Nirvāṇa ( /nɪərˈvɑːnə/ neer-VAH-nə, /-ˈvænə/ -VAN-ə; [1] sanscrită निर्वाण nirvāṇa [nɪɽʋaːɳɐ] ; Pali nibbāna; Prakrit ivivvāṇa, literalmente "suflată", ca într-o lampă de petrol [2] ) este asociată de obicei cu jainismul și budismul și reprezintă starea supremă de eliberare soteriologică, eliberarea de renașterea repetată în saṁsāra. [3] [4]
În religiile indiene, nirvana este sinonim cu moksha și mukti[7], o stare de liniște perfectă, libertate, fericirea cea mai înaltă, precum și eliberarea sau sfârșitul samsarei (acel ciclu repetat de naștere, viață și moarte).[8][9]
Cu toate acestea, însă, tradițiile budiste și non-budiste descriu acești termeni ai eliberării în mod diferit[10] :
Buddhism: the soteriological goal is nirvana, liberation from the wheel of samsara and extinction of all desires, cravings and suffering.
One important caveat must be noted: for many lay Buddhists all over the world, rebirth in a higher realm - rather than realizing nirvana - has been the primary religious goal. [...] while many Buddhists strongly emphasize the soteriological value of the Buddha's teaching on nirvana [escape from samsara], many other Buddhists focus their practice on more tangible goals, in particular on the propitious rebirth in one's next life.
What most distinguishes Indian from Western philosophy is that all the important Indian systems point to the same phenomenon: Enlightenment or Liberation. Enlightenment has different names in the various systems – kaivalya, nirvana, moksha, etc. – and is described in different ways...
[Nirvana is] beyond the processes involved in dying and reborn. [...] Nirvana is emptiness in being void of any grounds for the delusion of a permanent, substantial Self, and because it cannot be conceptualized in any view which links it to 'I' or 'mine' or 'Self'. It is known in this respect by one with deep insight into everything as not-Self (anatta), empty of Self.
There has been some dispute as to the exact meaning of nirvana, but clearly the Buddhist theory of no soul seems to imply quite a different perspective from that of Vedantist philosophy, in which the individual soul or self [atman] is seen as identical with the world soul or Brahman [god] (on the doctrine of anatta[no soul] ...
Even the Atman depends on the Brahman. In fact, the two are essentially the same. [...] Hindu theology believes that the Atman ultimately becomes one with the Brahman. One's true identity lies in realizing that the Atman in me and the Brahman - the groud of all existence - are similar. [...] The closest kin of Atman is the Atman of all living things, which is grounded in the Brahman. When the Atman strives to be like Brahman it is only because it realizes that that is its origin - God. [...] Separation between the Atman and the Brahman is proved to be impermanent. What is ultimately permanent is the union between the Atman and the Brahman. [...] Thus, life's struggle is for the Atman to be released from the body, which is impermanent, to unite with Brahman, which is permanent - this doctrine is known as Moksha.