ABSTRACT
In the middle of the first millennium bce in India, there were a number of movements of ascetics (śrāmaṇa) who sought to liberate the self or soul (ātman) from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (saṃsāra) through various combinations of meditation and physical regimens designed to eliminate attachment to the world. The end goal was variously conceived as rebirth in heaven or a transcendent state in which the soul, completely separated from matter, remained forever in bliss.
