Samsara

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Samsara or (Sanskrit: संसार; Tibetan: khor wa) refers to the cycle of reincarnation or rebirth in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions.

The karmic balance at the time of death is inherited via the state at which a person is reborn. Through an undetermined amount of lives one can spiral upwards to become one of the gods. As a deity, one exercises divine powers until the good merit is exhausted. If one lives in evil ways, one is reborn as an animal.

Etymology

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.

Cycle of rebirth

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. However, these systems differ widely 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 Hinduism

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 kāma (desire) and the perpetual chain of karma and reincarnation. The state of illusion is known as Maya.

Hinduism has many terms for the ultimate place 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

In Jainism, karma, anuva (ego) and the veil of maya are central. Liberation from samsara is called moksha or mukti. See also Karma in Jainism.

in Buddhism

Main article: Samsara (Buddhism)

The concept of Samsara cyclic existence is taught by many Buddhist teachers. To understand the concept of Samsara it is important to know about the six realms, what cyclic existence is, and enlightenment or the liberation from the uncontrolled cycle of existence.

in Sikhism

In Sikhism, it is thought that due to the commendable past actions and deeds (known as karma or kirat) that people obtain the chance of human birth, which is regarded in Sikhism as the highest possible on Earth and therefore an opportunity that should not be wasted. And only by continued good actions and the "Grace of the Almighty" can one obtain liberation from the continuous cycle of births and deaths of various bodily forms that the soul has been undergoing since the creation of the universe. The end of the cycle of transmigration of the soul is known as mukti. For Sikhs, the state of mukti can be achieved whilst still alive, known as "Jivan Mukat", literally "liberated whilst alive".

in Surat Shabda Yoga

In Surat Shabda Yoga, attaining self-realization 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.

See also

• Karma
• Reincarnation
• Metempsychosis
• Nirvana
• Great Perfection
• Ego (spirituality)
• Nondual
• Maya (illusion)

References

External links

• Samsara - Tour of This Universe and Beyond
• Reincarnation: A Simple Explanation
• Karma in Sikhism

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Last updated on Thursday March 06, 2008 at 18:21:06 PST (GMT -0800)
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