ISBN|0-8153-3608-X}}, Taylor and Francis, pp 343–360;
* T. Chatterjee (2003), Knowledge and Freedom in Indian Philosophy, {{ISBN|978-0739106921}}, pp 89–102; Quote – "Moksa means freedom"; "Moksa is founded on atmajnana, which is the knowledge of the self.";
* Jorge Ferrer, Transpersonal knowledge, in Transpersonal Knowing: Exploring the Horizon of Consciousness (editors: Hart et al.), {{ISBN|978-0791446157}}, State University of New York Press, Chapter 10</ref>

In Hindu traditions, ''moksha'' is a central concept<ref>John Tomer (2002), Human well-being: a new approach based on overall and ordinary functionings, Review of Social Economy, 60(1), pp 23–45; Quote – "The ultimate aim of Hindus is self-liberation or self-realization (moksha)."</ref> and the utmost aim of human life; the other three aims are ''[[dharma]]'' (virtuous, proper, moral life), ''[[artha]]'' (material prosperity, income security, means of life), and ''[[kama]]'' (pleasure, sensuality, emotional fulfillment).<ref>See:
* A. Sharma (1982), The Puruṣārthas: a study in Hindu axiology, Michigan State University, {{ISBN|9789993624318}}, pp 9–12; See review by Frank Whaling in Numen, Vol. 31, 1 (Jul., 1984), pp. 140–142;
* A. Sharma (1999), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40018229 The Puruṣārthas: An Axiological Exploration of Hinduism], The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Summer, 1999), pp. 223–256;
* Chris Bartley (2001), Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy, Editor: Oliver Learman, {{ISBN|0-415-17281-0}}, Routledge, Article on Purushartha, pp 443;
* The Hindu Kama Shastra Society (1925), [https://archive.org/stream/kamasutraofvatsy00vatsuoft#page/8/mode/2up The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana], University of Toronto Archives, pp. 8</ref> Together, these four concepts are called the [[Puruṣārtha]] in Hinduism.<ref>See:
* Gavin Flood (1996), The meaning and context of the Purusarthas, in [[Julius Lipner]] (Editor) – The Fruits of Our Desiring, {{ISBN|978-1896209302}}, pp 11–21;
* Karl H. Potter (2002), Presuppositions of India's Philosophies, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120807792}}, pp. 1–29</ref>

In some schools of Indian religions, ''moksha'' is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with, other terms such as ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', ''[[kaivalya]]'', ''apavarga'', ''mukti'', ''nihsreyasa'', and ''nirvana''.<ref>The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism: "Vimoksha [解脱]" (Skt.; Jpn. ''gedatsu''). Emancipation, release, or liberation. The Sanskrit words vimukti, mukti, and ''moksha'' also have the same meaning. ''Vimoksha'' means release from the bonds of earthly desires, delusion, suffering, and transmigration. While Buddhism sets forth various kinds and stages of emancipation, or enlightenment, the supreme emancipation is nirvana, a state of perfect quietude, freedom, and deliverance. See [http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=2602 ''The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism'', ''vimoksha''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222011614/http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=2602 |date=22 February 2014 }}</ref> However, terms such as ''moksha'' and ''nirvana'' differ and mean different states between various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.<ref name=dltc>See:
* Loy, David (1982), Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?, International Philosophical Quarterly, 23 (1), pp 65–74;
* T. Chatterjea (2003), Knowledge and Freedom in Indian Philosophy, {{ISBN|978-0739106921}}, pp 89; Quote – "In different philosophical systems moksa appears in different names, such as apavarga, nihsreyasa, nirvana, kaivalya, mukti, etc. These concepts differ from one another in detail."</ref> The term ''nirvana'' is more common in Buddhism,<ref>Peter Harvey (2013), An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, {{ISBN|978-0521859424}}, Cambridge University Press</ref> while ''moksha'' is more prevalent in [[Hinduism]].<ref>Knut Jacobsen, in The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies (Editor: Jessica Frazier), {{ISBN|978-0-8264-9966-0}}, pp 74–83</ref>

== Etymology ==

''Moksha'' is derived from the Sanskrit root word, ''{{IAST|muc}}'', which means to free, let go, release, liberate. According to [[Jain]] scriptures, it is a combination of two Sanskrit words, ''moh'' (attachment) and ''kshay'' (its destruction).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Moksha {{!}} Derived from the Sanskrit word muc ("to free")|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/moksha-Indian-religion|access-date=2021-05-13|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><!--In Vedas and early Upanishads, the word, ''{{IAST|mucyate}}'' appears, which means to be set free or release, such as of a horse from its harness.-->

== Definitions ==

The definition of ''moksha'' varies between various schools of Indian religions.<ref>M. Hiriyanna (2000), The essentials of Indian philosophy, {{ISBN|978-8120813304}}, pp 50–52</ref> ''Moksha'' means freedom, liberation, but ''from what'' and ''how'' is where the schools differ.<ref name=danielingalls/> ''Moksha'' is also a concept that means liberation from rebirth or ''[[saṃsāra]]''.{{sfn|Sharma|2000|p=113}} For example, some traditions posit ethical action as the means to ''moksha'', while others point to devotion or meditation.<ref name="Brittanica">[[Patrick Olivelle]] (2012), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/387852/moksha "Moksha (Indian religions)"]</ref> This liberation can be attained while one is on earth (''jivanmukti''), or eschatologically (''karmamukti'',{{sfn|Sharma|2000|p=113}} ''[[Videha mukti|videhamukti]]''). 
=== Eschatological sense ===

''Moksha'' is a concept associated with ''saṃsāra'' (birth-rebirth cycle). ''Samsara'' originated with religious movements in the first millennium BCE.<ref name="Brittanica"/> These movements such as Buddhism, Jainism and new schools within Hinduism, saw human life as bondage to a repeated process of rebirth. This bondage to repeated rebirth and life, each life subject to injury, disease and aging, was seen as a cycle of suffering. By release from this cycle, the [[suffering]] involved in this cycle also ended. This release was called ''moksha'', ''[[nirvana]]'', ''[[kaivalya]]'', ''mukti'' and other terms in various Indian religious traditions but as per Hindu scripture veda one can attain ''mokhsha'' by giving up shadripu ( kama, lobha, krodha, moha, mada and matsarya).<ref>R.C. Mishra, Moksha and the Hindu Worldview, [[Psychology & Developing Societies]], Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp 23, 27</ref> A desire for the release from pain and suffering seems to lie at the root of striving for moksha, and it is commonly believed that moksha is an otherwordly reality, only achievable at the end of life, not during.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=R.C |title=Moksha and the Hindu World View |publisher=New Delhi, India: SAGE Publications |year=2013 |pages=21–42}}</ref> However there is also a notion that ''moksha'' can be achieved during life in the form of a state of liberation, known as [[Jivanmukta|jivan-mukti]], although this is still reliant on personal and spiritual endeavours attributed to attaining moksha.<ref name=":0" />

[[Eschatology|Eschatological]] ideas evolved in Hinduism.<ref>N. Ross Reat (1990), The Origins of Indian Psychology, {{ISBN|0-89581-924-4}}, Asian Humanities Press, Chapter 2</ref> In earliest Vedic literature, heaven and hell sufficed [[soteriology|soteriological]] curiosities. Over time, the ancient scholars observed that people vary in the quality of virtuous or sinful life they lead, and began questioning how differences in each person's ''[[Punya (Hinduism)|puṇya]]'' (merit, good deeds) or ''pāp'' (demerit, sin) as human beings affected their afterlife.<ref>See:
* Simon Brodbeck (2011), Sanskrit Epics: The Ramayana, Mahabharata and Harivamsa, in Jessica Frazier (Editor) – The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies, {{ISBN|978-0-8264-9966-0}}, pp 83–100
* J. A. B. Van Buitenen, Dharma and Moksa, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 33–40</ref> This question led to the conception of an afterlife where the person stayed in heaven or hell, in proportion to their merit or demerit, then returned to earth and were reborn, the cycle continuing indefinitely. The rebirth idea ultimately flowered into the ideas of ''saṃsāra'', or transmigration – where one's balance sheet of ''[[karma]]'' determined one's rebirth. Along with this idea of ''saṃsāra'', the ancient scholars developed the concept of ''moksha'', as a state that released a person from the ''saṃsāra'' cycle. ''Moksha'' release in eschatological sense in these ancient literature of Hinduism, suggests [[J. A. B. van Buitenen|van Buitenen]],<ref name=jabvb>J. A. B. Van Buitenen, Dharma and Moksa, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 33–40</ref> comes from self-knowledge and consciousness of oneness of supreme soul.

=== Epistemological and psychological senses ===

Scholars provide various explanations of the meaning of ''moksha'' in epistemological and psychological senses. For example, Deutsche sees ''moksha'' as transcendental consciousness, the perfect state of being, of self-realization, of freedom and of "realizing the whole universe as the Self".<ref>E. Deutsch, The self in Advaita Vedanta, in Roy Perrett (Editor), Indian philosophy: metaphysics, Volume 3, {{ISBN|0-8153-3608-X}}, Taylor and Francis, pp 343–360</ref>

''Moksha'' in Hinduism, suggests [[Klaus Klostermaier]],<ref name="klausklost">Klaus Klostermaier, Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1985), pp. 63, 70</ref> implies a setting-free of hitherto fettered faculties, a removing of obstacles to an unrestricted life, permitting a person to be more truly a person in the full sense; the concept presumes an unused human potential of creativity, compassion and understanding which had been blocked and shut out. ''Moksha'' is more than liberation from a life-rebirth cycle of suffering (''samsara''); the Vedantic school separates this into two: ''jivanmukti'' (liberation in this life) and ''videhamukti'' (liberation after death).<ref>see:
* M. von Brück (1986), Imitation or Identification?, Indian Theological Studies, Vol. 23, Issue 2, pp 95–105
* Klaus Klostermaier, Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1985), pp. 61–71</ref> ''Moksha'' in this life includes psychological liberation from ''adhyasa'' (fears besetting one's life) and ''avidya'' (ignorance or anything that is not true knowledge).<ref name=klausklost/>

==== As a state of perfection ====

[[File:Gajendra Moksha print.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Gajendra Moksha]] (pictured) is a symbolic tale in [[Vaishnavism]]. The elephant Gajendra enters a lake where a crocodile (Huhu) clutches his leg and becomes his suffering. Despite his pain, Gajendra constantly remembers Vishnu, who then liberates him. Gajendra symbolically represents human beings, Huhu represents sins, and the lake is saṃsāra.]]
Many schools of Hinduism according to [[Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr.|Daniel Ingalls]],<ref name=danielingalls/> see ''moksha'' as a state of perfection. The concept was seen as a natural goal beyond ''dharma''. ''Moksha'', in the epics and ancient literature of Hinduism, is seen as achievable by the same techniques necessary to practice ''dharma''. Self-discipline is the path to ''dharma'', ''moksha'' is self-discipline that is so perfect that it becomes unconscious, second nature. ''Dharma'' is thus a means to ''moksha''.<ref>see:
* Karl Potter, Dharma and Mokṣa from a Conversational Point of View, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 8, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1958), pp. 49–63
* Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Dharma and Moksha, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 41–48</ref>

The [[Samkhya]] school of Hinduism, for example, suggests that one of the paths to ''moksha'' is to magnify one's ''[[sattva]]m''.<ref>One of three qualities or habits of an individual; sattvam represents spiritual purity; sattvic people, claims Samkhya school, are those who see world's welfare as a spiritual principle. See cited Ingalls reference.</ref><ref name=dhhi45>Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Dharma and Moksha, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 45–46</ref> To magnify one's ''sattvam'', one must develop oneself where one's ''sattvam'' becomes one's instinctive nature. Many schools of Hinduism thus understood ''dharma'' and ''moksha'' as two points of a single journey of life, a journey for which the ''[[viaticum]]'' was discipline and self-training.<ref name=dhhi45/>
== History ==

The proto-concept that first appears in the ancient Sanskrit verses and early Upanishads is ''mucyate'', which means "freed" or "released". In the middle and later Upanishads, such as the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad|Svetasvatara]] and [[Maitrayaniya Upanishad|Maitri]], the word ''moksha'' appears and begins becoming an important concept.<ref name=danielingalls/><ref>see:
* Klaus Klostermaier (1985), Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, 35 (1), pp 61–71
* Roeser, R.W. (2005), An introduction to Hindu Indiaís contemplative psychological perspectives on motivation, self, and development, in M.L. Maehr & S. Karabenick (Eds.), Advances in Motivation and Achievement, Volume 14: Religion and Motivation. Elsevier, pp. 297–345</ref>

The [[Katha Upanishad]],<ref>Sometimes called Katha Upanishad – for example, by Max Muller, Nakhilananda</ref> a middle Upanishadic-era script dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE, is among the earliest expositions about ''saṃsāra'' and ''moksha''. In Book I, Section III, the legend of boy Nachiketa queries [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]], the lord of death to explain what causes ''saṃsāra'' and what leads to liberation.<ref>[[Paul Deussen]], Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, {{ISBN|978-0842616454}}, pp 269–290</ref> Naciketa inquires: what causes sorrow? Yama explains that suffering and ''saṃsāra'' results from a life that is lived absent-mindedly, with impurity, with neither the use of intelligence nor self-examination, where neither mind nor senses are guided by one's ''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|atma]]'' (soul, self).<ref name=oxfordatmandef>'''[a]''' [https://web.archive.org/web/20141230210157/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/atman Atman], Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press (2012), '''Quote''': "1. real self of the individual; 2. a person's soul";<br>'''[b]''' John Bowker (2000), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0192800947}}, See entry for Atman;<br>'''[c]''' WJ Johnson (2009), ''A Dictionary of Hinduism'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0198610250}}, See entry for Atman (self).</ref><ref name=3defsatman>'''[a]''' David Lorenzen (2004), ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415215277}}, pages 208–209, '''Quote''': "Advaita and nirguni movements, on the other hand, stress an interior mysticism in which the devotee seeks to discover the identity of individual soul (atman) with the universal ground of being (brahman) or to find god within himself".;<br>'''[b]''' Richard King (1995), ''Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism'', State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791425138}}, page 64, '''Quote:''' "Atman as the innermost essence or soul of man, and Brahman as the innermost essence and support of the universe. (...) Thus we can see in the Upanishads, a tendency towards a convergence of microcosm and macrocosm, culminating in the equating of atman with Brahman".<br>'''[c]''' Chad Meister (2010), ''The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195340136}}, page 63; '''Quote''': "Even though Buddhism explicitly rejected the Hindu ideas of ''Atman'' (soul) and Brahman, Hinduism treats Sakyamuni Buddha as one of the ten avatars of Vishnu."</ref> Liberation comes from a life lived with inner purity, alert mind, led by ''buddhi'' (reason, intelligence), realization of the Supreme Self (''purusha'') who dwells in all beings. Kathaka Upanishad asserts knowledge liberates, knowledge is freedom.<ref>Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda'', Vol 1, {{ISBN|978-0842616454}}, pp 283–289</ref><ref>S. Nikhilananda, ''The Principal Upanishads'', Dover Publications, {{ISBN|978-0486427171}}, pp 63–84</ref> Kathaka Upanishad also explains the role of yoga in personal liberation, ''moksha''.

The [[Svetasvatara Upanishad]], another middle-era Upanishad written after ''Kathaka Upanishad'', begins with questions such as why is man born? what is the primal cause behind the universe? what causes joy and sorrow in life?<ref>Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda'', Vol 1, {{ISBN|978-0842616454}}, pp 301–326</ref> It then examines the various theories, that were then existing, about saṃsāra and release from bondage. Svetasvatara claims<ref>Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda'', Vol 1, {{ISBN|978-0842616454}}, pp 316, 319–325</ref> that bondage results from ignorance, illusion or delusion; deliverance comes from knowledge. The Supreme Being dwells in every being, he is the primal cause, he is the eternal law, he is the essence of everything, he is nature, he is not a separate entity. Liberation comes to those who know Supreme Being is present as the Universal Spirit and Principle, just as they know butter is present in milk. Such realization, claims Svetasvatara, come from self-knowledge and self-discipline; and this knowledge and realization is liberation from transmigration, the final goal of the Upanishad.<ref>Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda'', Vol 1, {{ISBN|978-0842616454}}, pp 305–306, 322–325</ref>

{{multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| footer = The Hindu goddess of knowledge, learning and creative arts, [[Saraswati|Sarasvati]], is sometimes depicted alongside a swan, which is a symbol of spiritual perfection, liberation and moksha.<ref name=jbrl>see:
* John Bowker (1998), ''Picturing God'', Series Editor: Jean Holm, Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|978-1855671010}}, pp 99–101;
* Richard Leviton (2011), ''Hierophantic Landscapes'', {{ISBN|978-1462054145}}, pp 543</ref> The symbolism of Sarasvati and the swan is that knowledge and moksha go together.
| image2 = SwansCygnus olor edit2.jpg
| width2 = 229
| image1 =
| width1 = 94
}}
Starting with the middle Upanishad era, ''moksha'' – or equivalent terms such as ''mukti'' and ''kaivalya'' – is a major theme in many [[Upanishad]]s. For example, Sarasvati Rahasya Upanishad, one of several Upanishads of the [[Bhakti yoga|bhakti school]] of Hinduism, starts out with prayers to Goddess Sarasvati. She is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, learning and creative arts;<ref name=jbrl/> her name is a compound word of ''sara''<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=sAra&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 सार] Sanskrit English Dictionary, Germany</ref> and ''sva'',<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=sva&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 स्व] Sanskrit English Dictionary, Germany</ref> meaning "essence of self". After the prayer verses, the Upanishad inquires about the secret to freedom and liberation (mukti). Sarasvati's reply in the Upanishad is:

{{Blockquote|
1=<poem>
It was through me the Creator himself gained liberating knowledge,
I am being, consciousness, bliss, eternal freedom: unsullied, unlimited, unending.
My perfect consciousness shines your world, like a beautiful face in a soiled mirror,
Seeing that reflection I wish myself you, an individual soul, as if I could be finite!

A finite soul, an infinite Goddess – these are false concepts,
in the minds of those unacquainted with truth,
No space, my loving devotee, exists between your self and my self,
Know this and you are free. This is the secret wisdom.
</poem>
| 2=Sarasvati Rahasya Upanishad|3=Translated by Linda Johnsen<ref>Linda Johnsen (2002), ''The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe'', {{ISBN|978-0936663289}}, pp 51–52; for Sanskrit original see: [http://sanskritdocuments.org/allfilelist.html सरस्वतीरहस्योपनिषत्] sarasvatIrahasya</ref>
}}

=== Evolution of the concept ===
It is unclear when the core ideas of samsara and ''moksha'' developed in ancient India. Patrick Olivelle suggests these ideas likely originated with new religious movements in the first millennium BCE.<ref name="Brittanica" /> The concepts of ''mukti'' and ''moksha'', suggests [[J. A. B. van Buitenen]],<ref name="jabvb" /> seem traceable to yogis in Hinduism, with long hair, who chose to live on the fringes of society, given to self-induced states of intoxication and ecstasy, possibly accepted as medicine-men and "sadhus" by ancient Indian society.<ref name="danielingalls" /> ''Moksha'' to these early concept-developers, was the abandonment of the established order, not in favor of anarchy, but in favor of self-realization, to achieve release from this world.<ref>J.A.B. van Buitenen, in Roy Perrett (Editor) –'' Theory of Value'', Volume 5, {{ISBN|0-8153-3612-8}}, Taylor & Francis, pp 25–32</ref>

The concept of ''moksha'', according to [[Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr.|Daniel Ingalls]],<ref name=danielingalls/> represented one of the many expansions in Hindu Vedic ideas of life and the afterlife. In the Vedas, there were three [[Ashrama (stage)|stages]] of life: studentship, householdship and retirement. During the Upanishadic era, Hinduism expanded this to include a fourth stage of life: [[Sannyasa|complete abandonment]]. In Vedic literature, there are three modes of experience: waking, dream and deep sleep. The Upanishadic era expanded these modes to include ''turiyam'' – the stage beyond deep sleep. The Vedas suggest three goals of man: [[kama]], [[artha]] and [[dharma]]. To these, the Upanishadic era added ''moksha''.<ref name=danielingalls>Daniel H. H. Ingalls, "Dharma and Moksha", ''Philosophy East and West'', Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 41–48</ref>

The acceptance of the concept of ''moksha'' in some schools of [[Hindu philosophy]] was slow. These refused to recognize ''moksha'' for centuries, considering it irrelevant.<ref name=danielingalls/> The Mimamsa school, for example, denied the goal and relevance of ''moksha'' well into the 8th century AD, until the arrival of a Mimamsa scholar named [[Kumarila]].<ref>see:
* M. Hiriyanna (1952), [[:iarchive:Mysore.Hiriyanna-The.Quest.After.Perfection|The Quest After Perfection]], Kavyalaya Publishers, pp 23–33
* John Taber, "The significance of Kumarila's Philosophy", in Roy Perrett (Ed) – ''Theory of Value'', Vol 5, {{ISBN|978-0815336129}} pp. 113–161
* Okita, K. (2008), "Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta: Interaction and Continuity", ''The Journal of Hindu Studies'', 1(1–2), pp 155–156</ref> Instead of ''moksha'', the Mimamsa school of Hinduism considered the concept of heaven as sufficient to answer the question: what lay beyond this world after death. Other schools of Hinduism, over time, accepted the ''moksha'' concept and refined it over time.<ref name=danielingalls/>

[[File:Silhouette yoga.png|thumb|220px|Mokṣha is a key concept in [[Yoga]], where it is a state of "awakening", liberation and freedom in this life.<ref>see:
* [[Mircea Eliade]] (1958, Reprinted: 2009), ''Yoga: Immortality and Freedom'', Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0691142036}}, pp 33–34;
* Sarah Strauss (2005), ''Positioning Yoga'', Berg/Oxford International, {{ISBN|1-85973-739-0}}, pp 15</ref>]]

In its historical development, the concept of ''moksha'' appears in three forms: Vedic, yogic and bhakti.

In the Vedic period, ''moksha'' was ritualistic.<ref name="jabvb" /> Mokṣa was claimed to result from properly completed rituals such as those before ''Agni'' – the fire deity. The significance of these rituals was to reproduce and recite the cosmic-creation event described in the Vedas; the description of knowledge on different levels – ''adhilokam'', ''adhibhutam'', ''adhiyajnam'', ''adhyatmam'' – helped the individual transcend to moksa. Knowledge was the means, the ritual its application.

By the middle to late Upanishadic period, the emphasis shifted to knowledge, and ritual activities were considered irrelevant to the attainment of ''moksha''.<ref name="amalinar">Angelika Malinar (2011), in [[Jessica Frazier]] (ed.), ''The Bloomsbury companion to Hindu studies'', {{ISBN|978-1-4725-1151-5}}, Chapter 4</ref> [[Yoga|Yogic]] ''moksha''<ref name="jabvb" /><ref>Knut Jacobson, in Jessica Frazier (Editor), ''Continuum companion to Hindu studies'', {{ISBN|978-0-8264-9966-0}}, pp 74–82</ref> replaced Vedic rituals with [[personal development]] and meditation, with hierarchical creation of the ultimate knowledge in self as the path to ''moksha''. Yogic ''moksha'' principles were accepted in many other schools of Hinduism, albeit with differences. For example, [[Adi Shankara]] in his book on ''moksha'' suggests:
{{Blockquote|
1=<poem>
अर्थस्य निश्चयो दृष्टो विचारेण हितोक्तितः |
न स्नानेन न दानेन प्राणायमशतेन वा || १३ ||

By reflection, reasoning and instructions of teachers, the truth is known,
Not by ablutions, not by making donations, nor by performing hundreds of breath control exercises. || Verse 13 ||
</poem>
| 2=[[Vivekachudamani]]|3=8th Century AD<ref>See:
* John Richards (Translator), Vivekachudamani, {{ISBN|978-0979726743}} (2011 Edition);
* Madhavananda's [[:iarchive:vivekachudamanio00sankrich|translation of Vivekachudamani]] published in 1921, Himalayan Series 43;</ref>

}}
Bhakti ''moksha'' created the third historical path, where neither rituals nor meditative self-development were the way, rather it was inspired by constant love and contemplation of God, which over time results in a perfect union with God.<ref name=jabvb/> Some Bhakti schools evolved their ideas where God became the means and the end, transcending ''moksha''; the fruit of bhakti is bhakti itself.<ref>Klaus Klostermaier (1986), "Contemporary conceptions among North Indian Vaishnavas", in Ronald Neufeldt (Editor) – ''Karma and Rebirth Post Classical Developments'', {{ISBN|978-0873959902}}, State University of New York Press, Chapter 5</ref> In the history of Indian religious traditions, additional ideas and paths to ''moksha'' beyond these three, appeared over time.<ref>D. Datta (1888), "Moksha, or the Vedántic Release", ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland'', New Series, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1888), pp. 513–539</ref>

=== Interpretations in relation to Dharma ===

==== Nagarjuna's challenge ====

''Dharma'' and ''moksha'', suggested [[Nagarjuna]] in the 2nd century, cannot be goals on the same journey.<ref name="dhhi46">Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Dharma and Moksha, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 46</ref> Reason being, ''dharma'' requires worldly thought, but ''moksha'' is unworldly bliss. Thus, "How can the worldly thought-process lead to unworldly understanding?", asked Nagarjuna.<ref name="dhhi46" /> Karl Potter explains the answer to this challenge as one of context and framework, the emergence of broader general principles of understanding from thought processes that are limited in one framework.<ref>Karl Potter, Dharma and Mokṣa from a Conversational Point of View, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 8, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1958), pp. 49–63</ref>

==== Adi Shankara's challenge ====

[[Adi Shankara]] in the 8th century AD, like Nagarjuna earlier, examined the difference between the world one lives in and ''moksha'', a state of freedom and release one hopes for.<ref name="dhhi47">Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Dharma and Moksha, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 47</ref> Unlike Nagarjuna, Shankara considers the characteristics between the two. The world one lives in requires action as well as thought; our world, he suggests, is impossible without ''vyavahara'' (action and plurality). The world is interconnected, one object works on another, input is transformed into output, change is continuous and everywhere. ''Moksha'', suggests Shankara,<ref name="klausklost" /> is a final perfect, blissful state where there can be no change, where there can be no plurality of states. It has to be a state of thought and consciousness that excludes action.<ref name="dhhi47" /> He questioned: "How can action-oriented techniques by which we attain the first three goals of man (''kama'', ''artha'' and ''dharma'') be useful to attain the last goal, namely ''moksha''?"

Scholars<ref>see:

* Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Dharma and Moksha, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp 41–48
* R Sinari (1982), The concept of human estrangement in plotinism and Shankara Vedanta, in "Neoplatonism and Indian thought", Ed: R.B. Harris, Albany, NY, pp 243–255
* R.K. Tripathi (1982), Advaita Vedanta and Neoplatonism, in "Neoplatonism and Indian thought", Ed: R.B. Harris, Albany, NY, pp 237; also see pp 294–297 by Albert Wolters</ref> suggest Shankara's challenge to the concept of ''moksha'' parallels those of [[Plotinus]] against the [[Gnosticism|Gnostics]], with one important difference:<ref name="dhhi47" /> Plotinus accused the Gnostics of exchanging an [[anthropocentrism|anthropocentric]] set of [[virtue]]s with a [[Theocentricism|theocentric]] set in pursuit of [[salvation]]; Shankara challenged that the concept of ''moksha'' implied an exchange of anthropocentric set of virtues (''dharma'') with a blissful state that has no need for values. Shankara goes on to suggest that anthropocentric virtues suffice.

==== The Vaisnavas' challenge ====

Vaishnavas (followers of Vaishnavism, a ''[[Bhakti yoga|bhakti]]'' school of Hinduism) suggest that ''dharma'' and ''moksha'' cannot be two different or sequential goals or states of life.<ref name="dhhi48">
Daniel H. H. Ingalls, "Dharma and Moksha", ''Philosophy East and West'', Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (Apr. – Jul., 1957), pp. 48
</ref>
Instead, they suggest God should be kept in mind constantly to simultaneously achieve ''dharma'' and ''moksha'', so constantly that one comes to feel one cannot live without God's loving presence. This school emphasized love and adoration of God as the path to "moksha" (salvation and release), rather than works and knowledge. Their focus became divine virtues, rather than anthropocentric virtues. [[Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr.|Daniel Ingalls]]<ref name="dhhi48" /> regards Vaishnavas' position on ''moksha'' as similar to the Christian position on salvation, and Vaishnavism as the school whose views on ''dharma'', ''karma'' and ''moksha'' dominated the initial impressions and colonial-era literature on Hinduism, through the works of Thibaut, [[Max Müller]] and others.

==Synonyms==

The words ''moksha'', nirvana (''nibbana'') and [[kaivalya]] are sometimes used synonymously,<ref>For example, the Adhyatma Upanishad uses all three words nirvana, kaivalya and ''moksha'' (Verses 12, 16, 69, 70); K.N. Aiyar (Transl. 1914), [[:iarchive:thirtyminorupani00xxxxuoft|Thirty Minor Upanishads]], University of Toronto Robart Library Archives, Canada, pp 55–60</ref> because they all refer to the state that liberates a person from all causes of sorrow and suffering.<ref>A. Sharma, The realization of Kaivalya in the Poetry of Les A Murray: An Indian Perspective, Explorations in Australian Literature, {{ISBN|978-8176257091}}, Chapter 18, pp 187</ref><ref name=pjaini/> However, each concept differs in the details.<ref name=dltc/> Nirvana, a concept common in Buddhism, rests on the premise that all experienced phenomena are [[anatta|not self]]; while ''moksha'', in Hinduism, begins with the acceptance of a self.<ref name=davidloy>David Loy (1982), Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?, International Philosophical Quarterly, 23(1), pp 65–74</ref><ref name=brianmorris3>'''[a]''' {{cite book|author=Brian Morris|title=Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PguGB_uEQh4C|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85241-8|page=51}}<br>'''[b]''' {{cite book|author=Gadjin M. Nagao|title=Madhyamika and Yogacara: A Study of Mahayana Philosophies|date=January 1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-cHxL1ews0C |publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-1406-5|pages=177–180}}<br>'''[c]''' {{cite book|author=Brian Morris |title=Anthropology, Ecology, and Anarchism: A Brian Morris Reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cmg9BQAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=PM Press |isbn=978-1-60486-093-1 |pages=74 }}</ref> Nirvana starts with the premise that there is no Self, ''moksha'' on the other hand, starts with the premise that everything is the Self; there is no consciousness in the state of nirvana, but everything is One unified consciousness in the state of ''moksha''.<ref name=davidloy/>

Kaivalya, a concept akin to ''moksha'', rather than nirvana, is found in some schools of Hinduism such as the Yoga school. Kaivalya is the realization of aloofness with liberating knowledge of one's self and disentanglement from the muddled mind and cognitive apparatus. For example, [[Patanjali]]'s Yoga Sutra suggests:

{{Blockquote|
1=<poem>
After the dissolution of avidya (ignorance),
comes removal of communion with material world,
this is the path to Kaivalyam.
</poem>
| 2=[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga Sutra]] (Sadhana Pada)|3=2:24–25<ref>For Sanskrit version: Sadasivendra Sarasvati (1912), [[:iarchive:YogaSutraVritti|Yoga Sutra]]; For English version: Charles Johnston (1912), [[:iarchive:yogasutrasofpata00pata|yogasutrasofpata00pata]] Yoga Sutra of Patanjali; For secondary peer reviewed source, see: Jeffrey Gold, Plato in the Light of Yoga, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan., 1996), pp. 17–32; A. Sharma, The Realization of Kaivalya, in Explorations in Australian Literature, {{ISBN|978-8176257091}}, Chapter 18</ref>
}}

Nirvana and ''moksha'', in all traditions, represent resting in one's true essence, named ''[[Purusha]]'' or Atman, or pointed at as Nirvana, but described in a very different way. Loy has argued that there is not a difference in experience between nirvana in Buddhism and moksha in Advaita Vedanta.<ref name="pjaini" /><ref name="davidloy" /> Some scholars, states Jayatilleke, assert that the Nirvana of Buddhism is same as the [[Brahman]] in Hinduism, a view other scholars and he disagree with.<ref>{{cite book|author=K.N. Jayatilleke|title=Facets of Buddhist Thought: Collected Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOtoBgAAQBAJ|year=2009|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|isbn=978-955-24-0335-4|page=96}}</ref> Buddhism rejects the idea of [[Brahman]], and the metaphysical ideas about soul (atman) are also rejected by Buddhism, while those ideas are essential to ''moksha'' in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book|author=K.N. Jayatilleke|title=Facets of Buddhist Thought: Collected Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOtoBgAAQBAJ|year=2009|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|isbn=978-955-24-0335-4|pages=96–97}}</ref> In Buddhism, nirvana is 'blowing out' or 'extinction'.<ref>{{cite book|author=K.N. Jayatilleke|title=Facets of Buddhist Thought: Collected Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOtoBgAAQBAJ|year=2009|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|isbn=978-955-24-0335-4|page=90}}</ref> In Hinduism, ''moksha'' is 'identity or oneness with Brahman'.<ref name=brianmorris3/> Realization of ''anatta'' (anatman) is essential to Buddhist nirvana.<ref>{{cite book|author=Martin Southwold |title=Buddhism in Life: The Anthropological Study of Religion and the Sinhalese Practice of Buddhism |url=https://archive.org/details/budhisminlife0000unse|url-access=registration |year=1983|publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-0971-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/budhisminlife0000unse/page/209 209]–210}}</ref><ref name=suehamilton20/><ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Harvey |editor=Steven M. Emmanuel|title=A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-14466-3|page=36}}</ref> Realization of ''atman'' (atta) is essential to Hindu ''moksha''.<ref name=suehamilton20>{{cite book|author=Sue Hamilton |title=Early Buddhism: A New Approach : the I of the Beholder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pE9lwuScpWwC |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7007-1280-9|pages=19–20}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Constance Jones |author2=James D. Ryan |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC|year=2006|publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|pages=392, 292}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Yong Zhao |author2=Jing Lei |author3=Guofang Li |title=Handbook of Asian Education: A Cultural Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irqsAgAAQBAJ  |year=2010|publisher=Routledge |isbn= 978-1-136-72129-8|pages=466 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

== Hinduism ==

Different traditions of Hinduism use varying terms for ''moksha''. For example, ''Keval jnana'' or ''[[kaivalya]]'' ("state of Absolute"), ''Apavarga'', ''Nihsreyasa'', ''Paramapada'', ''Brahmabhava'', ''Brahmajnana'' and ''Brahmi sthiti''. There is difference between these ideas, as explained elsewhere in this article, but they are all [[soteriology|soteriological]] concepts of various Indian religious traditions.

A second point of difference among traditions is whether ''moksha'' can be experienced while alive, or only after death.<ref name=asharma>A. Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195644418}}, pp 117</ref> The Nyaya, Vaisesika and Mimamsa traditions consider ''moksha'' as possible only after death.<ref name="asharma" /><ref>Note: Each school has a different meaning for ''moksha''. For example, Mimamsa school considers ''moksha'' as release into ''svarga'' (heaven), it does not recognize samsara; while Nyaya school considers ''moksha'' as linked to samsara and a release from it; See: [[:iarchive:mimamsasutra00jaimuoft|The Purva-Mimamsa Sutra of Jaimini]], Transl: M.L. Sandal (1923), Chapter II, Pada I and Chapter VI, Pada I through VIII; Also see Klaus Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd Edition, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-7082-4}}, Chapter 26</ref> Samkhya and Yoga schools consider ''moksha'' as possible in this life. In the Vedanta school, the Advaita sub-school concludes ''moksha'' is possible in this life,<ref name="asharma" /> while Dvaita, Visistadvaita, Shuddhadvait sub-schools of Vedanta tradition believes that ''moksha'' is a continuous event, one assisted by loving devotion to God, that extends from this life to post-mortem. Beyond these six orthodox schools, some heterodox schools of Hindu tradition, such as Carvaka, deny there is a soul or after life ''moksha''.<ref>see:
*Miller, A. T. (2013), A review of "An Introduction to Indian Philosophy: Perspectives on Reality, Knowledge, and Freedom", Religion, 43(1), 119–123.
*Snell, M. M. (1894). Hinduism's Points of Contact with Christianity. IV. Salvation. The Biblical World, 4(2), pp 98–113</ref>

Paul Deussen interprets the Maitrayana Upanishad's teaching on ''moksha'' to come neither from the Vedanta school's doctrine (the knowledge of one's own Self as the Supreme Soul) nor from the Samkhya school's doctrine (distinction of the Purusha from what one is not), but from Vedic studies, observance of the ''Svadharma'' (personal duties), sticking to ''Asramas'' (stages of life).<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1468-4}}, pp 340-1</ref>

=== Nyaya ===
The Nyaya school does not take ''moksha'' to be a state of bliss, but only a complete absence of suffering.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mookerjee |first=Satkari |title=The Buddhist philosophy of universal flux: an exposition of the philosophy of critical realism as expounded by the school of Dignāga |date=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0737-2 |edition=Repr., 1. ed. publ. by Univ. of Calcutta, 1935 |location=Delhi}}</ref>

=== Sāmkhya and Yoga ===

[[:no:Knut A. Jacobsen|Knut Jacobsen]] suggests that both Sāmkhya and Yoga systems of religious thought are ''mokshaśāstras'', systems of salvific liberation and release.<ref name=kjacobson>Knut Jacobson, in Jessica Frazier (Editor), Continuum companion to Hindu studies, {{ISBN|978-0-8264-9966-0}}</ref> Sāmkhya is a system of interpretation, primarily a theory about the world. Yoga is both a theory and a practice. Yoga gained wide acceptance in ancient India, its ideas and practices became part of many religious schools in Hinduism, including those that were very different from Sāmkhya. The eight limbs of yoga can be interpreted as a way to liberation (''moksha'').<ref name=kjacobson/><ref name=kjjf/>

In Sāmkhya literature, liberation is commonly referred to as ''kaivalya''. In this school, kaivalya means the realization of ''purusa'', the principle of consciousness, as independent from mind and body, as different from ''prakrti''. Like many schools of Hinduism, in Sāmkhya and Yoga schools, the emphasis is on the attainment of knowledge, ''vidyā'' or ''jñāna'', as necessary for salvific liberation, ''moksha''.<ref name=kjacobson/><ref name=jgold>Jeffrey Gold, Plato in the Light of Yoga, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan., 1996), pp. 20–27</ref> Yoga's purpose is then seen as a means to remove the ''avidyā'' – that is, ignorance or misleading/incorrect knowledge about one self and the universe. It seeks to end ordinary reflexive awareness (''cittavrtti nirodhah'') with deeper, purer and holistic awareness (''asamprājñāta samādhi'').<ref name=kjjf>Knut Jacobsen (2011), in Jessica Frazier (Editor), The Bloomsbury companion to Hindu studies, {{ISBN|978-1-4725-1151-5}}, pp 74–82</ref><ref>R. Sinari, The way toward Moksa, in Murty et al. (Editors) – Freedom, Progress & Society, {{ISBN|81-208-0262-4}}, pp 45–60</ref> Yoga, during the pursuit of ''moksha'', encourages practice (''abhyāsa'') with detachment (''vairāgya''), which over time leads to deep concentration (''samādhi''). Detachment means withdrawal from outer world and calming of mind, while practice means the application of effort over time. Such steps are claimed by Yoga school as leading to samādhi, a state of deep awareness, release and bliss called ''kaivalya''.<ref name=kjacobson/><ref name=jgold/>
[[File:The Muktinath Temple.jpg|thumb|226x226px|[[Muktinath|Muktinath Temple]] ('Lord of liberation or Moksha) at [[Mustang District|Mustang, Nepal]] - a pilgrimage place for [[Hindus]] and [[Buddhists]].]]
{{multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| footer            = Three of four paths of spirituality in Hinduism. Each path suggests a different way to ''moksha''.
| image1            = Raja Ravi Varma - Sankaracharya.jpg
| alt1              = Jñāna marga
| caption1          = Jñāna yoga
| width1            = 110
| image2            = Russian Hare Krishnas singing on the street.jpg
| alt2              = Bhakti marga
| caption2          = Bhakti yoga
| width2            = 100
| image3            = People of Varanasi 006.jpg
| alt3              = Rāja yoga
| caption3          = Rāja marga
| width3            = 100
}}

Yoga, or ''mārga'' (meaning "way" or "path"), in Hinduism is widely classified into four spiritual approaches.<ref>See:
* John Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing New York, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, see articles on bhaktimārga, jnanamārga, karmamārga;
* Bhagwad Gita (The Celestial Song), Chapters 2:56–57, 12, 13:1–28
* Feuerstein, Georg (2003), The deeper dimension of yoga: Theory and practice, Shambhala, {{ISBN|1-57062-935-8}};
* D. Bhawuk (2011), Spirituality and Cultural Psychology, in [[Anthony J. Marsella]] (Series Editor), International and Cultural Psychology, Springer New York, {{ISBN|978-1-4419-8109-7}}, pp 93–140</ref> The first mārga is [[Jñāna Yoga]], the way of knowledge. The second mārga is [[Bhakti Yoga]], the way of loving devotion to God. The third mārga is [[Karma Yoga]], the way of works. The fourth mārga is [[Rāja Yoga]], the way of contemplation and meditation. These mārgas are part of different schools in Hinduism, and their definition and methods to ''moksha''.<ref>H. Negendra (2008), Int Journal of Yoga, Jul–Dec, 1(2), pp 43–44</ref> For example, the Advaita Vedanta school relies on Jñāna Yoga in its teachings of ''moksha''.<ref name=edav>Eliot Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: A philosophical reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, {{ISBN|978-0824802714}}, pp 104–106</ref> The ''marga''s need not lead to all forms of moksha, according to some schools of Hinduism. For example, the [[Ekasarana dharma]] denies the ''sayujya'' form of mukti, where the complete absorption in God deprives ''jiva'' of the sweetness and bliss associated with ''bhakti''. [[Madhavdev|Madhavadeva]] begins the [[Naam Ghosa|Namghoxa]] by declaring his admiration for devotees who do not prefer ''mukti''.<ref>{{Harv|Sarma|1966|pp=41–42}}</ref>

=== Vedanta ===
{{Main|Vedanta}}

Vedanta traditions share an understanding of ''moksha'' as not merely an absence of suffering, but a positive experience of ''ananda'', or bliss.<ref>see:

*David White (1960), Moksa as value and experience, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 9, No. 3/4 (Oct., 1959 – Jan., 1960), pp. 153, 157, 158</ref> However, the specifics of understanding ''moksha'' vary in each of the more than seventeen sub-schools of Vedanta.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gautama (auth.) |url=http://archive.org/details/gautama-auth.-dastri-m.-phillips-s.-trans.-eds.-2017.-the-nyaya-sutra-selections |title=The Nyaya Sutra; Selections With Early Commentaries. |last2=Dastri |first2=Matthew & Phillips |date=2017 |pages=156}}</ref> 

==== Advaita Vedanta ====
The [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]] tradition considers ''moksha'' achievable by removing [[Avidya (Hinduism)|avidya]] (ignorance) by knowledge. ''Moksha'' is seen as a final release from illusion, and through knowledge (''anubhava'') of one's own fundamental nature, which is [[Satcitananda]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Brodd |first=Jeffrey |title=World Religions |publisher=Saint Mary's Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-88489-725-5 |location=Winona, MN}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The description comprises the three [[Sanskrit]] words ''sat-chit-ananda'':
* ''[[Sat (Sanskrit)|sat]]'' सत् ([[wikt:present participle|present participle]]); [Sanskrit root ''as'', "''to be''"]:{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} "Truth", "Absolute Being",<ref name="Maharishi">[http://www.bienfaits-meditation.com/en/maharishi/videos/sat-cit-ananda Maharishi's Teaching, ''Meaning of the word "Satcitananda" (Sat Chit Ananda)'']</ref> ''Sat'' describes an essence that is pure and timeless, that never changes.<ref name="Maharishi" />
* ''[[Cit (consciousness)|cit]]''  चित् ([[noun]]): "consciousness",<ref name="Maharishi" /> "true consciousness",<ref>{{cite web |title=Sat-Cit-Ananda Eternity Knowledged and Bliss, Kala Material Time, Form |url=https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/satcitananda-eternity#:~:text=Saccid%C4%81nanda%2C%20Satchidananda%2C%20or%20Sat%2D,%2C%20consciousness%2C%20and%20bliss%20respectively.&text=The%20Supreme%20Personality%20ofGodhead%20is%20sac%2Dcid%2Dananda%2Dvigraha. |website=ISKCON Desire Tree {{!}} IDT |access-date=3 November 2020 |date=8 March 2010}}</ref> "to be consciousness of",<ref name="SDchit">{{Cite web |url=http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=+chit&trans=Translate&direction=AU |title=Sanskrit Dictionary, ''chit'' |access-date=3 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510035740/http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=+chit&trans=Translate&direction=AU |archive-date=10 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> "to understand",<ref name="SDchit" /> "to comprehend".<ref name="SDchit" />
* ''ānanda'' आनन्द (noun): "bliss",<ref name="Maharishi" /> "true bliss",{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}  "happiness",<ref name="SDananda" />  "joy",<ref name="SDananda" /> "delight",<ref name="SDananda" />  "pleasure"<ref name="SDananda">{{Cite web |url=http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=+ananda&trans=Translate&direction=AU |title=Sanskrit dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, ''ananda'' |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701064641/http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=+ananda&trans=Translate&direction=AU |archive-date=1 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} Advaita holds there is no being/non-being distinction between ''Atman'', ''[[Brahman]]'', and ''[[Paramatman]]''. True knowledge is a direct, permanent realization that the Atman and  Brahman are one. This realization instantly removes ignorance and leads to ''moksha'', and is considered timeless, eliminating the cycle of birth and death (''samsara'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Chandradhar |url=http://archive.org/details/indianphilosophyacriticalsurveychandradharsharmaseeadvaitastudies_202003_756_t |title=Indian Philosophy A Critical Survey |pages=274–275}}</ref> Advaita Vedanta emphasizes [[Jnana Yoga]] as the means of achieving ''moksha''.<ref name="edav" /> Bliss, claims this school, is the fruit of knowledge (vidya) and work (karma).<ref>Karl Potter (2008), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Advaita Vedānta Up to Śaṃkara and His Pupils, Volume 3, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp 213</ref> If a desire for unity with Brahman is strong enough, moksha is considered achievable while alive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Betty |first=Stafford |date=2010-07-01 |title=Dvaita, Advaita, and Viśiṣṭādvaita: Contrasting Views of Mokṣa |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09552367.2010.484955 |journal=Asian Philosophy |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=216 |doi=10.1080/09552367.2010.484955 |issn=0955-2367|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Shankara takes desire for ''moksha'' itself to be a state of ''moksha''.<ref name=klausklost/> A guru, being the instrument to achieve ''moksha'', is key.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Klostermaier |first=Klaus |date=1985 |title=Mokṣa and Critical Theory |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1398681 |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=63 |doi=10.2307/1398681 |issn=0031-8221|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Those who are on their path to ''moksha'' (samnyasin), suggests [[Klaus Klostermaier]], are quintessentially free individuals, without craving for anything in the worldly life, thus are neither dominated by, nor dominating anyone else.<ref name=klausklost/>

[[Vivekachudamani]], which literally means "Crown Jewel of Discriminatory Reasoning", is a book devoted to moksa in Advaita Vedanta philosophy. It explains what behaviors and pursuits lead to ''moksha'', as well what actions and assumptions hinder ''moksha''. The four essential conditions, according to Vivekachudamani, before one can commence on the path of ''moksha'' include (1) ''vivekah'' (discrimination, critical reasoning) between everlasting principles and fleeting world; (2) ''viragah'' (indifference, lack of craving) for material rewards; (3) ''samah'' (calmness of mind), and (4) ''damah'' (self restraint, [[Temperance (virtue)|temperance]]).<ref>D. Datta  (1888), Moksha, or the Vedántic Release, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, New Series, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1888), pp. 516</ref> The ''Brahmasutrabhasya'' adds to the above four requirements, the following: ''uparati'' (lack of bias, dispassion), ''titiksa'' (endurance, patience), ''sraddha'' (faith) and ''[[samadhana]]'' (intentness, commitment).<ref name=edav/>

It explains one of many meditative steps on the path to ''moksha'', as:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
Beyond caste, creed, family or lineage,
That which is without name and form, beyond merit and demerit,
That which is beyond space, time and sense-objects,
You are that, God himself; Meditate this within yourself. ||Verse 254||
</poem>|Vivekachudamani|8th Century CE<ref>Many verses from Vivekachudamani expound on “Tat tvam asi” phrase such as the verse above. For other verses, and translation, see:
* John Richards (Translator), Vivekachudamani, {{ISBN|978-0979726743}} (2011 Edition);
* Madhavananda's [[:iarchive:vivekachudamanio00sankrich|translation of Vivekachudamani]] published in 1921, Himalayan Series 43;</ref>}}

==== Dvaita ====
The [[Dvaita]] (dualism) traditions define ''moksha'' as the loving, eternal union with God and considered the highest perfection of existence. Dvaita schools suggest every soul encounters liberation differently.<ref>Betty, Stafford. "Dvaita, Advaita, And Viśiṣṭadvaita: Contrasting Views Of Mokṣa." Asian Philosophy 20.2 (2010): 215–224. Academic Search Elite. Web. 24 Sept. 2012.</ref> Dualist traditions (e.g. [[Vaishnava]]) see God as the object of love, for example, a personified monotheistic conception of [[Shiva]], [[Vishnu]] or [[Adishakti]]. By immersing oneself in the love of God, one's [[karma]]s slough off, one's illusions decay, and truth is lived.  Both the worshiped and worshiper gradually lose their illusory sense of separation and only One beyond all names remains. This is salvation to dualist schools of Hinduism. Dvaita Vedanta emphasizes [[Bhakti Yoga]] as the means of achieving ''moksha''.<ref>N.S.S. Raman (2009), Ethics in Bhakti Philosophical Literature, in R. Prasad – A Historical-developmental Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals, {{ISBN|978-8180695957}}, Chapter 19</ref>

==== Vishishtadvaita ====
The [[Vishistadvaita]] tradition, primarily propounded by [[Ramanuja]], defines avidya and ''moksha'' differently from the Advaita tradition. To Ramanuja, avidya is a focus on the self, and vidya is a focus on a loving god. The Vishistadvaita school argues that other schools of Hinduism create a false sense of agency in individuals, which makes the individual think oneself as potential or self-realized god. Such ideas, claims Ramanuja, decay to materialism, hedonism and self worship. Individuals forget ''Ishvara'' (God). Mukti, to Vishistadvaita school, is release from such avidya, towards the intuition and eternal union with God.<ref>Abha Singh (October 2001), Social Philosophy of Ramanuja: its modern relevance, ''Indian Philosophical Quarterly'', Vol. 28, No. 4, pp 491–498</ref> While the ''jiva'' attains equality with Brahman in ''moksha'', it still retains its individuality.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Makarand Joshi |url=http://archive.org/details/vaisnavismitsphilosophytheologyandreligiousdisciplinesmsrinivasachari2000 |title=Vaisnavism Its Philosophy Theology And Religious Discipline SM Srinivasa Chari 2000 |publication-date= |pages=122}}</ref>

=== Mokṣha in this life ===

Among the Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta schools of Hinduism, liberation and freedom reached within one's life is referred to as ''jivanmukti'', and the individual who has experienced this state is called ''[[jivanmukta]]'' (self-realized person).<ref>see:
* Andrew Fort and Patricia Mumme (1996), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2706-4}};
* Norman E. Thomas (April 1988), Liberation for Life: A Hindu Liberation Philosophy, Missiology, Volume 16, Number 2, pp 149–160</ref> Dozens of Upanishads, including those from middle Upanishadic period, mention or describe the state of liberation, ''jivanmukti''.<ref>See for example Muktika Upanishad, Varaha Upanishad, Adhyatma Upanishad, Sandilya Upanishad, [[Tejobindu Upanishad]], etc.; in K.N. Aiyar (Transl. 1914), [[:iarchive:thirtyminorupani00xxxxuoft|Thirty Minor Upanishads]], University of Toronto Robart Library Archives, Canada</ref><ref>[[Paul Deussen]], [[:iarchive:philosophyupani00deusgoog|The philosophy of the Upanishads]], Translated by A.S. Geden (1906), T&T Clark, Edinburgh</ref> Some contrast ''jivanmukti'' with ''videhamukti'' (''moksha'' from samsara after death).<ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1 & 2, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1467-7}}</ref> Jivanmukti is a state that transforms the nature, attributes and behaviors of an individual, claim these ancient texts of Hindu philosophy. For example, according to Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad, the liberated individual shows attributes such as:<ref>see:

K.N. Aiyar (Transl. 1914), [[:iarchive:thirtyminorupani00xxxxuoft|Thirty Minor Upanishads]], University of Toronto Robart Library Archives, Canada, pp 140–147
* S. Nikhilananda (1958), Hinduism : Its meaning for the liberation of the spirit, Harper, {{ISBN|978-0911206265}}, pp 53–79;
* Andrew Fort (1998), Jivanmukti in Transformation, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|0-7914-3904-6}}</ref>
* He is not bothered by disrespect and endures cruel words, treats others with respect regardless of how others treat him;
* When confronted by an angry person he does not return anger, instead replies with soft and kind words;
* Even if tortured, he speaks and trusts the truth;
* He does not crave for blessings or expect praise from others;
* He never injures or harms any life or being (ahimsa), he is intent in the welfare of all beings;<ref>see also Sandilya Upanishad for ahimsa and other virtues; Quote: "तत्र हिंसा नाम मनोवाक्कायकर्मभिः सर्वभूतेषु सर्वदा क्लेशजननम्"; Aiyar translates this as: He practices Ahimsa – no injury or harm to any living being at any time through actions of his body, his speech or in his mind; K.N. Aiyar (Transl. 1914), [[:iarchive:thirtyminorupani00xxxxuoft|Thirty Minor Upanishads]], University of Toronto Robart Library Archives, Canada, pp 173–174</ref>
* He is as comfortable being alone as in the presence of others;
* He is as comfortable with a bowl, at the foot of a tree in tattered robe without help, as when he is in a mithuna (union of mendicants), grama (village) and nagara (city);
* He doesn't care about or wear ṣikha (tuft of hair on the back of head for religious reasons), nor the holy thread across his body. To him, knowledge is sikha, knowledge is the holy thread, knowledge alone is supreme. Outer appearances and rituals do not matter to him, only knowledge matters;
* For him there is no invocation nor dismissal of deities, no mantra nor non-mantra, no prostrations nor worship of gods, goddess or ancestors, nothing other than knowledge of Self;
* He is humble, high-spirited, of clear and steady mind, straightforward, compassionate, patient, indifferent, courageous, speaks firmly and with sweet words.

When a Jivanmukta dies he achieves Paramukti and becomes a Paramukta. Jivanmukta experience liberation while alive and also after death i.e., after becoming paramukta, while Videhmukta experiences liberation only after death.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

=== Mokṣa in Balinese Hinduism ===

Balinese Hinduism incorporates ''moksha'' as one of five [[tattva]]s. The other four are: ''brahman'' (the one supreme god head, not to be confused with Brahmin), ''atma'' (soul or spirit), [[karma]] (actions and reciprocity, causality), ''samsara'' (principle of rebirth, reincarnation). ''Moksha'', in Balinese Hindu belief, is the possibility of unity with the divine; it is sometimes referred to as nirwana.<ref>Balinese Hindus spell words slightly differently from Indian Hindus; tattva in India is spelled tattwa in Bali, nirvana in India is spelled nirwana in Bali, etc.</ref><ref name=anettheim>Anna Nettheim (2011), [http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/datastream/unsworks:10091/SOURCE02 Tattwa are the words of the world: Balinese narratives and creative transformation], Ph.D. Thesis, University of New South Wales, Australia</ref>

== Buddhism ==
{{Buddhism}}
{{Main|Nirvana|Rebirth (Buddhism)}}

In [[Buddhism]] the term "moksha" is uncommon, but an equivalent term is ''vimutti'', "release". In the suttas two forms of release are mentioned, namely ''ceto-vimutti'', "deliverance of mind," and ''panna-vimutti'', "deliverance through wisdom" (insight). ''Ceto-vimutti''  is related to the practice of dhyana, while ''panna-vimutti'' is related to the development of insight. According to Gombrich, the distinction may be a later development, which resulted in a change of doctrine, regarding the practice of [[Dhyana in Buddhism|dhyana]] to be insufficient for final liberation.<ref>Gombrich, ''The Conditioned genesis of Buddhism'', chapter four: "How Insight Worsted Concentration"</ref>

With release comes Nirvana (Pali: Nibbana), "blowing out", "quenching", or "becoming extinguished" of the fires of the passions and of self-view.<ref name="Collins2010p63">{{cite book|author=Steven Collins |title=Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5pshUYiUVwC |year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-88198-2 |pages=63–64, 33–34, 47–50, 74–75, 106 }}</ref><ref>Gombrich, "What the Buddha thought"</ref> It is a "timeless state" in which there is no more [[Samsara|becoming]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Steven Collins |title=Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5pshUYiUVwC |year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-88198-2 |page=31}}, '''Quote:''' "This general scheme remained basic to later Hinduism, to Jainism, and to Buddhism. Eternal salvation, to use the Christian term, is not conceived of as world without end; we have already got that, called samsara, the world of rebirth and redeath: that is the problem, not the solution. The ultimate aim is the timeless state of ''moksha'', or as the Buddhists seem to have been the first to call it, nirvana."</ref>

Nirvana ends the cycle of ''[[Dukkha]]'' and rebirth in the six realms of [[saṃsāra (Buddhism)|saṃsāra]].<ref name="Gethin1998p74"/><!--** START OF NOTE ("NIRODHA") **-->{{refn|group=note|name="Nirodha"|Ending rebirth:<br>* Graham Harvey: "The Third Noble Truth is nirvana. The Buddha tells us that an end to suffering is possible, and it is nirvana. Nirvana is a "blowing out," just as a candle flame is wxtinguished in the wind, from our lives in samsara. It connotes an end to rebirth"{{sfn|Harvey|2016}}<br>* Spiro: "The Buddhist message then, as I have said, is not simply a psychological message, i.e. that desire is the cause of suffering because unsatisfied desire produces frustration. It does contain such a message to be sure; but more importantly it is an eschatological message. Desire is the cause of suffering because desire is the cause of rebirth; and the extinction of desire leads to deliverance from suffering because it signals release from the Wheel of Rebirth."{{sfn|Spiro|1982|p=42}}<br>* John J. Makransky: "The third noble truth, cessation (''nirodha'') or nirvana, represented the ultimate aim of Buddhist practice in the Abhidharma traditions: the state free from the conditions that created samsara. Nirvana was the ultimate and final state attained when the supramundane yogic path had been completed. It represented salvation from samsara precisely because it was understood to comprise a state of complete freedom from the chain of samsaric causes and conditions, i.e., precisely because it was unconditioned (''asamskrta'')."{{sfn|Makransky|1997|p=27-28}}<br>* Walpola Rahula: "Let us consider a few definitions and descriptions of Nirvana as found in the original Pali texts [...] 'It is the complete cessation of that very thirst (tanha), giving it up, renouncing it, emancipation from it, detachment from it.' [...] 'The abandoning and destruction of craving for these Five Aggregates of Attachment: that is the cessation of ''dukkha''. [...] 'The Cessation of Continuity and becoming (''Bhavanirodha'') is Nibbana.'"{{sfn|Rahula|2007}}}}<!--** END OF NOTE ("NIRODHA") **-->  It is part of the [[Four Noble Truths]] doctrine of Buddhism, which plays an essential role in Theravada Buddhism.{{Sfn|Harvey|2013|pp=73–76}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Jay L. Garfield|author2=William Edelglass|title=The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0iMBtaSlHYC |year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-532899-8 |pages=206–208 }}</ref> Nirvana has been described in Buddhist texts in a manner similar to other Indian religions, as the state of complete liberation, ''[[nirvana]]'', highest happiness, bliss, fearless, freedom, dukkha-less, permanence, non-dependent origination, unfathomable, indescribable.<ref>{{cite book|author=Steven Collins |title=Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2go_y5KYyoC |year=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-57054-1 |pages=191–233 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Harvey |title=The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvana in Early Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SfPcAAAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-78336-4 |pages=198–226}}</ref> It has also been described as a state of release marked by "emptiness" and realization of ''[[anatta|non-Self]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mun-Keat Choong|title=The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJafx7uO0VsC |year=1999|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1649-7|pages=21–22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gananath Obeyesekere |title=The Awakened Ones: Phenomenology of Visionary Experience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BB1Q0aWJpO8C |year=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-15362-1 |pages=145–146 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Edward Conze |title=Buddhism: Its Essence and Development |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PwXCAgAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=Courier |isbn=978-0-486-17023-7 |pages=125–137 }}</ref> Such descriptions, states Peter Harvey, are contested by scholars because nirvana in Buddhism is ultimately described as a state of "stopped consciousness (blown out), but one that is not non-existent", and "it seems impossible to imagine what awareness devoid of any object would be like".{{Sfn|Harvey|2013|pp=75–76}}<ref name="Gethin1998p74">{{cite book|author=Rupert Gethin |title=The Foundations of Buddhism |url=https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe|url-access=registration |year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-160671-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe/page/74 74]–84}}</ref>

== Jainism ==
{{Jainism}}
{{Main|Moksha (Jainism)}}

In [[Jainism]], ''moksha'' and ''nirvana'' are synonymous.<ref name=pjaini>{{cite book | last =Jaini | first =Padmanabh | title =Collected Papers on Jaina Studies | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | year =2000 | location =Delhi | isbn =81-208-1691-9 }}: ''"Moksa and Nirvana are synonymous in Jainism".'' p.168</ref><ref>Michael Carrithers, Caroline Humphrey (1991) ''The Assembly of listeners: Jains in society'' Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0521365058}}: ''"Nirvana: A synonym for liberation, release, moksa."'' p.297</ref> Jaina texts sometimes use the term ''Kevalya'', and call the liberated soul as ''Kevalin''.<ref name=pauldundastjp104/> As with all Indian religions, ''moksha'' is the ultimate spiritual goal in Jainism. It defines ''moksha'' as the spiritual release from all karma.<ref name=pauldundastjp104>{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year=2003|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0415266055 |pages= 104–105 }}</ref>

Jainism is a [[Sramana|Sramanic]] non-theistic philosophy that believes in a metaphysical permanent self or [[soul]] often termed ''[[Jīva (Jainism)|jiva]]''. Jaina believe that this soul is what transmigrates from one being to another at the time of death. The ''moksa'' state is attained when a soul (''[[Ātman (Jainism)|atman]]'') is liberated from the cycles of deaths and rebirths (''[[Saṃsāra (Jainism)|saṃsāra]]''), is at the apex, is omniscient, remains there eternally, and is known as a ''[[siddha]]''.{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|pp=222–223}} In Jainism, it is believed to be a stage beyond ethical perfection, states [[Paul Dundas]], because they can perform physical and mental activities such as teach, without accruing karma that leads to rebirth.<ref name=pauldundastjp104/>

Jaina traditions believe that there exist ''Abhavya'' (incapable), or a class of souls that can never attain ''moksha'' (liberation).{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=226}}<ref name=pauldundastjp104/> The ''Abhavya'' state of soul is entered after an intentional and shockingly evil act,{{Sfn|Jaini|1980|p=225}} but Jaina texts also polemically applied ''Abhavya'' condition to those who belonged to a competing ancient Indian tradition called ''[[Ājīvika]]''.<ref name=pauldundastjp104/> A male human being is considered closest to the apex of ''moksha'', with the potential to achieve liberation, particularly through asceticism. The ability of women to attain ''moksha'' has been historically debated, and the subtraditions with Jainism have disagreed. In the [[Digambara]] tradition of Jainism, women must live an ethical life and gain karmic merit to be reborn as a man, because only males can achieve spiritual liberation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jeffery D Long|title=Jainism: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajAEBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT36|year=2013|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0-85773-656-7|pages=36–37}}</ref><ref name=harveyp182>{{cite book|author=Graham Harvey |title=Religions in Focus: New Approaches to Tradition and Contemporary Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wrTsCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT182|year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-93690-8|pages=182–183}}</ref> In contrast, the [[Śvētāmbara]] tradition has believed that women too can attain ''moksha'' just like men.<ref name=harveyp182/><ref>{{cite book|author= Paul Dundas|title=The Jains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year=2003|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0415266055 |pages= 55–59 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Padmanabh S.|last=Jaini|title=Collected Papers on Jaina Studies|year=2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1691-6|page=169}}</ref>

According to Jainism, purification of soul and liberation can be achieved through the path of three jewels:{{sfn|Jain|2011|p=6}}{{sfn|Cort|2001a|pp=6–7}}{{sfn|Fohr|2015|pp=9–10, 37}} ''Samyak darśana'' (Correct View), meaning faith, acceptance of the truth of soul (''jīva'');{{sfn|Jaini|1998|pp=141–147}} ''Samyak jnana'' (Correct Knowledge), meaning undoubting knowledge of the ''tattvas'';{{sfn|Jaini|1998|pp=148, 200}} and ''Samyak charitra'' (Correct Conduct), meaning behavior consistent with the Five vows.{{sfn|Jaini|1998|pp=148, 200}} Jain texts often add ''samyak tap'' (Correct Asceticism) as a fourth jewel, emphasizing belief in ascetic practices as the means to liberation (moksha).{{sfn|Cort|2001a|p=7}} The four jewels are called ''moksha marg''.{{sfn|Cort|2001a|pp=6–7}} According to Jain texts, the liberated pure soul (''Siddha'') goes up to the summit of universe (''[[Siddhashila]]'') and dwells there in eternal bliss.{{sfn|Jain|1992|p=282–283}}

== Sikhism ==
{{Sikhism sidebar}}
The [[Sikhism|Sikh]] concept of mukti ([[Gurmukhi]]: ਮੁਕਤੀ) is similar to other Indian religions, and refers to spiritual liberation.<ref name=teece17/> It is described in Sikhism as the state that breaks the cycle of rebirths.<ref name=teece17>Geoff Teece (2004), Sikhism: Religion in focus, {{ISBN|978-1-58340-469-0}}, page 17</ref> Mukti is obtained according to Sikhism, states Singha, through "God's grace".<ref name=hssingha54>HS Singha (2009), Sikhism: A Complete Introduction, Hemkunt Press, {{ISBN|978-8170102458}}, pages 53–54</ref> According to the [[Guru Granth Sahib]], the devotion to God is viewed as more important than the desire for ''Mukti''.<ref name=hssingha54/>

{{Blockquote|
<poem>
I desire neither worldly power nor liberation. I desire nothing but seeing the Lord.
I desire neither [[Brahma]], [[Shiva]], the [[Siddha]]s, the [[Muni (saint)|silent sages]] and [[Indra]] – I seek only the Blessed Vision of my Lord Master's vision.
I have come, helpless, to Your Door, O Lord Master; I am exhausted – I seek the Sanctuary of the [[Sant (religion)|saints]].
Says [[Guru Nanak|Nanak]], I have met my Enticing Lord God; my mind is cooled and soothed – it blossoms forth in joy.
</poem>
|[[Guru Granth Sahib]]|P534<ref name=hssingha54/><ref>[http://www.srigurugranth.org/0534.html Guru Granth Sahib] P534, 2.3.29</ref>}}

Sikhism recommends [[Naam Japo|Naam Simran]] as the way to mukti, which is meditating and repeating the [[Nāma|''Naam'']] (Name of God).<ref name=teece17/><ref name=hssingha54/>

== See also ==
* [[Henosis]]
* [[Sallekhana]]

== References ==
{{citation style|date=December 2023}}

=== Notes ===
{{reflist|group=note|30em}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Works cited ===
{{lacking ISBN|section|date=December 2023}}
* {{citation |last=Cort |first=John E. |title=Jains in the World : Religious Values and Ideology in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2001a |isbn=978-0-19-513234-2}}.
* {{citation |last=Fohr |first=Sherry |title=Jainism: A Guide for the Perplexed  |year=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4742-2756-8}}.
* {{Citation | last =Harvey | first =Graham | year =2016 | title =Religions in Focus: New Approaches to Tradition and Contemporary Practices | publisher =Routledge}}.
* {{Citation | last =Harvey | first =Peter | year =2013 |title =An Introduction to Buddhism | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}.
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=S. A. |title=Reality: English Translation of Srimat Pujyapadacharya's Sarvarthasiddhi |date=1992 |orig-year=1960 |publisher=Jwalamalini Trust |url=https://archive.org/details/Reality_JMT |edition=Second |quote={{PD-notice}} }}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Vijay K. |title=Acharya Umasvami's Tattvarthsūtra |date=2011 |publisher=Vikalp Printers |location=[[Uttarakhand]] |isbn=978-81-903639-2-1 |edition=1st |url={{Google books|zLmx9bvtglkC|plainurl=yes}} |quote={{PD-notice}} }}
* {{citation |first=Padmanabh |last=Jaini |editor=Wendy Doniger |title=Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WZTj3M71y0C |year=1980|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-03923-0 }}.
* {{citation |last=Jaini |first=Padmanabh S. |title=The Jaina Path of Purification |date=1998 |orig-year=1979 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |location=Delhi |isbn=978-81-208-1578-0 }}.
* {{Citation | last =Makransky | first =John J. | year =1997 | title =Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet | publisher =SUNY}}.
* {{Citation | last =Rahula | first =Walpola | year =2007 | title =What the Buddha Taught | publisher =Grove Press}}.
* {{Citation | last =Sarma | first =S N | year =1966 | title =The Neo-Vaisnavite Movement and the Satra Institution of Assam | publisher =Gauhati University| isbn = 978-8173310263}}.
* {{Citation | last =Sharma | first =Arvind | year =2000 | title =Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction | publisher =Oxford University Press |isbn =978-0195644418}}.
* {{Citation | last =Spiro | first =Melford E. | year =1982 | title =Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and Its Burmese Vicissitudes | publisher =University of California Press}}.

== Further reading ==
* {{Citation |last=Huxley |first=Aldous |title=Moksha: Aldous Huxley's Classic Writings on Psychedelics and the Visionary Experience |year=1999 |editor1=Michael Horowitz |editor2=Cynthia Palmer |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=1594775176}}.

==External links==
{{Wikiquote-inline}}

{{Death in Hinduism}}
{{Indian philosophy}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{Heaven}}

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[[Category:Moksha| ]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Jain philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Puruṣārthas]]
[[Category:Shabda]]
[[Category:Religious terminology]]
[[Category:Salvation]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category:Mystical union]]