Muktiyogya in Hinduism means one who has made himself yogya
(qualified) for moksha (liberation from cycle of birth and death).
This liberation from cycle of birth and death is due to knowledge
of atman (individual self) and Brahman. Brahman is the eternal, unthinkable and
unchanging substratum. A person who lives a life of devotion to Brahman and
whose actions are free from gunas (three attributes – sat, rajas and tama) has
attained muktiyogya.
Although the early Vedic hymns were intended for sacred fire
rituals, the later Vedic hymns had some monotheistic conceptions. However, it
was Upanishads that emphasized knowledge of Brahman as a compulsory requisite
for mukti (liberation).
The source of man’s spiritual insight is the very self of
man himself. Mundaka Upanishad states “Whom he chooses, the finds him”
(III.2.3).
If Vedas and their gods depend upon cosmic forces,
Upanishads look within to comprehend the inner world. The fragility of the
world of appearance makes way for the immortal self inside. The majesty of Agni
and Maruta could be explained with the powers of atman.
Brahman, cosmic consciousness, could be identified within
the self of man. To graduate to that stage of knowledge, a person must bypass
the transient pleasures of the finite world.
This world of the senses inhibits realization of the reality
of Brahman – sat (the absolute truth), chit (pure consciousness) and ananda (pure
joy). An individual, while performing his karmas (actions) in life, can attain
the highest conception of mukti by leading yogya life.
The self man is clouded by the perceptions of the senses.
The organic and the inorganic compose the phenomenal world. Brahman through
maya created the world with akasha (space), vayu (air), tejas (fire), ap
(water), and kshiti (earth). The samkhya
theory of thought regards it as necessary for the salvation of a being to
discriminate and separate this phenomenality from the self.
The atman can achieve liberation from the cycle of birth and
death in this world by the realization of his/her identity with Brahman.
Suffering and pleasure arise from submission to the world of the senses. The
samkhya doctrine separates Brahman and the self of man.
The Upanishadic dictum is rte jnanana mukti, there is no
liberation without knowledge. Hence, jnana (knowledge of self) is initial
yogyata for mukti.
Hence, jnana (knowledge of self) is initial yogyata for
mukti. One is muktiyogya if one has no infatuation for bodily existence or for
the satisfaction of the senses and if one searches within for all knowledge,
all realization. Devotion to Brahman and unattached action are other yogyata to
attain mukti.