moksha
In a literal sense, moksha is the desire to be
released from birth and rebirth, but the term has
come to mean the release itself. It is used inter-
changeably with mukti. Moksha is the highest
spiritual goal in the Hindu tradition (the term is
used in JAINISM and SIKHISM as well). Traditional
Hinduism recognizes four primary ENDS OF LIFE
and moksha is the last in the list.
While every Hindu tradition sees moksha as
the ideal, there are different understandings of its
nature. Some traditions believe that one can be
liberated while still alive—JIVANMUKTA. Some see
liberation as a merging into a characterless BRAH-
MAN, while others see liberation as simply becom-
ing one with God, or being liberated near God.
Further reading: M. C. Bharatiya, trans. and ed., Moksa
the Ultimate Goal of Indian Philosophy (Ghaziabad:
Indo-Vision, 1984); Balbir Singh, Atman and Moksha:
Self and Self-Realization (Atlantic Highlands, N. J.:
Humanities Press, 1981).
Mother, The (Mirra Richard) (1878–1973)
revered utopian yoga teacher
French-born Mirra Alfassa was a revered teacher
of YOGA in a modern context and of utopian social
thought. The title Mother was given to her by her
associate, the great Indian sage Sri AUROBINDO. It
indicated that she was considered a form of the
GODDESS.
Mirra Alfassa was born to an Egyptian mother
and Turkish father in Paris on February 21, 1878.
Though she lived in a strictly atheistic household,
young Mirra began to have spiritual and occult
experiences as a young girl. She would often fall
into a silent trance for minutes at a time. As she
grew older she had experiences of distance sight
and astral projection. As a young woman she took
full advantage of the cultural excitement of Paris
at the turn of the 20th century. Her first husband,
with whom she had her only child, was an artist
associated with the burgeoning modern art scene.
At the age of 28 Mirra went to Algeria to
study occultism under a little-known teacher,
Max Theon, and his wife, Alma, but decided in
the end that Theon was not a pure master. She
felt that he was ego driven and self-centered. On
a 1914 trip to India with her second husband, the
diplomat Paul Richard, she met Sri Aurobindo,
who had recently taken refuge in Pondicherry. She
describes this visit dramatically in her diaries. She
had dreamed of just such a person, with flowing
robes and beard, when she was much younger
and she felt that she had met a person of pure and
powerful spirit. She relates how she was enveloped
in his presence in the most profound silence of theThe Mother (1878–1973), spiritual partner of Sri
Aurobindo and founder of Auroville Community, Tamil
Nadu (Courtesy Sri Aurobindo Archives, Pondicherry)K 292 moksha