One of the reasons why Sanatana
Dharma becomes the most logical and realistic among religious ideologies is its
basic belief in the Theory of Karma and Rebirths. It is almost impossible to
rationalize the accidental nature of our births and the sufferings of children
without these fundamental beliefs. Once we have established the rationale of
rebirths, Moksha or Enlightenment or Realisation becomes a necessity to
complete the belief structure. There must be some way out to end the repeated
cycle of our rebirths based on our Karma.
Moksha seems to be the only way out.
Now how do we achieve Moksha or
Enlightenment or Self-Realisation? Our scriptures and Rishis have indicated
multiple ways to achieve the same. The method we chose depends (or must depend)
on our qualities and capacity. If you are weak in mental abilities, there is no
point in choosing the Knowledge path. Similarly those who are good only in
learning, Yoga and Meditation are hardly the ways to attain Moksha. But
whatever be the path one has chosen, it is absolutely necessary to go through all
the phases of a human life. Without this it is not possible to close your
Sanchita (accumulated) Karma from past lives.
Human life has essentially four
phases - Brahmacharya (student), Grihastha (householder),
Vanaprastha (retired) and Sannyasa (renunciate). Every human accumulates Karma
in all these phases of life. After each life is over, he or she is reborn with
the Sanchita Karma from past lives. Moksha is attained when one can reach the
Sanchita Karma of ZERO ie. Papa and Punya becomes equal. So the bottom line is that
one cannot aim to achieve Moksha in the current life unless he or she is
prepared to go through all phases of human life. If there are Sanchita Karma
from Grihastha (householder) phase in the early lives, it is possible to
compensate them only during a similar phase in this lifetime.
Hence, I am convinced
that none of the unmarried (or those who have never taken care of their wife
and children) sages could have attained Moksha in their latest life as we know
it. They would have been born again and attained Moksha after completing
Grihasthasramam in a later life. This concept must be crystal clear to every
one who is trying to attain Moksha by shortcut methods. You must necessarily go
through all the four phases of life (in the current parlance), to suffer and
enjoy the experiences in each phase, in order to escape from the cycle of
births and deaths. There is no easy way out.
