Understanding Mok: Conceptualizations of Liberation in Indian Philosophical Traditions

Abstract

With the exception of Charvaka which is the lone materialistic system of Indian Philosophical tradition, almost everyone knows in the world of religion that moksa is the summumbonum of life i.e. the highest good of life. It is of course sometimes been named as Nirvana, Kaivalya, Aparigrah etc. Moksa is a non - moral value symbolizing a status free from all worldly limitations. It is freedom from time, birth, death and thus from all consequent suffering of worldly existence. These are some general points about the nature of Moksa to which all the systems agree, but they differ significantly about other details of its nature. A brief survey of the concept of Moksa with reference to the Indian systems may pave the way for a fuller idea as to what is understood to be the highest good of life in the Indian tradition.