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Nirvana is a state of Ananda, eternal bliss, and joy.
Unlike Moksha which has no author, Nirvana is the brainchild of Prince Siddhartha Gautama who went on to be known as the Buddha or the awakened one.
Tired of the inhumane practices during his time, he renounced his kingdom, all the wealth and luxury and went in pursuit of the truth.
Nirvana became a solution to all the ills that developed in the Hindu Faith that became Hinduism.
Prince Siddhartha is said to have observed 'four signs'. He saw an old man, a sick person, a corpse and a monk. This led him to his quest.
After that, Siddhartha Gautama became a Tapasvi, living a life of sacrifice and deprivation but he realized that one cannot achieve Liberation by making the body suffer. He then coined a new way that is known as the 'Middle Path' philosophy for people to live a balanced life.
The Buddha called his realizations the Four Noble Truths of Life. They are:
Dukkha – the world is full of suffering.
Samudaya- the origin of suffering is desire.
Nirodha- if we give up desire, we can escape suffering.
Magga- there is a path to follow to renounce desires.Which ultimately came to be known as the Eight-fold path. which includes Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
The Buddha was very clear that our entire suffering was due to ignorance which we experience from birth to death.
The Buddha said that it is most unfortunate that we fail to realize the true and Ultimate Goal of life. He termed that state as 'Nirvana'.
When we realize the Truth of the cosmic illusion, we experience a state of everlasting peace. We live with compassion and love, despite all circumstances and evil-doing of those around us.
Nothing affects a realized soul, explained the Buddha. We must activate our intellect to overcome miseries - that is the way to escape from fear and worry.
The Buddha always said that instead of accepting anything blindly, one should try to question everything and then accept what is right.
The Buddha might have called it Nirvana but it was no different from Moksha. The destination was the same, the means to reach it was different.
