Humanities 101008016

Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? Who hasn’t, at one point in their lives, inquired about their existence? Many of us may have searched out answers for ourselves; others may have looked to religion to answer these questions for them and may have established religion out of tradition and culture. No matter your station in life, no matter where you reside in the world, we all search for answers. The Rig Veda, the Upanishads, and The Buddha, are writings of Hindu and Buddhist that exemplifies a searching of truths, let’s take a look… Some of us may never really understand why death exists although we know that it does, we are powerless against it. Knowing this we still search out answers as though, if found, will provide us solace. Would we be satisfied with the inevitability of death if we understood the “why”? The Rig Veda is comprised of over a thousand hymns written by the Aryans, around 1200 - 900 BC. The verses titled, Burial Hymn, were cited in burial ceremonies and speak of death however, it appears to entreat death to flee and petition for a fulfilling, lengthy life. Death is by no means feared but is seen as an extension of life where in death, one is reunited with their ancestors. The ultimate goal, though, is to be reincarnated back to life on earth in accordance with one’s moral thoughts and good deeds during their life here on earth. The Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad clearly demonstrates a searching for and statements of truths in the writing, The Supreme Teaching. In the Prologue, the great sage Yajnavalkya, when questioned by the King Janaka of Videha, outlines the continual light within man even when noticeable lights are dimmed. There are initial “obvious” lights such as the sun and the moon serving as light for man at times when he is about his work. Once these lights are dimmed, fire becomes the next light available to man to go about his work. The question is then asked by the king, “And when the sun and the moon are set…and the fire has sunk down, what is then the light of man?” (Cunningham and Reich, 2010, p. 347). The answer from the great sage came with two final but less obvious lights, the voice and finally, the soul which are more personal and resounding. As the explanation of light moved from the more obvious to the obscure, it is apparent that Yajnavalkya was attempting to make the king understand that the light of man is within himself, even at times when other lights are readily available; the light within man will continuous in order for him to accomplish his goals. In other sections of The Supreme Teaching, Waking and Dreaming and Deep Sleep, man is incessantly faced with evil when awake and in the flesh and should always guard his morals and values in order to achieve freedom from the trappings of the world. Death is seen as a release from these evils since the soul is no longer in connection with the flesh. It states, “…when the Spirit of man comes to life and takes a body, then he is joined with moral evils; but when at death he goes beyond, then he leaves evil behind” (Cunningham and Reich, 2010, p. 347). Siddartha Gautama, The Buddha, The Fire Sermon speaks of liberation…liberation when one can let loose the visions the eyes behold such as the material things, the ageing process, greed, hatred, famine and other plights; one becomes liberated when they have the ability to release all and become separate from the world releasing all worldly ties. In summary, we all seek the truth about life and death, the future and beyond; as we grow and mature, we continue this search with more life experience and wisdom. There are similarities among religions as it pertains to seeking out these truths and the Hindu and Buddhist has provided here there fundamental truths.

Reference: Cunningham, L.C. & Reich, J.J.(2010). Culture and Values. (Custom Edition). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning