MOKSA. — M., from the root mū, “to liberate, to release,” signifies liberation from saṃsāra, the continuous passage of souls from one form of existence to another as a result of karma (q.v.). Besides m., other synonyms derived from the same root are mukti, vimukti, and vimokṣa; also apa-varga, nirvṛti, and nirvāṇa. The religions and philosophical systems that aim at liberation from saṃsāra, though seeking a single goal, differ in the means by which they attain II. Without attempting to survey all the ways of liberation, we shall cite only a few examples drawn from the most important orthodox systems.
In Vedānta (q.v.), which is the most widespread philosophical system among the educated classes of modern India, m. is attained by recognizing the substantial identity of the individual soul (ātman) with the universal soul (Brahman [q.v.]). “He who knows himself to be Brahman becomes all this universe,” says the Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad, I, 4, 10. Intuitive knowledge of cosmic unity is already liberation, but life continues by virtue of karma until the exhaustion of merit and demerit from previously performed actions. Death then brings about the union of the liberated soul with Brahman (God). The schools of Vedānta are not in agreement regarding the nature of this union, which, according to Bādarāyaṇa, does not destroy individuality, whereas, according to Śaṅkara, more faithful to the thought of the Upaniṣads (q.v.), it consists in a theosis that is a complete fusion of the individual soul with Brahman. Opposed to the pantheistic monism of Vedānta is the atheistic dualism of Sāṃkhya. Souls and matter, equally eternal and inert, are distinctly separate. Liberation (m., apavarga) is attained through “discriminative knowledge,” which reveals the absolute distinction between the subject of knowledge and the internal organ, which is purely material. In Vaiśeṣika, liberation (m., apavarga) is attained by right knowledge of the six categories (padārtha), which are believed to encompass all that exists. Moral conduct and good works prepare the soul to receive truth, but they cannot of themselves confer liberation, which is not a state of beatitude. Joy, like pain—its inseparable companion—are qualities of the soul, and the liberated soul, devoid of qualities, is pure substance, eternally free from pain. In Nyāya, which may be considered the complement of Vaiśeṣika, the liberating function is attributed to perfect knowledge of the sixteen logical concepts, also called padārtha by analogy with the categories of Vaiśeṣika, though they are not true categories.