abstract
| - A shramana (Sanskrit श्रमण śramaṇa, Pāli शमण samaṇa) is a wandering monk in certain ascetic traditions of ancient India, including Jainism, Buddhism, and Ājīvika religion (now extinct). Famous śramaṇa include religious leaders Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. Traditionally, a śramaṇa is one who has renounced the world and leads an ascetic life of austerity for the purpose of spiritual development and liberation. According to typical śramaṇa worldviews, a human being is responsible for their own deeds and will reap the fruits of those deeds for good or ill. Salvation, therefore, may be achieved by anybody irrespective of caste, creed, color or culture (in contradistinction to certain historical caste-based traditions) providing the necessary effort is made. The cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra) to which every individual is subject is viewed as the cause and substratum of misery. The goal of every person is to evolve a way to escape from the cycle of rebirth but Sramanic traditions dispense with the rites and rituals of popular religion as factors in the attainment of emancipation and emphasise instead the paramount importance of ascetic endeavour and personal conduct.
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