INDIA: Nirvana is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘be extinguished’. It is a transcendent state where there’s no suffering or desire. No reincarnation and sufferings follow up giving one the “Eternal peace”. However, Nirvana is not a state of a dream since consciousness is gone.
It is believed that the odyssey of awakening might take several lifetimes. Considering the age and time we live in, it is nearly impossible to become awakened.
Monks have ventured to say, “As people grow older they feel suffering, both physically and mentally. Their bodies start to deteriorate. And the people who are left lonely leave eventually. Everyone will eventually know the true value of Nirvana. Suffering is a part of life and death itself. It is better to not exist than to exist where there is suffering.”
Nirvana
Interestingly, Nirvana and torment exist collaterally. If there is no captivity, there is no freedom, hence no Nirvana. By the same token, there is no light, there is no darkness.
So, if Nirvana can be observed, it can be done only through its correlation to non-Nirvana/captivity. Removing non-Nirvana would result in removing Nirvana as well, cause you cannot experience one without the other.
Moreover, Nirvana is not the loss of anything except for the illusions of the self and false perception of reality that we live in every day. It is to gain an understanding of the true nature of reality. All suffering disappears because the state of Nirvana within the mind allows the truth of suffering and what causes it to be understood.
It is comprehending to the fullest degree that nothing is permanent, even Nirvana. Hence, one must continue to practise mindfulness even after experiencing Nirvana so that one can revisit that state to recall the truth.
Additionally, existing in the world constantly pulls at your attention and reinforces the illusion of self which is also known as the ego. The ego and the state of Nirvana cannot exist at the same time. The death of a person’s ego is a fundamental aspect for attaining Nirvana.
Being said that, to describe Nirvana in any language is a futile exercise. Indeed, like explaining what it is like to be born and die. It must be experienced first hand, but unlike birth and death, it can be revisited.
Also Read: Lord Mahavir, A Symbol Of Truth, Perseverance And Non-violence
Is Nirvana a void?
“I have lived on the lip of insanity, wanting to know the other side, Knocking on the doors. It opens, I have been knocking from the inside.” Quoted by Rumi, the poet suggests that enlightenment is not what causes non-existence, as it is a sufficiently a powerful experienced memory of the fact that there was no existence whatsoever, to begin with. Consequently, there is ultimately no loss.
A common question may find its way, for instance, “You can’t do anything there anymore so isn’t it boring? To which a monk once answered – “No because you won’t feel bad or good anymore, you are in eternal peace.”
Is there a right time?
It is believed that Nirvana occurs in its’ proper time. In the phase, it will cause no tears.
Additionally, there is no time limit, which means that the living is free to exist for as long as it wishes to do so. The point seems to be, to do whatever we are sent to do into this reality, and then to leave when we are ready, with no compulsion.
The truth revealed within the state of Nirvana can help live a more peaceful existence. Besides, this is just one small fraction of the truth that is realized in the state of Nirvana. But since suffering is one of the most fundamental and painful axioms of human existence, it is what people choose to focus on when trying to describe it.
