Prepare-for-War

The Whul ofLife a.nd Dea.th - frequent Hindu symbol used to repre sent reincarnation, which is the perpetual cycle of birth, death and rebirth, from which man is supposedly liberated when he achieves "self-realization." "live" without doing acts of some sort which then produces more karma which must be lived out in future lives. It is a never ending cycle from which there is no escape. Therefore the attainment of a state of total inactivity or withdrawal from the physical world helps bring this vicious cycle of karma to an end. There is no forgiveness in karma, each person must suffer for his own deeds. Yet, at the same time, the god-force called Brahman is everything, and therefore is both good and evil. There is no acknowledg ment ofsin as such. 5. There is only one escape from this whole terrible· unending cycle. That is into a state of nirl'ana. Nirvana is similar to our concept of hee:iven except that it is not a defi nite place. Rather it is a state of being. It is nothingness which is considered to be a blissful absence from feeling either pleasure or pain through the pure extinction of per~ sonal existence. When this state is reached, the person is· then said to have been absorbed into Brahman or pure

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