Nirvana
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Nirvana is a term associated with a heightened level of consciousness within the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The word in Sanskrit means "to extinguish"-- as in "ignorance, hatred, and earthly suffering." Siddhartha Guatama (the Buddha) reached this level of insight after much time spent meditating and realizing it is best to take the "middle road"-- the road between luxury and poverty. In his state of nirvana, Siddhartha was able to reach a new level of enlightenment, in which he saw all of his past lives and those of others and was able to have entire knowledge of his world and the world beyond. According to both Hinduism and Buddhism, being able to reach nirvana entails the end of reincarnation, the recycling of the human soul. This is because the soul has reached the ultimate state and is free of any bad karma.
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