I had to put it in personal relationships because there is no Religion Category
First off, I feel the obligation to tell you I am not talking about a Christian rock group, or the band Nirvana at all (although Nirvana is a very cool band), I am talking about a state of being that is the ultimate goal of two major religions. If you still have no tangible idea ofwhat Nirvana is, I will post a definition graciously given to me by a close friend, Dictionary.com:
1. often Nirvana
a. Buddhism. The ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion.
b. Hinduism. Emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment.
Now on the serious side of this.
The ultimate goal for Christians is to enter into a state of heaven. Heaven is a place of purity and the destruction of sin and death. Now, looking at the above definitions, it looks that the definition of Nirvana and what I think Heaven is are quite the same. Once or twice I think I have felt a touch of Nirvana. While I lay down to sleep one night, I started my nightly prayers. Yet this time, it wasn't so much of a routine thing. I felt different. Thinking about my faith in it's utter state of penury, I began to examine my life. I began to think about the purest and most beautiful thing I could think of. Heaven. And then, just like a huge wave, I reached the crest and thought about what Nirvana really was. It was absolutely amazing. I started crying, not in shame, pain, or humiliation, but in utter joy. Other times I have felt a lot like this, usually in the middle of Mass, or when I am running or doing some sport, I release my mind. It usually does not happen by myself willing it to happen, but when I least expect it. In Cross Country, I ran at the state meet this fall. While running, I was so tired, so beat, so concentrated, that I fell into a groove. A groove that made me feel invincible. I felt able to tear car doors off with my bare hands, or run to the top of Mount Everest. I get the same feeling when listening to a very powerful song. Could it be? Let me say this, I am not the best person by any means. I stumble more often than I wish to remember. How merciful and kind is a God that sends a bolt of light to penetrate my mind's malicious darkness?
Being a rock fan through and through, I really like to listen to Stairway to Heaven by Zeppelin.
Look at the lyrics from the song.
"There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.
And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.
And it makes me wonder.
Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.
And she's buying a stairway to heaven."
To me, this is almost divine inpiration. Not that I know what the words were meant to mean, but sentences like
"There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder. "
I really start to wonder. I think that the West is where the sun sets, symbolizing the end of our lives. "Crying for leaving" may mean the wait to enter into heaven. Then the "Ooh, it makes me wonder" part could be about the examination of the human spirit and soul, making us all wonder.
Another very interesting part is this:
"And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last. "
I think this is what this part means: As we go on in our lives, and we are on the edge of death (Whenever the sun is the lowest the shadows become the greatest because of the angle, and so shadows being as tall as our soul means the sun has almost set, and on the brink of death), Mary the Mother of God paves the path to Heaven and showing the near dead that all is to be fulfilled, and their life has been a work of glittering gold. THe part of "if you listen very hard, the tune will come to you at last" is where the state of Nirvana, or the tune in this song, has finally come. Also, the piper in my opinion stands for God.
Is there a Nirvana at the end of the path of life? I do not know. I sure hope so. Really think for one last moment, what would you give to be free of all pain, to be totally compassionate to everything, to be totally focused on the most brilliant Light to ever exist, to be dazzled by your God without any doubts or fears, and to have unlimited wisdom? I would give everything.
I hope this serves as an inspiration to some. Please post comments, and some tips or questions.
QED
-or-
Qued es Demonstrando
In Latin, Meaning the end of the Demonstration. Used by my Genius geometry teacher.