Nirvana

The ideas of spiritual liberation, with the concept of soul and Brahman, appear in Vedic texts and Upanishads, such as in verse 4.4.6 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The term nirvana in the soteriological sense of "blown out, extinguished" state of liberation appears at many places in the Vedas and even more in the post-Buddhist Bhagavata Purana, however populist opinion does not give credit to either the Vedas or the Upanishads. Collins states, "the Buddhists seem to have been the first to call it nirvana." This may have been deliberate use of words in early Buddhism, suggests Collins, since Atman and Brahman were described in Vedic texts and Upanishads with the imagery of fire, as something good, desirable and liberating. Collins says the word nirvāṇa is from the verbal root "blow" in the form of past participle "blown", prefixed with the preverb meaning "out". Hence the original meaning of the word is "blown out, extinguished". (Sandhi changes the sounds: the v of causes to become , and then the r of causes retroflexion of the following n: + > nirvāṇa). However the Buddhist meaning of nirvana also has other interpretations. L. S. Cousins said that in popular usage nirvana was "the goal of Buddhist discipline,... the final removal of the disturbing mental elements which obstruct a peaceful and clear state of mind, together with a state of awakening from the mental sleep which they induce." ==Overview==

Nirvāṇa is a term found in the texts of all major Indian religions – Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. It refers to the profound peace of mind that is acquired with moksha, liberation from samsara, or release from a state of suffering, after respective spiritual practice or sādhanā. The liberation from Saṃsāra developed as an ultimate goal and soteriological value in the Indian culture, and called by different terms such as nirvana, moksha, mukti and kaivalya. This basic scheme underlies Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, where "the ultimate aim is the timeless state of moksa, or, as the Buddhists first seem to have called it, nirvana." Although the term occurs in the literatures of a number of ancient Indian traditions, the concept is most commonly associated with Buddhism. However, the ancient Vedic Rishis challenged this idea of afterlife as simplistic, because people do not live an equally moral or immoral life. Between generally virtuous lives, some are more virtuous; while evil too has degrees, and either permanent heaven or permanent hell is disproportionate. The Vedic thinkers introduced the idea of an afterlife in heaven or hell in proportion to one's merit, and when this runs out, one returns and is reborn. The idea of rebirth following "running out of merit" appears in Buddhist texts as well. This idea appears in many ancient and medieval texts, as Saṃsāra, or the endless cycle of life, death, rebirth and redeath, such as section 6:31 of the Mahabharata and verse 9.21 of the Bhagavad Gita. The Saṃsara, the life after death, and what impacts rebirth came to be seen as dependent on karma. == Buddhism ==

entering parinirvana, Dharma assembly pavilion, Wat Botum Wattey Reacheveraram, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Nirvana (nibbana) literally means "blowing out" or "quenching". It is the most used as well as the earliest term to describe the soteriological goal in Buddhism: the extinguishing of the passions, which also gives release from the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra). The Buddhist texts identify these "three fires" or "three poisons" as raga (greed, sensuality), dvesha (aversion, hate) and avidyā or moha (ignorance, delusion). The state of nirvana is also described in Buddhism as cessation of all afflictions, cessation of all actions, cessation of rebirths and suffering that are a consequence of afflictions and actions, a fire going out for lack of fuel, abandoning weaving (vana) together of life after life, and the elimination of desire. Liberation is described as identical to anatta (, non-self, lack of any self). In Buddhism, liberation is achieved when all things and beings are understood to be with no Self. Nirvana is also described as identical to achieving sunyata (emptiness), where there is no essence or fundamental nature in anything, and everything is empty. Yet, in Theravada Buddhism it is also seen as the only unconditioned existent,{{cite book|author=John J. Makransky|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I4qmkptncxQC|title=Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet|date=1997|publisher=State University of NYP == Hinduism ==

Although the most ancient texts of Hinduism, such as the Vedas and early Upanishads, discuss a very closely related and borderline equivalent concept, with the soteriological term Moksha, they do not mention the soteriological term Nirvana. The earliest attestation of the term 'Nirvana' is found in texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Nirvana Upanishad, likely composed in the post-Buddha era. However, the earliest attestation of the term Nirvana in Buddhist texts is attributed to the Nikayas of the Sutta Pitaka, whose claim of First Buddhist Council origin has been questioned by several historians. Several modern scholars doubt whether the entire canon was really recited during the First Council, because the early texts contain different accounts on important subjects such as meditation. Most scholars, from the late 19th century onward, have considered even the historicity of the First Council improbable. Some scholars, such as orientalists Louis de La Vallée-Poussin and D.P. Minayeff, thought there must have been assemblies after the Buddha's death but considered only the main characters and some events before or after the First Council historical. The concept of Nirvana is described differently in Buddhist and Hindu literature. Hinduism has the concept of Atman – the soul, self – asserted to exist in every living being, while Buddhism asserts through its anatman doctrine that there is no Atman in any being. Nirvana in Buddhism is "stilling mind, cessation of desires, and action" unto emptiness, states Jeaneane Fowler, while nirvana in post-Buddhist Hindu texts is also "stilling mind but not inaction" and "not emptiness"; rather it is infiniteness, the knowledge of true Self (Atman) and the acceptance of its universality and unity with Brahman. Moksha The ancient soteriological concept in Hinduism is moksha, described as the liberation from the cycle of birth and death through self-knowledge and the eternal connection of Atman (soul, self) and metaphysical Brahman. Moksha is derived from the root () which means free, let go, release, liberate; Moksha means "liberation, freedom, emancipation of the soul". In the Vedas and early Upanishads, the word mucyate () Brahma-nirvana in the Bhagavad Gita The term Brahma-nirvana appears in verses 2.72 and 5.24-26 of the Bhagavad Gita. It is the state of release or liberation; the union with the Brahman. == Jainism ==

folio on Mahavira Nirvana. Note the crescent shaped Siddhashila, a place where all siddhas reside after nirvana. The terms moksa and nirvana are often used interchangeably in the Jain texts. , believed to have lived millions of years ago, was the first Tirthankara to attain nirvana. Uttaradhyana Sutra provides an account of Sudharman – also called Gautama, and one of the disciples of Mahavira – explaining the meaning of nirvana to Kesi, a disciple of Parshva. ==Sikhism==

The concept of liberation as "extinction of suffering", along with the idea of sansara as the "cycle of rebirth" is also part of Sikhism. Nirvana appears in Sikh texts as the term Nirban. However, the more common term is Mukti or Moksh, a salvation concept wherein loving devotion to God is emphasized for liberation from endless cycle of rebirths. ==Manichaenism==

The term Nirvana (also mentioned is parinirvana) is in the 13th or 14th century Manichaean work "The great song to Mani" and "The story of the Death of Mani", referring to the realm of light. ==See also==