What is moksha? · मोक्ष

Moksha is the highest goal of Hindu life — freedom from the cycle of rebirth and from all suffering. But is it merging into God, living forever in his presence, or simply waking up? The traditions answer differently.

Mokṣa (or mukti) comes from muc, "to release". It is freedom from samsara, the cycle of birth and death, and from the ignorance and desire that drive it. Unlike the other aims of life, it is not something gained — the Upanishads say it is the recognition of what one always was.

Remarkably, many traditions say moksha does not have to wait for death. A person can be jīvanmukta — liberated while living. What would such a person be like? The Bhagavad Gita describes them in a series of verses that Gandhi recited every evening…

• The sthitaprajna — one of steady wisdom
• What moksha is, by tradition
• The paths

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• Bhagavad Gita — 2.54–72
• Mundaka Upanishad — 3.2.9
• Yoga Sutras — 4.34