Rebirth In Hinduism

The paths help to explain that for one to evolve they should worship more, "Men who worship me, thinking solely of me, always disciplined, win the reward I secure" (Gita 9:20 p.58) and be following and doing your duties, "Look to your own duty do not tremble before it" (Gita 2:31 p.57). These two ways of fixing the problem are explained by Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita. Arjuna is set to fight in a battle but in the last minute he twirls around the idea of retreating because of the fear of dying and killing. He believes that the act of killing will be bad in karma. Krishna is outraged with this non-sense and makes it his duty to open Arjuna's eyes to see and realize that he has a duty and that it is to be a warrior and fight. Krishna argues that by not fulfilling his duty in reality will be what brings him the bad karma that he so truly fears. In the end, Arjuna can not back down into his fears because that would be like turning your back on the God. A Hindu must follow their duties, beliefs, and many rituals in order to reach their inner peace, to receive good karma and possibly a better ranking in the caste system and stages of life.

Arjuna is faced with an internal dilemma during the Second Discourse of the Bhagavad Gita, and although the God Krishna seeks to help guide him towards an understanding of the meaning of his life, Arjuna is still wary of making the wrong decision. This decision concerns itself with either fighting in a civil war against family relatives, having to kill those Arjuna cares most about, or abandoning his dharma as a warrior and jeopardizing fulfilling his duty the greater Self that plays such a pivotal role in his people’s culture and beliefs. While advocating for the battle and fulfilling one’s dharma, Krishna utilizes the point that the Self – an overarching force in life – is a formless, eternal entity that cannot die and is more than the mere vessels that encompass the human beings across the battlefield. It is more important to the greater vitality of one’s existence to complete a duty to the Self rather than live with the temporary benefits of living in what may appear to be a more pleasurable life, but one with no fulfillment.

One of the most important divergences between Buddhism and the Gita is how dharma is interpreted. In the Bhagavad Gītā Krishna is able to shed some light on the significance of dharma. On the subject of dharma Krishna says: “It is better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another. Nothing is ever lost in following one’s own dharma. But competition in another’s dharma breeds fear and insecurity” (BG 3:35). Here Krishna is talking to Arjuna. Krishna is trying to get the point across that Arjuna is always better off following his svadharma rather than adhering to what others want him to do. It is important for Arjuna to follow his own path in order to reach moksha. Krishna is stressing that Arjuna must follow the path that has been carved out

* Krishna pointed out in Bahagavad Gita “that the impermanent has no reality”, that “the spirit was not born; it will never die” and thus, “the spirit kills not, not it will be killed.” (2.16) in the same section, he also described the ones who thinks a spirit kills and the ones who think a spirit can be killed, are both ignorant. The spirit then in Krishna’s view, is immortal and everlasting.

enlightenment after he had given up looking for it. Siddhartha is only able to find his

Arjuna does not want to kill his family, but Krishna tells him you cannot kill the spirit only the body, so his family is not being killed only set free, and that Arjuna is fulfilling his work that the G-ds have bestowed on

In the Bhagavad Gita, the fourth discourse which is composed of forty-two verses, Lord Krishna, the narrator guides Arjuna- a warrior who is finding himself pondering about the simple principles of life while he is fighting the war. In the fourth discourse Arjuna learns from Lord Krishna about faith, wisdom sacrifice, ignorance, doubts of the soul, action and inaction, selfless service, and self-realization which ultimately leads to the ultimate truth, which is the path for the spiritual soul to reach its maximum potential here on earth and the afterlife.

Arjuna is a unique character because of the worldview he holds. Hindus in “The Bhagavad-Gita” hold the value of life slightly lower than most because they have the security of reincarnation to rely on. However, Arjuna is different than many Hindus because he values life to a higher degree than others. In lines 28-30, Arjuna’s value of human life is accurately displayed. “Krishna, I see my kinsmen gathered here, wanting war. My limbs sink, my mouth trembles, the hair bristles on my flesh. The magic bow slips from my hand, my skin burns, I cannot stand still, my mind reels” (Miller, 2004). Arjuna being struck with grief while watching his family members about to lose their lives exemplifies how his worldview is filled with empathy. Krishna, encouraging Arjuna to fight in the war and not to worry about the lives of his family, sparked the conversation about reincarnation. Krishna did not find death enough of a reason to cease fighting. There was no fear of death for most Hindus because their soul would simply be placed in a new life, possibly a better one. That is displayed in teaching two line 37 when Lord Krishna states: “If you are killed, you win heaven; if you triumph, you enjoy the earth; therefore Arjuna, stand up and resolve to fight the battle!” (Miller, 2004). Krishna’s viewpoint did not portray what Arjuna believed clearly because Arjuna had empathy for human life, whereas Krishna did not fret over a lost life. Ultimately, Arjuna’s view on life encouraged him to make the decision to drop

Buddhists do believe in rebirth implies that when they die, they will be reborn, back to life again. The purpose is to break out the phase of death and rebirth and achieve nirvana (heaven) or a state of ideal peace. There are many diverse types of Buddhism and many different ways of dealing with death. It is believed that a dying person may seek a monk or nuns in their scrupulous Buddhist tradition to assist them make the transition from life to death as peaceful as possible. Buddhists believe that a person’s state of mind as they die is very important as it can assist them to find a happy state of rebirth when they pass away. Before and at the moment of death and for duration of time after the death, the monk, nun or spiritual friends

India gave birth to Hinduism which expanded quickly. This spiritual tradition focused on finding peace and eternal tranquility rather than temporary satisfaction from the worldly pleasures. In order to transmit the idea to other people and guide them through it, they came up with different writings to illustrate this. The Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads are popular writings that exemplify the beliefs and thoughts of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita addresses the question about how a person can be one with Brahman, the universal soul or god, while living in this world. This document is set as a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. Arjuna is being encouraged by Krishna to fulfill his duty as a warrior and part of the Kshatriyas, one of the higher divisions in the caste system. Arjuna has to enter this battle and fight in order to live up to his duty and consequently live free from attachments and walk in the path of finding himself as one with Brahman. On the other hand, the Upanishads guided all kinds of people regardless of

It’s no easy thing a Hindu’s way of understanding of divine reality. Hinduism has two major viewpoints, that seem fundamentally at odds with one another. One is the monistic viewpoint that says all of reality is one thing--Atman or Brahman. The Upanishads describe this monistic idea that in the beginning there was just Being, and from Being stems all things in the universe. In this monistic sense of reality, all is one with the Atman, with Brahman.

Hindus believe in an everlasting soul (atman) that is reincarnated almost intact from birth to birth, and through spiritual practice Hindus seek release (moksha, also known as liberation) so that the soul can join with the Divine God, known as Brahmin.

Without the concept of dharma there is no Hinduism. Following ones dharma is to maintain the well being of oneself and others, and to depart from it leads to misdirection and ruin. Dharma in Hinduism is thought of as being an individual’s duty to themselves and their society in both a faith and societal obligation context. Three of Ninian Smart’s dimensions where dharma is most relevant are the ethical, social and mythological dimensions. Dharma details how a follower of Hinduism should go about their life and so relates to the ethical dimension, it describes the interconnection of Hindu society which pertains to the social dimension, and lastly is a central theme to nearly all epics present in Hindu thus representing the mythological dimension. Where dharma is expressed within these dimensions individually it also serves as a pillar to which the three facets are connected.

that if X can be without Y then X and Y are distinct. This view that a

This can also be explained in the concept of Krishna stating to Ajurna that his Dharma- law if the universe is to be a warrior whether Arjuna is on board or not. This justifies the position taken by Krishna as the serpent and as the thunderbolt. In most circumstances Krishna appears to be the protector of the realms of the oppressed and often