Hinduism

===== Differing views on the nature of moksha =====
The meaning of ''moksha'' differs among the various Hindu schools of thought.

[[Advaita Vedanta]] holds that upon attaining moksha a person knows their essence, or self, to be pure consciousness or the witness-consciousness and identifies it as identical to [[Brahman]].<ref name=karlpotter /><ref name=klausklost />

The followers of [[Dvaita]] (dualistic) schools believe that in the afterlife moksha state, individual essences are distinct from Brahman but infinitesimally close, and after attaining moksha they expect to spend eternity in a [[loka]] (heaven).{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

More generally, in the theistic schools of Hinduism moksha is usually seen as liberation from saṃsāra, while for other schools, such as the monistic school, moksha happens during a person's lifetime and is a psychological concept.{{sfn|Deutsch|2001}}<ref name="karlpotter">{{Cite journal|last=Potter|first=Karl H.|date=1958|title=Dharma and Mokṣa from a Conversational Point of View|journal=Philosophy East and West|volume=8|issue=1/2|pages=49–63|doi=10.2307/1397421|jstor=1397421|issn=0031-8221}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ingalls|first=Daniel H. H.|date=1957d|title=Dharma and Moksha|url=https://cup.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Philosophies-of-Happiness-Supplementary-Notes.pdf|journal=Philosophy East and West|volume=7|issue=2|pages=41–48|doi=10.2307/1396833|jstor=1396833}}{{dead link|date=July 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="danielingails">{{Cite book|last=Pal|first=Jagat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y48QAQAAIAAJ&q=Dharma+and+Moksha|title=Karma, Dharma and Moksha: Conceptual Essays on Indian Ethics|date=2004|publisher=Abhijeet Publications|isbn=978-81-88683-23-9|language=en|access-date=2 June 2021|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328164240/https://books.google.com/books?id=y48QAQAAIAAJ&q=Dharma+and+Moksha|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="klausklost">{{Cite book|last=Klostermaier|first=Klaus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6gvAAAAIAAJ&q=Mok%E1%B9%A3a+and+Critical+Theory|title=Philosophy East & West|date=1985|publisher=[[University Press of Hawaii]]|pages=61–71|author-link=Klaus Klostermaier|access-date=2 June 2021|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328164244/https://books.google.com/books?id=x6gvAAAAIAAJ&q=Mok%E1%B9%A3a+and+Critical+Theory|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to Deutsch, moksha is a transcendental consciousness of the perfect state of being, of self-realization, of freedom, and of "realizing the whole universe as the Self".{{sfn|Deutsch|2001}}<ref name="karlpotter" /><ref name="danielingails" /> ''Moksha'' when viewed as a psychological concept, suggests [[Klaus Klostermaier]],<ref name="klausklost" /> implies a setting free of hitherto fettered faculties, a removing of obstacles to an unrestricted life, permitting a person to be more truly a person in the fullest sense. This concept presumes an unused human potential of creativity, compassion and understanding which had been previously blocked and shut out.<ref name="klausklost" />

Due to these different views on the nature of moksha, the [[vedanta|Vedantic school]] separates this into two views – ''[[jivanmukta|Jivanmukti]]'' (liberation in this life) and ''[[videha mukti|Videhamukti]]'' (liberation after death).<ref name="klausklost" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=von Brück |first=M. |year=1986 |title=Imitation or Identification? |journal=Indian Theological Studies |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=95–105}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Fort|first=Andrew O.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG_J96ALMZYC&q=Jivanmukti+in+Transformation|title=Jivanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-Vedanta|date=1998|publisher=[[SUNY Press]]|isbn=978-0-7914-3904-3|access-date=2 June 2021|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328164245/https://books.google.com/books?id=iG_J96ALMZYC&q=Jivanmukti+in+Transformation#v=snippet&q=Jivanmukti%20in%20Transformation&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>