Nirvana in the Buddhist tradition is called liberation from suffering, attachments and desires. This state is postulated as the highest goal of any being, including humans. There are similar concepts in other traditions. In practice, it is very difficult to achieve nirvana, only very few people succeed.
People tend to strive for something. To dream about something, to take some steps to achieve certain goals. There is an understanding of what is good for a person and what is bad, and when discrepancies arise between desires and reality, a person experiences disappointment, pain, fear and other negative feelings.
Many people believe they will be happy if they get what they need. A good job, a lot of money, health, family, etc. etc. - this list can be continued for a long time. But in practice, such happiness is conditional, not real. The joy of getting what you want quickly passes, new desires arise. As a result, all life is spent in pursuit of certain achievements.
The state of nirvana excludes the very need for anything. It is directly related to the extinction of the human "I", the very personality that has a name and surname, profession, views and beliefs, desires and attachments. But what will remain of a person if the personality disappears?
Consciousness and awareness
Consciousness is usually defined as the ability to be aware - that is, to understand what is happening, your state and place in the world. The thinking ability of a person is directly related to consciousness. But what happens when the thought process stops?
At such moments, a person just looks at the world. He sees, hears, perceives everything, but does not analyze. To be aware is to be present, to be, to be in the present moment. There is only that which exists at the moment, there is nothing else - neither the past nor the future. There are no thoughts, which means there are no experiences, hopes and aspirations.
It is at such moments that a person begins to realize his division into two parts - into "I" as a person and "I" as awareness as the One Who Observes. Try to observe your thoughts - and you will understand that it is possible, that there is someone who thinks - "I", ego, and the true eternal "I" of a person - his essence, spirit, monad, looking at the thought process from the outside.
Achieving nirvana
The state of nirvana is directly related to the loss of the human "I", ego, personality. The one who aspired, feared, dreamed, desired, etc. disappears. etc. Personally, you can never attain nirvana, because on this path you die as a person, as an ego. It is the ego that seeks to achieve nirvana, not realizing that death awaits him on this path. But at the moment of this death, a person is born again as a being of a higher order. Now he is awareness itself, being itself. The pitiful human person, a product of the mind, has disappeared. This process is known as enlightenment, and it leads to nirvana as a state of freedom from passions and desires.
How to achieve nirvana in practice? First of all, it is necessary to realize all the conventionality and limitations of human opinions, knowledge, reasoning. To clear the mind of all that is superfluous, to discard everything that is not valuable, without which you can do. This is a very difficult and time-consuming job, as the ego clings convulsively to life. To live, it must be someone - to have a first and last name, profession, social status, to represent something in this world. As all this jumble of mental constructions begins to crumble, the ego also weakens.
At some point, a person realizes that he no longer strives for nirvana and in general for anything. All that remains for him is to be - to be in the present moment without hopes and aspirations. It is in this state that that brief moment comes one day when the ego dies. Enlightenment comes, a person is born again.
The state of enlightenment is very pleasant - it is the most pleasant thing that can be experienced at all. At the same time, a person does not become a being who simply sits with a blissful smile and does not want to do anything. From the former personality, he has a memory, some old interests and aspirations. But they no longer have power over a person - if he works to achieve anything, it is solely out of habit, for the sake of the process itself. One thing is not better than another, a person is just doing something, enjoying any activity. At the same time, absolute peace reigns in his mind.
