Samsara (Sanskrit: संसार) is the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (i.e. reincarnation) within Buddhism, Bön, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Vaishnavism and other related religions. Colloquially, "Samsara" can also refer to a general state of overt or subtle sufferings that occur in day to day life.
According to these religions, one's karmic "account balance" at the time of death is inherited via the state at which a person is reborn.[citation needed] During the course of each worldly life, actions committed (for good or ill) determine the future destiny of each being in the process of becoming (evolution or devolution). In Buddhism, at death the underlying volitional impulses (Saṅkhāras) thus accrued and developed are carried and transmitted in a consciousness structure popularly known as the soul, which, after an intermediate period (in Tibetan called the bardo), forms the basis for a new biological structure that will result in rebirth and a new life. This process ends in the attainment of moksha. All Indian religions believe that each living-being, be it an ant or a human, is destined to attain moksha.
If one lives in extremely evil ways, one is reborn as an animal or other unfortunate being.[1]
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Samsara is derived from "to flow together", to go or pass through states, to wander between life and death[2].
The concept of samsara (along with karma, reincarnation, and moksha) was likely first developed in India by non-Aryan people outside of the caste system. The spiritual ideas of these people greatly influenced later Indian religious thought. Buddhism and Jainism are continuations of this tradition, and the early Upanishadic movement was influenced by it. Reincarnation was adopted from this religious culture by Brahmin orthodoxy, and Brahmins first wrote down scriptures containing these ideas in the early Upanishads.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
The Sanskrit word "Samsara" is the root for the Malay word "sengsara", which means suffering.
The concept of samsara is closely associated with the belief that one continues to be born and reborn in various realms in the form of a human, god, animal, or other being (depending on karma).[1] In particular, Jainism[9] maintains that, if one performs extremely evil karma, one can be reborn also as a plant or even as a rock, and similar tendencies can be found in Purāṇas, in the Bhagavadgītā, in the Manusmṛti[10] and in similar texts. Nonetheless, most philosophic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism[11] maintain that plants and even more obviously rocks cannot be included in saṃsāra since they lack the possibility of experience (bhoga) and, hence, of karma.
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. Through egoism and desire one creates the causes for future becoming. The state of illusion that gives rise to this is known as Maya.
Through ascetic practice one finally attains sanctity and liberation (moksha or mukti) - the equivalent of salvation in Indian religions.
Broadly speaking, the holy life (brahmacarya) which leads to liberation is a path of self-purification by which the effects of sins are released.
The Hindu Yoga traditions hold various beliefs. Moksha may be achieved by love of Ishwar/God (see bhakti movement, see Mirabai), 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 believes that Brahman, the ultimate Truth-Consciousness-Bliss, is the infinite, impersonal reality (as contrasted to the Buddhist concept of shunyata); all temporal states like deities, the cosmos and samsara itself are revealed to be nothing but manifestations of Brahman.[citation needed]
In Jainism, Saṃsāra is the worldly life characterized by continuous rebirths and reincarnations in various realms of existence. Saṃsāra is described as mundane existence, full of suffering and misery and hence is considered undesirable and worth renunciation. The Saṃsāra is without any beginning and the soul finds itself in bondage with its karma since the beginningless time. Moksha is the only liberation from saṃsāra.
The concept of Saṃsāra as a cycle of rebirth and suffering is taught in Buddhism. To understand the concept of Saṃsāra it is important to know about the six realms, rebirth, karma, and Bodhi-nature or the liberation from the suffering.
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. 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, attaining self-realization results in jivan moksha/mukti, liberation/release from samsara, the cycle of karma and reincarnation while in the physical body.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
showing The wheel of life and realms of samsara]]
Samsara is a Buddhist term, meaning the conditioned state of mind. It is cycle of ignorance, leading to disturbing emotions and clumsy actions. They in turn are cause for suffering and new disturbing feelings and so on. According to Buddha’s teachings there are three main disturbing feelings: ignorance, anger and desire. They are called three poisons of mind and are told to have 84 000 combinations. The only way to completely get rid of suffering is to reach Nirvana or the perfect state of Buddha. All the teachings Buddha gives lead to this goal.
= There are six realms of samsara, connected to six specific emotions:
   | Samsara - Tour of This Universe and Beyond - VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia, Bhakti-yoga in vedas, Library |
| | Reincarnation: A Simple Explanation - Reincarnation: A Simple Explanation |
| | Samsara - tour of this universe and beyond - VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia, Bhakti-yoga in vedas, Library |
| | Samsara Yoga - Gaia Community — An Online Gathering of Environmentally and Spiritually Conscious People |
| | Karma in Sikhism - Karma - SikhiWiki, free Sikh encyclopedia. |
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