Samsara
This article is about the religious concept. For other uses, see Samsara (disambiguation)'.''
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Illustration depicting the transmigration of the soul. |
In
Hinduism,
Buddhism,
Jainism and other related religions,
samsara or
refers to
reincarnation or
rebirth in
Indian philosophical traditions.
Samsara is derived from "to flow together," to go or pass through states, to wander. Mostly a great revolving door between life and death and a new life reincarnated cycle of life. Also known as a game in ancient India.
In most Indian philosophical traditions, including the
Hindu,
Buddhist and
Jain systems, an ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is assumed as a fact of nature. These systems differ widely, however, in the terminology with which they describe the process and in the metaphysics they use in interpreting it. Most of these traditions, in their evolved forms, regard negatively, as a fallen condition which is to be escaped. Some, such as
Advaita Vedanta regard the world and participation in it as fundamentally
illusory.
Some later adaptations of these traditions identify Saṃsāra as a mere metaphor.
In some types of Hinduism, is seen as ignorance of the True Self, Brahman, and thus the soul is led to believe in the reality of the temporal, phenomenal world.
In Hinduism, it is
avidya, or ignorance, of one's true self, that leads to ego-consciousness of the body and the phenomenal world. This grounds one in desire and the perpetual chain of
karma and reincarnation. The state of illusion is known as
Maya.
Hinduism had many terms for the state of liberation like
moksha, mukti, nirvana, and mahasamadhi.
The Hindu Yoga traditions hold various beliefs. Moksha may be achieved by love of
Ishwar/God (see
bhakti movement), by psycho-physical meditation (
Raja Yoga), by discrimination of what is real and unreal through intense contemplation (
Jnana Yoga) and through
Karma Yoga, the path of selfless action that subverts the ego and enforces understanding of the unity of all.
Advaita Vedanta, which heavily influenced Hindu
Yoga, believes that
Brahman, the ultimate Truth-Consciousness-Bliss, is the infinite, impersonal reality (as contrasted to the Buddhist concept of
shunyata) and that through realization of it, all temporal states like
deities, the
cosmos and samsara itself are revealed to be nothing but manifestations of Brahman.
In Jainism,
karma,
anuva (
ego) and the veil of
maya are central.
In Jainism, liberation from samsara is called
moksha or
mukti.
See
Samsara (Buddhism)In
Surat Shabda Yoga, the purpose is to realize the individual's
True Self (Self-Realization),
True Essence (Spirit-Realization) and
True Divinity (God-Realization) while living in the
human physical body. This
Journey of Soul involves reuniting in stages with what is called the
Essence of the Absolute Supreme Being, the
Shabd. Attaining self-realization and above also results in
jivan moksha/mukti, liberation/release from
samsara, the cycle of
karma and
reincarnation while in the physical body.
Surat Shabda Yoga Cosmology presents the constitution of the initiate (the
microcosm) as an exact replica of the macrocosm. Consequently, the microcosm consists of a number of
bodies, each one suited to interact with its corresponding plane or region in the macrocosm. These bodies developed over the
yugas through
involution (
emanating from higher planes to lower planes) and
evolution (returning from lower planes to higher planes), including by karma and reincarnation in various
states of
consciousness.
*
Reincarnation*
Nirvana*
Great Perfection*
Samsara - tour of this universe and beyond
