What is the significance of Samsara and Moksha in liberation?

The ultimate goal of human existence is liberation. While the cycle of Samsara means the cycle of birth and death, Moksh implies liberation from this very cycle. In the cycle of Samsara, there is enormous suffering, and in Moksh, lies eternal bliss.

While passing through the cycle of Samsara, one evolves and develops life after life, through the various experiences that one gathers at every point in life. These experiences shape the existence of the living being. Hence, in these experiences lies the significance of the cycle of Samsara. And when every experience is completely gained, one attains Moksha i.e. the ultimate liberation.

So what are these experiences one is taking, and how, why and what for, what is one looking for, and what is one seeking…. Come, let’s understand.

The Enlightened One explains:

The ego hunts for happiness in this relative world (Samsara). It settles for some happiness, then, experiences that there is no real happiness here, and so, moves on to the next relative object (worldly things); once again he hunts for joy, he experiences that there is no happiness here either, and again moves onto the next temporary object.

This cycle goes on life after life, wherein one keeps taking different kinds of experiences and concluding that there is no real happiness in this, there is something beyond this experience. In the process, one is silently progressing on the path of development. Ultimately, when he realizes the Self and experiences the Soul, he tastes real happiness and settles there permanently (that’s what Moksh is all about)!

Thus, the experiences gained in each life shape the trajectory of the living beings' journey through the cycle of Samsara by recognizing the temporary nature of worldly pleasures, and finally, upon seeking the permanent happiness that remains forever, one eventually gets to the ultimate goal of human existence, which is Moksha i.e. the ultimate liberation.

Samsara (Cycle of Birth, Death, and Rebirth):

Samsara refers to the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Until there is ignorance, one remains bound in this endless loop of taking birth, and upon death, leaving one body and taking a rebirth in another body. Until one develops and assumes human existence, every time, one gets a new body, based on the theory of evolution. Once one has developed enough to come into the human life form, thereafter, the next body after death could be celestial, human, animal, or hell, depending upon the kind of karma one has bound in that life. Samsara is characterized by the suffering (the good and bad experiences) that one undergoes on account of the karma or the coverings over the Soul, and when all coverings are shed off, one attains Moksha.

The Enlightened One describes this in detail…

The fact is that every living being is a Soul. And every Soul is God (Absolute Knowledge, Parmatma). What has happened is that the Soul is completely covered. There are numerous veils of ignorance over the Soul.

Suppose there’s a 1000-watt bulb, and if, on it, fifty-eighty cloth pieces are thrown, then no light of the bulb will come out. However inside, the 1000-watt bulb is complete, it has full light. But coverings are present. Similarly here, in the case of every living being, at the beginning, it is a covered Soul.

When one Soul is liberated (Moksha) from this world (Samsara), one Soul enters into the world (Samsara). That Soul is in complete raw form, with all covering over it. Inside, the light of the Soul is full. But it is covered with veils (of ignorance).

When little covering breaks, it comes into a one-sensed living being. Then, when some more coverings break, it reincarnates as a two-sensed living being. As coverings continue to break, the living being ascends to a three-sensed living being, a four-sensed living being, and a five-sensed living being. Then one reincarnates as a human. The coverings (over the Soul) keep breaking and the development keeps happening.

Then, religious development takes place. When one attains Self-Realization, thereafter new coverings shall no more come, and old coverings will slowly, slowly give their effect and leave. When not a single covering remains over the Soul, the Soul is liberated then (Moksh). The Soul, with no covering remaining on it, such an Absolute Soul is called Parmatma (God).

Knowledge of our true Self (Self-Realization) is the starting point of Moksha

Moksha means freedom from suffering. Moksha means liberation.

Moksha is the ultimate goal of human life. It represents liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. This becomes possible only after Self-realisation i.e. realizing our true self, the pure Soul, which is an abode of eternal bliss, and thereby breaking free from the cycle of birth and rebirth, from the cycle of suffering.

It is said that true moksha can be found within oneself, even when amidst family and friends. This happens when one gains knowledge of the Self. So, Self-realisation, when achieved through the grace of an Enlightened One (Gnani Purush), marks the beginning of moksha in this very life. The first experience of moksha happens when we experience freedom from all suffering in this very life, and the final stage of moksha is attained when all karmic ties are resolved and over.

Moksha: The Ultimate Spiritual Goal: https://dbf.adalaj.org/KQsC26SN