Eternal India Encyclopedia

PERCEPTIONS

Eternal India encyclopedia

MUKTHI-MOKSHA (RELEASE OF COSMIC BLISS)

even though the body is slain, the soul is not.” “As a man shedding worn-out gar- ments, takes other new ones, likewise the embodied soul, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others which are new.” “Weapons cannot cut it nor can fire bum it; water cannot wet it nor can wind dry it.” “For this soul is incapable of being cut; it is proof against fire, impervious to water and undriable as well. This soul is eternal, omnipresent, immovable, constant and ev- erlasting.” “This soul is unmanifest; it is unthink- able; and it is spoken of as immutable. Therefore, knowing this as such, you should not grieve.” “And, Arjuna, if you should suppose this soul to be subject to constant birth and death, even then you should not grieve like this.” “For in that case death is certain for the born, and rebirth is inevitable for the dead. You should not, therefore, grieve over the inevitable.” — “Bhagavad Gita” “Death is only a change that gives the soul a partial liberation, releasing him from the heaviest of his chains. It is but a birth into a wider life, a return after brief exile on earth to the soul's true home, a passing from a prison into the freedom of the upper air. Death is the greatest of earth's illusions; there is no death, but only changes in life- conditions. Life is continuous, unbroken, unbreakable',, "unborn, eternal, ancient, con- stant," it perishes not with the perishing of the bodies that clothe it.” — Annie Besant “Uttering the one-syllabled 'OM' — the (symbol of) BRAHMAN — and re- membering Me, he who departs, leaving the body, attains the Supreme Goal.” - VIII/13 “And whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone, at the time of his death, he attains My being; there is no doubt about this.” - VIII/5 —Swami Chinmayananda “The Holy Geeta”

'Contact of saints gives detachment, which in turn brings freedom from delusion. Freedom from delusion results in perfect stillness of mind which grants Mukthi or lib- eration-in-life'. Practice preparation for death. . Before thou art carried away dead to the Destroyer, by the royal command of Yama, by his dreadful messengers, strive after rectitude. Before the impassive lord Yama, whom none can oppose, snatches away thy life with its roots and kinships; before the wind which preceedes his blows, before thou art carried away, prac- tice preparation for death/ Before Death, conveyed by his charioteer, Disease, vio- lently dissolves thy body, and ends thy life, practise great austerity.' Before the fearful wolves which dwell in men's bod- ies rush on thee from every side, strive af- ter holiness. Before all alone, thou be- holdest the darkness, make haste; before thou seest the golden trees on the moun- tain, submit. Before evil associates and foes that look like friends, pervert thy views, seek what is highest. Amass that wealth which has nothing to fear from kings or thieves, and which does not des- ert thee in death. Neither mother, nor children, nor kinsmen, nor dear familiar friends follow a man in his straits; he de- parts alone. The deeds alone, good or bad, which he has formerly done, are his fel- low-travellers when he goes to the next world. The collections of gold and gems which he has made, by good or evil means, do not help him when his body is dis- solved, When thou goest thither, there is no witness of the deeds which thou hast or hast not done, equal to thine own self. Amass righteousness, for, thy life is passing away. -Mahabharatha “On the occasion of a death some per- sons lament and bewail very violently; while there are others who make it a point to dislike food and drink. But such men should think deeply on the text of the Vendidad, and should bear in mind that no one in this world has brought with him a document exempting him from death. Sooner or later every one has to die.” -Zoroastrian Dharmaniti “The soul is never born nor dies; nor does it become only after being born. For it is unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient;

Who am I? I am the witness of inner light, I am the witness of higher flights, I am the inward illumination, I am tested by logic of tradition, I am perfection, I am spirit, . I am a revolutionary spirit, I am convergence, I am divergence, I am the source of all resurgence, I am infinity, I am diversity, I am a manifestation of divinity.

— "Trikenu" “As a man acts, so does he become. A man of good deeds becomes good, a man of evil deeds becomes evil. A man becomes pure through pure deeds, impure through impure deeds.” “As a man's desire is, so is his destiny. For as his desire is, so is his will; as his will is, so is his deed; and as his deed is, so is his reward, whether good or bad.” “A man acts according to the desires to which he clings. After death he goes to the next world, bearing in his mind the subtle impressions of his deeds; and after reaping there the harvest of his deeds, he returns again to this world of action. Thus he who has desire continues subject to rebirth.” “But he in whom desire is stilled no rebirth. After death having attained to the highest, desiring only the Self, he goes to no other world. Realizing Brahman , he be- comes Brahman. ” “When all the desires which once en- tered into his heart have been driven out by divine knowledge, the mortal, attaining to Brahman , becomes immortal.” “As the slough of a snake lies cast off on an anthill, so lies the body of a man at death; while he, freed from the body, be- comes one with the immortal spirit, Brah- man, the Light Eternal.” — “Bhagavad Gita” “The individuality consists of the Thinker himself, the immortal tree that puts out all these personalities as leaves, to last through the spring, summer, and autumn of human life. All that the leaves take in and assimilate enriches the sap that courses through their veins, and in the autumn this is withdrawn into the parent trunk, and the dry leaf falls and perishes. The Thinker alone lives forever; he is the man for whom "the hour never strikes.” — Annie Besant