Samsara

Samsara is a term often used to describe one’s family or the world. Essentially, it refers to the terrestrial entanglement to which one mentally binds oneself. Although it is captivating initially, it becomes difficult to free oneself later. It even eludes the awareness of great intellectuals and is therefore called wondrous. Adi Shankaracharya encourages us to use our intellect to thoroughly explore questions about the nature of one’s samsara – wife and son, who represent all relationships and their effects. Furthermore, an inquiry should be made into one’s own identity, source and destination. This captures the essence of verse 8 of Bhaja Govindam.