Mukti or liberation is the last of the
9 fundamentals. It is also known as Moksha, salvation or emancipation.
Followers of almost all religions usually have aspiration for gaining
liberation but they hardly have clear concept of that term. They have been
told that liberation is the abode of happiness. Many of them therefore
imagine that in the liberation stage they would forever get all types of
material comforts in abundance. Many of them think that by following
religion, they would please the Almighty w ho would graciously permit them
to abide in heaven, where they would get whatever they desire. But what
would happen if they somehow happen to displease Him? The Almighty would
then send them to hell. Isn�t that? Therefore, pleasing the Almighty does
not serve the purpose of gaining the happiness, because after a spell of
so called happiness they have to face misery and pain once again. Thus
their longed for happiness turns out to be a fiction.
This brings us face to face with the
concept of God. Can there be a God who would be pleased by worship and
would therefore bestow wealth and happiness on worshippers and who would
harm the nonworshippers? Such an entity can be a despotic ruler or a self
centered man of means or any one else, but not God. Being self centered or
getting pleased with praise is not a Godly virtue. Again, is it possible
for God or Almighty to create universe or anything else out of nothing and
destroy it, if He gets disgusted with it? The dispassionate reply will be
�No�. Moreover, why should He create? If the reply is �Out of free will�,
the question arises, �Why should He will it?�. Even if we admit His will
and capacity to create, the question arises, �Why he creates anyth ing
that is bad, ugly, wicked, miserable, painful etc.?� There are number of
such questions that would tend any intelligent person to think that there
is something wrong with the prevalent concept about Creator. Does it not
look like a myth? Can there not be a scientific, sensible concept?
At least 2500 years back, Jainism
exploded this myth. It boldly refused to believe in a Creator. Without the
aid of present day science, it proclaimed that nothing can be produced out
of nothing and the original substances or matter, as science would call
it, is indestructible. Every such substance exists of its own, with its
own properties and would continue to exist in one form or another.
Whatever products that we come across, are merely transformations, not
creations. They are produced out of somethin g, that existed before. As we
have seen in chapter 7, Jainism believes in six original substances of
which soul is the only conscious substance. Jainism is therefore concerned
with its well being and happiness. After carefully studying living
organism, it came to the conclusion that all living beings are embodied
souls. Every soul is an independent entity and has been undergoing
embodiment after embodiment as a result of bondage of Karma.
For its liberation therefore Jainism
does not look for whim or favor of an Almighty. Its concept of liberation
is totally different and is based on sound scientific principles. It lays
down that all material situations are compositions and no composition can
last forever. Our bodies too are compositions and are bound to decompose
sooner or later. �Material happiness� is therefore a contradiction in
terms, because it is not real happiness that does not last forever. True
happiness cannot be obtained from any external situation. That happiness
lies within the soul. Whatever phantom of happiness we experience in life
is due to the existence of soul within the body. No dead body has ever
experienced happiness or any other feeling. It is not the property of p
hysical body to experience anything. Happiness is the inherent property of
soul. This inherent happiness does not manifest on account of physical and
mental limitations resulting from the bondage of Karma. Everlasting
happiness can manifest, when soul sha kes off all its bondage.
For this purpose we studied the nature
of soul, the bondage of Karmas that obscure and obstruct the manifestation
of its properties and how to shake off the bondage. We saw that soul is a
substance on its own. Not being a composition, it is not subject to
decomposition. Therefore it is eternal and lasts forever. It acquires
bondage on account of Asrava of Karmas that can be eradicated by Samvar
and Nirjara. This eradication process has two stages, semifinal and final.
Semifinal stage is attained when delu sion is totally overcome and all
Ghatiya or defiling Karmas are destroyed. This is the state of omniscience
or Kewaljnan. Such omniscient entity is known as Arihant. After attaining
Kewaljnan that entity may continue to live, if He has still to undergo Ay
u, Naam, Gotra and Vedaniya Karmas. These four are Aghatiya Karmas that
terminate with the termination of the life span. For instance, Lord
Mahavir lived for 30 years after attaining Kevaljnan.
With the termination of Aghatiya
Karmas, soul attains ultimate liberation. This is the final state which is
known as the state of Siddha. Since the bondage stands finally erased,
soul is forever freed of embodiment and all other limitations. It is now
pur e consciousness whose nature of infinite enlightenment and infinite
happiness manifests by itself, because there are no longer any factors
that obstruct or inhibit its full manifestation. Even a slight reflection
of our routine experience would indicate t hat desire is the root cause of
all miseries, problems and unhappiness. In the unembodied state, there is
no physical body and hence no physical requirements. Similarly there is no
apparatus like mind that would desire anything. That desireless state is
the blissful state of liberation.
Every soul has sooner or later to
undergo this process of erasing the bondage of Karmas. Till then there is
no end to the cycle of birth and rebirth. Arihantas and Siddhas have set
the models for our purpose. They are therefore worshipped by aspirants. I
n common parlance, they are Jain Gods. They do not bestow liberation or
any other favor on worshippers. Liberation is to be gained by one�s own
efforts. Listening to the teachings of Arihantas, while they are alive,
would provide directions for attaining liberation. Devotion to them and to
Siddhas simply provides incentive to the aspirants to strive for
attainment of ultimate happiness. They therefore serve as ideals for
devotees.
Questions may arise: �What would be
the form and shape of the liberated soul?� �Where would it stay, move,
rest or sleep?� �what would it be doing?� Answers are simple. Not being a
physical entity, it has no form; it does not move and does not need rest o
r sleep. Being intangible, its shape is invisible; but the seers have
stated that its size would be equal to 2/3rd the size of the
last embodiment. Bondage of Karma was holding it. Now being freed of all
bondage it rises up in the space and stops at the t op of Lokakash. That
part of the space is known in Jain terminology as Siddhashila, the abode
of liberated souls. Beyond that it is Alokakash where there is no
Dharmastikaya. So there is no movement beyond that point. Liberated souls
continually stay engr ossed in their nature of infinite awareness,
infinite enlightenment, infinite energy and infinite bliss. That state is
irreversible and as such, it stays for ever.
