The Upanishads are a collection of texts that outline some of the core philosophical concepts of Hinduism. Amongst these are moksha, dharma and advaita. In Sanskrit, moksha means ‘release’ from the cycle of birth and death (samsara) - it is freedom from attachment to materialism in life and detachment from the human world. There are multiple ways to attain moksha, which will be discussed in this essay. Dharma, in sanskrit, means ‘duty’ or ‘ethics’- these are the duties and morals followed by Hindus either pertaining to their individual selves (visesa dharma) or to the bigger world (samanya dharma). Following dharma is essential to attaining moksha. Advaita, in Sanskrit, literally means ‘non-dualism’. This ‘non-dualism’ is described as ‘no
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He created a shelter hidden from the eyes of the world and passed his time there, detached from the demands of human life. He sought freedom in his time in isolation however, some of his actions clashed with the social norms of the local community and caused harm to others by being a continuous but unknown threat to their lives. Although his way of life is foreign to Westerners and may seem slightly unethical, it is not so black and white for the Hindu society. Instead, it complements the concepts taught by the Upanishads in the context of moksha and dharma. In understanding Knight’s sense of self it is first important to understand what ‘self’ means within the Hindu traditions. The advaita view in the Vedantic traditions describes the non-duality of the ‘self’. To think that atman is distinct and exists in separation from the absolute is to be ‘ignorant of the nature of the true Self’ (Rodrigues 2006, 51). Thus, is a maya or an illusion to think that the ‘self’ as we know it exists individually and not as a part of the brahman; the ‘atman is identical with brahman’ (Heehs 2002, 88). The brahman is the …show more content…
It literally means ‘release’ and there are multiple ways to attain moksha. The three yogas or disciplines- karma yoga (yoga through the path of action), jñana yoga (yoga through the path of knowledge) and bhakti yoga (yoga through the path of devotion) and practicing the right dharma are examples of ways to attain moksha. In the Bhagavad Gita, a discourse by the Lord Krishna to Arjuna during the Mahabharata, Krishna tells Arjuna that ‘whosoever takes refuge in me, whether they be born in sin or are women or traders or even labourers, they also reach the highest goal’ (Heehs 2002, 149). This is an example of attaining moksha through bhakti yoga. Moksha can also be attained by realizing advaita and accepting the absolute as reality, not focusing on the individual is a separate. In Vedic literature, Moksha can be defined as when the ‘mind is equanimous, untroubled by joy or sorrow, freed from bondage, withdrawn from outer things, concentrated on the self’ (Heehs 2002, 153). In relation to Chris Knight, he says that he ‘was completely free’ (Finkel 2014, 14), he was ‘just there’ (Finkel 2014, 14), i.e, free from bondage to attachment, untroubled by worldly emotions and and concentrated on the concept of
He created a shelter hidden from the eyes of the world and passed his time there, detached from the demands of human life. He sought freedom in his time in isolation however, some of his actions clashed with the social norms of the local community and caused harm to others by being a continuous but unknown threat to their lives. Although his way of life is foreign to Westerners and may seem slightly unethical, it is not so black and white for the Hindu society. Instead, it complements the concepts taught by the Upanishads in the context of moksha and dharma. In understanding Knight’s sense of self it is first important to understand what ‘self’ means within the Hindu traditions. The advaita view in the Vedantic traditions describes the non-duality of the ‘self’. To think that atman is distinct and exists in separation from the absolute is to be ‘ignorant of the nature of the true Self’ (Rodrigues 2006, 51). Thus, is a maya or an illusion to think that the ‘self’ as we know it exists individually and not as a part of the brahman; the ‘atman is identical with brahman’ (Heehs 2002, 88). The brahman is the …show more content…
It literally means ‘release’ and there are multiple ways to attain moksha. The three yogas or disciplines- karma yoga (yoga through the path of action), jñana yoga (yoga through the path of knowledge) and bhakti yoga (yoga through the path of devotion) and practicing the right dharma are examples of ways to attain moksha. In the Bhagavad Gita, a discourse by the Lord Krishna to Arjuna during the Mahabharata, Krishna tells Arjuna that ‘whosoever takes refuge in me, whether they be born in sin or are women or traders or even labourers, they also reach the highest goal’ (Heehs 2002, 149). This is an example of attaining moksha through bhakti yoga. Moksha can also be attained by realizing advaita and accepting the absolute as reality, not focusing on the individual is a separate. In Vedic literature, Moksha can be defined as when the ‘mind is equanimous, untroubled by joy or sorrow, freed from bondage, withdrawn from outer things, concentrated on the self’ (Heehs 2002, 153). In relation to Chris Knight, he says that he ‘was completely free’ (Finkel 2014, 14), he was ‘just there’ (Finkel 2014, 14), i.e, free from bondage to attachment, untroubled by worldly emotions and and concentrated on the concept of