In this article, you’re going to learn about what moksha or spiritual enlightenment is in the modern context and how to attain it.

Most of the articles you’ll read about moksha will dive into Hinduism and scriptural definitions and you’ll likely walk away with more questions than when you first clicked on the page.

Not this time.

Today, we’re going to dive into how moksha is relevant to you and your daily life today and how you can make real progress toward it.

After reading this zero-fluff guide, you will have dispelled widespread myths, transformed your understanding of a popular practice and have a roadmap of exactly what you need to do to start your journey toward spiritual liberation and enlightenment.

What is Moksha

Before you can understand what moksha is, you need to understand the context.

In popular media today, you’ve likely seen the quote, “You’re not a human being having a spiritual experience, you are a spiritual being having a human experience.”

This to some extent is true.

Your true nature is unrelated to your human body.

The intelligence that animates your body is separate from your body. In fact, that intelligence continues to exist even without the body, this can be observed in sleep when you’re dreaming but not consciously aware of your body.

That intelligence is known by many names such as the Self, your Higher Self, the Being, Consciousness, etc.

Becoming established in consciousness or the Self is moksha, enlightenment or freedom from this human existence.

Moksha in the Modern Context

What does it mean to become established in consciousness?

This is the definition of spiritual enlightenment and liberation. Spiritual enlightenment / liberation is liberation from your mind and the 5 vrittis or modulations of the mind.

This begs the question: How is your mind keeping you bound?

The answer goes beyond the vrittis and dives deep into the panchakosha or the five layers of your existence.

Embedded deep in these layers are vasanas or past impressions on the mind that influence your current behaviour. They show up in your day-to-day life as:

• Likes and dislikes
• Beliefs
• Cravings and aversion
• Labels and identifications
• Thought patterns
• Ideas

All of these things drive you to take certain actions.

You have certainly experienced the intensity of your own mind when it gets stuck on a certain thought or idea.

Until you take the action that your mind is demanding from you, you will not be free from that thought.

The freedom that you’re creating and seeking in your life, is freedom from the misery created by the mind’s endless whims.

When the restlessness in the mind settles down, you’ll find inner peace, clarity and your intuition will become accessible to you.

Moksha in the modern context is a mind that is happy, calm, and free from chronic stress and anxiety.

How to Attain Moksha

To raise your vibration and become established in your inner Being, you must clear out all the past impressions (vasanas) from your mind. These vasanas make up your karma or the things that you must experience in order to attain moksha / enlightenment.

The literal meaning of the word karma is action. It is through the events in your life and life’s emotional storms that you’re able to work through and burn deep-seated karmas that have come to fruition (aka are ready to be released).

It’s often the painful lessons that you learn in life that help you to work through and settle your mind and the tendencies that obscure your vision of the Self.

That’s to say that the inner Being is never away from you. It’s just that your vision of the Being has been obscured from view by your mind.

It is only through inner work and deep healing that you will be able to attain moksha.

Yoga as a Path to Moksha

The most powerful way to clear out past impressions and move forward on the spiritual path is through the ancient practice of yoga.

The word yoga itself comes from the root word ‘yuj’ in Sanskrit which means union – union between the body, breath and mind. When these three are in union, you are able to see the light of the Being.

This practice touches every facet of your life through the 8 limbs of yoga and systematically eliminates all obstacles on your path to liberation.

Dive deep into the purpose of yoga and the deep connection between yoga and spirituality here.

Renunciation as a Path to Moksha

Here is where we’re going to bust a widespread myth.

In the world today, it’s widely believed that you need to become a renunciate in order to obtain liberation.

People renounce their homes, families, and entire lives to go live in ashrams, monasteries or in the forest somewhere in isolation.

This is not what is meant by renunciation.

True renunciation is inner renunciation.

You are only truly free from something when you’re free from it on the inside.

For example, if you have decided to go vegetarian but you can’t stop thinking about meat, then you are not free from it.

Or, if you have stopped seeing someone but you go on thinking about them and ruminating about them inside, then you have not truly let them go.

Inner renunciation is much harder than outer renunciation because it is intangible like the mind.

You can only say that you have renounced something when your mind fully lets go of it and the thought of it does not create any desire or aversion in you.

Yoga and Renunciation

The practice of yoga is such that when practiced, it leads to inner freedom and renunciation. When you are practicing yoga, you are working directly on your inner world.

On the outside, it may appear to be a practice that is heavily centered on the body, but true yoga is an inner experience.

This experience is something that cannot be taught, only transmitted.

This is why different yoga classes will feel different even if they are teaching the same postures; an instructor can only take you as deep into the practice that they themselves have gone.

Most commercial yoga studios are only able to teach you yoga postures rather than bring you the experience of inner peace and stillness that is the natural fruit of a yoga practice. This is because the instructors themselves have not learned or experienced yoga in its authentic essence.

Only teachers connected to an authentic path and lineage of yoga will be able to bring you this experience.

Practicing authentic yoga will result in a natural, gradual and safe inner renunciation of the world while still allowing you to enjoy the world to its fullest.

Viveka and Vairagya are the Keys

The keys – or rather the wheels – that will enable your vehicle to move forward on the path toward moksha or enlightenment are viveka and vairagya – awareness and dispassion.

Viveka

Oftentimes, we are not even aware that we have gotten stuck somewhere. We become so engrossed in our own emotions and the events in our lives that we lose our center. We lose sight of the fact that we are just witnessing the world and the events around us.

When you regain your awareness and become aware that you have gotten stuck somewhere, you have already done half of the work. From there, you will be able to take appropriate action to disentangle yourself from the situation.

This is the power of awareness.

Vairagya

Vairagya or dispassion is letting go.

Life cannot move forward without dispassion.

If the inhale is passion, the exhale is dispassion. To some extent, we all practice vairagya on a daily basis. Every night when you go to bed at night, you have to let go of everything happening around you.

It’s this letting go that enables sleep to happen.

If you are unable to let go, you wouldn’t be able to sleep.

Without vairagya in your life, life cannot and will not move forward. This is the actual root of feeling stuck in life.

Viveka and vairagya are what will enable you to move forward on the spiritual path toward moksha and enlightenment.

Abhyaasa

Abhyaasa or practice is required to culture viveka and vairagya.

It’s okay if it doesn’t happen naturally every time.

It’s okay if you get caught up in something for longer than you would’ve liked.

It’s okay if you are struggling to let go of something.

Practice will make it easier and easier over time.

sa tu dīrgha–kāla-nairantarya-satkāra āsevita dṛḍha–bhūmiḥ

|| Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.14 ||

Thousands of years ago, Sage Patanjali shared that perfection in practice comes when the practice is done uninterruptedly, over a long period of time, with honour and respect.

That is, your yoga practice (practice of union with the Self) is effective when it is:

• Done over a long period of time
• Consistent
• Done with sincerity

It is not effective to practice once in a while over the period of many years.

It is not effective to practice everyday for only one week.

It is not effective to practice every day for a long period of time without love and devotion for the practice.

All three ingredients must be there to see growth and progress on your path to spiritual enlightenment or moksha.

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