I am going to describe the teachings and beliefs of Hinduism about death and what might happen afterwards Essay Example

I am going to describe the teachings and beliefs of Hinduism about death and what might happen afterwards Essay Hindus believe that when you die, your soul lives on and you are reborn as something else. They believe that Atman (your soul) lives on forever even when you die, and is transferred to something else. This is backed up by a quote which can be found in the Bhagavad Gita. This soul residing in the bodies of all can never be slain; therefore it does not behove you to grieve for anybody Bhagavad Gita 2:30 The quote is referring to Atman saying that it can never be killed and wont go away. Hindus believe something called re-incarnation takes place. Re-incarnation is the rebirth of a soul into another body. For example when someone dies there soul would leave there body and enter someone elses. We will write a custom essay sample on I am going to describe the teachings and beliefs of Hinduism about death and what might happen afterwards specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on I am going to describe the teachings and beliefs of Hinduism about death and what might happen afterwards specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on I am going to describe the teachings and beliefs of Hinduism about death and what might happen afterwards specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The death of him who is born is certain; and the rebirth of him who is dead is inevitable. Bhagavad Gita 2:27 This quote is saying that the person will definitely die and will definitely be reborn; this proves what Hindus believe about re-incarnation. Hindus believe that what happens in this life, affects what will happen to them in their next life. This is known as Karma. If they do good things, they will get rewards in their next life and if they do bad things, they will be punished in their next life and could be reborn into a poor family or they could be born with a disability. This idea is backed up by the quote: The world cannot subsist for a single moment without yajna. Yajna means an act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any return for it Gandhi The quote shows the idea of getting good Karma, fulfilling desires and heading towards a brighter future. Samsara is the cycle of a soul being passed from one body to another. This can also be backed up from the quote As a man takes off worn-out clothes, and puts on new ones, likewise the atman casts off worn-out bodies and enters into others which are new Bhagavad Gita 2:22 This is comparing the cycle of Samsara to us changing our old clothes and putting on new ones (like a cycle). Hindus believe in Moksha. Moksha is when an Atman is released and becomes part of God. It is seen as the highest purpose of life. Lead me from the unreal to the real, from the darkness to the light, from death to immortality Brihadaranyaka 1:3:28 The quote is taken from a prayer and is talking about being lead from one thing into the other and into immortality. This represents Moksha because it is talking about being lead into immortality which is regarded as one of the highest points in life. All of the words mentioned (Atman, Samsara, Karma, Moksha and Re-incarnation) link together. They are all related to the death of someone and how their life can affect what happens after their death (afterlife). Here I am going to talk about how Hindus beliefs about the afterlife can affect the way in which they choose to live their lives. Re-incarnation is the rebirth of a soul into another body. It can influence what Hindus do in their lives because they will not be scared of death, they will not be as sad when someone dies because they know the person will be reborn and they think of each life on earth to develop them self more and eventually reach Moksha. Atman is an enternal soul which lives on forever, even when the person dies. Atman can affect the way Hindus live their lives because at a funeral they do not see the body as important and therefore get rid of it, they focus on the soul moving on to another body, and being reborn. Karma affects what you are reborn as, if you do good things you get reborn with rewards, if you do bad things you are reborn with punishments. The world cannot subsist for a single moment without yajna. Yajna means an act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any return for it Gandhi This obviously affects the way Hindus live their lives because they want to get good Karma. They can achieve that by praying to God, being kind to other people and various other things that will benefit not just themselves but other people as well. It also means that most Hindus will not commit crime, because they will be punished in a later life. In Hindu funerals the body is not important so they burn it on a funeral pyre. This symbolises the release of the spirit and the flames themselves represent the presence of the God Brahma who is the creator God. The main aspect is the release of the Atman, and setting it free so it can be reborn. Rituals take place to help the soul continue on its journey. They are as much of a celebration as they are a remembrance service. Ghandi is one of the most admired Hindus in the world. He is famous for his non violent protests against prejudice in South Africa, and British Rule in India. Ghandi is an example of a Hindu who follows their beliefs; he doesnt use violence and has a lot of religious tolerance. He taught people how to use a spinning wheel and developed them into better people. He doesnt do things for himself but for the benefit of other people, he suffers so that other people can live better lives. Everyone should enjoy their life and forget about what might happen next I think that a Hindu would disagree with this statement because they believe that what happens in this life can affect their next. They think of their next life as important. They would want to enjoy their life, but enjoy it by doing good things so that they can get good karma and be reborn with rewards in their next life. I think that an Atheist would agree with the statement because they do not believe in Re-incarnation, they dont believe in God. They feel people should be able to do whatever they want without any consequences and not be influenced by religion. Christians would partially agree and disagree because they believe in heaven and hell and want to go to heaven after their death. However they do not believe that there is an afterlife and they dont believe you will be reborn. Personally I would agree with the statement because I dont believe in re-incarnation. I think people should enjoy life without worrying what might happen next. However I agree with Hindus to an extent because I still dont think people should be able to commit crimes and not get punished for them. They should just be punished in the same life not the next as I feel it is a fresh start.