Apavarga (Mokṣa)

Naiyāyikas concept of Mokṣa is known as Apavargatādatyantavimokṣo Apavarga. Tat means duhkha. So apavarga is absolute cessation of duhkha or pain. It is attained by the real knowledge of the sixteen categories. The destruction of the wrong knowledge etc is the way to attain Mokṣa or liberation. A person by the true knowledge of the sixteen categories is able to remove his misapprehension or mithyāñjāna. The disappearance of mithyāñjāna removes doṣa or fault, affection, aversion and stupidity. On the disappearance of fault activity ceases. On the cessation of activity birth does not take place. In the absence of birth there is no pain. In the absence of pain absolute success to attain Apavarga. The soul attains release as soon as there is an end of the body, and of pleasure and pain.

The Karmamīmāṃsa advises to do several sacrifices leading to heaven. Heaven is a dream world where there would be no sorrow continuing happiness. But when man began to think more he could not shut his eyes to the truth that even the life in heaven is temporary though a little better than in earth. This view can be seen developed in the Uttaramīmāṃsa otherwise known as Vedanta. In Bhagavadgīta one can read Kṛṣṇa while he says that the soul comes back to the mortal world from the world of immortals when the virtues gained by him perish after enjoyment.^[1]

So the later seers advice to attain Mokṣa which alone they find the eternal bliss. Once attained, a soul would have no fear of returning to its previous stage. All the orthodox systems speak of Mokṣa as the supreme goal to be achieved by a soul. There is no fear, there is no oldage, and there is no death. That is the world of Brahman where the soul lives in eternal bliss.^[2]

Though all orthodox systems speak of Mokṣa, Uttaramīmāṃsa or Vedanta alone is seen glorifying the merits of Mokṣa than others. All their works ask to realize, to hear, and to see the inner soul which for them is equal to the supreme one. Advaita propagated by Śaṃkara and Viśiṣṭādvaita propagated by Rāmānuja, though differ in their opinion regarding the identity of human soul with the supreme one, agree in the fact that there is no other way than attaining Mokṣa to get oneself released from the trials of world life.

Gautama defines Mokṣa or Apavarga as an ultimate escape from sorrow.^[3] According to the Vedāntiṃs, a soul attains a complete bliss in Mokṣa it is immersed in the happiness which is everlasting. But the Naiyāyikas do not accept this view of Vedāntiṃs. According to them, Mokṣa can provide release from sorrow. But it cannot bestow happiness as imagined by the Vedāntiṃs. According to the Naiyāyikas, Mokṣa or Apavarga is a stage where there is no place for pleasure or sorrow.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ksnepunyemartyalokamvinjani.Bhagavatgita.

[2]:

tatbhayamajaramamrutyupadam brahma ksemapraptirity.Tatatyantavimoksoapavargaha //22//

[3]:

tatatyantavimoksoapavargaha // 2 //