Hindu Culture And Religion Summary

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I really appreciate how Bilhartz discussed the complexity of the Hindu culture and religion. The first part of the chapter broadened my understanding of Hinduism. I found a couple of things intriguing and one of them was the term the Hindus used to call their religion. The term that many Hindus use to call their religion is Sanatana Dharma, which means Eternal Religion (Bilhartz, 2006, p. 151). The term is significant because the Hindus claim that Sanatana Dharma is "the timeless, eternal truth that is without human origins", which separates it from other world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ( Bilhartz, 2006, p. 151). I found this interesting because I had no prior knowledge that Hinduism did not claim a central human founder, which I think is a unique quality for a religion.

The concept of having a timeless, eternal truth is also carried into the Hindus' notion of time. The …show more content…

According to Bilhartz, the Hindus believe that the universe will grant every wish and desire to every soul (2006, p. 155). However, the universe is also fundamentally just and everyone will get what they deserved. Karma is the " moral law of cause and effect that connects todays good or bad actions with good or bad fruits to be reaped in the future" ( Bilhartz, 2006, p. 155). In other words, good deeds will be rewarded while evil deeds are punished. According to law of karma, the consequences may be delayed to be delivered, therefore fortune and misfortune are perceived as a result of deeds committed in this lifetime or in previous lifetimes ( Bilhartz, 2006, p. 155). The Hindus believe that producing good karma will result in a favorable rebirth. I have known about the term karma and used it flippantly on occasions when people faced the consequences of their actions. However, I had not consider how seriously the Hindus incorporate the term in their daily lives and will be more considerate when utilizing the

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