Moksha in English means salvation. Hindus believe in the doctrine of karma. According to this doctrine, there are four aims in life, namely dharma (duty), Artha (wealth), kama (desire), and moksha (salvation). Each is equally important. But moksha is the ultimate ideal of human life (purushartha). If one attains Moksha, one is set free from the eternal cycle of birth and rebirth. It is therefore imperative for all human beings to try and achieve moksha.
Good deeds, pious feelings, and living your life according to the ideals of dharma can help you attain moksha. In a lifetime people build up karma, both good and bad, based on their actions within that lifetime. This karma affects their future lives and existences. People must take responsibility for their actions either within this life time or the next. Death is a key part of this cycle and is treated with specific importance. Death is the last samsara (cycle of life) referred to as the ‘last sacrifice’.
It is the transcendence of all arthas. It is achieved by overcoming ignorance and desires. It is a paradox in the sense that overcoming desires also includes overcoming the desire for moksha itself. It can be achieved both in this life and after death.
In several tribal cultures, the soul is believed to migrate from one body to another. The souls of ancestors are believed to be reincarnated in the forms of infants or even animals. The condition of the soul and the quality of the rebirth is determined by the cumulative total of your past karma (deeds). If your good deeds outweigh your bad ones, then the soul is liberated from the eternal cycle of birth and rebirth. This liberation or salvation is called moksha.
Attaining Moksha or salvation is important for liberating the soul from the eternal cycle of birth and rebirth. Since our soul is eternal and never dies, it simply passes on to another body. The Bhagavad Gita states that just like a man sheds off its old clothes and wears new ones, so does the soul. It simply casts off an old body and enters a new one. This continues until one is liberated from the cycle of birth and rebirth and attains moksha.
Some traditions present the plurality of Indian religions as different paths to moksha. More frequently, however, one tradition will understand its rivals as lower and less effective paths that ultimately must be complemented with its own.
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