Does the liberation of soul really occur? Who attains Moksha?

Most people believe that Moksha means liberation of soul or salvation of soul from all bondages. That which is bound should be liberated. Now, is it the body or the soul that is bound? Who suffers the imprisonment, the prison or the prisoner? So, this body is the prison, and the one within, is bound. The Soul is within the body, then does it mean that the Soul is the one that is bound? No.

Read on, to know it through Param Pujya Dadashri’s conversation given below.

Questioner: Does the Soul have to wander life after life because it has been possessed by the body complex?

Dadashri: Nothing possesses the Self. This is all the problem of the ego (ahamkar). If the ego is there, the Self is not, and if the Self is there, the ego is not.

Questioner: But liberation has to be granted to the Self, right?

Dadashri: The Self is already in Moksha (liberated). It does not have any misery (dukh) at all. The one experiencing pain and misery is the one that needs to be liberated. The Self has never come into bondage; the Self has always been free. It is because of ignorance of the Self that he believes ‘I am bound’ and when he attains the knowledge ‘I am free’, then he becomes liberated. In fact, he is not bound; he simply believes he is.

“Birth and death are not of the Soul (Atma). The Soul is a permanent element. This birth and death are of the egoism.”
- Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan

Do you know the real science behind the ego?

Scientifically, when two different elements come together, a third entity is formed. This is also how the ego arises, when the matter and Soul come together.

What is Ego?

Ego means ‘I’. It refers to existence: 'I am'. All living beings are aware of their own existence, “I am”. However, they do not know who they are, “Who I am”. This is why all of us mistakenly believe the temporary body or the name given to it as our identity. For example, one would say, ‘I am John,' but that is a name given to identify the body. You are not 'John' and yet you believe you are ‘John’.

To say that which you are not in reality is called egoism (ahamkar). “I am this body,” “I am an engineer,” “I am her husband,” “I am of this age,” “I am fat” etc. are all forms of egoism.

It is the egoism, which has been created through false impositions, that binds karma (Karma is bound by the subtle belief of doership in any action, which leads to the cycle of cause and effect life after life). It is also the egoism that experiences the fruits of karma. When this ego leaves, you can return to your own place, the Self, where there is no bondage.

When no circumstance can cling or attach to the Self, not a single karma will cling or attach to it. No karmas exist for the liberated Souls and such are only to be found in the Siddha Kshetra (the permanent abode of absolutely liberated Souls).

A quick and easy way to get rid of your egoism is to attain Self-realization through the grace of the Gnani Purush. With this knowledge, your egoism dissipates.