samsara

Samsara is the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth found in several Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The term comes from Sanskrit saṃsāra, meaning “wandering” or “continuous flow.” In these systems, beings move through successive lives due to karma—the moral quality of actions—shaped by ignorance, desire, and attachment, which sustains the cycle.

In Hindu thought, samsara ends when the atman (the self) realizes its unity with Brahman, the ultimate reality. Liberation, or moksha, is achieved through various paths such as devotion (bhakti), knowledge (jnana), right action (karma), or disciplined practice (raja).

Buddhism presents samsara as a state of ongoing dissatisfaction (dukkha) produced by craving and ignorance. The goal is Nirvana, the cessation of craving and the end of rebirth. Key Buddhist ideas include dependent origination, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path, which together describe how to escape the cycle.

Jainism teaches an eternal, individual soul (jiva) bound to karma. Liberation (moksha) comes from shedding karmic particles through strict ethical conduct, ascetic discipline, and right belief, knowledge, and conduct, with nonviolence (ahimsa) as a central precept.

In Sikhism, samsara refers to the cycle of birth and death driven by maya and karma. Liberation (mukti) is achieved through devotion to God, remembrance of the divine Name (Naam), and ethical living, culminating in union with God.

Across these traditions, samsara represents a reversible, conditioned process rather than a fixed state, with liberation defined as the cessation of repetitive rebirth.