I met a baba during my recent visit to Uttaranchal and I had a long chat with him over life and reality. The discussion has altered my way of thinking and I must say it has definitely left a very lasting impression on me. Some of my beliefs have shaken after the discussion some have fortified.
Here's the conversation:
Me: Baba what is Moksha?
Baba: Moksha is that stage where you are Sthirr (stable). Stable as ocean is like a glass during a calm weather. When you are at moksha you become very aware of your surrounding but at the same time you become Sthirr and to you everything around you will not bother. Even a snake bite will not bother you. You will stop feeling any emotions be it hatred, anger, happiness, despair, excitement.
Me: Why do people want to reach moksha?
Baba: Moksha helps you get rid of the Atma (soul).
Me: Why would someone want that?
Baba: Atma is something which is eternal and which never dies. Atma just takes different forms of body and stays in that body till its age is over after that it takes another body. Today your atma has taken your body tomorrow it might take a body of crow or a cow or a tree. Once you are at moksha you come out of this cycle of life and death. Atma takes the body of humans after 84 lac yonis, which mean after 84 lac births. Moksha can be achieved only in human cycle and no other form of body can reach moksha.
Me: Why moksha can be achieved only in human cycle?
Baba: Humans are the most intelligent of all and god has endowed humans with many things like intelligence which are not endowed upon any other creature.
Me: Where did Atma come from?
Baba: God created atmas and atma takes different bodies. These bodies do different deeds and god takes account of those deeds. Maybe god is just playing or might be he is trying to figure out the purest atma.
Me: Then how can someone go to moksha?
Baba: Moksha can be reached only by getting rid of atma.
Me: But baba you earlier said that moksha can be reached in human form and in no other form it can be reached then why do we need to get rid of the atma?
Baba: Because atma can never be Sthirr. Atma feels emotions, it gets influenced by surroundings.
Me: Where did moksha come from?
Baba: Moksha is like Shoonya (zero). Shoonya is nothing but it is something at the same time. Shoonya is neither positive nor negative but at the same time it is there. Moksha is as Sthirr as Shoonya. At moksha you will be very aware but your surrounding will not bother you. Just like Shoonya.
Me: You mean to say Moksha is nothing?
Baba: Shoonya is nothing but we believe in it. Moksha is the most important element of our life just like Shoonya in mathematics.
Me: Baba can we reach Moksha by Bhakti?
Baba: No. Bhakti can take you to swarg (heaven) but not to moksha.
Me: What is god?
Baba: God is infinity. From today onwards you might start thinking that I am the god but I know that I am not Sthirr yet, I still have an atma so I cant be at moksha that means I am not the god. Same thing happens when I look beyond me from where I got my lessons of life I thought he was god but he had an atma too. So god is infinity and people today call him with names like Shiva, Mahavir, Jesus etc.
Here's the conversation:
Me: Baba what is Moksha?
Baba: Moksha is that stage where you are Sthirr (stable). Stable as ocean is like a glass during a calm weather. When you are at moksha you become very aware of your surrounding but at the same time you become Sthirr and to you everything around you will not bother. Even a snake bite will not bother you. You will stop feeling any emotions be it hatred, anger, happiness, despair, excitement.
Me: Why do people want to reach moksha?
Baba: Moksha helps you get rid of the Atma (soul).
Me: Why would someone want that?
Baba: Atma is something which is eternal and which never dies. Atma just takes different forms of body and stays in that body till its age is over after that it takes another body. Today your atma has taken your body tomorrow it might take a body of crow or a cow or a tree. Once you are at moksha you come out of this cycle of life and death. Atma takes the body of humans after 84 lac yonis, which mean after 84 lac births. Moksha can be achieved only in human cycle and no other form of body can reach moksha.
Me: Why moksha can be achieved only in human cycle?
Baba: Humans are the most intelligent of all and god has endowed humans with many things like intelligence which are not endowed upon any other creature.
Me: Where did Atma come from?
Baba: God created atmas and atma takes different bodies. These bodies do different deeds and god takes account of those deeds. Maybe god is just playing or might be he is trying to figure out the purest atma.
Me: Then how can someone go to moksha?
Baba: Moksha can be reached only by getting rid of atma.
Me: But baba you earlier said that moksha can be reached in human form and in no other form it can be reached then why do we need to get rid of the atma?
Baba: Because atma can never be Sthirr. Atma feels emotions, it gets influenced by surroundings.
Me: Where did moksha come from?
Baba: Moksha is like Shoonya (zero). Shoonya is nothing but it is something at the same time. Shoonya is neither positive nor negative but at the same time it is there. Moksha is as Sthirr as Shoonya. At moksha you will be very aware but your surrounding will not bother you. Just like Shoonya.
Me: You mean to say Moksha is nothing?
Baba: Shoonya is nothing but we believe in it. Moksha is the most important element of our life just like Shoonya in mathematics.
Me: Baba can we reach Moksha by Bhakti?
Baba: No. Bhakti can take you to swarg (heaven) but not to moksha.
Me: What is god?
Baba: God is infinity. From today onwards you might start thinking that I am the god but I know that I am not Sthirr yet, I still have an atma so I cant be at moksha that means I am not the god. Same thing happens when I look beyond me from where I got my lessons of life I thought he was god but he had an atma too. So god is infinity and people today call him with names like Shiva, Mahavir, Jesus etc.
