Fastest and easiest way in KALIYUGA to attain LIBERATION

Question

What are the fastest and easiest ways in KALIYUGA to get rid of LUST, ANGER, GREED,FALSE PRIDE and ENVY of ONE's SELF?

Answer 1

The easiest (and the only) path to Mokṣha in the age of Kaliyuga is the japa, bhajan, dhyāna, saṅkīrtana of Hari aka Lord Viṣhṇu.

^{(This answer is mainly from a Vaiṣhṇava literature-based perspective)}

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Lord Viṣhṇu says in Padma Purana: Uttara Khanda - 92.21/22 :

नाहं वसामि वैकुंठे योगिनां हृदये न च ॥२१॥
मद्भक्ता यत्र गायंति तत्र तिष्ठामि नारद

nāhaṃ vasāmi vaikuṃṭhe yogināṃ hṛdaye na ca ॥21॥
madbhaktā yatra gāyaṃti tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada

Meaning:

“I do not live in Vaikuṇṭha, nor in the heart of the yogins.
O Nārada, I stay there where my devotees sing my praise.

So, Lord Viṣhṇu resides wherever his glory is sung by his devotees.

Further, the real significance of Hari-bhajan is expounded in the Bṛihana-Nāradīya- Purāṇa which states:

हरेर्नाम हरेर्नाम हर्र्नामैव केवलम्।
कलौ नास्त्येव नास्त्येव नास्त्येव गतिरन्यथा ॥ ३८.१२६॥

harernāma harernāma harrnāmaiva kevalam।
kalau nāstyeva nāstyeva nāstyeva gatiranyathā ॥38.126॥

The nama of Hari, the nama of Hari, the nama of Hari alone [is the only way].
In the age of Kali there is no other path to Liberation. ॥38.126॥

Vyasa says the following in Book 6: Chapter 2 of Vishnu Purana

कृते यजन् यज्ञैस्त्रेतायां द्वापरेऽर्चयन्।
यदाप्नोति तदाप्नोति कलौ सङ्कीर्त्य केशवम् ।। १७ ।।

kṛte yajan yajñaistretāyāṃ dvāpare'rcayan ।
yadāpnoti tadāpnoti kalau saṅkīrtya keśavam ॥17॥

"That reward which a man obtains in the Krita by abstract meditation, in the Treta by sacrifice, in the Dwápara by adoration, he receives in the Kali by merely reciting the name of Keśava." ॥17॥

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) at 12.3.51 also concurs with the greatness of Hari-naam japa to destory material bondages.

Hence, regular chanting of Hari-naam is a way to liberation.

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In the Viṣhṇu Sahasranāmam (from the Mahābhārata) we are told the same:

यस्य स्मरणमात्रेण जन्मसंसारबन्धनात् ।
विमुच्यते नमस्तस्मै विष्णवे प्रभविष्णवे ॥६॥

Even a mere thought of Whom makes one liberated from the bondage of Samsara (birth and death) –
To that all-powerful Lord (Viṣhṇu), my profound salutations.

Further, in the same Sahasranāmam Yudhiṣṭhira questions Pitāmaha Bhīṣhma the same as follows:

युधिष्ठिर उवाच:
किमेकं दैवतं लोके किंवाप्येकं परायणम् ।
स्तुवन्तः कं कमर्चन्तः प्राप्नुयुर्मानवाः शुभम् ।।२।।

Yudhiṣṭhira asks:
(O Grandfather!) Who is the One Supreme Lord in this Universe? Who is One refuge for all? Who should be praised? And by worshipping Whom can a person reach auspiciousness (peace and prosperity)?

को धर्मः सर्वधर्माणां भवतः परमो मतः ।
किं जपन्मुच्यते जन्तुर्जन्मसंसारबन्धनात् ।।३।।

What is, in Your opinion, the greatest Dharma of all Dharmas? And by chanting Whose mantra, can a creature proceed beyond the bonds of Samsara?

And Pitāmaha Bhīṣhma replies as:

भीष्म उवाच:
जगत्प्रभुं देवदेवमनन्तं पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
स्तुवन्नामसहस्रेण पुरुषः सततोत्थितः ।।४।।<br

Bhisma replied:
He Who is the Lord of the Universe, Who is the God of Gods, Who is limitless,
and Who is the Supreme Purusha (Spirit); One who praises that Lord by the Sahasranama (the thousand names);

तमेव चार्चयन्-नित्यं भक्त्या पुरुषमव्ययम् ।
ध्यायन् स्तुवन्-नमस्यंश्च यजमानस्तमेव च ।।५।।

One who worships and prays, daily without break, that Purusha Who does not change (Who is imperishable) -
By meditating on Him, praising Him and making prostrations on Him;

अनादि-निधनं विष्णुं सर्वलोक-महेश्वरम् ।
लोकाध्यक्षं स्तुवन्-नित्यं सर्वदुःखातिगो भवेत् ।।६।।

To that Lord Who is beyond the six changes beginning with origin (birth) and ending with death, Who is the greatest Lord of all the worlds,
And Who is the knower of the world; one who worships that Lord by singing His name, such a devotee transcends over all the sorrows (duhka) of this material world (attains liberation) -

ब्रह्मण्यं सर्वधर्मज्ञं लोकानां कीर्ति-वर्धनम् ।
लोकनाथं महद्भूतं सर्वभूत-भवोद्-भवम् ।।७।।

By worshipping Him Who is the protector of the Brahma and the Vedas, Who is the knower of Dharma, Who increases the fame of all people,
Who is the Master of the Universe, Who is exceedingly wonderful, and from Whom the world along with all other beings have originated.

एष मे सर्वधर्माणां धर्मोऽधिकतमो मतः ।
यद्भक्त्या पुण्डरीकाक्षं स्तवैरर्चेन्नरः सदा ।।८।।

I consider this to be the most superior to all other forms of Dharma -
The Dharma which consists of unfailing adoration to that lotus-eyed Lord with the hymns of praise recited with devotion.

यतः सर्वाणि भूतानि भवन्त्यादियुगागमे ।
यस्मिंश्च प्रलयं यान्ति पुनरेव युगक्षये ।।११।।

He from Whom all beings have come into existence at the beginning of the cycle of time (creation),
And He into Whom all beings dissolve at the end of the cycle (dissolution);

तस्य लोकप्रधानस्य जगन्नाथस्य भूपते।
विष्णोर्नामसहस्रं मे शृणु पापभयापहम् ।।१२।।

He Who is the chief of the world, He Who is the Lord and King of the world,
And He Who is the remover of all sins and fear – hear from me, O King, the praise of that Lord which consists of the hymn of the thousand names, also known as “Vishnu Sahasranama”.

Thus, for one of the best methods to remove all kinds of ills/hardships from one's life and to end the endless samsara cycle (i.e., attain Liberation), both Veda Vyāsa & Pitāmaha Bhīṣhma concurs with the recital of the Viṣhṇu Sahasranāmam as the best path.

Furthermore, in the concluding part of the Sahasranāmam, Śhri Kṛiṣhṇa assures, that even a single name uttered with devotion is accepted by him:

श्रीभगवानुवाच:
यो मां नामसहस्रेण स्तोतुमिच्छति पाण्डव ।
सोहऽमेकेन श्लोकेन स्तुत एव न संशयः ॥२४॥

Lord Kṛiṣhṇa says:
He who likes to sing my praise, O Arjuna, using these thousand names, Know you that I would be satisfied by his singing of even a single stanza. There is no doubt on this.

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tl;dr

So, to conclude, from the Vaishnavas perspective, The easiest & fastest (and the only) way to ameliorate all the material ills-hardships, and attain Liberation, in the age of Kaliyuga is the japa and bhajan of any of the names of Hari aka Lord Vishnu.

Answer 2

For Moksha in any and (especially in kali) yuga.:

MBH 13.14.:

When the unrighteous or sinful Kali Yuga comes, one should never pass a moment without devoting his heart upon Mahadeva. One that has drunk the Amrita constituted by the devotion to Hara, one becomes freed from the fear of the world (by getting moksha).

Mahabhagvata (Shakti Pithanka) Purana, 81.11-14.:

It is the ultimate truth that In Kaliyuga, there is no other solution except worshiping Shiva because through this one gets freedom from the bondage of evil with little bit of spiritual practices. That is because, by worshiping Lord Shiva, a person easily achieves success in Kaliyuga. In Kaliyuga, there is no action equal to the worship of Shambhu. Whether one is a Shakta, Vaishnava or Shaiva, he should first worship Lord Shankara. After this, one should worship one's Ishta Deva with devotion.

Skanda-Māhapurāṇa, Suta Samhita, Muktikhanda, 3.40-47.:

Lord Shiv said- The devotees who worships other gods, attains Salokya etc. due to the difference in the superiority of the idol to be worshipped and the difference in the way he worships himself. Then, on becoming eligible for Krama moksha, he comes to me through Brahmaloka and Vishnuloka and attains Kaivalya after getting the Vedanta knowledge about God from me. The one who is not eligible for Krama moksha enjoys many pleasures in the world he worships and then gets a human body again. The person who thinks that 'I am Shiva present in all the idols and worships me in this way, he also attains my supreme form in the above mentioned order according to the superiority of the particular idol to be worshipped and the difference in the one who worships, and attains Kaivalya by taking knowledge from me situated in Uttam Apa. But the one who believes in me in all the idols, attains me sooner than the one who does not think so. O Vishnu! In the same way, by external actions also, by attaining me in a systematic manner and by taking the knowledge of Shiva from me, the soul becomes free, if the external action is performed with a pure heart.

Shiva Purana 2.2.43.:

Lord Śiva said:—

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17. The base man who differentiates the deities of the Trinity certainly stays in hell as long as the moon and the stars shine.

18. My devotee may worship the gods. Being so absorbed he will attain knowledge leading to eternal salvation.

19. Without devotion to Brahmā one cannot have the devotion to Viṣṇu; without devotion to Viṣṇu none will have devotion towards me.

Skanda-Māhapurāṇa, Suta Samhita, Muktikhanda, 3.27-31.:

Lord Shiva said- Hey Janardana! The person who worships you daily with devotion, this person with pure mind attains you and (after receiving teachings from you) in due course of time, finally attains me. In the best worlds, even after enjoying the sensual pleasures, the living being becomes liberated by attaining knowledge. Or if the mind is not very pure, then after attaining Sarupya, Samipya or Salokya, it can gradually move towards salvation (or can come back to the mortal world). Hey Vishnu! One who worships your other forms, gets liberated gradually after getting this closeness. O Achyuta- One who worships your symbol or idols, after attaining this Salokya, gradually attains salvation as per his feelings and finally after having vision of mine he attains Kaivalya through Tatvajnana.

Śri Shiva Gita, 13.32.:

Bhagawan Shiva said to Shri Ramchandra.: Just as Kailash, Vaikuntha, Satya-Loka, Swarga, etc. are divine worlds, similarly Moksha is not a world, Moksha is not a state of residing in any particular place. Nor does one have to go to any other world or places to attain it. Only the destruction of the knots of ignorance in the heart i.e. the end of the darkness of ignorance is salvation.

For more you can read this answer of mine. Which is universal for all Shrutis ans Smritis period.

I hope this clarifies all your queries. Prd..

Answer 3

रामनाम्नः परं नास्ति मोक्ष लक्ष्मी प्रदायकम्। तेजोरुपं यद् अवयक्तं रामनाम अभिधियते।।तस्मात्तमाम जप्त्वा वै रामरूपो भवेन्नरः । एतदेव हि रामेण मारुतिं प्रति भाषितम् ॥

Shri Krishna says :- There is no such mantra that is even equal to Ram naam which can give both wealth and moksh. This is self illuminated (तेजोरुप) and avytakt. That’s the reason why The one who who recites the Name of Rama, Becomes Rama swaroop, as Told by Rama to Hanumana.

(Anand Ramayan Manohar khand sarg 7 shlok 16-17)

Ram naam is again praised to be greatest mahamantra among all mahamantras

इत्यादयो महामंत्र वर्तन्ते सप्त कोटयः । आत्मा तेषां च सर्वेषां रामनाम्ना प्रकाशते।।

~ There are seven crores of great mantras. The soul of all of them shines in the name of Rama

(Maha Ramayana)

There are many shastra praman that says shri ram is one the most fastest way to achieve moksha.

Hope that helps your question

Answer 4

First, inquire:

what is self? what is the world? what is the relationship between self and the perceived world?

what is God/Brahman? What is the relationship between God and the world? What is the relationship between God and self?

What is the purpose and meaning of life? what is to be attained by it?

Then question what truly is liberation. Does liberation mean leaving this body, going to somewhere else and residing there for eternity? or Does liberation means Peace and completeness that is eternal?

Then question, is this eternal peace and completeness something to be attained/achieved or is it to be realized.

Once you have that self inquiry, then gain answers from gurus or from scriptures that documents and explains what truly liberation means by the great sages who are realized and liberated souls.

By all these process, you'll have clarity regarding the ideas of Self, World, God and Liberation.

After achieving that clearness, the only way (fastest/easiest/simplest etc) to attain "liberation" is through practicing Vairagyam (Detachment). By Vairagya(detachment), one attains Yogam (Equanimity in both pleasure and pain). The one who attains Yogam, will see self in every being and every being in self. By that conquers LUST, ANGER, GREED,FALSE PRIDE and ENVY of ONE's SELF while seeing everything as Brahman. That person alone is truly liberated even when the body still remain (Jivan mukta).