The Foundation of Saṁsāra. A Descriptive Reflection.

By Acharya Tadany
Pune, 5 April 2026.

Saṁsāra, the endless cycle of becoming, striving, and suffering, is not an external imposition upon us, it is an inner construction, quietly unfolding within our own understanding.

At its very root lies āvaraṇa śaktiḥ, the veiling power of ignorance. It does not destroy reality, it simply hides it and, consequently, the true nature of the Self, which is limitless, पूर्ण (complete), ever-free, remains as it is, yet it is not recognized.

Very much like a brilliant sun concealed behind dense clouds, the ātmā is never absent, it is only unseen, it is hidden.

In addition to that, in this unseen-ness, a subtle distortion begins.

And what is that?

When the truth is veiled, the mind does not remain empty, it begins to compensate. This is where vikṣēpa śaktiḥ, the projecting power, enters.

As a powerful force, it does not merely imagine, it invents, and it asserts. And the strongest assertion it does it to project the body, the mind, and the roles, and the identities as the Self.

As a result, what is an instrument, becomes “I.” And what is changing becomes “me.”

Thus, the fundamental error is born, and not because something new is created, but because something temporary and limited (mithyā) is taken to be real (ātmā).

Then, from this mistaken identity arises a life of constant negotiation and scheming with the world.

The individual, now identified with limitation, seeks completeness through action, possession, relationships, and recognition. Thus, every desire becomes a movement toward imagined wholeness; every fear, a defense against imagined loss.

However, we must remember that actions performed from this confusion cannot produce freedom. They only reinforce limitation and dependence.

And so, quietly and relentlessly, the cycle continues: ignorance → misidentification → projection → action → limitation → suffering.

This is Saṁsāra.

In addition to that, it is crucial to know that it is not merely the world outside, it is the inner Mahābhārata, a continuous battlefield where confusion and clarity, ignorance and knowledge, decisions and procrastinations, affections and aversions are in constant tension.

As a result, what should be Dharmakṣetra, the field of wisdom, becomes Kurukṣetra, the field of conflict.

Yet, the most profound insight in the entire teaching is that saṁsāra is sustained not by reality, but by ignorance.

Therefore, remove the veiling, and the projections lose their ground.

Recognize the Self, and the entire structure collapses, not by destruction, but by understanding.

What remains is what always was, freedom, fullness, and peace.

Acharya Tadany

Photo by Julia Oberhauser on Unsplash