Three Paths To Liberation (8)

Recap: Liberation is Moksha and Moksha is what all Hindus strive for, it is ultimate bliss and awareness. Catholics have heaven as the ultimate goal and Hindu's have Moksha.

Each person has different talents and strengths; hence why there is more than one path to help Hindus reach liberation. There are three paths are Karma Marga, Jnana Marga and Bhakti Marga.  Hindu's can chose to follow more than one path.

Karma Marga is for the socially active, it is called “the path of works”, it is for people who prefer to seek liberation through day to day tasks such as raising a family or volunteering. This path is about living in harmony with dharma (ethical duty), it is about being unselfish. The saying “Do the right thing only because it is right” is very popular in this path because it explains that a person should not be doing a good deed to be rewarded but rather one should do a good deed because it is the right thing.

Jnana Marga: Is the path of knowledge it is for philosophical or intellectual types.  Followers of this path must devote a great deal of time to learning and meditation, this path is usually followed by members of the Brahmin caste. Jnana Marga focuses on attaining knowledge over ignorance; knowledge of the true nature of reality. To obtain knowledge of the true nature followers study the three schools of Hindu philosophy; Vedanta, Sankhya and Yoga. The path of Jnana Marga is the shortest but steepest journey to liberation, it is a profound spiritual journey. 

The image on the left is a man practicing Yoga.

Three Schools of Philosophy:

Vedanta:  This text holds all reality that is essentially Brahman, most notable advocate – Hindu philosopher Shankara

Sankhya:  Followers strive to free their eternal self from the bondage of personality.

Yoga:  Seeks to free the eternal self from the bondage of personhood. There are many different types of Yoga.

Bhaki Marga: The path of devotion, it is for the emotional followers they worship a God’s or Goddesses of their choice. Worshiping the divine helps focus attention away from selfish concerns.

What You Should Now Know: 

Hindus have three paths to help them achieve liberation, there are three different paths because each person is unique with their own special qualities. These three paths are action (Karma Marga), knowledge (Jnana Marga) and devotion (bhaki maraga)