Hinduism: Samsara

Samsara is a Sanskrit word meaning the endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth that is considered to be experienced by all humans in the Upanishads and in Buddhism. It is the repeated passingof souls through different worlds. Thus, Samsara is commonly known as “the wheel of life” in Hinduism. Also, Samsara refers to the general, day-to-day struggles and obstacles man experiences throughout life. Samsara exists in many religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Vaishnavism, and other related religions. According to these religions, one has a karmic “account balance” when he or she reaches death that will determine one’s destiny when a person is reborn. In Hinduism, ego-consciousness of the body and the phenomenal world comes from ignorance of one’s true self. This means that through egoism and personal desire, people are creating the basis for their next life or “future becoming”. The path of Samsara can only be overcome by attaining a sense of selflessness and having one’s soul (atman) follow its own version of Samsara…repeatedly reincarnating. Samsara is a very interesting concept to me and I am fascinated by the stories I’ve heard from Buddhist friends of mine. I’ve enjoyed the company of my Buddhist friend,Betty, because I’ve learned so much from her as we both have shared our religions with each other… me being muslim and her being Buddhist. Our religions are completely different from one another so I was very curious to know what she believes and how reincarnation and Samsara play a role in her life. I’ve known Betty for over five years and I never thought of her to be a very religious person because she did not throw her religion at people or talk about it all the time. I ended up finding out that she prayed on a daily basis and she was very strong in her religion as a Buddhist. She was always very relaxed and positive, but the best thing about her is how she naturally helped others with no expectation of anything in return. She is so giving and selfless, and it is very humbling to see the things she does for others. She never tries to convert others when religion is brought up like most people do. She is absolutely beautiful as well, and she has very high morals and values that she lives by. She is just a great person and I would always think back at our friendship and appreciate her so much because she is one of my only friends that has not wronged me. One day Bettytold me that the first time she saw her Buddhist monk she felt like she knew him, but could never figure out where from. He was drawn to her and was very interested in her life. She was flattered by this, but she did not understand why he took such major interest in her. After months of talking, she still could not tell where she knew his familiar face from. As her story went on, I found out that the Buddhist monk finally told her why he was so interested in her personality and the way she lived he life. He told her that she was an angel in the past life that had helped him in a life crisis situation. I was shocked, but at the same time, it made sense considering how great of a person she was and all the beautiful things she did for others.