What Nirvana Means and How It Affects Your Life

One of the most famous rock bands of all time inspired its name by a concept belonging to the Eastern religions: can it be more edifying about the importance and universality of Nirvana than this?

Whether you are a follower of the naturalistic (meditation, morality) or spiritual (belief in reincarnation) practices of Buddhism, you certainly want to know what Nirvana means.

Let's juggle these complicated philosophies in the lines below and tell you everything you need to know about this concept so deeply!

What is Nirvana?

Let's start with the bad news: in essence, Nirvana cannot be described, it can only be known or felt. Not even the Buddha tried to give him a strict definition, and the great masters or gurus who followed him shared much of the same attitude.

However, we can extract a special meaning from the translation of the three syllables from the Sanskrit language (nir-va-na). According to linguists, the word could thus be translated as "to be free from the tangled roots" or "to get rid of the woven cloth." In both cases, we see that "freedom" is the most appropriate answer to the question "what does Nirvana mean?"

Other voices resemble Nirvana merging with the infinite energy of the Universe. We thus get rid of the karmic circle and gain that release of sadness, but also joy.

However, we must not understand that those who have touched Nirvana no longer feel. They simply no longer feel the temptation to seek out happiness or to avoid sadness at all costs.

Another meaning of Nirvana may be related to the word "unconditional", which is often described in ancient texts. In other words, the state of Nirvana has no cause, but it does exist.

What does it mean to reach Nirvana?

It should be noted that all philosophers say that Nirvana is not so easy to reach. Although this state is described as the ultimate goal of life, Nirvana is not a journey for a single existence. Most of the time, you have to go through multiple lives to reach it.

To reach the state of Nirvana means to escape the uninterrupted cycle of births and deaths. You have thus reached the ultimate goal of your soul, that of returning home and merging with total energy.

Achieving Nirvana is a state of deep peace and endless wisdom. It is the supreme happiness, the one that you obtained only after you gave up looking for transient joys around you or to get rid of annoyances, which in turn are fleeting.

This idyllic picture certainly equips us with the strength needed to try to further understand what Nirvana means and how we can achieve it!

How do you do that? Through mindfulness. Conscious meditation allows you to observe the states you are going through, not to be affected by them. You will understand what caused them, but you will no longer be dependent on their joy, nor will you seek to get rid of the sadness it causes you. By becoming a conscious observer of these feelings, you will no longer be a "slave" to them, but you will gain freedom.

What does Nirvana mean?

The state of Nirvana is the ultimate goal of your uninterrupted existence, which is why Buddhists believe that we reincarnate. Some philosophers describe it as the most pleasant place you can be, although the Buddha insisted that Nirvana is not a place, but a state.

Buddhists also point out that there are two types of Nirvana. One of them is the one that you can reach now, during this life, and that involves the release of suffering and the temptation to discover pleasure everywhere.

The second Nirvana is the perpetual one, the one you will reach after death. The life in which you discovered Nirvana is the last for you, the sublime state shattering the repetitive circle of deaths and rebirths in which you are trapped, according to Buddhist philosophy.

Buddhist laws

Now that we have learned what Nirvana means, let us find out what are the Buddhist laws whose observance can bring us closer to this much-desired state.

The answer is that there are no Buddhist laws. Eastern philosophy rarely believes in obligation, although there are five precepts considered the most important system of morality for followers of Buddhism. These precepts were compared to human rights, the 10 commandments of Christianity, or the code of ethics of Confucianism.

Here's what it's all about:

• refrain from killing any living thing: this includes both animals and insects. The necessary virtues are kindness and compassion, and the associated right to life.
• abstention from theft also refers to fraud and the use of forgery. The associated virtues are generosity and renunciation, and the right to property.
• abstaining from any sexual misconduct. Here, Buddhists refer to sexual responsibility and long-term commitments. The virtues you use are contentment and respect for loyalty and the right to fidelity in marriage.
• to refrain from lying. Buddhists condemn here the insult, but also the gossip that we sometimes like so much. As for the associated virtues, we mention honesty, and rightly so, the right to human dignity.
• abstinence from the use of intoxicating substances (alcohol, tobacco, drugs, etc.). Mindfulness and responsibility are used here, and the right inspired by this precept, the right to safety and security.

Finding out what Nirvana means is practically one of the purposes of our existence. We hope that the above information has quenched your thirst for knowledge and that you will continue the mission of finding out more, keeping us part of your journey.