The Ultimate Goal of Life – MEN – Moksha, Enlightenment, Nirvana by AiR-Atman in Ravi - HTML preview

SUMMARY - CHAPTER 4

Nirvana

• Nirvana is a state of Ananda, eternal bliss, and joy.
• Unlike Moksha which has no author, Nirvana is the brainchild of Prince Siddhartha Gautama who went on to be known as the Buddha or the awakened one.
• Tired of the inhumane practices during his time, he renounced his kingdom, all the wealth and luxury and went in pursuit of the truth.
• Nirvana became a solution to all the ills that developed in the Hindu Faith that became Hinduism.
• Prince Siddhartha is said to have observed 'four signs'. He saw an old man, a sick person, a corpse and a monk. This led him to his quest.
• After that, Siddhartha Gautama became a Tapasvi, living a life of sacrifice and deprivation but he realized that one cannot achieve Liberation by making the body suffer. He then coined a new way that is known as the 'Middle Path' philosophy for people to live a balanced life.
• The Buddha called his realizations the Four Noble Truths of Life. They are:
• Dukkha – the world is full of suffering.
• Samudaya- the origin of suffering is desire.
• Nirodha- if we give up desire, we can escape suffering.
• Magga- there is a path to follow to renounce desires. Which ultimately came to be known as the Eight-fold path. which includes Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
• The Buddha was very clear that our entire suffering was due to ignorance which we experience from birth to death.
• The Buddha said that it is most unfortunate that we fail to realize the true and Ultimate Goal of life. He termed that state as 'Nirvana'.
• When we realize the Truth of the cosmic illusion, we experience a state of everlasting peace. We live with compassion and love, despite all circumstances and evil-doing of those around us.
• Nothing affects a realized soul, explained the Buddha. We must activate our intellect to overcome miseries - that is the way to escape from fear and worry.
• The Buddha always said that instead of accepting anything blindly, one should try to question everything and then accept what is right.
• The Buddha might have called it Nirvana but it was no different from Moksha. The destination was the same, the means to reach it was different.