Sansara
Many Indian religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism believe in the concept of Sansara, or Samsara, which literally means “continuous flow”. Sansara refers to the constant continuity of the cycle of life, which includes the birth, life, the physiological death and the rebirth or reincarnation. There are other Indian religions that believe in Sansara, including but not limited to Jainism, Bon and Sikhism. The term Sansara can also be used in reference to a set of objects or possessions, or a specific geographic location. For this reason, it is important to listen to the context of the sentence when the word Sansara is used in order to clarify how the word is meant. Through its literal meaning, Sansara can be used to refer to a continuous stream of just about anything, including emotions, repetitive actions, personal desires and past life experiences.
Life Does Not End at the Time of Physiological Death
This religious belief is founded upon the concept that life does not end with the physiological death of the body. This is quite different from common beliefs about death in the Western World. The physiological death is believed to be merely a part of the life cycle, as opposed to the end of the cycle itself, followed by new life after death. There are also other considerations linked to the physiological death involving the timing of when the death occurs. For example, it is believed that the hearing and other senses may stop functioning at different times, further supporting the notion that there is no clear physiological end of life at any given point. It is a gradual process that appears to be ongoing. The methodology of Sansara indicates that there is no actual ending of a being’s existence, even after the physical death of the body; rather, life and rebirth is an ongoing process that continues to flow.
Actions in Life Will Affect Actions After Death
There are many religions and countries that have identical or similar beliefs with regard to the continuity of life after death. They may or may not refer to the belief as Sansara, but the concept is still very similar. Greece is known to have similar beliefs to India in ancient times, and a few of these notions have carried over into modern days. Platonism and Orphism also have similarly rooted beliefs regarding Sansara. There are several religious scriptures that outline these concepts clearly, indicating that these ideas have an ancient and rich history. Living a holy life of freedom and liberation after physiological death is said to be largely affected by the actions taken by the individual during life. The individual has countless opportunities in life to make good decision and to live a life of purity. Because of this, there are many opportunities for one to control their own destiny after death, or at the least, affect which direction their destiny follows.
While there are many variations of the origins and foundations of these beliefs, it is also believed that people who behaved unkindly or without moral restraint in their conscious life will bear the unfortunate consequence of their actions during their rebirth. This usually meant that they would be re-birthed as an animal or some type of unfortunate creature. Even worse, they could be subject to being reborn as a stone or tree and may never be able to have positive interactions with the living again. Some Sansara followers do not believe in the possibility of rebirth as a rock due to the obvious limited life experiences and feelings of a rock. Because a rock has little experience and control over its actions, it cannot be subjected to karma nor can it be included in the cycle of life.