The Nirvana Theories
The terms NIRVANA or MOKSHA are often heard, but when asked of their precise meaning, we will never get a definitive answer. Some proclaim that Nirvana is a stage where your soul reaches god. We are but our thoughts encased in a body. Other than the thoughts, we perceive with our senses certain feelings such as pleasure and pain. Our genetic characteristic determines some other factors such as the way we walk, gesture, etc. In addition to this, we are governed by certain ideas which might have been acquired through others or through our own reasoning powers. So, where does the term soul fit in? If the soul is beyond perceiving then in a realistic sense it should be taken as ideas and feelings minus the body. Then, when it is said that the soul has reached god, it can be interpreted as them traveling until they reached god and I guess they stay in some corner of his house.
Another theory is that work is god, meaning that happiness must be sought in work. When we take the example of a wood-cutter who is happy in his profession, we observe that if he suddenly runs into a lot of money, he will stop cutting wood and he will get into another more interesting work. But when he doesn’t have it, he consoles himself that he should be satisfied with his work. Also, his inferior intelligence is exploited by encouraging his beliefs and in the process eliminating him as a competitor in more profitable ventures. There will be many cases where men genuinely love their work, but the important thing is to truly realize whether that love is induced or inborn.
Scientists and professors for instance, possess immense knowledge. But very often their lives are controlled by people who have nothing but a will to power. The man in power uses people with knowledge to get what he desires, like we use calculators to do calculations for us.
Buddha stated that “Desire is the root cause of sorrow”. By this, he meant that if we are no able to get our cherished object, only then misery will arise in us. As a solution he said that we must not desire anything and through this we can reach a state of Nirvana.
But wanting to reach that state in itself is a desire. Apart from that, if we make a close study of what we desire in life, we can arrive at certain conclusions. We desire to satisfy our hunger. So we kill animals and eat meat. If we eliminate our desires up to a point where we stop killing animals and then a man like J.C.Bose comes forward and claims that even plants have life and feel pain. So when we stop even that, ultimately we reach a point where we just breathe because of the desire to live and in the process, kill germs. So we stop that too, and reach Nirvana or in other words, die.
The terms NIRVANA or MOKSHA are often heard, but when asked of their precise meaning, we will never get a definitive answer. Some proclaim that Nirvana is a stage where your soul reaches god. We are but our thoughts encased in a body. Other than the thoughts, we perceive with our senses certain feelings such as pleasure and pain. Our genetic characteristic determines some other factors such as the way we walk, gesture, etc. In addition to this, we are governed by certain ideas which might have been acquired through others or through our own reasoning powers. So, where does the term soul fit in? If the soul is beyond perceiving then in a realistic sense it should be taken as ideas and feelings minus the body. Then, when it is said that the soul has reached god, it can be interpreted as them traveling until they reached god and I guess they stay in some corner of his house.
Another theory is that work is god, meaning that happiness must be sought in work. When we take the example of a wood-cutter who is happy in his profession, we observe that if he suddenly runs into a lot of money, he will stop cutting wood and he will get into another more interesting work. But when he doesn’t have it, he consoles himself that he should be satisfied with his work. Also, his inferior intelligence is exploited by encouraging his beliefs and in the process eliminating him as a competitor in more profitable ventures. There will be many cases where men genuinely love their work, but the important thing is to truly realize whether that love is induced or inborn.
Scientists and professors for instance, possess immense knowledge. But very often their lives are controlled by people who have nothing but a will to power. The man in power uses people with knowledge to get what he desires, like we use calculators to do calculations for us.
Buddha stated that “Desire is the root cause of sorrow”. By this, he meant that if we are no able to get our cherished object, only then misery will arise in us. As a solution he said that we must not desire anything and through this we can reach a state of Nirvana.
But wanting to reach that state in itself is a desire. Apart from that, if we make a close study of what we desire in life, we can arrive at certain conclusions. We desire to satisfy our hunger. So we kill animals and eat meat. If we eliminate our desires up to a point where we stop killing animals and then a man like J.C.Bose comes forward and claims that even plants have life and feel pain. So when we stop even that, ultimately we reach a point where we just breathe because of the desire to live and in the process, kill germs. So we stop that too, and reach Nirvana or in other words, die.