Moksha

[Agaliha]

For those on here that have a Hindu view when it comes to beliefs/afterlife, what are your thoughts on Moksha?

I read that there are 4 paths to Liberation:
Karma Yoga or Kormo Jog--Action Yoga: In this a person strives for Moksha through Karma (Action) by devoting life for the betterment of society and humanity (ultimately the whole world).
Jnana Yoga or Gyan Yoga--Knowledge Yoga: In this Yoga one devotes life to becoming a master of some field and meditating upon it.
Bhakti Yoga or Bhokti Jog--Devotion Yoga: A person chooses a personal God (Ishto Devota), usually Krishana but can be any God and prays with deep devotion and love to attain Moksha. This arose at the beginning of the first millennium A.D. as a reaction against ritualistic worship advocated by Brahmin Priests. It probably also came about due to Buddhist influences which rejected Brahmanic rituals.
Dhyan Yoga or Jog--Meditation Yoga: Using meditation to achieve Moksha.
(http://www.geocities.com/shivsantan/#path)

Do any of you practice any of those Yogas for the purpose to achieving Moksha?
Do you see reincarnation (Samsara) are a bad thing (if you believe in it)-- something to be free of as soon as possible?

[Toby Stimpson]

Im still un decded when it coems to moksha...whether it is acts in a hindu way or a Buddhist way. I'd like to think that I would remain a seperate enity but at the same time is that moksha really? I'll have to come back to this ms Belle Terre...

Namaste

Tobias

[Paracelsus]

I suspect that this can be explored a little deeper - after all, with Hinduism, you "pays your money, and takes your choice", after all.
Liberation in these different traditions is thought about differently - for example;
Vedanta (Jnana Marga), there is a general idea that Moksha reflects a merging between the inner self (Atman) and the universal self (Brahman), but this is thought of in different ways.
In advaita vedanta, the primary idea is that Atman and Brahman are the same thing, or to put it another way - only Brahman exists, thus Moksha is a realisation of one's identity as Brahman - in Shankara's terminoogy - Brahmavidya. In this school, Brahman is understood as fundamentally Nirguna - impersonal.
In Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita vedanta, there is a slightly different view - both Atman and Brahman exist (separately, although in Vishishtadvaita Atman originates within Brahman), and moksha is a merging of two things - like a teardrop falling into an ocean. Both these schools tend to stress a Saguna understanding of Brahman - a personalised understanding, seeing Vishnu or some other Deva as Brahman with a personality.
In Bhakti, Moksha is usually articulated as Mukti, which again implies both liberation and union with the personal divine - but in this case it is not worked for, it derives from the grace and love of God - you can never be good enough to deserve it - it arises from God's love.
In Samkhya Yoga, liberation is very different - Patanjali teaches that liberation results in a state called Kevalatva - isolated bliss - no union with anything (although in Samkhya Philosophy, the individual atman, which Patanjali rather confusingly refers to as Purusha) is a manifestation of Brahman.
In all cases, I think an important idea is this letting go of the obsession with "I" - the dominating ego centricity of western thought. That which is eternal within me is not "I", in these sense that it related to my personality, but exists upon a different level - of beingness.
Hope this helps.