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Deathand Becoming Eternal in Hinduism Description
Hinduismis one of the oldest known religions, been practiced for over 7000years. Defined by varying teachings and doctrines, the religion hasdefinite regard when it comes to death and life issue. Deathaccording to Hinduism entails a series of changes in which anindividual passes. According to Hinduism, there is believed in theaspect of reincarnation and rebirth of souls. The soul is regarded asimmortal and imperishable (Haddow 133). Death, on the other hand isnot a great menace, as it is not the end at all, but rather a naturalprocess/resting period that is taken for recuperation, andresemblance before it returns again to the earth in another form.This essay discusses the issue of death, according to Hinduism, theprocedures, and ideas as are taught by the religion. In addition, howto confront and survive death, doesn’t it involve reincarnation,and whether there is an afterlife. ThesisstatementLife after death is dependent on how one life in this world, howeverknowledge of the truth is equally important.
Differentreligions have different beliefs in matters pertaining to death andthe afterlife (Novak, 18). Hinduism, being one of these manyreligions, also has their beliefs in this matter.Hinduismreligion believes in rebirth and reincarnation of souls.Reincarnation is the coming back to the body after death.According to Upanishads religious texts, Hinduism refersreincarnation as an unhappy process because good or bad deeds of aperson eventually return to the individual inform of rewards andpunishments which are connected to his previous deeds before death(Firth 685). This process is believed to bring suffering according toHinduism religion. The Hindu religion has a diverse and complex Hindubelief system which makes it be referred to as a way of life ratherthan a religion (Siebert, 27). This makes it be a flexible religionwhich has led to the creation of a pantheon of gods and goddessesworshipped in India. The Hindu makes this god in their homes andtemples to represent their beliefs in their Creator.
Accordingto Hinduism, it is an illusion to try and find permanent happiness inthis world. This is because they believe a human spirit (Atman) ispermanent and unlike the physical body which changes, the spiritcannot change. They believe that the spirit undergoes severalprocesses of reincarnation, which they refer to as Samsara. Thisprocess of reincarnation is compared to a man who casts out his wornout clothes and wears new clothes (Gandhi, 167). Death is just anevent that is very natural, and it is meant to move Atman can move asnear as possible to the final release from rebirth. According toHinduism, the happening of the soul after the death of the mortalbeing depends on many factors. Such factors include a person previousaction or deeds they believe that if a person had committed so manywrong deeds, then his soul goes to the lower world where he ispunished for the bad deeds. On the other hand, if a person engaged ingood deeds, then his soul would go the higher world filled with thesun and be rewarded (Siebert, 93). In addition, the activities of hisrelative’s funeral, whether the rites were performed properly inaccordance to the scriptural injections. If the rituals are notcorrectly performed, it is believed that the soul’s journey totheir respective worlds will be delayed (167).
Thedeath solution in Hinduism is not heaven, but liberation, and thebetter way of attaining salvation is through severities, devotion,discipline, surrendering and the guru’s grace as well as that ofGod. When a person is dying, what he thinks is very crucial becausethey believe that he will attain it. They advise that a person, athis time of death, should struggle to think about God or good things,it would even be better at that time to chant God’s name.Physically, it is impossible to defy death. However, many seers andsaints manage to gain control of their deaths and can tell the timeand manner of their death. They do this through the mastery of theirminds and senses. When dying, they give their disciples necessaryinstructions, and they fall into a deep trance. According to (Gandhi,65), He who Concentrates his ‘Prana’ between the two eyebrowswith his yoga, strength, and engages himself in devotion with a mindwhich is unwavering, would attain the divine Brahman.
Inconclusion, Hinduism does accept and teach about reincarnation, andin turn they believe in after death, as the soul is passed into a newlife and body. The new archived life is sorely dependent on how anindividual behaved or lived his other/previous life. The religion(Hinduism) believes in Karma, which entails the summing of good andbad acts that one may have done in his/her life good Karma is relatedto a good rebirth and vice versa. According to the Hinduism teaching,the understanding of how one ought to live in this world, as well asbeing aware of the afterlife, holds one on the believe inreincarnation and rebirth.
WorksCited
Siebert,Rudolf. "Erich Fromm’s Social-Psychological Theory ofReligion." Reclaimingthe Sane Society.Sense Publishers, 2014. 117-136.
Gandhi,Mahatma. Thebhagavad gita.Jaico Publishing House, 2014.
Novak,Philip. Theworld`s wisdom: Sacred texts of the world`s religions.HarperCollins, 1994.
Firth,Shirley. "End-Of-Life: A Hindu View." Lancet 366.9486(2005): 682-686. BusinessSource Complete.Web. 9 May 2016.
Haddow,Agnus H. "Dying, Death And After Death." JournalOf Religion & Psychical Research 23.3(2000): 133. AcademicSearch Premier.Web. 9 May 2016.