Tim Pyke's Blog - Posts Tagged "india"
Samsara
Welcome to my blog, I thought I'd make use of this facility although I'm not sure if anybody will read it.
For my first post I shall give a brief explanation to the meaning of samsara and my reason for choosing it in the title of my book, The Wheels of Samsara.
Samsara is a Sanskrit word pertaining to the endlessly repeating cycle of birth, life and death i.e. reincarnation. A person's current life is only one of many lives that will be lived—stretching back before birth into past existences and reaching forward beyond death into future incarnations. It is a belief in all the eastern religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Taoism etcetera.
During the course of each life, the quality of the actions performed determines the future destiny of each person. Samsara arises out of wrong knowledge about reality. Samsara is a feature of a life based on illusion. Illusion enables a person to think s/he is an autonomous being instead of recognizing the connection between one's self and the rest of reality. Believing in the illusion of separateness that persists throughout samsara leads one to act in ways that generate karma and thus perpetuate the cycle of action and rebirth. By fully grasping the unity or oneness of all things, the believer has the potential to break the illusion upon which samsara is based and achieve Moksha—liberation from samsara. The liberation from samsara is possible by following the path of yoga.
Within my book the protagonist remembers his many previous lives and also discovers the cycles of human civilisation throughout the past. It is for this reason that I chose the name wheels of samsara since life at all levels is made up of turning cycles like a wheel. Also, in my younger days I used to go raving and my favourite club night was one called Escape From Samsara at The Fridge nightclub in Brixton, south London, they played trance and techno. This was the first time I discovered the word.
If you want you can follow my on Twitter @timpyke2015 or on Instagram @timpyke.
Thanks for reading and please check review of my book at the link below, maybe it's something you've been looking for.
The Wheels of Samsara
For my first post I shall give a brief explanation to the meaning of samsara and my reason for choosing it in the title of my book, The Wheels of Samsara.
Samsara is a Sanskrit word pertaining to the endlessly repeating cycle of birth, life and death i.e. reincarnation. A person's current life is only one of many lives that will be lived—stretching back before birth into past existences and reaching forward beyond death into future incarnations. It is a belief in all the eastern religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Taoism etcetera.
During the course of each life, the quality of the actions performed determines the future destiny of each person. Samsara arises out of wrong knowledge about reality. Samsara is a feature of a life based on illusion. Illusion enables a person to think s/he is an autonomous being instead of recognizing the connection between one's self and the rest of reality. Believing in the illusion of separateness that persists throughout samsara leads one to act in ways that generate karma and thus perpetuate the cycle of action and rebirth. By fully grasping the unity or oneness of all things, the believer has the potential to break the illusion upon which samsara is based and achieve Moksha—liberation from samsara. The liberation from samsara is possible by following the path of yoga.
Within my book the protagonist remembers his many previous lives and also discovers the cycles of human civilisation throughout the past. It is for this reason that I chose the name wheels of samsara since life at all levels is made up of turning cycles like a wheel. Also, in my younger days I used to go raving and my favourite club night was one called Escape From Samsara at The Fridge nightclub in Brixton, south London, they played trance and techno. This was the first time I discovered the word.
If you want you can follow my on Twitter @timpyke2015 or on Instagram @timpyke.
Thanks for reading and please check review of my book at the link below, maybe it's something you've been looking for.
The Wheels of Samsara
The Swastika
In the western world the image of the swastika is now so linked with the Nazi party that it brings revulsion when seen. But in the eastern world the symbol is still commonly seen adorning temples or religious statues of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
The swastika is one of the most ancient symbols and has been found by archaeologists in almost every area of the world. It's probably most widely seen in India in current times but in fact Europe has the highest prevalence of the swastika in the ruins of all its ancient cultures - Romans, Greeks, Celts, Etruscans, etc - where it can be found in mosaic and on pots and jars. The earliest depiction of the swastika ever found was on a 12,000 year old ivory figurine discovered in Ukraine and the earliest culture known to have used the symbol was the Neolithic culture of Southern Europe.
The word swastika is Sanskrit for lucky, auspicious or well being. It has been in use in English since 1870, before that it was known in Europe by its Greek name, gammadion.
In the late 19th century the symbol experienced a resurgence following the work of archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann. He had found the symbol in the ruins of Troy and he connected it with shapes found on ancient pots in Germany and theorized that it was a significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors that linked the Germanic, Greek and indo-Iranian cultures.
After Schliemann's discovery the swastika became very popular all across the western world as an emblem of their European ancestry. It became the symbol of the theorised Aryan race, and because of its widespread usage was adopted by the Nazi party in 1920.
Because of the atrocities committed by the Nazi party the symbol has left the modern western world with very negative connotations. In Germany it is illegal to depict the swastika and in 2007 they tried to impose a Europe-wide ban on its use but dropped it in the face of opposition mainly from Hindu groups that pointed out that the symbol had been around for 5000 years.
The swastika is slowly beginning to shake off its negative meaning as more people recognise the original meaning of this most ancient symbol.
Please check out my novel :)
The Wheels of Samsara
The swastika is one of the most ancient symbols and has been found by archaeologists in almost every area of the world. It's probably most widely seen in India in current times but in fact Europe has the highest prevalence of the swastika in the ruins of all its ancient cultures - Romans, Greeks, Celts, Etruscans, etc - where it can be found in mosaic and on pots and jars. The earliest depiction of the swastika ever found was on a 12,000 year old ivory figurine discovered in Ukraine and the earliest culture known to have used the symbol was the Neolithic culture of Southern Europe.
The word swastika is Sanskrit for lucky, auspicious or well being. It has been in use in English since 1870, before that it was known in Europe by its Greek name, gammadion.
In the late 19th century the symbol experienced a resurgence following the work of archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann. He had found the symbol in the ruins of Troy and he connected it with shapes found on ancient pots in Germany and theorized that it was a significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors that linked the Germanic, Greek and indo-Iranian cultures.
After Schliemann's discovery the swastika became very popular all across the western world as an emblem of their European ancestry. It became the symbol of the theorised Aryan race, and because of its widespread usage was adopted by the Nazi party in 1920.
Because of the atrocities committed by the Nazi party the symbol has left the modern western world with very negative connotations. In Germany it is illegal to depict the swastika and in 2007 they tried to impose a Europe-wide ban on its use but dropped it in the face of opposition mainly from Hindu groups that pointed out that the symbol had been around for 5000 years.
The swastika is slowly beginning to shake off its negative meaning as more people recognise the original meaning of this most ancient symbol.
Please check out my novel :)
The Wheels of Samsara
