Hinduism and Reincarnation

Religious studies research papers that study Hinduism can also explore the issue of reincarnation. Paper Masters custom writes projects on reincarnation and any religion, particularly Hinduism, in which the belief in reincarnation plays and important role. Learn more about it in the paragraphs you see below.

Shiva, The Completer, both takes away life and then restores it. To Hindus, the soul, or jiva, comes into the world through God's power and passes through a series of higher life forms. This reincarnation, or transmigration of the soul begins at a basic life form (a bug, say) and gradually moves up through entering increasingly complex bodies until he or she finally becomes a human. Once human, the person has come under the law of karma, or a doctrine of cause and effect. It is here that the many-times-reincarnated soul must strive for perfection and to do good in life to finally attain Nirvana, or the Hindu equivalent of eternal life. While different sects of Hinduism believe differently regarding jiva and karma, the basic tenet of the concepts is to attain eternal happiness, once the long and arduous process of many reincarnations and bodily perfection is achieved.

There is nothing simple about Hinduism, which has many unique and complex beliefs. A comparison between this religion and Christianity would, nonetheless, reveal many similarities, such as the following:

• The three main gods
• The belief in everlasting life
• The need to be good in life

Hinduism and its meditative approach to worship also are not unlike practices in other religions. It is, indeed, a fascinating faith practice.

Hindus believe there is one way to actualize oneself, and that comes under the heading of yoga, or a method of training that leads to spiritual integration and union of the human spirit with God. It is not the same type of yoga practiced in America or other countries, which is more a meditative escape from stress, or comprises a set of exercises. For Hindus, yoga is a way to spiritual attainment.

The Four Paths, therefore, are becoming closer to God through knowledge, love, work, and psychophysical exercises (yoga). The Hindu takes the Four Paths throughout his or her life:

1. Beginning with the first phase, which is that of a student
2. The second stage is that of marriage, in which the now-trained student begins raising a family and strives to achieve success through his marriage and through his work
3. The third stage is fulfilling oneself, raising the family, and preparing for the fourth stage
4. Retirement

There is yet another stage, called the state of the sannyasin, where the person neither loves nor hates anything. This person is no longer tied to social obligations and wants nothing more than to be anonymous, to be free to meditate and to lead his own life in any way he chooses

Unlike most of the world's leading religions, Hinduism claims no one founder. It is called by its practitioners Santana Dharma, or The Eternal Faith. Dharma, the code of life, means "to hold". Thus Hindus hold to an inner law, which leads from ignorance to truth.

As one expert on Hinduism said, one can take Hinduism as a whole, from its literature to its rituals to its art, and compress it into one affirmation: You can have what you want. Within that affirmation are three things all people want -

Being, or the gift of life; knowledge; and joy. While Hinduism does not dismiss worldly possessions or worldly pleasures, they must be obtained and enjoyed within the context of life, knowledge, and joy.

Unlike other religions, Hinduism does not have one "right" way to believe, or one right code of ethics. While devout Hindus do practice certain rituals, especially family rituals, adult children in ritual-practicing families are free to worship privately in any way they wish. There are no church services or other community gatherings for regular worship in that sense.