...Similarities and Differences of the Belief in Karma and Reincarnation in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism “All of the religions in the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth” –Mohandas Gandhi. Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism are three major world religions that differ on many different levels, but they all collectively provide hope and meaning to the lives of people all over the world. The Marriam-Webster dictionary defines karma as the force generated by a person’s actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person’s next existence. Reincarnation is defined by the Marriam-Webster dictionary as rebirth in new bodies or forms of life; especially: a rebirth of a soul in a new human body. Karma and reincarnation are core concepts in the Indian religions, although their specific views on each vary. The Hindu’s view of karma is causality in which good deeds, words, thoughts and commands lead to beneficial effects for a person, and bad deeds, words, thoughts and commands lead to harmful effects. Hinduism beliefs say that karma is the force of punitive justice that Brock 2 encourages believers to behave according to Dharma, the moral order of the universe. Karma is an essential portion of the Hindu worldview because Hinduism governs not only individuals but society as a whole. Karma sustains active worship throughout the believers...
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...much bigger than human existence. In India religion is a way of life. Although Hinduism is extremely complex, the three elements that intrigue me the most are the 330 million deities, the idea of reincarnation, and lastly the ways karma can affect the lives of people. Technically in Hinduism there is only one god named Brahman, however, Hinduism has a large number of 330 million gods all representing different aspects of Brahman. The reason for having such a large amount of gods is to embody every key element Brahman has. The three main gods of Hinduism are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Brahma is the one who created the world, Vishnu protects and preserves the universe, and Shiva destroys the old and creates new things (Robson 29). The idea of 330 million gods doesn't necessarily relate to experiences from my life, I grew up in a Christian household and we only worshiped one god, but the idea of having so many different options to...
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...death and dissention. The text and my conversation with a follower of Hinduism seemed contradictory. I assume that my conversation with the follower was confusing due to the language barrier. Her words and descriptions were different than those in the text used in this class and the books that I use for research. Though there is a polytheistic view of a god in Hinduism, there is a monotheistic concept of a singular entity. Trimurti is the absolute entity that consists of the deities of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). This entity could seen as the Holy Trinity recognized in Christianity. Hinduism beliefs lead to the ultimate “oneness” or “spirituality”. Karma is the “actions and effects on this life and the lives to come.” (Fisher, 2014). Karma is realized during reincarnation that the Hindus believe take place during their journey to liberation, or absolute spirituality. The good or bad deeds in a person’s life determine the place in the caste system that will occur after...
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...either by birth or chooses this form of worship. Hinduism is made up of beliefs that have changed through the centuries and the new additions to the belief system can be one of many reasons for its lacking a uniting belief system. According to Fisher (2005), there are “extreme variations within the Hinduism system of Santana Dharma which has been shown throughout time. Some scholars argue that there are no central traditions that can be called Hinduism proper” (pg 69). Forms of worship can be diverse depending on the village visited in India or in any other country. While American’s see life according to historical events. Hindus see life according to what they will become and history as unimportant. Reincarnation Reincarnation it the teaching “that the soul leaves the dead body and enters a new one. At death one takes birth again and again into countless bodies including animals or any other...
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...religions. In his books Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas suggested that each being has an ‘anima’; a soul which animates the body, thus giving it life. Aquinas believed in the monistic view: that ‘the natural condition of the soul is to be united with the body.’ (Aquinas) Plato, however, believed in dualism. This is the idea that the body and soul are two separate things; the body a contingent entity that will decay over time, while the spirit is non-contingent and will go on forever. Many theories exist for what happens after death. One example is the Hindu belief in reincarnation; a dualistic concept, involving the transmigration of the atman (soul) into a new physical body after the current one dies: ‘Just as a person casts off his worn out clothes, so does the disembodied soul cast off worn out bodies in exchange for a new one.’ (Bhagavad Gita) Throughout an extensive cycle of births, deaths and reincarnations, the atman gradually becomes purer. As it does so, it begins seek to go back to Brahman; the universal supreme spirit of Hinduism that is present in all living beings. According to the Upanishads (Hindu sacred texts), once a person realises that they are drawn to Brahman, they have achieved spiritual wisdom. After this point, the atman no longer needs to...
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...Buddhism and Hinduism are two very comparable religions. One way that Buddhism and Hinduism are similar is that they both believe in a type of reincarnation. In Buddhism, reincarnation centers around their idea of Karma, which is the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, and is ultimately viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. This means that their actions have consequences. Every good thing a person does affects them in a positive way, and every bad thing a person does affects them in a negative way. As a person continues their lives making these choices, their Karma is always changing. According to Buddhism religion, followers of Buddhism continue to make these better choices, which in turn makes their Karma better, until they have reached the point that their mind becomes free and pure. This is when Buddhist reach the state of Nirvana, which is the ultimate happiness, and Buddhists lose their sense of self and become released from the cycle of rebirth. Nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhism, as their fluctuating Karma is their idea of rebirth or reincarnating, until they have reached their ultimate happiness in the state of Nirvana In Hinduism, the idea of reincarnation is more of the traditional cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Hindus believe that their souls are pure and everlasting, and what they do in one life directly correlates with what there next life will hold. A Hindu’s soul will reincarnate into a being repeatedly...
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...Hinduism and other religions is that “Hinduism grants absolute and complete freedom of belief and worship. Hinduism conceives the whole world as a single family that deifies the one truth, and therefore it accepts all forms of beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct religions which would imply a division of identity. Hence, Hinduism is devoid of the concepts of apostasy, heresy and blasphemy”(De Lingen & Ramsurrun,). There are, however a handful of important uniting beliefs that all Hindus subscribe to; beliefs that generally identify the borders between Hindu and non-Hindu. They are the belief in the existence of a soul that is reborn upon death into a new life, the idea that your destiny is determined by Karma and the goal of one day obtaining enlightenment. Reincarnation, also known as Punarjanma, is the “religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life's actions, is a central belief in the Hindu religion”(Taliaferro, Draper, & Quinn, 2010). Hindus believe that the soul goes through a transmigration cycle in the form of birth, death and then rebirth. The quality of the life that the soul is reborn into...
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...is that they consider all life to be sacred or spiritual in nature. Hindus believe the man’s Atman is eternal and when he or she reaches Nirvana their Atman will become one with Brahman. They believe in reincarnation and karma. Basically they believe what goes around comes around. Good karma brings them closer to Nirvana. Bad karma results in being reborn into a lower life from extending the time it takes to reach Nirvana. They also consider animals and humans are similar and they think they should be regarded as partners in search of eternal oneness. Hindus meaning of life is to understand life as an illusion. They believe life and everything around us doesn’t really exist. Hindus believe the purpose of man is to understand life and all that seems to be real is an illusion. They believe the sooner they understand that the quicker the karma cycle can end. The question of morality to Hindus is that they believe that God is everything and everything is God. Morals and ethics are how one should act toward itself. In other words their actions will return through karma, and it’s up to them to determine what those actions should be and how they should be carried out. The question of destiny to Hindus is that they believe that when they end the cycle of reincarnation they merge in to Oneness or Braham and the individual disappears. The differences with the question of origin with Christian worldview and Hinduism are that Christian worldview says God created mankind...
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...eternal, conscious, irreducible, spiritual source of the universe of finiteness and change. Brahman is impersonal being in itself but it can be known through the many gods and goddesses that are manifestations of Brahman. We will look at atman first. . Moksha is the spiritual release from the cycle of life. In moksha the individual soul joins the atman. Atman is the eternal self, refers to the self beyond ego or false self. It is often referred to as spirit or soul and indicates the true self and underlies our existence. The individual soul becoming part of the larger soul of the universe. Achieving Moksha can span over many lifetimes. This process requires loss of attachment to life and the things in life. It also requires a balance of karma by a person’s duty and becoming aware of the right relationship with Brahman. Which brings us to Brahman, is the unity in the cosmos that is eternal and infinite. It cannot be known in the normal ways of the world. The cycle of life in the Hindu religion are as follows with an explanation for each aspect. Let’s look at Dharma which is the moral code to sustain society. It should be thought of as the moral...
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...to define. The Hindu religion varies vastly, and is considered both monotheistic and polytheistic. Various cultural and societal influences have made Hinduism vital to India the origin of Hinduism. A Hindu’s karma is the deciding factor of reincarnation. Once a Hindu’s karma is worthy of liberation then their soul is no longer reincarnated and is release from earthly miseries. Hinduism like Christianity has several denominations or categories. Millions of deities are worshiped by Hindus because they feel the divine does not have to have just one face, but can have many faces. “Three main groupings of Hindus are the Saktas who worship a Mother Goddess, Saivites who worship the god Siva, and Vaishnavites who worship the god Vishnu. Every follower has a preferred deity while honoring other deities also.” The collective belief system of Hindus is what makes up the religion. It is described by the Indian supreme court as “Acceptance and reverence for the Vedas as the foundation of Hindu philosophy. A spirit of tolerance, and willingness to understand and appreciate others points of view, recognizing that truth has many sides. Acceptance of the belief that vast cosmic periods of creation, maintenance, and dissolution continuously recur. The acceptance of belief in reincarnation. The recognition that paths to truth and salvation are many. Recognition that there may be numerous gods and goddesses to worship, without necessarily believing in worship through idols. Unlike other religions...
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...oneness”. (Weider/Gutierrez p.67) The Hindu religion has four goals in the meaning/purpose of life. Pleasure, wealth, harmony and liberation. The first two consume the individual as it causes evil and suffering. The other two fulfill the individual. True salvation is to abandon the evil desires (pleasure and wealth) and become liberated (moksha). (Hindson/Caner p.263) Hindus believe that they should release all evil desires and egos and therefore they live through spiritual practices. Yoga, mental discipline and good deeds to all life forms. (Hindson/Carner p.264) Hindus believe in karma and by doing good deeds you receive good karma. Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is where you are born again in a new different body. (Merriam-Webster) Life is an illusion and to end the cycle of reincarnation one but eliminate all desires. You can do this by doing good deeds which leads to good karma and climbing the ladder of existence, ultimately wanting to reach Nirana. (Weider/Gutierrez p.69) (Hinderson/Caner p.263) Part Two: Hinduism much like Christianity both believe in God and that god created them. However, the...
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...Unlike many Western religions, both religions believe in the concepts of reincarnation and karma in the journey to achieve enlightenment. Despite these similarities, each religion perceives incarnation differently. They differ in regards to the notion of the presence of a soul and have contradicting views regarding the means of achieving nirvana. This paper will evaluate Buddhism and Hinduism as distinct religions by examining the differences in the cycle of reincarnation as a path to liberation from the physical world. It is a common thought that both Buddhists and Hindus believe in the concept of reincarnation as the transmigration of a soul to another body after death. Hindus believe that life on earth is not a discrete event that occurs once. They believe that a soul makes multiple appearances on earth through reincarnation. This soul is a permanent, conscious entity that inhabits a body, and at the time of death, leaves that body and goes on to assume another body. In Hindu belief, this soul is not limited to reincarnation in human beings, but rather any living being including animals and plants. The soul has a karma that follows it through the transmigrations. This karma is a “log” of good and bad deeds it performed in its past lives.1 If a soul has a good karma, it may be reincarnated in a human body, the most prized form. After many rebirths, the soul can be freed from reincarnations by achieving this ultimate state of nirvana.1 However, Buddhists believe...
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...|What differences did you find between the popular usage| | |terms? |them? |and actual definitions? | |Karma |Karma is when one does something bad, something bad |Karma means action and the consequence of every action |The difference between my understanding of karma and | | |will happen to them in return. |that is made will shape the future. |the Hindu term is the consequence of any action paths | | | | |the way of their future. | |Reincarnation |Reincarnation is when one’s soul comes back to life in |When one dies, the soul leaves the dead body and enters|The main difference I found between my understanding of| | |a different form. |a new one. One can take birth again and again, over and|reincarnation and the Hindu term is that reincarnation | | | |over. But will still remain the same soul or person. |can take place over and over again. Another difference | | | ...
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...In the Hindu religion, called Hinduism, there is the belief in reincarnation. Reincarnation is defined, by Merriam-Webster dictionary, as rebirth in new bodies or forms of life. This belief is simplified as the belief that the soul is immortal, while the body is not, and the soul takes on a new ‘life’ through birth time and time again. Through this rebirth a soul has experiences that learn lessons to allow it to evolve spiritually. With the end goal, so to speak, being to finally evolve to the point that physical birth is no longer needed and the highest enlightenment is achieved – spiritual illumination. The end result is to exist but no longer be pulled into the reincarnation cycle, therefore have reached liberation. This relates to Karma and Samsara in the respect that: Karma is reward system in which your past actions are judged and you receive you future reward – i.e. an upgrade or downgrade in your lifestyle/life form. Samsara is the actual cycle of birth, life, death, and finally rebirth – otherwise known simply as reincarnation. Karma could be looked at as the guide that leads a soul through Samsara, time and time again until it reaches full maturity. Yoga is an integral part of the Hindu religion. The discipline of yoga is religious in that it assists one in achieving the goals of Hinduism by leading to a quieting of the mind. This quiet is essential for the mind to be able to completely reflect upon reality without imposing its own subjective interpretations....
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...Karma is the belief that the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences; basically, it is an effect, the cause being the actions of a person. In Buddhism, karma is viewed as a moral principal. In Jainism, karma is viewed as a way of moving up or down in status. Being prevalent in both Jainism and Buddhism, karma’s role in Jainism is a way to make life better mentally and spiritually, therefore, is considered more important in Jainism. First, I’d like to discuss karma in Buddhism and why it has a significance. Buddhism, like Jainism, recognizes inequalities in mankind. Being a religion and a way of life, they feel there is a way to explain these inequalities and that it is not purely accidental; karma being one of those explanations. The other three reason Buddhism gives for these inequalities are heredity, environment, and “nature and nurture.” Karma in the Pali term means action or doing. Any kind of intentional act is regarded as karma as intentional means there has to be thought put into it. Karma can be either good or bad, depending on the action taken by the person. If the action is unintentional or involuntary, then there is no karma present. The whole idea of karma is that a choice, whether good or bad, is being made, causing a reaction. Being good and making good choices will lead you to be happy while being bad and making bad choices will lead you to be unhappy. ("Basic Buddhism: The Theory...
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