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In Sanatan Hindu religion and Vedic philosophy, ‘Moksha’ is considered the ultimate and ultimate goal of human life. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha – Moksha has been given the best place among these four efforts, which directly means that the soul becomes free forever from the transit of 84 lakh births, worldly troubles and the endless cycle of repeated birth and death. According to spiritual beliefs, man takes birth again and again in this world bound by the web of his accumulated, destined and active deeds. By doing auspicious and virtuous deeds, a person gets short-term happiness in the heavenly worlds, but as soon as the virtues diminish, the soul has to return to the mortal world. On the contrary, as a result of sinful deeds, the soul has to suffer the tortures of hell and wander in the lower worlds. In ‘Garuda Purana’, which has a special place among the eighteen Mahapuranas, Lord Shri Hari Vishnu has given a clear advice to his vehicle bird king Garuda that only the attainment of worldly glory, opulence or heaven is not the true destination of life, but cutting off all titles and bondages and merging in the supreme abode (Vaikuntha) of God is the true salvation.
The basic message of Garuda Purana and Srimad Bhagavad Gita is that man can never remain without action even for a moment. The law of creation itself is based on karma, but the form of karma determines the salvation or bondage of the living being. The first and essential step to open the doors of salvation is ‘selfless action’. When a person, while doing any work, completely separates himself from the desire for its results, fame, respect or material gain, then he is not bound by the bondage of karma. Serving the helpless without selfishness, giving food to the hungry, fulfilling one’s family and moral responsibilities towards the society with full sincerity purifies the conscience. Selfless action does not at all mean that a person should become inactive or do any work without worrying about the consequences, rather its true essence is that a person should do the work with full efficiency and integrity, but its purpose should not be only for personal gain or satisfaction of ego but should be for public welfare and dedication to God. When the feeling of selfishness ends from the heart, the knots of accumulated karma automatically start opening.
The second most powerful and easy means of the path of salvation is exclusive devotion and surrender to God. In Kaliyuga, where complex yagya, rigorous penance and long-term meditation are not possible for every ordinary householder, only devotion is capable of sailing the soul. The essence of surrender is to have unwavering faith in God, to accept every action as God’s will and to surrender one’s existence at the feet of God. Devotion does not only mean lighting formal incense sticks, but also infusing compassion, mercy, truth, forgiveness and love towards all living beings in one’s conduct. The person who gives up the ego of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ from his heart and accepts that whatever is happening in this world is governed by the power of that Supreme Consciousness, the demonic tendencies like lust, anger, greed and jealousy automatically start diminishing from within him. Only a calm and honest mind becomes capable of realizing God.
According to Garuda Purana, ‘Bhagavannam Sankirtan’ is the most accurate and simple way to purify the mind polluted by the effects of Kaliyuga. The mind is fickle by nature and it constantly runs towards objects, desires and material things. Continuous mental chanting of any of the holy names of God acts as a powerful spiritual shield to control and concentrate this wandering mind. Be it the Mahamantra of ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’, ‘Hare Krishna’ Sankirtan or remembering the name ‘Ram’, these sound waves purify the subtle sanskars of the soul. Along with this, the company of saints, sages and Sadgurus (Satsang) is considered very important in the spiritual journey. Sadhguru provides wisdom to the living being as to what is the world and what is the truth. When the seeker follows the guidance given by the saints, he avoids worldly temptations and illusions and moves straight on the path of salvation.
The biggest and most inaccessible mountain in the path of salvation is man’s own attachment and ego. Excessive attachment to money, position, social prestige, glory and relatives binds the soul of a person tightly in the shackles of this mortal world. Many people harbor the misconception that giving up attachment means leaving the family or taking retirement, whereas the truth of the scriptures is completely different from this. Sanatan tradition says that man should live like a ‘lotus in water’. As a householder, it is mandatory dharma to fulfill every responsibility towards our parents, children and society with the highest devotion, but with the feeling that all this is a theater and we are only an actor. When a person starts considering himself only a trustee or servant instead of asserting his ownership rights over property and relationships, then the veil of attachment is removed. It is this mental detachment that frees man from the fear of death and the anguish of life.
The final step to salvation is enlightenment, which means knowing that ‘I am not this mortal body of flesh and blood, but an immortal, immortal and indestructible soul.’ A person who assimilates the universal truth that death of every being born is certain and this material world is transitory, the renunciation within him becomes mature. A seeker who considers death not as the end, but as a stage to shed old clothes and start a new journey, never gets distracted by worldly happiness-sorrows, gains-losses or victory-defeat. When a person reaches this pinnacle of self-knowledge, then all the ignorance and desires are destroyed from within him. There is a clear mention in Garuda Purana that the person who attains this wisdom while alive, after death, freed from the fear of any Yamloka or Yamdoot, directly attains a place in Vaikuntha Loka and is freed from the bondage of birth and death forever.