SAMSARA CHAKRA (THE WHEEL OF BIRTH AND DEATH)

Life after life circulates in the samsāra chakra, or the wheel of birth, growth, decay, death, and reincarnation. It is because of life's attachments to sense perceived objects emanating from insatiable desire clouded by a veil of ignorance that propels a being to move in a continuous cycle to satiate the insatiable desire through the cycle of action, reaction, and fruits arising from that. No one can remain away for a moment without karma or action, says Srimad Bhagavad Gita. The issue pertinent here is the degree of attachment or detachment to karma and the consequential reactions and fruits thereof. As a consequence, attachments to objects of the senses tie one to karmic action, reaction, and resultant fruits. It also shows the importance our actions have on our existence, or what we like to call karma.

Vedic literature also discusses rebirth; the Sanskrit word "bhavachakra" is a synonym for the word samsāra. Bhava, which means origin or worldly being, and chakra, which means circle or rotation, are the two categories into which this can be separated. In actuality, this concept of a rotation or cycle is rebirth! We are not permanent residents of samsāra; rather, we shall alternate between incarnations based on our past deeds. Samsāra is filled with passion, egtism, anger, envy, and an unquenchable longing for sensory items. Nirvāna, the state of being that is devoid of negative emotions, is beyond the samsāra and is, by definition, the ultimate realisation that all of us strive for. It is also what is truly the essence of happiness.

1. Outline

Every being's ultimate purpose is to become conscious of who they are. Sensual impulses and the tenacity of the fight between opposites, such as pleasure and pain, birth and death, young and old, attachments and jealousy, interior and outside, etc., obscure the realisation of the Self. But the Jiva, the living substance of a living creature, consciously and unconsciously experiences a myriad of thoughts, events, activities, discernment, and a host of other things. It must use the powerful willpower of detachment, equanimity, and self-knowledge to escape the pair of opposites. This is achieved by letting go of ego-based self-respect, unquenchable desire, servitude, attachment, jealousy, and all the attendant attributes that arise from the body-mind-intellect complex and limiting an individual to his own self. These drive a person, fully ignorant of the origin, to move outward in order to satisfy the insatiable desires based on the world of objects. His fundamental root, his inner essence, is forgotten in the outward drive. He becomes confused and is unable to comprehend that he is pure consciousness in the first place. Man is in bondage and ignorance so in samasāra chakra. Bondage circumvents a being’s progression to realise his own Self. It navigates one to the confinement of a phenomenon world governed by maya, or illusion to get stuck in the sensory derived objects of dualities of pain and pleasure, happiness and distress, joy and sorrow, et al. The capacity of the perceiver to recognise and be cognisant of the Self—the ātman, or inner spirit—is denigrated by bondage. With regard to the ideas of self-realisation, consciousness, renunciation, or sannyāsa, and moksha, or freedom, it expands the divide. It triggers the descent inside the samsāra (birth and death) cycle and gradually increases the intensity of transient unrealism. The transmigration cycle goes through cycles of up and down, descent and ascent, and in and out of the samsāra-chakra, also known as the spinning wheel of bondage. If someone tries to pull themselves out of the universal cosmic order, the samsāra-chakra corrects its own involuntary rules. The body-mind-intellect complex is a manifestation of an unfulfilled realisation of one's inherent nature as impure consciousness. The main culprit is ignorance, which clouds one’s Self to remain always in the cyclic falsified domain of maya, or illusion. In the samsāra-chakra cycle, ignorance serves as a primary connecting factor. We have limited knowledge. It is neither exhaustive nor final. Ignorance is the thing that exists in that space. Our continuous connection to the samsāra-chakra is accentuated and maintained by ignorance. A significant philosophical and spiritual issue is bondage. Its relationship to "samsāra" (birth and death) or "maya" (illusion) gives rise to the law governing it, which is known as karma (duty or activity). Undoubtedly, it is an essential component of the more general ideas of Dharma (righteousness), Moksha (liberation), and the quest for self-realisation and self-awareness. A person in a state of bondage is shackled in psycho-physical dimensions, immersing them in what Swami Chidananda calls "earth consciousness."

2. Cardinal Virtues

Virtuosity is intertwined with truth, knowledge, and purity. It is the basic foundation of equanimity and a steadfast disposition. Bondage-related attachments make it difficult to distinguish between what is and isn't real. Attachments reinforce the bonds of samsāra because they mix the qualities of klesha-karmas (impure tasks) with vāsanas (the subtle state of desire). Swami Sivananda explains both vasanas and kleshas. The five kleshas are asmita (egoism), raga (likes), dwesha (dislikes or aversions), and avinivesha (desire to live or fear of death). Vāsanas fall into two main categories: Asubha (impure) and Subha (pure). The former results in relief, whereas the latter brings about death and rebirth. The three types of impure vasanas are the Loka Vasana of the universe, the Sāstra Vāsana of the scriptures, and the Deha Vāsana of the body. The belief in reincarnation, which maintains that an individual's past deeds in previous lifetimes affect their current circumstances and future incarnations, is closely associated with bondage and impure vasanas. In this cyclical existence, people become entangled in the material world, where they are vulnerable to desires, attachments, and suffering.

One must lead a virtuous character in order to imbibe the habit and disposition of equanimity, truthfulness, forbearance, detachment, humbleness,  freedom from hypocrisy, non-violence; forgiveness, simplicity, cleanliness of body and mind, steadfastness, and self-control; dispassion toward the objects of the senses, absence of egotism enable the seeker to become free from all opposites, dualities, extremes, and complexities. It enhances the ability to endure hardships with patience and equanimity. It is a virtue that encourages individuals to cultivate inner strength and stability, allowing them to navigate through life's challenges with grace and composure.

 3. Scriptures

The scriptures are quite emphatic about virtuous life: elevating oneself to wriggle out of the samsara chakra to become conscious of one's own Self, or Self-realisation.

The Ashtavakra Gita (15.16-19) says that it is through your ignorance that all this exists. In reality, you alone exist. Apart from you, there is no one within or beyond Samsāra. Knowing that all this is an illusion, one becomes free from desire, pure receptivity, and at peace, as if nothing existed. Only one thing has existed, exists, and will exist in the ocean of being. You have no bondage or liberation. Being pure consciousness, do not disturb your mind with thoughts of for and against. Be at peace, live happily, and be fulfilled.

The paths of patience, reflection, seclusion, self-control, and detachment are encouraged in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Detachment is moving beyond the cycle of birth and death and into the world of freedom, salvation, or emancipation. Attachment is staying in the realm of birth and death. Knowledge, according to the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, is the most profound of all secrets and the monarch of sciences. Those who hear it become purified. It can be directly achieved, easily practiced, in harmony with dharma (order or righteousness), and has an enduring influence. Such people, according to the Bhagavad Gita, are never unhappy and are not dependent on anything outside of themselves because they have given up attachment to the results of their deeds. They get involved with activities, yet they take no action at all. Being able to directly perceive oneself through self-realisation makes knowledge the purest and highest of all religions. It is also tremendously delightful to strive for.

The Upanishads proclaim that Existence is one. They emphasise that Reality is only one and cannot be two. The scriptures suggest being perfect in the Mahāvākyas (Great Sayings) and not wasting your time. Several instances of these are: "Tat Tvam Asi," or Thou art That, Chandogya Upanishad (6.8.7), Sāma Veda; "Aham Brahmāsmi," or I am Brahmān (Cosmic Self), Brihadāranyaka Upanishad (1.4.10), Śukla Yajur Veda; "Ayam Ātmā Brahma," or This Self (Ātman) is Brahmān, Mandukya Upanishad (1.2), Atharva Veda; and "Prajñānam Brahmā," or Consciousness is Brahmān, Aitareya Upanishad (3.3), Rig Veda. Cultivating an elevated state of consciousness, or being aware, is encouraged. Heightened consciousness, or self-awareness, is the key to everything. Perceptions are able to perceive the limited nature of things. The sense organs have constraints in their capability to identify and understand what is beyond their ability to perceive. The eye of ātman, or the inner spirit or soul, is referred to as the "eye of consciousness." It's all about elevated perception, inner vision, and expanded consciousness.

4. Remarks

The samsāra is shackled as one circulates within it through his karmic attachments and thus gets tied to the bondage in the cycle of birth, growth, decay, death, and reincarnation. Through the weapons of knowledge, detachment, and truthfulness, one can elevate oneself to become conscious of his own Self, leading to the path of moksha, or liberation. The Jiva, or individual soul, according to Adi Shankaracharya, is only partially existent. Its uniqueness is limited by Avidya, or ignorance, which subjects it to unreal Upadhis or restrictive circumstances. When avidya, or ignorance, deludes the Jiva, it identifies with the body, mind, and senses. Due to avidya, it acts, thinks, and enjoys. It is actually the same as Brahmān, or the Cosmic Self. With great emphasis, the Upanishads declare: "Tat Tvam Asi—That Thou Art." When the Jiva, or empirical self, realises Brahmān, it becomes one with Brahmān, just as a bubble breaks and becomes one with the ocean, or as a broken pot becomes one with the cosmic ether. It becomes aware of its fundamental Satchidananda nature and is liberated from its uniqueness and finitude when knowledge is shown to it through the destruction of avidya. It submerges into the blissful ocean. The ocean of existence is joined by the river of life. This is Absolute Reality, Cosmic  Self, or Absolute  Existence.

-Asutosh Satpathy