What is Moksha (मोक्ष )?
Bhagavad Gita, Verse 2.51 explained
Introduction
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjun. This dialogue begins just before the war of Mahabharata is about to begin. On seeing his family in opposition, Arjun is gripped with fear and confusion and wants to run away, but Krishna convinces him to fight and tells Arjun why he must today raise his weapons to kill his brothers and relatives in this war.
Bhagavad Gits teaches us how to live life!
The core message of the Bhagavad Gita is considered very powerful for it can fundamentally transform the way you live your life. Bhagavad Gita is also called a summary of Vendantic Knowledge or simply ancient Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita is crystallized form of the Hindu thought.
Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses long, spread across 18 chapters. Here we will understand Verse 51 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Verse 2.51
कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिण: |
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ता: पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम् || 51||
karma-jam buddhi-yukta hi phalam tyaktva manishinah
janma-bandha-vinirmuktah padam gachchhanty-anamayam
Translation
The wise ones, whose mind is immersed in wisdom and intelligence, detach themselves from the fruit of born of their actions. On doing so they free themselves from the bondage of re-birth and thus go on to attain a state of being which is beyond all sufferings.
Commentary:
In this Verse, Krishna is telling Arjun about Moksha, but without using the very word!
What is Moksha?
Moksha is a Sanskrit word which means liberation from the cycle of death and birth.
A soul which is born wears a body, and with time, the body dies. The soul moves out of this body, but still is not free, for it is still trapped in the cycle of birth.
The Samskaras which are basically the imprints of Karma are the links of this chain which binds the soul to the cycle of re-birth.
Life is like travelling on a Train
Imagine that your life is spent in a moving train. In one birth you can only remain in one of the train bogies, and can not move to any other bogie. You see life passing by from the glass windows while sitting inside. You are assigned a seat in this train, which you call as yours. And there are fellow travellers with you, each seated on their own seat. Everyone moves around this bogie but can’t get down. The train always keeps on moving.
But once someone dies, his soul is given a new body and moved to the next bogie of this train of life. The soul doesn’t even remember the details of its previous life. And in that ignorance it spends its new life in this new bogie, on a new seat, with new people, staring outside the window into the universe.
The soul is unaware that it shall be moved to another bogie or perhaps another train, but it shall always be trapped in a moving train.
This moving train is life, and it travels on the rail of time!
So while one might have a good time in the journey enjoying the space and time it was allotted, but the fact remains that there is an entire universe while lies beyond the glasses of this train. And in this universe, there are no rails of time and no limitations of space.
One doesn’t have to look outside a window to enjoy the environment, for one becomes a part of this environment itself. The soul, which is a figment of this universal energy, once free from the bondage of Karma, once free from the chains of Samskaras, blends into this ocean of universal energy, just like a pinch of salt gets dissolved in plain water. There is no trace of where the salt has gone, but you can taste it in every drop of this ocean.
So when the drop becomes the ocean itself, this is called Moskha!
Moksha thus is freedom from the bounds of Karma, freedom from this cycle of life and death.
Moksha is the ultimate liberation!
How to attain Moksha?
But then the question arises that how to attain Moksha?
Well, Krishna is answering how to attain Moksha in this very verse. Krishna says that one who gains true wisdom, and along with wisdom also has intelligence, can act as a Yogi. This means that such a person knows how to act, and why to act in such a manner, and at the same time has immense control over his mind, which gives him the power to not only visualise but also realise what he wishes to do!
Such Yogis, such people who are wise, knowledgable, and intelligent, are able to become masters of their minds and use the power of the mind to change their quality of life.
Owing to their wisdom, their Goals are lofty yet selfless, for they know true happiness is in selflessness.
Role of Knowledge
Owing to their knowledge, they know how should they approach work. They are clear about their duties, i.e. their Dharma, and know the secret to great work is by working in a detached manner.
They know that one should work with honesty but at the same time must not seek the fruit of his actions. One should not seek personal recognition or rewards for their work. They know that Karma Yoga is the secret of Great work!
Role of Intelligence
Owing to their intelligence, they are able to create immense self-awareness and thus they know how they are acting in their life. They have a very fine sense of the quality of their work and know when they deviate from their path. They are thus able to draw upon their knowledge and wisdom, and able to self-correct when they go wrong. They are able to self-regulate when emotions sway them away. They are able to regain control when the mind overpowers them.
Thus a combination of knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence, makes a man see through Maya and understand what brings him true happiness. They know and understand that Happiness is the Goal of all Goals. They know that money is a means to an end and not an end in itself. They know that desire by its very nature can never be fulfilled. They know that true happiness is in selflessness, and they know that liberation is desirelessness.
Such people are never afraid of work but know that overworking is also a form of laziness of mind. They are able to chart clear goals in their life. They don’t desire for themselves but have lofty aspirations to help others. They don’t seek reward and recognition but are driven towards grand success in their endeavours. Their Goals are of great magnitude and are always selfless. They don’t seek wealth for themselves, and yet money chases them.
They know that life is a journey, and it can’t be without desires, for aspiration is to reach a goal is also a Desire. They know that they can’t escape desire, so they desire not for self but for others.
Therefore despite having a life full of work, despite living life in completeness, despite being immersed in this material work, they are above all Desires.
Despite seeking, they are in a state of Desirelessness.
Despite travelling on a long journey, they are indeed at rest!
Such people attain liberation, such people attain true freedom, such people attain Moksha!
Therefore Krishna is telling Arjun to become a Karma Yogi, to control his mind, to become the master of his mind which he indeed is, and then do his duty, discharge his Dharma, and fight, for he a warrior standing of a battlefield.
Krishna wants Arjun to use the wisdom he is giving him and rise above the attachments he is having and work in a detached manner, without thinking about the fruit of his actions.
Krishna tells Arjun that when a man acts in this manner when a man acts in Karma Yoga, he attains true liberation!
