Can The World Survive Without Religion (Yes or No) A Hindu P (General)

by satyansh , Monday, November 29, 2010, 13:36 (4918 days ago) @ dhw

" 2) In an earlier post you wrote that the highest attainable state is that of Moksha, in which the practitioner becomes one with the Eternal, and in your latest post you say "the spirit never dies until it achieves Moksha". I know you have your own doubts about such matters, but I'd be very interested if you could tell me what this means for the believer. Does he then lose his identity and consciousness in the great oneness of Brahma? Without our consciousness and identity, it seems to me that we might just as well be bones lying in the ground, in which case life is seen as a kind of hell, and death or Moksha are one and the same thing, providing us with final escape. But if we are still ourselves, how does the practitioner envisage spending the rest of eternity? Again, these are genuine questions, not criticisms, and I also ask them of Christians and Muslims who believe in an afterlife."-I Hope this answers this question. This is a detailed expalantion Moksha where you will find the asnwers I hope.-Hinduism-There are three major views on moksha from traditional Vedanta philosophy.-Advaita-According to Advaita Vedanta, the attainment of liberation coincides with the the realization of the Atman (one's personal soul) that it is identical with the Brahman, the source of all spiritual and phenomenal existence. The distinction between "self" and "one's body" is emphasized; the Neti Neti ("not this, not that") method of teaching is adopted. Moksha is seen as a final release from one's worldly conception of self and a loosening of the shackle of experiential duality, accompanied by the realization of one's own fundamental nature: sat (true being), cit (pure consciousness), and ananda, an experience which is ineffable and beyond sensation (see satcitananda).[9] Advaita holds that Atman, Brahman, and Paramatman are all one and the same - the formless Nirguna Brahman which is beyond the being/non-being distinction, tangibility, and comprehension.-Dvaita/Vishistadvaita-In Dvaita (dualism) and Vishistadvaita (qualified monism) schools of Vaishnava traditions, moksha is defined as the loving, eternal union with God (Ishvara) and considered the highest perfection of existence. The bhakta (devotee) attains the abode of the Supreme Lord in a perfected state but maintains his or her individual identity, with a spiritual form, personality, tastes, pastimes, and so on.-Achieving moksha-In Hinduism, atma-jnana (self-realization) is the key to obtaining moksha. The Hindu is one who practices one or more forms of Yoga - Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Raja - knowing that God is unlimited and exists in many different forms, both personal and impersonal.-There are believed to be four Yogas (disciplines) or margas (paths) for the attainment of moksha. These are: working for the Supreme (Karma Yoga), realizing the Supreme (Jnana Yoga), meditating on the Supreme (Raja Yoga) and serving the Supreme in loving devotion (Bhakti Yoga). Different schools of Hinduism place varying emphasis on one path or other, some of the most famous being the tantric and yogic practices developed in Hinduism.-Vedanta approaches are split between strict non-duality (advaita), non-duality with qualifications (such as vishishtadvaita), and duality (dvaita). The central means to moksha advocated in these three branches vary.-Advaita Vedanta emphasizes Jnana Yoga as the ultimate means of achieving moksha, and other yogas (such as Bhakti Yoga) are means to the knowledge, by which moksha is achieved. It focuses on the knowledge of Brahman provided by traditional vedanta literature and the teachings of its founder, Adi Shankara.[10] Through discernment of the real and the unreal, the sadhak (practitioner) would unravel the maya and come to an understanding that the observable world is unreal and impermanent, and that consciousness is the only true existence. This intellectual understanding was moksha, this was atman and Brahman realized as the substance and void of existential duality. The impersonalist schools of Hinduism also worship various deities, but only as a means of coming to this understanding - both the worshiped and worshiper lose their individual identities. 
Non-dualist schools sees God as the most worshippable object of love, for example, a personified monotheistic conception of Shiva or Vishnu. Unlike Abrahamic traditions, Advaita/Smartha Hinduism does not prevent worship of other aspects of God, as they are all seen as rays from a single source. The concept is essentially of devotional service in love, since the ideal nature of being is seen as that of harmony, euphony, its manifest essence being love. By immersing oneself in the love of God, one's karmas (good or bad, regardless) slough off, one's illusions about beings decay and 'truth' is soon known and lived. Both the worshiped and worshiper gradually lose their illusory sense of separation and only One beyond all names remains. 
One must achieve moksha on his or her own under the guidance of a Guru. A guru or a siddha inspires but does not intervene.-Components
In the state of moksha or mukti, lies ultimate peace (shanti), ultimate knowledge (viveka), and ultimate enlightenment (kaivalya).