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Moksha

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Liberation from the cycle of birth and death (samsara), the ultimate spiritual goal in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist thought.

Detailed Definition
Moksha represents freedom from ignorance, desire, and karma, leading to union with Brahman or realization of the true Self (Atman). In poetry, it is the silent horizon toward which all spiritual striving points. While bhakti poets often frame moksha as eternal communion with God, Advaita verses describe it as dissolution of illusion. Epics show characters seeking it through renunciation, knowledge, or devotion. Poets use moksha to contrast worldly attachments with transcendent peace, portraying it as the soul’s homecoming—a state beyond sorrow, time, and division, often evoked through images of light, silence, or boundless ocean.
Example
Example in poetry:
In a Upanishadic poem, mokṣa is “the river reaching ocean—no more ‘I,’ only ‘is’”; A modern verse: “Mokṣa isn’t escape—it’s freedom from the need to escape”; A minimalist reflection: “Mokṣa: not destination, but dissolution”; A student’s lyric: “I chased mokṣa—forgot it’s already here, behind the noise.”
Additional Notes
Moksha is the ultimate spiritual goal in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism: liberation from the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (Samsara). It is a state of absolute peace, freedom, and self-realization where the individual soul (atman) realizes its identity with the ultimate reality (Brahman) or, in Buddhism, extinguishes the causes of suffering. It represents the end of all duality, suffering, and ignorance.
Also Known As
Mukti Liberation Release Moksha Dvara
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