The Science of Moksha - Soul - Karmas and Our Mind

Our own sub-conscious mind is the storehouse of all the karmas we have done in multiple lives. Think of it as a recorder which is recording every moment of our lives; all actions and thoughts - good, bad or evil. We may or may not reveal it to the world, but our subconscious mind always knows the honest thoughts and feelings we create and carry for other beings. This is the process by which we create karmic atoms, which are stored in our own subconscious mind. The subconscious mind can also be called the soul!

The Science of Mind and Soul

There is a very subtle relationship between our conscious mind and the soul (sub-conscious mind). The sub-conscious mind is the guiding light, supremely powerful, the Super Computer, the almighty Himself. Our soul and the God or the universe as I call it, are all in sync. The purest of the thoughts we create are the thoughts of the God and the Universe will manifest them for us. While I am still studying the science of all mantras in depth, but for simplicity we can assume that "Om" is the carriers sound of the universe - operating at the same frequency as the Almighty, The Universe, Our Soul and the Souls of all Siddhas too (its still the carrier sound btw, which is why all mantras begin with this sound). Now that's a very different topic, which we will discuss later in other blogs.

Our conscious mind however, is lost in the wonderland, constantly jumping from one thought to the other, distracted, and craving for more. One must understand this relationship and difference before one delves into the depth of karmas and Moksha! For those who can control their conscious mind, have taken the first step towards Moksha.

One of my all time favorite books, "Power Of Your Subconscious Mind" by Joseph Murphy, talks about the miracles and he the powers we carry, what he refers to as subconscious mind is same as our soul. The pure soul, in its unadulterated original form is the God Himself! Its our real existence. 

Why are we here?

This world or this life is like a stage - in every birth, we come here to learn certain aspects, there is a goal for every soul. Some may accomplish, some may not. Those who do accomplish, move on to the next goal in next life - on the path of the Moksha.

Moksha is the final destination. Your own soul knows it too and wants to guide us towards the right path. Remember, there are multiple paths leading to the same destination. Those who ignore the subtle feelings from inside, and continue to do evil, may have to go on the very dreadful journey in the seven hells. The pain is un-imaginable and the lifetime there is countless number of years. Human form is the only form where our mind is so developed that we can try to realize the subtle link between sub-conscious and conscious mind, work towards the right goals and get liberation.

There is no one to judge us

There is no God who will judge us. Its our own sub-conscious mind who will judge us post our lives and chose where we belong to go next. The best thing we can do is deep honest regret and ask for forgiveness. 

How to we achieve Moksha?

The Jinvani 'way of life' tells us the importance of seeking forgiveness. For this is one way to reduce our karmic atoms which are tangling our soul. Not asking for forgiveness merely by words, the feeling has to be very deep, honest and sincere. 

To progress towards Moksha we need to:

1) Get rid of all past karmas - trillions and zillions of past karmas that we are carrying for multiple lives - from the Nigod life form (the beginning of our journey)  to the current human form. 

2) Stop creating new bondages or new karmic accounts. Remember if in our thoughts we carry jealously, hatred or bad wishes for any being - we are creating deeper karmic layers. This is our test. The heavenly beings don't have to face this test, so they don't progress spiritually. Only we have to face this test, as we are not fully aware of the truth, with a mild guiding light which often our mind tends to ignore. That's also the beauty of human life and why Moksha can only be attained from this form.

Now what should we do to get rid of past Karmas?

Four things we can do 1) Seek forgiveness and give forgiveness 2) Kayotsarg - or as they call in modern science - Meditation and 3) Tap or Austerity. The Jaina way of life talks about various "Tap" - fasting (Upwass (1 day fast), Aathai (8 day fast), Mas-khaman (one month fast) etc, taking several vows and 4) Seeking divine help, with deep thoughts pray to the Arihants and the Siddhas.

All these by themselves are very deep topics but the path is clear, chose one or all - progress is guaranteed. Pure thoughts and deep sincerity and faith are the pillars, without which all actions and efforts would be waste.

What about the current and future karmas?

This is where the core of Jainism lies. We are here for making progress on the path of Moksha - it would be horrific if in human form we end up accumulating further bad karmas. Its so rare to get this life form, if instead of progress we add more karmic bonds then we would have pushed ourselves further deep in the well of darkness and pain.

The core belief of Jainism - Ahimsa is the sure shot way of not accumulating any more karmas. Ahimsa or Non-Violence by thoughts and offcourse by actions. Most of us, may not cause harm by actions or physically - but its all in the mind that all the bad thoughts are created. Violence (Hinsa) by ill-thoughts (jealousy, hatred, curse and so on and so forth)  engulfs our soul with karmic bonds, karmic bonds that may lead one to hellish life or in animal/plant lifeform too. The next in line is the principle of Aparigraha (reduce craving or desires for more, greed).

There is no one to pardon us!

Like there is no one to judge us, there is no one to pardon us either. We have to reap what we sow. every action has equal and opposite reaction - and often the reaction is zillion times more powerful! However, praying to the Siddhas and Arihants have the potential to subside or reduce the impact significantly. But if any being has attached a karmic atom, which can only be broken in hell then one has to go to hell - no matter what, only the tenure and intensity of the pain can be reduced by Universal help - aka praying on the Supremely powerful Souls.

Jain books are full of stories, why?

The easiest way to make people understand the basic concepts is always by stories. Recall, the story of King Shrenik - who will be the 1st Tirthankar of coming cycle. Despite, Lord Mahavir Swami's blessings, he still had to go to hell (currently that's where his soul is residing), once the deep hell karmas are attached, only the intensity/tenure can be reduced (1st hell vs 7th for example - where lifetime and intensity of pain various significantly). But also remember the story of Chandanbala, if no deep bad karmas are attached just by mere glimpse of the Pure Siddha/Arihant soul one can attain Moksha - such is the power and magic!

Never forget the universal law - equal and opposite reaction, for every action, multiplied by zillion times maybe. Now imagine, if you do good karmas? The impact of good karmas also comes back multiplied manifolds - manifested by the Universe for us. 

The thoughts we create and transmit, will come back to us - no matter what - that's the eternal truth. 

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This is a never ending topic, but I want to leave you with some thoughts to ponder upon. 

What really is Keval Gyaan, Manahparyay Gyaan etc? Now that we know our own subconscious mind is the supremely powerful soul, having same qualities and atoms like that of Lord Mahavir or Seemandhar Swami - imagine if our conscious mind gets in synch with subconscious mind and tap into the vast infinite knowledge it stores. You can see your own past easily, isint? Isint that called Jaati Smaran Gyaan? Similarly as we progress on this path and increase the power of our thoughts/mind, deepen the linkage between the mind and the soul - one can attain all others Gyaans too. Multiple parallel paths and roads lead us to this final step, the least we can do is walk one step forward in this life :)

That's exactly what all Arihants, Siddhas and Kevalis could do - that's the final step before Moksha!

Jai Jinendra! Keep spreading the knowledge! Let all beings be happy and blissful!