Salvation is the state of emancipation from the endurance of pain

In the golden light of spiritual awakening, Dayananda Saraswati, the great reformer and sage of India, spoke these words of eternal resonance: “Salvation is the state of emancipation from the endurance of pain and subjection to birth and death, and of the life of liberty and happiness in the immensity of God.” Within this declaration lies the purest vision of human destiny — the longing of the soul to be free. It is a truth older than time, sung in the Vedas and whispered in every heart: that beyond the circle of suffering lies a vast and radiant peace, and that peace is liberation — the soul’s return to the infinite embrace of the Divine.

To Dayananda Saraswati, salvation was not a mere promise of another world, nor the reward of blind faith. It was a state of being — a realization that frees the spirit from bondage, ignorance, and the endless cycle of birth and death. In the great Indian tradition, this state is called moksha, the final liberation of the soul from the grasp of illusion (maya) and desire. For as long as one is bound by attachment, one suffers; as long as one clings to the transient, one endures pain. But when the veil is lifted, and the soul knows itself as part of the immensity of God, then it lives in unbroken liberty and happiness — untouched by sorrow, unshaken by change.

This vision was not born in comfort, but in the fire of Dayananda’s own awakening. Born in nineteenth-century India, he turned away from ritual and superstition to seek truth in its purest form. He wandered as a seeker, meditating in forests and studying the Vedas, until he came to see that true emancipation is not granted by priests or temples, but by knowledge and purity of heart. In his wisdom, he taught that salvation is the natural destiny of every soul — not a gift to the chosen, but a birthright earned through self-discipline, service, and love of truth. It is the triumph of spirit over illusion, of knowledge over ignorance.

To grasp the depth of this teaching, we might recall the story of Prince Siddhartha, who became the Buddha. Surrounded by luxury, he saw that even pleasure is fleeting, and that all beings suffer under the law of impermanence. He left his palace, sought wisdom, and through meditation found enlightenment — the same emancipation from pain and rebirth that Dayananda described. The Buddha’s path of awakening was not an escape from life, but an awakening to its highest truth: that suffering ends when attachment ends, and that freedom is found within.

The immensity of God of which Dayananda speaks is not a distant heaven, but the boundless reality in which all beings exist. It is the ocean into which the rivers of all souls ultimately flow. To dwell in that immensity is to transcend the narrow self, to dissolve the illusions of separateness, and to live in the light of universal love. When the ego fades and the divine self shines forth, there is no longer “I” and “Thou” — only oneness, only bliss, only freedom. Such a state is not a dream for saints alone; it is the destiny of all who awaken to truth.

But how is this salvation to be attained? Dayananda’s teaching is both mystical and practical. He calls upon the seeker to live a life of truth, righteousness, and discipline — to conquer anger, greed, and ignorance, and to seek knowledge with humility. Every act of compassion, every moment of mindfulness, every selfless deed becomes a step toward liberation. The chains that bind us are forged by our own desires; the key that frees us lies in our own awareness. To know God is not to flee the world, but to see the divine in all things — to live in harmony with truth and to love all beings as part of the same infinite life.

Let this, then, be the teaching for the generations: that pain and rebirth are not curses, but teachers; that through them the soul learns the value of freedom. Strive not merely to escape suffering, but to understand it, for in understanding lies transcendence. Seek salvation, not in heaven after death, but in the awakening of your heart here and now. Learn to live as one already liberated — unshaken by gain or loss, at peace in all circumstances, radiant with compassion.

For in the words of Dayananda Saraswati, true salvation is not an ending, but a beginning — the dawn of life in its highest form: the life of liberty and happiness in the immensity of God. To reach it is the purpose of every soul; to walk toward it, the noblest journey of all. And though the path is long and the trials many, the destination is sure — for the spark of the infinite already burns within each of us, awaiting only the moment we awaken and remember who we truly are.