I am terrified of Moksha....

[DivyanshuChangkakoti]

I follow Sadhguru and I've watched a lot of his videos that dive into deep spiritual waters. As a result, it became clear to me that the spiritual process is not a process of growth but one of self-annihilation.

The end goal of the entire spiritual process to dismantle the karmic shell that holds your life within it and ultimately merge with the universe. Basically, you cease to exist and are freed from the whole cycle of birth and death. Sadhguru gives a great analogy of a soap bubble bursting which results in the air within it merging and become one with the air all around.

This ultimate annihilation of self that waits at the end of the spiritual journey doesn't sound very attractive to me. In fact, it makes me very scared and reluctant to begin my spiritual journey. I'd rather remain trapped in the cycle of birth and death retaining my consciousness and individual identity than to attain moksha (ultimate liberation/annihilation which I talked about above). Despite this fact, why are so many willingly walking down the spiritual path to attain moksha? Why would anyone want to stop existing altogether? Do I have a wrong idea about it? Is moksha something to be afraid of?

Sorry if it seems like a lot but these are some of the burning questions that have been bothering me lately. I would really really appreciate it if someone could clarify this for me with legitimate answers.

Thank You

[NoOne]

That's not what Moksha is about at all.

I prefer the word Self-Realisation or Liberation.

It is realising that only the Self exists and the ego was always an illusion, a creation of the material mind. Once you go outside "the matrix" the material realm, the illusion of the ego is shattered and You realise that you were never the ego in the first place, but you were always the Self, which is universal and the same Self in everyone, just with a slightly different point of view.

The ego cannot die, because it was never born. It is an illusion.

The Self however cannot not be, because it is all there ever was.

Once you get a glimpse of Self-realisation, you will understand.

[DivyanshuChangkakoti]

Thanks a lot for the answer. I would like more answers from different people so that I can get a wider perspective on the concept of Moksha.

Although Self-Realization and Liberation are very positive sounding, some spiritual leaders such as Sadhguru tend to use the negative connotation too sometimes. And it's actually accurate because you "annihilate" yourself into absolute nothingness. I'm not being negative, I'm just quoting what I've accumulated after a lot of research :)

Btw, you said I will realize it once I reach "there". Have you yourself attained some form of Self Realization?

[NoOne]

Originally Posted by DivyanshuChangkakoti

Thanks a lot for the answer. I would like more answers from different people so that I can get a wider perspective on the concept of Moksha.

Although Self-Realization and Liberation are very positive sounding, some spiritual leaders such as Sadhguru tend to use the negative connotation too sometimes. And it's actually accurate because you "annihilate" yourself into absolute nothingness. I'm not being negative, I'm just quoting what I've accumulated after a lot of research :)

Btw, you said I will realize it once I reach "there". Have you yourself attained some form of Self Realization?

I've had a Kundalini Awakening. It took me outside this reality and into universal consciousness. Is that the same as Moksha?

I can't really say, but what I do now is that this is my last birth, I am not coming back after this, so the end result is the same, whatever word you may use to describe the experience.

If you look at the first post in my "Elohim" thread, I describe the experience in more detail.

[DivyanshuChangkakoti]

A kundalini awakening might be similar to Moksha, I'll never know because as you've said, I've never reached there. All I know is that Moksha is the act of truly becoming "no more".

So is this "Self" that you mentioned, conscious and have an individual identity ?

Originally Posted by DivyanshuChangkakoti

I follow Sadhguru and I've watched a lot of his videos that dive into deep spiritual waters. As a result, it became clear to me that the spiritual process is not a process of growth but one of self-annihilation.

The end goal of the entire spiritual process to dismantle the karmic shell that holds your life within it and ultimately merge with the universe. Basically, you cease to exist and are freed from the whole cycle of birth and death. Sadhguru gives a great analogy of a soap bubble bursting which results in the air within it merging and become one with the air all around.

This ultimate annihilation of self that waits at the end of the spiritual journey doesn't sound very attractive to me. In fact, it makes me very scared and reluctant to begin my spiritual journey. I'd rather remain trapped in the cycle of birth and death retaining my consciousness and individual identity than to attain moksha (ultimate liberation/annihilation which I talked about above). Despite this fact, why are so many willingly walking down the spiritual path to attain moksha? Why would anyone want to stop existing altogether? Do I have a wrong idea about it? Is moksha something to be afraid of?

Sorry if it seems like a lot but these are some of the burning questions that have been bothering me lately. I would really really appreciate it if someone could clarify this for me with legitimate answers.

Thank You

Forget what he or any other guru says because whatever you believe is true WILL become your reality in the next life and I for one don't want to live someone else's concept of heaven or hell and sadhguru is only guessing AT BEST so try not to take it to heart.

[NoOne]

Originally Posted by DivyanshuChangkakoti

A kundalini awakening might be similar to Moksha, I'll never know because as you've said, I've never reached there. All I know is that Moksha is the act of truly becoming "no more".

So is this "Self" that you mentioned, conscious and have an individual identity ?

I would say Sadhguru is definitely wrong on that one, though I don't know much about him.

It is a common misconception in New Age lore, which comes from a lack of direct experience.

There is a lot of talk of ego death and the annihilation of the "Self". That is ridiculous. How can something that was never born, die?

The Self has no beginning and end, the ego on the other hand is just a creation of the physical mind, which I like to call "the squeaky little voice" in your head, telling you not to do things and justifying your inaction with various logical contortions. It is best ignored, until it quietens down. It isn't "you".

As for the Self, this is the English word used when translating "Atman" from Sanskrit, especially in the Upanishads. In my own language, the word used is Önvaló, which means "that individual self, which exists on its own, without outside cause and stems from itself" or words to that effect.

Self is the Only thing that's conscious, it is the only thing there is, everything else is illusion. You and I have the same Self, it's just that we consciously choose to separate ourselves from each other, because we want to experience the world from a slightly different perspective. It is somewhat similar to a person that has Dissociative Identity Disorder and creates split personalities that are unaware of each other, except on a universal scale. They may appear separate, but they're just expressions of the same mind and the same Self.

[Tuesday]

Ultimately, you become one with all. And yes, this can be viewed as losing everything you have, because you give out everything you think you are to become more who you truly are. Everything.
If this sounds scary to you, you are not ready to let go of everything and therefore have nothing to worry about. It will happen only when you are ready.

You dont become one with all that's new age spiritual suicide

[DivyanshuChangkakoti]

I'm blessed to be given such wonderful and insightful answers. Thanks a lot people!

The concept of Moksha is a little bit more clearer in my mind now, but I'll only totally understand it when I finally get there.

I started my spiritual journey mainly because of Sadhguru, have to give him credit for that. His eye opening speeches and videos made me pay more attention to the subtler aspects of life. I've always been a negative person so maybe that's why I made all sorts of negative assumptions upon hearing his explanation of Moksha. Anyways, you guys picked me up when I started to stumble. This is a great community indeed.

I've gone across many of Sadhguru's articles and videos on Moksha but an article in particular named Spirituality Means Self-Destruction raised those fearful questions in my head. You can find it on the Isha Foundation website. I would have attached a direct link but it seems I don't have enough posts.
If you guys could give me some clarification on that article, I would gladly welcome it!
If not, then that's totally fine too!