Unlocking Moksha: The Quest to Conquer Sorrow and Exit the Worldly Simulation
Have you ever considered an exit from life, painlessly, knowing someone just like you would seamlessly replace you, leaving your loved ones unaffected? A recent social experiment posed this exact question, and surprisingly, over half of the respondents chose not to take the pill. This reveals a profound truth: despite life's inevitable suffering, our will to live is remarkably strong. We aren't afraid of death's pain; rather, we possess a deep-seated fear of losing this life. Reasons varied, from not wanting to waste accumulated experiences and hard work to a belief that interfering with nature, a divine creation, is wrong, especially given how difficult human life is to obtain.
This inherent refusal to succumb to sorrow, this desire to conquer it, is precisely what the concept of Moksha (liberation) encapsulates. Welcome to Hyper Quest, where we delve into whether Moksha is merely a religious fantasy or a cosmic event amenable to scientific inquiry. Could life be a simulation, and Moksha a "reset button" to exit it?
The Elusive Nature of Happiness and the Primacy of Sorrow
In Sanatana Dharma, Moksha is one of the four 'Purusharthas' (goals of human life), alongside Dharma (duty), Artha (wealth), and Kama (desire). To conquer sorrow, we must first understand its nature.
At our core, humans pursue two things: avoiding sorrow and attaining happiness. However, ancient sages and seers recognized a critical flaw in this pursuit: the inclination towards happiness is, in fact, an inclination towards sorrow. They believed that happiness, as we perceive it, is an illusion of the mind.
Consider these observations about happiness and sorrow:
• Spontaneity: Happiness requires constant striving, while sorrow arises spontaneously and comes to you on its own.
• Duration: Even if achieved, happiness is short-lived and eventually defeated by sorrow.
• Accompanying Sorrows: Happiness often comes with the inherent sorrow of fearing its end. For example, we don't consider breathing happiness, but its obstruction instantly makes breathing feel like happiness. This suggests happiness is merely a perception, or more accurately, the absence of sorrow.
Sorrow, unlike happiness, has a fundamental existence. This was accepted by all sages, whether atheistic or theistic. They concluded that nothing in the world inherently brings lasting happiness through engagement. Thus, the pursuit of happiness itself becomes a pursuit of sorrow, for everything is sorrowful. This led the sages to advise choosing the path of withdrawal (Nivritti) over the path of engagement (Pravritti), as only through withdrawal can sorrows be truly ended and conquered. This absolute cessation of sorrow is universally defined as Moksha across various philosophies like Nyaya Sutras, Vaisheshika Sutras, Samkhya Sutras, and Buddhist scriptures.
A Scientific Analogy: Perceiving the Negligible
To offer a unique perspective, imagine a vast hall filled to the brim with countless diamonds, with only a single mustard seed present. In this scenario, you would overwhelmingly see diamonds, not the mustard seed. However, in real life, our experience is the exact opposite: we only see the mustard seed, not the diamonds.
This analogy relates to our perception of reality:
• Matter vs. Space: The things around us are composed of 99.999% space and a negligible 0.001% matter. An atom, the basic building block, is largely empty space, with its mass-containing nucleus being a mere speck.
• Our Conditioned Intellect: Despite this reality, our intellect is wired to focus on the negligible matter, not the all-pervading space (or Self/Atman). Our experiences—family, friends, emotions, and the sorrows arising from them—are all material, composed of this negligible matter.
• The Bound State: We remain bound to this material world and trapped in the sorrows it generates because our focus is on the almost non-existent 'mustard seed' of matter, rather than the infinite 'diamonds' of space or the Self.
The key to liberation, therefore, lies in shifting our mind's focus from matter to space, from the inert to the conscious. This is about changing our consciousness.
The Path to Moksha: A Step-by-Step Unveiling (Nyaya Sutras)
The Mundaka Upanishad states that Moksha is not attained by merely listening, reading, or discoursing about the Self (Atman). Instead, it requires direct realization and becoming one with the Self. Maharishi Gautama, in the Nyaya Sutra, outlines a step-by-step procedure for attaining Moksha, which is essentially achieving victory over sorrows and destroying them:
1. Destruction of False Knowledge: This is the starting point.
2. Destruction of Flaws: Once false knowledge is destroyed, the flaws arising from it are destroyed.
3. Destruction of Tendency (Pravritti): With flaws gone, the tendency to act is destroyed.
4. Destruction of Birth: The destruction of tendency leads to the destruction of birth.
5. Freedom from Sorrows: Finally, the destruction of birth frees one from sorrows.
Let's break down these steps:
1. False Knowledge (Mithya Jnana)
As we discussed, our perception is fixed on the limited, inert matter, neglecting the all-pervading Self (Atman). This is false knowledge. Our physical eyes, being made of matter, can only perceive matter. To shift our focus to the conscious element, we must turn inwards, at the level of consciousness. This process begins when, in a conscious state, we truly understand that our body, mind, intellect, and the world we perceive as real are all ultimately false. As long as this false knowledge persists, we remain focused on the inert and are unable to perceive the all-pervading Self.
2. Flaws (Doshas): Attachment, Aversion, and Delusion
When you focus on matter, some things appear good (favorable to your body), leading to 'Raga' (attachment). Others appear bad (unfavorable), leading to 'Dvesha' (aversion). When attachment and aversion take hold, delusion ('Moha') is born. These three—attachment, aversion, and delusion—are major flaws that arise directly from false knowledge.
3. Tendency (Pravritti)
These flaws give rise to tendency (Pravritti), which is the performance of actions.
• If you have attachment, you desire things that bring happiness, leading you to perform actions to acquire them.
• If you have aversion, you perform actions to avoid what you dislike. Thus, actions, or tendencies, are born from flaws.
4. The Unseen (Adrishta) and Rebirth
From these actions, the unseen ('adrishta') is born, which manifests as sin ('paap') and merit ('punya'). These are like currency that you must spend. You experience these sins and merits in your current life and continue to perform daily actions. Since this 'currency' is rarely fully spent in one lifetime, it leads to rebirth to experience the remaining fruits of actions. This cycle means a new birth occurs due to tendencies, leading to experiences of happiness and, more predominantly, sorrow, making the world an "abode of sorrow".
This cycle—from false knowledge to flaws, to actions, to sin/merit, to rebirth, and back to sorrow—continues endlessly. To achieve Moksha and completely destroy sorrow, we must end false knowledge, its root.
The Realization of Atman: The Only True Path
The key to ending false knowledge is realization of the Atman (Self). This isn't just about intellectual understanding; it requires a direct vision and realization that you are pure consciousness, the Atman.
Think of a mobile phone analogy for a 'Jiva' (living being):
• The mobile hardware is the body of the Jiva.
• The apps and chats are its karma.
• The one operating the mobile is the Atman.
• If the Atman believes the mobile's activity is the only truth, that illusion is its causal body, and this entire system is the Jiva.
However, when the Jiva understands that the Atman, the operator, is the sole truth and is eternal—unchanged by mobile breakage, app uninstallation, or new phones—then the existence of the Jiva ends. Along with the Jiva's existence, the world, perceived as a simulation, also ends. The Jiva becomes free from this world-like simulation and becomes established in the Atman.
The Role of Traditional Practices
So, what about traditional beliefs that bathing in the Ganga, dying in Kashi, or reciting scriptures like the Ramayana leads to liberation? These methods, found in the Puranas, serve as the path of purification of the mind.
The problem, as explained from a scientific viewpoint, lies in our mind/brain being conditioned to only perceive inert matter, not the vast space or truth. A conditioned, impure mind cannot see the truth, just as a dirty mirror cannot clearly reflect a face. When you engage in virtuous acts like pilgrimages, associating with saints, reading scriptures, or chanting divine names, the "dirt" on your mind is cleansed.
This "dirt" is the impurity of considering the impermanent as permanent—attaching to family, work, friends, and their associated transient experiences.
When your mind, intellect, and ego (your entire mental faculty) are purified, you realize your true self and attain Moksha. Virtuous and religious deeds prepare your mind, shifting its perspective from matter to consciousness. This allows you to exit the illusory simulation created by your intellect. Engagement only brings more sorrow; true freedom comes from disengagement (Nivritti).
Conclusion
Moksha, whether called Apavarga, Kaivalya, or Nirvana, is about liberation from worldly life and the complete destruction of sorrows. While Moksha lies outside the scope of physical science (as it deals with exiting reality, not merely understanding it), the analogies presented help bridge the understanding.
This liberation can be achieved even while living, through self-knowledge, where new karmic fruits cease to be born; this is called Jeevan Mukti (liberation while living). When the body also perishes, it is known as Videha Mukti (liberation without a body).
To further understand your own nature and the mix of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas in your personality, which influences your actions and choices, you can take a free personality test on shikshanam.com based on Samkhya philosophy. If you struggle with emotional challenges, the Vedic Emotional Intelligence module, also based on Samkhya philosophy, offers a customized journey to help you break free from toxic emotional traps.
We hope this video helped you understand the profound concept of Moksha. Stay tuned for more insights into science and philosophy on Hyper Quest!