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Reincarnation in hinduism essay
Conclusion of the position that reincarnation in Hinduism and Buddhism is not exactly the same
Common views on reincarnation
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Hinduism and Reincarnation
Have you ever had the feeling that you have been here before? This is what reincarnation is all about, the idea of past lives. Many religions have also incorporated this belief into their teachings in the past as well as the present. Reincarnation or rebirth can be defined as getting born again into a living body after death. The word reincarnation literally means entering the flesh again. In this essay I will inform you of what reincarnation is, how reincarnation works in Hinduism, and the goal of reincarnation.
What is Reincarnation?
To begin with, it is essential that you understand exactly what reincarnation is. According to, Hindu scriptures a soul is a part of Supreme soul which dwells in everything that is alive. In fact, Hindus believe that the term death only applies to the body and not to the soul because the soul is immortal and the soul changes the body after death. They also believe that present conditions in a one's life are the results of good or bad karma in this life or in a past life. Yet, Hindus believe that the cycle of birth, death, and
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For instance, in this process the soul will enter many different bodies, achieve many forms, and go through numerous lives and death. A soul will complete this cycle many times, learning new things each time and therefore, working through its karma. This cycle of reincarnation is called samsara. In fact, in samsara a person can be reincarnated in a good body if they have behaved properly in the previous life according to your duty in life or Dharma. If the person were good, they are reincarnated as a higher form of life. Thus, the person can also be reincarnated as a person of higher caste if they have been good, and if the person did wrong they might be reincarnate in a lower caste or even an animal. From this we can clearly see that, reincarnation is a major principle of
Many religions and philosophies attempt to answer the question, what happens after a person dies? Some religions such as Christianity and Islam believe there is an afterlife. They believe that good and moral people enter Heaven or paradise and that bad and immoral people go to Hell. Other religions and cultures believe that death is final, and that nothing happens after a person dies. Buddhism and Hinduism have a different idea about death. Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation. In ancient India, many members of lower casts wanted to come back as members of higher casts. While this is an important goal of reincarnation, the main goal is to reach either moksha (Hinduism) or nirvana (Buddhism). In other words, the goal is to reach a point of spiritual enlightenment that removes the person from the reincarnation process. Geoff Childs, an anthropologist examines the views of the Buddhist religion by studying the lives of the people in Tibetan villages. He looks at issues that adversely affect these people such as infant mortality. He carefully looks at the lives of people who have been left behind by deceased loved ones, and he pays careful attention to customs and traditions surrounding death. Tibetan Buddhists view death as a means of reaching spiritual perfection, and they seek to reach this level of spiritual perfection through living spiritually meaningful lives....
Samsara is the cycle of being reborn after death. The Hindus see Samsara as something to be overcome because it prevents them from being absorbed into Brahman. We’re stuck in Samsara because we’ve fallen for Maya, the illusion. Our karma is a direct resultant of our actions in life and it determines what our next life will be like.
Hindus believe that when a soul expires, it acquires rebirth in a new body. This cycle is called samsara. To be set free from the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth one must discover their true nature in order to be with the Brahman in Nirvana. In figure G a picture of a Cambodian statue of the A.D. 900 of Brahma meditating is presented. Nirvana is a state where pain, worry and the outer world do not exist. When a person in Hindu religion has bad Karma, they must take rebirth multiple times. The sacred source of all existence is divided among three gods. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer. All three contribute to a person’s life and death and afterlife. In figure H a picture of a Vishnu sculpture is shown, and in figure I a picture of a sculpture of Shiva is
The concept of reincarnation is related to karma, karma deals with a system of rewards and punishment based on the actions of the individual (Oxtopy & Segal 266). Due to bad karma by the individual, it takes many lifetimes for the karma to be worked out; reincarnation also known as samsara in Hinduism is an ongoing cycle of death and rebirth. To be released from the cycle of samsara, to achieve moksha one must reach enlightenment (Oxtopy & Segal 266-267). In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, an incarnation of the ultimate deity as a personal god in the Hindu religion, explains three ways to moksha: the way of action, the way of knowledge, and the way of devotion. The Gita also made it clear that one should strive for moksha in everyday of our life as long as we act without attachment (Oxtopy & Segal 274). Reincarnation a concept widely receive by Hindu’s around the world, there are evidence to support the truth of this concept.
"In Hinduism, salvation is achieved through a spiritual oneness of the soul, atman, with the ultimate reality of the universe, Brahman. To achieve this goal, the soul must obtain moksha, or liberation from the samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. As a result of these basic teachings, Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is influenced by karma (material actions resulting from the consequences of previous actions), and dharma (fulfilling one's duty in life)"(Teachings and Beliefs, 2004, par. 1).
Because it is 7 incorporated in so many religions, you find an answer to a question, which you truly want to know the answer to, and do not abandon your faith in doing so. Reincarnation is detected in many religions. Reincarnation is normally thought of as a Hindu philosophy and it is traced back to Hinduism, yet it can be found in Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism and in many more religions. In Judaism, reincarnation is known as Gilgul.
In modern times, both Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced by millions of people all around the world. Although Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced in different ways, they both share mutual ideas. For example, in both religions, they believe in the idea of Karma. According to Brodd et. al (2016) “Karma is the law of actions and their consequences.” (p.139). In each religion, Karma has a different meaning. In Buddhism, “karma is the law of actions and their consequences” (Brodd et. al, 2016, p.147). In Hinduism, “karma determines the nature of one’s incarnations in samsara” (Brodd et. al, 2016, p.147). Samsara is another important concept shared by both Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of Samsara is defined as “The continuing cycle of birth,
“Like bubbles that form on the bottom of the boiling teakettle, they make their way through the water (universe) until they break free into the limitless atmosphere of illumination (liberation).” (Huston Smith) Reincarnation is what allows Hindu’s the chance to experience life, over and over again. Until we finally get it right. “Karma decrees that every decision must have its its determinate consequences, but the decisions themselves are, in the last analysis, freely arrived at.” (Huston Smith) Who someone is and what they do in this life directly reflect what they will be in their next life. If they do something bad in this lifetime, they will be reincarnated as something at a lower level than they originated from. To live their life in a completed way, moving on to a better life in the next reincarnation, they need to perform their duty, or dharma, in the fullest way they possibly can. Reincarnation applies to everyone, not just Hindus. If someone was born a Hindu in one lifetime, there is no assurance that they will be born a Hindu the next. If they’re a Christian in one lifetime, they could be a Muslim the next. It doesn’t matter where they came from, where they 're going, or where they hope to be, they have absolutely no say in what life they’ll get next. They have no recollection of their past life, but their soul will know what it needs to do. People’s souls will learn from each reincarnation, that will allow them to make the best of the next one, until they finally complete their dharma. Hindu’s have a cast system that determines your dharma, and this allows people to have a better life the next time around. People cannot move up in the cast system without completing their dharma, and you cannot move on without reincarnating. The further up they are in the cast system, the closer they are to God, and the closer they are to finding their Atman. This is another way
Hinduism’s view on human nature is complex and involves the concept of the self or soul. According to the Hindu concept of self, it is recorded that “the atman is beyond sound and form…it is eternal, unchangeable, and without beginning or end: indeed above reasoning” (Wall, 30). What this refers to, is that Hindus believe there to be a deeper self that lies within us. This self hides behind our experienced self and is referred to as atman. Atman is what survives our deaths and continues to be reborn again. This type of self is continually reborn into different bodies until it escapes the wheel of rebirth. Through prayer, meditation, and ascetic practices, this self can become known, especially because it is essentially the same in all human beings. The idea behind atman tends to be more complex because of its dealings with the levels of consciousness, samsara, etc.
Reincarnation is the concept that at the point of death only the body is lost. The soul or spirit lives on and is reborn into a new body. " All things, on both the microcosmic level of humankind and the macrocosm itself are subject to this cyclical nature of existence, so what is born must die and what dies must be reborn" (Fowler. 1999. p208). Hinduism tells us that a spirit is not reborn into a random body, the karma and jivatman decide on an appropriate womb. This means that a sport oriented person will always be reborn into a family who have sport orientated lives.
There is a process that Buddhists believe Karma works through to various levels of rebirths. First the process holds that either good or bad deeds automatically creates the impressions (samskaras) or inclinations (vasanas) in the mind of a person that will most probably come to reality in more actions or deeds. Second the process has it that the sources of karma are carried in the body in where the soul is supposed to transmigrate. Finally the fruits of karma manifest themselves in the physical body also known as (sthula sarira), where also more Karma is
Christians and Hindus both have sacred texts they believe in that will help guide them on the right path during their existence on earth and after they pass. The Christian Bible consists of sixty six books of the Old and New Testament scriptures. The Bible explains God’s actions in the world and his purpose with all creation. The Bible is a guide for living life to its fullest, it is a map for the journey of life. People who are in pain, suffering, or mourning will look to the Bible to find strength in their darkest hours. The Hindu sacred text is known as the Bhagavad Gita. Composed around 200 BC in ancient India, the Bhagavad Gita is a 700 verse script containing the eternal message of spiritual wisdom. The word Gita means song and the word Bhagavad means God, often the Bhagavad Gita is called “The Song of God.” The Bhagavad Gita contains knowledge about God, the ultimate truth, creation, birth and death, the results of actions, the eternal soul, liberation and the purpose of human existence.
Reincarnation channels through many cultures and experiences which are examined by skeptics. In this research paper I will examine what is reincarnation, the evidence of people’s experiences of this, some of the views of the skeptics on this issue, and my own beliefs with reincarnation. Reincarnation can’t be given a concert scientific explanation, can’t be fully proven to humans, but there are assumptions and beliefs that make up the idea of reincarnation. This paper will give an analysis on reincarnation and the possibilities of this phenomenon to be true.
Numerous religions have heroes and myths that recount heroes and different character that come back to life after their demise. When they return, however it is not their previous selves but rather as other individual, as creatures or even as plants. The idea of reincarnation—a return of a soul in earthly form—it depends on the conviction that a man’s spirit keeps on existing after death and can transmigrate, or move, to another living thing. Till now we have covered the concept, perception and belief of reincarnation according to the religions and it is clearly evident that it solely depends upon their own rituals, beliefs, thinking and their mythology.
Rebirth is coming to world after one life. Reincarnation was thought differently by various cultures. That is why religions started thinking of it in their own way. The concept of rebirth is quite distinct among various religions of east. The word ‘reincarnation means’ consecutive rebirths after deaths. In fact, atheists believe in this phenomenon of after death experiences. Every religion has their own definitions and key ideas or experiences of life after death. The notion of reincarnation varies from one geographic area to another and every religion goes deeply in the roots to find the fundamental theories so that the followers believe on them. Although reincarnation is a simple concept