The Question of Origin According to Hinduism

- Karma, samsara and nirvana fall under the religion of Hinduism. When all of our actions bring consequences, either in this life or the next is referred as karma. Samsara means the cycle of birth and death. Us humans are basically good, but are caught up in a cycle of pure desire and also of suffering that is a direct result of ignorance and of the go. Nirvana is another word to describe the permanent liberation from life. It is a liberation from the cycle of samsara, in which we cease to exist and become one with the universe.

Samsara is the basis to which the belief is built on. Within the western world this is more commonly known as reincarnation but can also be identified as transmigration. This is the belief that after a persons mortal body has passed, their Atman or soul is reborn into another mortal body. We are taught this in the Bhagavad-Gita (Hindus holy book, equivalent to Catholics bible) 2.13 “As the embodied soul continually in this body from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into a new body at death”. All of this is said to be developed by Brahman, this is the highest of the caste of Hinduism.

In Hinduism karma and reincarnation are two meaningful major elements. Karma is a concept that the universe will return your good or bad actions back to you. You will find with certain actions you make, you feel good and others around you feel good. When remembering karma think about mental and physical actions that you would make. In the Hindu religion the soul reincarnates itself over and over until it becomes perfect.

Humans are accountable for actions and our lives are a result of our past actions. Humans are no more important than animals. Many Hindu believe in reincarnation or the rebirth of the soul in a new body. They may see an animal as someone reincarnated from a different life. When comparing Hinduism and Christianity, they both believe in love for everyone. They both also control behavior through either the ten commandments or through the eightfold path. When contrasting the two, Hindu’s worship multiple deities and Christians worship one God. Christians live one life on earth and when they die they either go to heaven or to hell. Hindus believe that their soul is born as an animal and by living the right way, they climb the ladder to a higher class throughout many

Hinduism believes in the reincarnation or rebirth of souls. They believe that souls are eternal and divine and that death is only temporary.

Reincarnation is a common belief in the eastern part of the world, with Buddhism as well as Hinduism, supporting the idea of rebirth. In Hinduism each person has an essential self which is called the Atman, and is

The Question of Identity is also answered differently in both worldviews. The Christian Worldview believes "that mankind is a special creation of God (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011) . Hinduism worldview on the other hand believe's that the man's soul has no beginning, that it is an eternal force in a physical body.

Rebirth in its essence is a religious belief. Each religion has a different outlook on rebirth; the seemingly endless cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. “Millions of people worldwide believe in reincarnation or cyclic rebirths based on "transmigration" of the human soul from one physical body to another” (Shahzad, 2010). Some religions refer to rebirth in terms of the body and soul whereas others only one or the other. Reincarnation is the process which your soul or being continues until the soul reaches its full maturity or nirvana. Where western religions treat the idea of reincarnation as exotic, desirable, and even romantic, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other southern Asian religions portray the samsaric process as unhappy and a symbol of suffering (Zammit, 2001).

The religion of Hinduism considers God as the one and only all-powerful being and the God each and every individual can worship and ask for guidance. The Hindus refer to God as Brahman. Monotheism is the concept of one god and is adopted by most world religions. On the other hand, Hinduism has its own unique concept of “only god" known as monism. In monism, everything that exists is said to have come from a single being known as Brahman and everything returns to this original state from which it first began. Hinduism believes that each individual is at a different stage of spiritual advancement thus is where the castes system comes into play. Everyone's path to God differs and requires a devotion of oneself to God.

Hindus experience samsara, which is a continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation for many lifetimes (Ryan, 1999). Reincarnation occurs when the soul is transmigrated into another body of a human, animal, or plant. The concept of samsara was first discovered in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: “When a caterpillar has come to the end of a blade of grass, it reaches out to another blade, and draws itself over to it. In the same way the soul, having coming to the end of one life, reaches out to another body, and draws itself over to it (Eknath, 1987).” This passage is teaching how the soul is passed through different bodies when reincarnated.

Karma is considered to be the glue that holds the Samara and reincarnation together, which are two very important aspects in the Hindu religion. The Samara also known as Sanskrit is the endless passage through cycles of life, death, and rebirth. Reincarnation is a process by which an individual jiva passes through a sequence of bodies; karma in reincarnation would be what the soul reaches out for. Reincarnation corresponds with the samara, just as cause corresponds to its effect, so they an also be compared to the cause and effect of karma. Smith says, “Every physical event we are inclined to believe, has its cause, and every cause will have its determined effect”

Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world with texts dating back to 3000 B.C., and commonly practiced by more than 80% of the Indian culture today. More importantly, Hinduism welcomes people of all backgrounds and beliefs, even those that are of outside influences (e.g. Catholics and Atheists). The religion is based on the concept of reincarnation, in which all living beings have souls that are reborn into a new body. Life is determined by the law of karma- a soul is reborn as a higher level of existence based on their moral behavior in their past life (Alamu, 2009). Ultimately, a person’s existence on earth is perceived as both transient and a burden.

Due to the prevalence of Buddhism throughout this piece of work it is fundamental to understand what exactly this belief system contributes to the overarching narrative as the meta-theme is weaved throughout the whole. In particular two avenues of thought require further exploration, the Buddhist doctrines of reincarnation and karma. It is important not only to see how these two doctrines function independently of each other, to understand them on their own terms, it is also beneficial to understand how they are interconnected. In the Buddhist mentality, reincarnation cannot exist apart from the existence of karma. Certainly the overwhelming number of adherents to this religion gives cause for this myth system to be considered in depth. It would be advantageous to briefly explain the connection between reincarnation and karma before examining either on their own. Reincarnation is the process of rebirth that every living thing, including sentient beings, experiences after death which brings about a new life with a potential to be born into one of the six realms (Prebish Buddhism: The EBook: An Online Introduction 31). Karma, therefore, is the cosmic currency that determines which realm of rebirth the new life can begin, which is accumulated through each previous life (Prebish 39). To understand the significance of Karma, an exploration of the transaction of reincarnation is essential.

Karma is the connotation of causality that past actions influence future events. This is the same for both Buddhism and Hinduism. Both also believe in an endless cycle of births known as endless cycle of births, known as samsara. and release from this cycle of rebirths.

Hinduism also known as Brahman believes that there is one supreme, impersonal reality called Brahman. Brahman is the source of all things, but is not a personal creator. Brahman is, rather, the divine essence of all that exists. Brahman is the belief of impersonal, eternal, and beyond all human comprehension.