Ashtottaram 4

 

 

  4) OṀ MOKṢHA BHŨMYAINAMAH:

           OṀ (AUM) - MOK- ṢHA- BHOO-MYAI - NA--MA- HA

 

          (Mokṣha: Liberation from the cycle of birth and death)

 

 

 

 

 

 

In every religion the scriptures and prophets teach and promise heaven as the ultimate goal of human pursuit. But in our scriptures, it was very clear that going to heaven is only a short stop in the spiritual journey and you enjoy the pleasures and luxuries of heaven till you expend the results of your meritorious actions just like enjoying five star hotel amenities till you can no longer afford it. According to our sacred texts, getting human birth is the ultimate among the 8.4 million live forms. Our mother land gives opportunity to the human being to work out his good and bad fortunes by following different paths like karma yoga, raja yoga, bhakti yoga and ultimately jnāna yoga which exhaust all the karma phala (results of action) as told by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita. So the meaning of liberation means to get out of bondage and the wheel of birth and death which is the ultimate human pursuit.

 

The liberated wise jnāni lives rest of his life like an actor playing his role on the stage. Yogis and ṛishis helped us through their unselfish service to humanity in removing our ignorance about the true nature of our Self and passed on their wisdom and knowledge to us through tradition and heritage. They placed liberation as the ultimate human pursuit and dharma (code of righteousness), artha (wealth) and Kama (desire) being the routine pursuits everyone is after. Mukti, Kaivalya and Nirvaṇa are the terms used by many philosophers without realizing the true meaning of Mokṣha. We also hear about the light from the Jīva (the individual soul) becoming one with the God. All the other paths aid in the purification of the mind which helps attaining that spiritual knowledge.

 

So, the land which teaches beyond heavenly pursuits and gives the opportunity for liberation is praised none other than “mokṣha bhūmi”.