________________
100
Gandhi's Teachers : Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
deaths is inevitable. Moksha or liberation finally comes when soul recognizes its true divine nature, disassociates from the bodily conceptions, gets rid of false ego or ahankara, and rises above material trappings of desires, attachments, and passions. The stated paths for moksha are many and have been described at length in Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures. These include: samkhya yoga or analytical approach whereby soul develops analytical awareness of divine and material nature of different creations, including its own nature; jnana yoga or knowledge approach whereby soul develops true knowledge of self and its position in relation to the Supreme Being and other divine and material forces; bhakti yoga or devotional approach whereby soul surrenders all fruits of the activities to the will of the Supreme Being and thus becomes free of their binding nature; and karam yoga or selfless-action approach whereby soul learns to perform all actions without desiring results of them. Bhagavad Gita also describes the yogic practices and other classical and folk ways of purifying soul.!4
Bhaktivedanta explains in addition that it is essential to understand five fundamental truths relative to the soul phenomenon mentioned in Bhagavad Gita: ishvarals - the Supreme Being, jivas and ajivas - living and non-living beings in the universe, prakriti - material and divine nature of the Supreme Being, kala - duration of existence of the material manifestations, and karmas - material activities. Of these, ishvara, jivas, prakriti, and kala are timeless and eternal; karmas are not. Ishvara is the owner and controller of everything in the universe and in Him jivas, prakriti, kala, and karma are all situated. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita: "O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna), there is no truth superior to me. Everything rests upon me, as pearls are strung on a thread."\6 Prakriti is of two kinds: inferior energy of the Lord or maya which influences and guides all material activities throughout the universe and superior energy of the Lord as manifested in jivas. Both forms of prakriti belong to the Supreme Being and function under His control. Three modes
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
