A Note on Nirvana

Buddhism has its origin in man's realisation of a deeper truth in life which commands universality and conditions his whole existence. This deeper truth of life is called suffering. The entire existence of man is constituted, pervaded and conditioned by suffering. This is the existential situation of man. The realisation of this situation creates in man the elimination of suffering called Nirvana. It is the supreme goal of man's life of the highest value. Nirvana is defined as the case of absolute freedom from all sufferings. Nirvana is defined as the case of absolute freedom from all sufferings.

The Nirvana and the realisation of sufferings are not two distinct realms but two sides of the same realisation of truth or mystry of life. A man can understand the truth of life only at the reflective levl after attaining absolute freedom or Nirvana. The man who is conditioned by avidya do not realise this truth of life.

According to Madhyamika, Nirvana is a transformed state of personality and consciousness. It is described negatively as the destruction of craving and obsessions. It is positvely described as the emergence of Pragya i.e., transcendental wisdom and peace. The two schools of Buddhism have interpreted Nirvana in two different ways:

1. the Hinayanists believes that Nirvana is external and blissful. Madhyamika counters this view by claiming that there can be no prediction of Nirvana.

2. The Hinyanist believed that Nirvana is something to be acquired where as Madhyamika claims it cannot be acquired. To this Nagarjuna writes “Nirvana is that which is neither abandoned nor acquired, it is neither anilihiated nor a thing eternal; it is neither destroyed nor produced.”
3. According to Madhyamika Nirvana is neither positive nor negative, however some philosophers liked the Vaishesikas consider Nirvana as positive as it supresses or constitutess a limit to the streams of Karma, Var, etc. Nagarjuna, however rejects this view where Nirvana is considered to be unconditioned and yet a positive entity (bhava). He holds that Nirvana is not positive because whatever is positive is subject to decay and death and in that case it would not be Nirvana.

We can summarize both the Madhyamika and Hiyanist concept of Nirvana. According to Hinyanist, there are certain undefined and unconditioned Dharmas whhich are ultimately real so Nirvana is the vairiable change of the discrete conditioned existence into unconditioned existences. Countering this position, the Madhyamika does not mean change in objective order, the change in only subjective order. According to them we do not have to change the world but only ourselves.