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without being in them. This makes being human a favourable realm from which to become enlightened.

The Asura realm is home to the Demi Gods, who live a life of luxury and want for nothing. They can slightly manipulate their realities and the realities of the realms beneath them. That is when they aren't being hunted down and generally used as playthings by the God's of the next higher realm whom they can see and interact with.

The six and final realm of Samsara is that of the Deva realm or realm of the God's. The beings of this realm can manifest thoughts into matter, the universe is their playground. They are nearly all powerful but like all the other realms and Samsara itself, this is a temporary state; if they do not replenish their positive Karma, when they die they will be reborn into a lower realm.

This is the eternal state of the Wheel of Samsara; we accumulate positive and negative Karma and are forever living, dying and being reborn, and moving up and down through the six realms. This is too say no matter how much good you do, or positive Karma you accumulate, unless you become enlightened and experience Nirvana and then Paranirvana, you are forever trapped in Samsara. So Nirvana is that moment of freedom or enlightenment and then upon your last death, Paranirvana is the subsequent Deathless state that transcends the cycles of living, dying and being reborn on the eternal Wheel of Samsara. As to where you go after Paranirvana as a truly free being, well whose to say, no one has ever returned to give an account.

Learn more about this author, Ivor W. Hartmann.
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