To have direct experiences of God, such as seeing God's Holy form through worship or experiencing God's presence or form through meditation. Such experience affirms a devotees belief of God's existence, thus creating a profound change in the devotees life. The perspective of the devotee changes from a materialistic base to a spiritual one. The ultimate goal of Hinduism is to guide its devotees to have personal experiences of God. Hindu Scriptures and gurus urge devotees to strive for such experiences.
The Scriptures explain that the soul is born on Earth countless times until it experiences God or in other words achieves God realization It is the experience required for the soul to achieve moksha. Knowledge of God from personal experience is differentiated from understanding the nature of God through the process of study or learning, which is academic and not personal. It is however helpful to first have an understanding of God academically before seeking God Realization. ( God Realization: The meditative experience of the meditator’s awareness merging into God’s Being. At the point of God Realization the meditator's awareness and God's Pure Consciousness are One.
There are many levels or experiences in God Realization, such as experiencing God as Divine Light, or Pure Love, or Infinite Vastness, or as Absolute Reality–the experience most yearned after by ardent spiritual seekers. The ultimate goal of the practice of Hinduism is to guide its devotees to the experience of God Realization. After the seeker has achieved God Realization he or she is said to be enlightened. According to Hinduism, God Realization is a required experience for each soul in order to achieve moksha. Hinduism also recommends that a seeker be under the guidance of a guru to learn to achieve God Realization. The Sanskrit word equivalent to God Realization is samadhi. Moksha: Liberation.
In Hinduism the salvation of the soul is defined as freedom from the cycle of reincarnation on the physical plane, or Earth. After moksha the soul abides eternally in heaven. Before moksha the soul will enter heaven or hell temporarily between births, depending on the merits or demerits it accrues in the form of karmas during it’s life on Earth. Moksha is in a sense a graduation from having to live life on Earth anymore. It is achieved after the soul has fulfilled all of it’s desires for life on Earth and has Realized God. It is synonymous with mukti.)
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