Mokṣa — The Supreme Goal of Human Life
Mokṣa (Sanskrit root muc = to release; also mukti, vīḍu in Tamil) is liberation from the endless cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra). In the classical four puruṣārthas (goals of human life), mokṣa stands as the ultimate end — beyond artha (wealth), kāma (pleasure), and dharma (righteousness). In Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, mokṣa is given uniquely positive content: it is not the mere absence of suffering (as in certain non-theistic philosophies) nor an absorption into undifferentiated Brahman (as in Advaita), but the eternal, personal, loving existence of the jīva in Bhagavān's presence.
The Viśiṣṭādvaita definition: Rāmānuja teaches in the Vedārthasaṃgraha and Śrī Bhāṣya that the liberated soul (mukta-jīva) retains its distinct individual identity, attains apahata-pāpmatva (freedom from all sin), and blazes in full self-luminous knowledge (jñāna). Above all, the mukta rejoices in nityakaiṅkarya — perpetual loving service to Nārāyaṇa in Śrīvaikuṇṭha. The soul's essential nature (svarūpa) — being a dependent mode (viśeṣaṇa) of Brahman — is not extinguished but fulfilled. Bhagavān's own nature as śeṣī (supreme owner) is completed by the mukta's joyful śeṣatva (servanthood).
The paths to mokṣa: The Āchāryas teach two upāyas (means): bhakti-yoga — sustained, meditative love culminating in direct vision (darśanam) of Bhagavān followed by His gracious bestowal of mokṣa — and prapatti (śaraṇāgati, complete surrender). In the Śrī Vaiṣṇava tradition, prapatti is upheld as the direct, accessible, and sufficient path: one sincere act of surrender to Bhagavān through the Āchārya, performed with the required inner disposition, guarantees mokṣa at the end of the present life, regardless of the weight of past karma.
The mumukṣu's preparation: One who earnestly desires mokṣa is called a mumukṣu. Every such seeker must master the three rahasyas — the Thirumantram (Aṣṭākṣara), the Dvaya, and the Carama Śloka — which encode the full philosophy of the soul's relationship to Bhagavān, the correct means, and the nature of the goal. Piḷḷai Lokāchārya's Mumukṣuppadi is the canonical exposition of these three, and it opens with the declaration that every mumukṣu must know them thoroughly before undertaking prapatti.