The Secret Doctrine of Goddess Lalita
(Sri LalitaAṣṭottara Rahasyārthamu)
47. svargāpavargadā 48. nirvāṇa sukhadāyinī
She who bestows heaven and liberation.
She who confers the bliss of liberation.
Not all scholars agree that mokṣa is the only goal to focus on. According to them, scripture is the source of Knowledge on human goals that transcend the world. Since the scripture expounds on both dharma and mokṣa, they are both important. One cannot ignore dharma (attainment of svarga or heaven) and focus only on mokṣa (liberation or apavarga). Unlike ardha (wealth) and kāma (desire) which are worldly goals, dharma and mokṣa are not worldly goals, so they are both equally important.
This is not a proper argument. It is true that the scripture instructs on dharma and dharma is different from ardha (wealth) and kāma (desire). It is also true that dharma, like mokṣa, is not of this world, and Devī bestows both. However, there is a big difference between the two. Even though the results of dharma are other-worldly, they do not produce ever-lasting happiness. The happiness they produce is also temporary. Even if a seeker attains a heavenly abode as a result of the merit she acquired from living a virtuous life on earth, the happiness she experiences in heaven is temporary. Once the accrued merit is exhausted, she will have to once again enter a womb, take birth on earth, and continue to experience the pleasures and pains of saṃsāra. The only medicine for this disease called saṃsāra is the complete extinction of all afflictions. nirvāṇa is the complete extinction of all afflictions, whether of this world or of the other world. That is why mokṣa (liberation) is also called nirvāṇa, the Great Extinction. The happiness derived from mokṣa is the bliss of nirvāṇa. Since Devī bestows such a bliss, She is called nirvāṇa sukha dāyini. A true seeker must, therefore, reject even the pleasures of heaven, and strive to attain mokṣa, the one and only worthy goal of human life.