Myswizard

The Four Phases of Karma

Before reading my discourse on karma it would be helpful for you to read the article “Karma and Reincarnation” on this site to acquaint you with the process and terminology. Because I like to keep explanations as simple as possible considering our present realm, my discussion will be short and not complicated by extraneous detail.

Most religions that have incorporated concepts of karma have their own versions of how it works and why. While engaged in the Vedic descriptions of reincarnation and Karma, a new translation became clearly apparent to me. The four phases of Vedic karmic philosophy are metaphoric to a plants’ growth. I’ve restructured/reconstructed these phases in a different way, using terminology familiar to students of Devotional Nonduality, while going a bit further within the explanations. All statements have been tested for Truth.

The Four Phases of Karma or The Karmic Cycle

1. 1st Potentiality…Subtle desires, intentions, propensities not yet realized, but forming.
2. 2nd Potentiality…Manifestation of intention, desires created
3. 3rd Potentiality…Creations bearing accountabilities, debts, stimuli (both positive and negative)
4. 4th Potentiality…Fulfillment of responsibilities, rebirth (socio-economic, physicalities, level of consciousness, karmic debt)

Discussion of Potentialities

The 1st Potentiality has to do with all the subtleties we came with at birth (i.e. influences of past lives, inherent qualities, other unknown experiences), as well as our pressing needs as infants and children. We are forming, through unconsciousness programming. This begins manifesting as beliefs, ideas, and needs.

The 2nd Potentiality is our beginning manifestations of our desires and wishes, whether conscious or unconsciousness. (i.e. our behavior, actions, thoughts, new creations within our physical life)

The 3rd Potentiality is about our creations (actualities). 1. Paying debts owed. 2. Being culpable and/or accountable for all actions. 3. Bearing witness to our lives. 4. Responses to our actions (acceptance/rejection). 5. Raising our levels of consciousness. 6. Elimination of karmic debts.

The 4th Potentiality is rebirth. 1. Physicalities (this can range from deformities/physical propensities such as susceptibility to disease, or superior levels of strength) 2. Socio-Economic conditions (planetary location of birth and familial economic/religious/social conditions) 3. Level of consciousness 4.Karmic debt (actions from past life or lives)

The Non Physical Realm

I will begin with The Infinite Field of Consciousness. This has been called “The Akashic Records” by many throughout time. (see Articles on Akashic Records on this site) It can also be called, “The Mind of God” or “The Infinite Field of Knowledge.” Everything that has ever existed (words, actions, events, thoughts, all creations, (both material and non material) are recorded/stored there for eternity. So if you think anything’s ever been forgotten no need to worry. It’s all there…forever. Every grain of sand, every star in the universe, and every hair on your head is accounted for. This is relevant to karma in that all our actions, both verbal and non verbal, are there for us to see throughout all of our lifetimes. We are literally an open book.

As disincarnates, we have free will, which is a given as extensions of Divine creation. There are “guides” to help us plan our next incarnation, based on our integral level of consciousness and past “karmic deeds”. We may choose a lower socio-economic situation or one with built-in hardships, depending on our debt or specific plan. Those within the lower levels of consciousness are grouped and “seemingly” dispersed back randomly, without regard to economic or physical conditions. This is one theory for why the wealthier/privileged may still have the attributes of lower consciousness levels.

This entire plan is a subtle propensity. Due to the fact that we get spiritual amnesia upon arrival in physical form, the “plan” is subject to the changes of the infinite possibilities of future action. The higher our consciousness level at birth, the more likely we are to “follow” our plan as we “remember” why we’re here, in order to replay a life for karmic dissolution. With higher levels of consciousness, there is no further need to incarnate to discreate karma. At this point, our return to form has a direct and immediate purpose.
©Myswizard all rights reserved ‘05-’06

“Straight and narrow is the path…Waste no time! Gloria in Excelsis Dio!”…Dr. David R. Hawkins

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“That which is part of our souls is eternal. . . Those lives are countless, but the soul or spirit that animates us throughout these myriads of existences is the same; and though “the book and volume” of the physical brain may forget events within the scope of one terrestrial life, the bulk of collective recollections can never desert the divine soul within us. Its whispers may be too soft, the sound of its words too far off the plane perceived by our physical senses; yet the shadow of events that were, just as much as the shadow of the events that are to come, is within its perceptive powers, and is ever present before its mind’s eye.”

Helena Blavatsky, Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, p. 424

For those with an interest in reincarnation, this is a must to download. It downloads in a zip file or regular text. Click link to direct site.
Five Lectures on Reincarnation by Swami Abhedananda

Being a Jim Carrey fan since his old days as a relatively unknown Canadian stand up comic, I can’t keep myself from watching his movies again and again. This time it was Liar Liar, a movie about an attorney who’s entire life has been built on lies. He loses his wife and continually disappoints his young son. His young son makes a wish while blowing out his birthday candles. He wishes his dad can’t tell a lie for 24 hours. The rest is Jim Carrey antics when he realizes he cannot lie and doesn’t know why. In the courtroom scene, where he’s about to lie his head off to get his wealthy client a huge divorce settlement, we witness his writhing and distorted pain of having to tell the truth. Of course he makes it funny, but in real life that would be no laughing matter.

It reminded me of how impossible it is for humans to be truthful. As an entire planet we have come to rely on falsehood to get by with our relationships, business, personal life and government. Lying has become the rule, rather than the exception. “The human mind cannot distinguish between truth and falsehood without outside help. It is simply not capable on it’s own because of illusion and ego.”… Dr. David Hawkins. We tell small lies and then gradually one’s entire life is lived in non- truth. As small children we came to see lying as a way of not getting punished or seem “bad” or “wrong”. We lie to stay out of trouble, keep the status quo, have our “secrets,” cheat in relationships and business. Many people have come to want and even need falsehood in their lives because truth is too painful to hear. We, as humans, have a tendency to deny truth even when it is offered as a gift. Offering up our opinions which are based on others lies, is also a common practice, and we hold them as truth. So, even our opinions are falsehoods. Egos live in falsehood in the attempt to keep others from seeing our so called faults or weaknesses. Holding lies, secrets and hidden agendas keep our attention focused on the lie, instead of more important issues. While holding these falsehoods, we have to protect them and guard them to keep them hidden, taking up precious energy we don’t have time to waste. How freeing it is to live a life based on truth. It’s a wonder humanity has even survived it’s short life living this way.

It’s only just recently, humanity has reached the level of integrity. (David Hawkins, Power vs. Force) Throughout all of human history there has only been a few who have come to bring the word of truth (i.e. Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, etc.) Mostly those who brought Truth were killed for uttering it. Even now most do not want to hear or say what is true. For the most part this is because we don’t even know what is true. We have opinions, beliefs, preferences and indoctrinations, and we haven’t the slightest inkling of whether they are true or not. That is called blind faith and it can get you into trouble or even killed for it. Who wants to be blindly led by those who can’t see any better than you?

Unlike little Max from the movie we can’t merely wish for truth. Even if we are in touch with our inner knowing, our ego misleads us. We have the opportunity in this lifetime to be honest with our feelings and statements*, but how are we to know others truth? How do we discern what’s integrous from the non integrous? Every day we are deluged with decisions we must make based on others opinions, or lack of true knowledge. We trust in our gurus, politicians, partners, and friends to tell us the truth, while they have no more knowledge of truth then we do. How can we know which books to bother reading, what schools to send our children to, or any important decisions to make?

Little Max can now get his wish on an ongoing basis. There is only one Truth of anything, and it will always find it’s way to be revealed. Using kinesiological testing and David Hawkins (calibrations of the levels of consciousness), one can now tell Truth from falsehood. In order to do this our level of consciousness must calibrate integrous, as well as the question. Belief and/or non-belief is not an issue. There will always be those who condemn that which they don’t understand. This method cannot be used for greed/personal gain, or the future. It’s a confirmed method of knowing what is true, based on the knowledge that our bodies use the Field which is All Knowing to find Truth. It is revelatory, non secretive, and available to all who calibrate over the level of truth. This excludes 78% of the population of the world, so in that context it is limited to those already integrous. Dr. Hawkins books and dialogues can be read, seen and researched as they have been by thousands the world over. You may also e mail me for more information, or click on the DRH link on my sidebar. This is a great gift to humanity…Myswizard
*see Karma and Reincarnation under Mystical and Mysterious

Reincarnation
Reincarnation, as a doctrine or mystical belief, holds the notion that one’s ‘Spirit’ (’Soul’ depending on interpretation), ‘Higher or True Self’, ‘Divine Spark’, ‘I’ or ‘Ego’ (not to be confused with the ego as defined by psychology) or critical parts of these returns to the material world after physical death to be reborn in a new body. The natural process is considered integrative of all experiences from each lifetime. A new personality feature, with the associated character, is developed during each life in the physical world, based upon past integrated experience and new acquired experiences. Some reincarnation philosophies express the idea that rebirth is made each time in alternated female and male type of bodies. Also that there is interaction between predeterminism of certain experiences or lessons intended to happen during the physical life, and the free-will action of the individual as they live that life.

This doctrine is a central tenet within Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Surat Shabda Yoga, some African religions, as well as various other religions teachings and esoteric philosophies. Most modern Pagans also believe in reincarnation.

Reincarnation is traditionally understood to be akin to the Buddhist concept of Rebirth, but in fact the two concepts are very distinct philosophically - Buddhism teaches that there is no self to reincarnate. An alternative view is that the teachings of Buddhism might stress one aspect, the teachings of Hinduism might stress another aspect, but that an advanced Buddhist and an advanced Hindu would directly perceive the phenomenon of reincarnation identically.

Overview
Belief in reincarnation is an ancient phenomenon; in various guises humans have believed in a future life since the Ancient Egyptians, perhaps earlier, and ancient graves containing both people and possessions may testify to beliefs that a person would have need for their treasured possessions once again despite physical death.

In brief, there are several common concepts of a future life. In each of them either the person, or some essential component that defines that person (variously called the soul or spirit) persists in continuing existence:

People live on this earth, and then live in some kind of afterlife for the rest of eternity - variously called heaven (paradise) or hell, or the Kingdom of the Dead, or some higher plane, or similar. They do not return to earth as such.
People die, but will return to the earth or are revived in some final Judgement, or at some final battle (eg the Norse Ragnarok). They may go to heaven or hell at that time, or live again and repopulate the earth. This is often called an apocalyptic vision of the future.
People die, and are returned to this or another existence continually, their form upon return being of a ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ kind depending upon the virtue (moral quality) of their present life. This is often called Transmigration.
People die, go through inner planes and return, re-birth, (usually or often) as new human beings. Strictly, it is this which is known as reincarnation (also called “rebirth”). In many versions, eventually there is the potential to escape the cycle, eg by joining God, enlightenment, some kind of self-realization, a spiritual rebirth, entering a spiritual realm, etc. (There is some confusion, in general society, between reincarnation and transmigration; see below for comparison)
Beliefs in reincarnation or transmigration are widespread amongst religions and beliefs, some seeing it as part of the religion, others seeing in it an answer to many common moral and existential dilemmas, such as “why are we here” and “why do bad things sometimes appear to happen to good people”. Reincarnation is therefore a claim that a person has been or will be on this earth again in a different body. It suggests that there is a connection between apparently disparate human lifetimes, and (in most cases) that there may even be covert evidence of continuity between different people’s lifetimes, if looked for. Proponents claim this is indeed the case, whilst critics tend to reject the notion due to its metaphysical implications or non-acceptance by science due to other possible explanations of the phenomenon not yet eliminated from consideration. Such evidence tends to be of three kinds:

Tradition commonly holds that certain people (such as the Dalai or Panchen Lamas in Buddhism) can be identified by looking for a child born at the time of their death, and by certain signs and knowledge that such a child has of their predecessor life beyond the norm. In the case of Buddhism there are well defined tests of such a child.
In Western culture, regression or near death experience has at times provided what are claimed to be past life memories, some of which can in theory be verified, and some of which might be tested for fraudulent claims. Some aspects of these tend to be quite consistent in some ways (beings of light, messages of love and peace, etc), a factor which to some people lends credence to the idea, and to others supports that “something” is going on but without certainty what that might be.
Last, for many people, the evidence is internal and empirical, personal belief or experience. This may not be proof as such, but to them, qualifies as sufficient evidence to believe it.
As the introduction suggests, there is an apparent difference between lower-order Buddhism and lower-order Hinduism in as much as the former emphasises that the ego or personal self is empty of content and does not truly exist whereas the latter tends towards the position that the Jiva or personal self while existing, is none-the-less a false self. For Buddhism in part, this is a linguistic artefact in that the remainder (after the personal self is “neutralised, detached from its internalised tendencies [vasanas], transcended”) is said to be nothingness whereas for Hinduism this residual is the “higher-self”, the Atman or more properly in English the “True Self”. In either case both Buddhism and Hinduism hold this state to be “beyond description” for the inhabitants of the “normal everyday” world. To the western mind this last-mentioned world is often termed the “real world” whereas to both Buddhism and Hinduism this is the world of “Samsara” and of “name and form” respectively. The Real is, for Hinduism, the supra-consciousness that perceives the world of name and form to be empty, or at best sees it as a “mental construct”. Shiva is thus termed “the destroyer” because his is the name attached to the consciousness, in realisation of which, the destruction (dissolution) of the world of name and form, is seen. For Buddhism this same realm is “Nirvana”, the perspective of the Buddha-mind. Through either linguistic construct, the viewpoint must be treated as the same and in both cases; freedom from Samsara is “on offer”.

It may be asked how reincarnation fits into this picture. In a word, for Buddhism it doesn’t fit at all, for if there is no personal self there can be no soul but since the Buddha himself referred to his past-lives it must be inferred that these existed only in the world of the mind and that this is furthermore exactly the same state as is perceived by the one experiencing (or immersed in) the cyclic manifestation of Samsara. For Hinduism this state both exists and does not exist so that it may be likened to a dream-state, unreal in every sense. Thus from both perspectives, reincarnation cannot be likened to the re-appearance of the spirit or person within a physical body which inhabits an objective physical world rather, the perception of the world alone exists as a manifestation, around the conscious being, and this is maintained as an act of mind only. To be trapped in Samsara then is to be held by ignorance of the true nature of being, in a self-created world of error. As such, this is really nothing other than a dream. The major point referenced by both Buddhism and Hinduism concerns the necessity of awakening from this repetitive dream-state by obtaining ”Nirvana” for the former and by achieving “Enlightenment” for the latter. Both are words specifying the exact same state and all lives, past & present, are then to be seen as products of mind only.

Many paths are offered toward this state of liberation or “heaven” and most are generally initiated by proposing this life to be “real”. This of course means that past-lives are also to be seen as real. However, significant progression on any such path soon causes this initial, every-day concept of “reality” to wither away. As unity with the god-head is approached, the essence of being is recalled with the result that the previously perceived “reality” vanishes as unity is achieved.

Whilst science is perhaps not as scathing of reincarnatory belief as it is of many other metaphysical concepts, and many claims have been documented in a scientific manner, it is important to be aware that formally, mainstream science does not accept yet that reincarnation is a proven phenomenon, or that it happens. Many apparently proven phenomenon turn out to be illusional over time, and others, such as the soul, are often deemed by many to simply be unknowable, and hence by definition outside its province.

Past Life Therapy can be extremely helpful to those seeking an alternative to conventional therapies. It uses de-hypnosis techniques or ‘focused-state’ to access UPE (unresolved past experiences;defined by Thomas C. Paul, C.Ht., Past Life Therapist utilizing Dr. Morris Netherton (founder of Past Life Therapy) techniques. Thomas Paul is the founder of Past Life Therapy Center, Los Angeles, CA. http://www.PastLifeTherapyCenter.com

Past Life Therapy helps resolve past life survival scripts that may be effecting one’s state of mind, behaviors, and mental and physical health in this lifetime. PastLifeTherapyCenter.com is a resource site that further discusses “What is Past Life Therapy, Past Life Regression, Hypnosis/ De-hypnosis?”

Reincarnation in various religions, traditions and philosophies

Eastern religions and traditions

Hinduism
In India this doctrine was thoroughly established from ancient times. While metempsychosis was not established in the older sections of the Vedas, it was explicated first in the Upanishads (c. 1000 BC - AD 4), which are philosophico-mystic texts held to be the essence of the Vedas.

The idea that the soul reincarnates is intricately linked to karma, whose first explication was also seen in the Hindu books of the Upanishads. The idea is that individual souls, jiva-atmas pass from one plane of existence and carry with them samskaras (impressions) from former states of being. These karmic agglomerations on the soul are taken to the next life and result in a causally-determined state of being. In some schools of Hinduism liberation from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth, is considered the ultimate goal of earthly existence. This is known as Moksha, mahasamadhi (or nirvana, also found in Buddhism) in Hinduism. Other Bhakti traditions assert that liberation from samsara is merely the begginning of real spiritual life and beyond nirvana activities still continue, but that they are no longer of a worldly nature. Both sides agree on the pheomenom of reincarnation itself.

Buddhism and Vedanta (in particular Advaita Vedanta) further promoted the notion of nirvana following the advent of the great Hindu sage Adi Shankaracharya. The idea that stilling one’s karmas (actions) and becoming at one, harmonious, with all would free one, ultimately, from reincarnation, became a central tenet of Hinduism. It displaced more complex Puranic systems positing the gradual progression of a soul through 8,400,000 (sometimes more) lives until eventual awakening. Instead, it relied more on the idea of self-growth and enlightenment through Yoga. Buddhism differed in that it felt there was no soul to reincarnate and developed an elaborate complex of metaphysical explanations for temporary states of ego to explain rebirth.

The Bhagavad-Gita explains that the soul is not the body. Two things determine our karma:

(i) mentality

(ii) activity

At the time of death (anta-kale), what we think of determines what body our soul will transmigrate to in the next life. There are 8,400,000 species of life, of which 400,000 are human species. One can reincarnate into any species, since every life form has a soul, since all display the four characteristics of living entities:

(i) growth

(ii) deterioration (e.g. old age)

(iii) leaving behind by-products (e.g. reproduction)

(iv) death

The ability to express consciousness is limited by one’s body, for example a tree has a lower level of expression of consciousness than an animal. There are examples even within human society, for example, when the body is paralysed, there is less ability for the human to fully express his consciousness.

What determines what we think of at the time of death? The answer is the our previous acts throughout our lifetime. For example, according to Vedic understanding, if one engages too much in sex life, then nature will provide one with the body in the next life that is most suitable for practice of sex life. One may reincarnate as a pigeon, since a pigeon’s body enables one to engage in sex many times.

Our subtle body’s programming is what determines our thoughts at the time of death. The three factors are:

(i) mind

(ii) intelligence (buddhi)

(iii) false ego (ahankara)

Once again, the two factors of mentality (or meditation) and activity determine our thoughts at the time of death. Even in everyday life, the analogy of a car shows how reincarnation is quite fair. For example, it is unsuitable to use a small, compact car like a Lamborghini to transport furniture, because that car is more suitable for looking good and racing. Hence, nature would impel us to get a lorry, because it’s suitable for moving heavy items. In the same way, if we use a lorry to race, nature would impel us to give up the lorry and buy a small, aerodynamic car like a Lamborghini – because the car is more suitable for our intended purpose.

This begs the question of what the purpose of human life is. The answer is given in the Vedic scripture, the Vedanta Sutra, that the aim is brahma jijnasa or self-realisation. In other words, the human form of life is given so that we may connect with God through service. If we cultivate this purpose then we are at least guaranteed to again receive a human form.

Now one can address whether there is any scientific evidence for reincarnation. There is plenty of scientific evidence which at least suggests that reincarnation is a reality. Dr Ian Stevenson has undertaken many studies on past life experiences. His approach is two-fold:

(i) Rejection of unreliable evidence

There are many so-called memories of past lives described via hypnotic regression, where the patient is told to relax his physical and subtle body in order to access deep-rooted memories of past lives. The problem with this approach is that many people have a condition called false memory syndrome where they play out some fantasy or ideal previous life as somebody famous. For instance, many women who have been regressed have described themselves as Cleopatra! Very rarely does one get normal lives of insignificant people being described. Consequently, Dr. Stevenson rejected this source of evidence.

(ii) Spontaneous memories described by children

Many children have at a very young age given accurate details of the name, lifestyle, circumstances of death and explicit details of their family members from a previous life. In fact many of these claims have been corroborated by those studying the cases. This body of evidence is much harder to refute and cannot be rejected due to the accuracy of the information, especially when forensic evidence exists in some cases (see http://www.childpastlives.org/titu.htm)

There is also one class of evidence from past life regression which cannot be rejected because of the accuracy of the regression. One case was described where the patient regressed claimed he was living in the ancient civilisation of West Mesopotamia. He was able to speak fluently in the language, accent and dialect of the ancient civilisation, and expert historical linguists were able to verify that language being spoken was from ancient Mesopotamia. In fact, the linguists had described how it is almost impossible to have studied and learnt the language in a modern day context, because even the expert linguists themselves only understand some aspects of the language. This all suggests that the knowledge of the language must have originated in a previous life.

Practical benefits of knowledge of reincarnation

(i) Accountability

It ensures no-one is denied their reward for good actions and negative reaction for bad actions. In other words, we have a logical reason for treating others the way we would like to be treated ourselves.

(ii) Endeavour

It makes people work hard in order to achieve success according to the potential of their karmic credit.

(iii) Bad Karma

This explains why some good people suffer bad things – due to actions they are unaware of from their previous lives.

Transcending Karma

Some of our karma is predetermined as fixed karma, as has already been explained. In addition, although we can change our future by performing good acts, thus increasing our karmic credit, this doesn’t change the fact that in this life we are somewhat limited to our available karmic credit. There is however activity which gives no karmic credit at all, called akarma. This activity is spiritual in quality because the activity is done for the pleasure of God. That which is spiritual is not limited by material laws. In fact, this activity not only prevents material reactions but also burns off bad karma which we are otherwise due to experience. It is the way of life described by Lord Jesus in the Bible as being ‘in the world but not of the world’. The movie, The Matrix, is a good analogy for this concept. When Neo knows that he is plugged in to the Matrix, he is acting in the Matrix from a higher dimension and so is not affected by many of the laws of the Matrix – thus he performs superhuman feats etc. In a similar way, to the extent that we are engaged in spiritual activities, which can include working, studying and maintaining a family, we are accessing the material dimension from a higher spiritual vantage point and so are not affected by the same material laws of action and reaction.

The example is given of the difference between a prisoner and the visitor. The prisoner is bound by the laws of the prison, but the visitor is free to leave at any moment. The important consideration is our motive, so we might be engaged as a businessman, but still be engaged in the service of God. As one recalls to the beginning of the topic, our karma can be effected by actions and desires (mentality). For example, the Vedic literatures explain how a great devotee of the Lord, King Bharata, due to attachment for a deer, thought of the deer at the time of death and so reincarnated as a deer. Similarly, somebody who is disabled may not be disabled due to past sinful actions, but may for example have been meditating on a disabled relative at the time of death in a previous life.

Spiritual intelligence is the key to transcending karma. When an external reaction comes to someone who may not be totally self-realised, because of getting spiritual guidance, he will be able to use the reaction in service of the Lord or reject it and thus transcend karma.

Buddhism
Since according to Buddhism there is no permanent and unchanging soul there is no metempsychosis in the strict sense. However, Buddhism never rejected samsara, the process of rebirth or reincarnation; there is debate, however, over what is transmitted between lives.

See also: Rebirth (Buddhist)

In spite of the doctrinal beliefs against the idea of a soul, Tibetan Buddhists do believe that a new-born child may be the reincarnation of someone departed. In Tibetan Buddhism the soul of an important lama (like the Dalai Lama) is supposed to pass into an infant born nine months after his decease.

The Buddha has this to say on reincarnation. Kutadanta continued: “Thou believest, O Master, that beings are reborn; that they migrate in the evolution of life; and that subject to the law of karma we must reap what we sow. Yet thou teachest the non-existence of the soul! Thy disciples praise utter self-extinction as the highest bliss of Nirvana. If I am merely a combination of the sankharas, my existence will cease when I die. If I am merely a compound of sensations and ideas and desires, wither can I go at the dissolution of the body?” [7] Said the Blessed One: “O Brahman, thou art religious and earnest. Thou art seriously concerned about thy soul. Yet is thy work in vain because thou art lacking in the one thing that is needful. [8] “There is rebirth of character, but no transmigration of a self. Thy thought-forms reappear, but there is no egoentity transferred. The stanza uttered by a teacher is reborn in the scholar who repeats the word. [9]

Jainism
In Jainism, not only animals and humans but devas (gods) also reincarnate after they die. A Jainist, who accumulates enough good karma, may become a god; but, this is generally seen as undesirable since gods eventually die and one might then come back as a lesser being.

Ayyavazhi
Ayyavazhi says all souls are continuously reborn unless they reach Dharma Yukam, a state of union with God.

Western religions and traditions
Classical Greek philosophy
Some ancient Greek philosophers believed in reincarnation; see for example Plato’s Phaedo and The Republic. Pythagoras was probably the first Greek philosopher to advance the idea.

We do not know exactly how the doctrine of metempsychosis arose in Greece; most scholars do not believe it was borrowed from Egypt or that it somehow was transmitted from ancient Hindu thinkers of India. It is easiest to assume that earlier ideas which had never been extinguished were utilized for religious and philosophic purposes. The Orphic religion, which held it, first appeared in Thrace upon the semi-barbarous north-eastern frontier. Orpheus, its legendary founder, is said to have taught that soul and body are united by a compact unequally binding on either; the soul is divine, immortal and aspires to freedom, while the body holds it in fetters as a prisoner. Death dissolves this compact, but only to re-imprison the liberated soul after a short time: for the wheel of birth revolves inexorably. Thus the soul continues its journey, alternating between a separate unrestrained existence and fresh reincarnation, round the wide circle of necessity, as the companion of many bodies of men and animals.” To these unfortunate prisoners Orpheus proclaims the message of liberation, that they stand in need of the grace of redeeming gods and of Dionysus in particular, and calls them to turn to God by ascetic piety of life and self-purification: the purer their lives the higher will be their next reincarnation, until the soul has completed the spiral ascent of destiny to live for ever as God from whom it comes. Such was the teaching of Orphism which appeared in Greece about the 6th century BC, organized itself into private and public mysteries at Eleusis and elsewhere, and produced a copious literature.

The earliest Greek thinker with whom metempsychosis is connected is Pherecydes; but Pythagoras, who is said to have been his pupil, is its first famous philosophic exponent. Pythagoras probably neither invented the doctrine nor imported it from Egypt, but made his reputation by bringing Orphic doctrine from North-Eastern Hellas to Magna Graecia and by instituting societies for its diffusion.

The real weight and importance of metempsychosis in Western tradition is due to its adoption by Plato. Had he not embodied it in some of his greatest works it would be merely a matter of curious investigation for the Western anthropologist and student of folk-lore. In the eschatological myth which doses the Republic he tells the story how Er, the son of Armenius, miraculously returned to life on the twelfth day after death and recounted the secrets of the other world. After death, he said, he went with others to the place of Judgment and saw the souls returning from heaven and from purgatory, and proceeded with them to a place where they chose new lives, human and animal. He saw the soul of Orpheus changing into a swan, Thamyras becoming a nightingale, musical birds choosing to be men, the soul of Atalanta choosing the honours of an athlete. Men were seen passing into animals and wild and tame animals changing into each other. After their choice the souls drank of Lethe and then shot away like stars to their birth. There are myths and theories to the same effect in other dialogues, the Phaedrus, Meno, Phaedo, Timaeus and Laws. In Plato’s view the number of souls was fixed; birth therefore is never the creation of a soul, but only a transmigration from one body to another. Plato’s acceptance of the doctrine is characteristic of his sympathy with popular beliefs and desire to incorporate them in a purified form into his system. Aristotle, a far less emotional and sympathetic mind, has a doctrine of immortality totally inconsistent with it.

In later Greek literature the doctrine appears from time to time; it is mentioned in a fragment of Menander (the Inspired Woman) and satirized by Lucian (Gallus 18 seq.). In Roman literature it is found as early as Ennius, who in his Calabrian home must have been familiar with the Greek teachings which had descended to his times from the cities of Magna Graecia. In a lost passage of his Annals, a Roman history in verse, Ennius told how he had seen Homer in a dream, who had assured him that the same soul which had animated both the poets had once belonged to a peacock. Persius in one of his satires (vi. 9) laughs at Ennius for this: it is referred to also by Lucretius (i. 124) and by Horace (Epist. II. i. 52). Virgil works the idea into his account of, the Underworld in the sixth book of the Aeneid (vv. 724 sqq.). It persists in antiquity down to the latest classic thinkers, Plotinus and the other Neoplatonists.

Judaism and Kabbalah
Classic works of the Kabbalah, Shaar ha Gilgulim (”Gate of Reincarnations”) of Arizal or Isaac Luria, describes complex laws of reincarnation gilgul and impregnation ibbur of 5 different parts of the soul. It shows many references of reincarnation in the Hebrew Bible (the Tanach).

The notion of reincarnation is not openly mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The classical rabbinic works (midrash, Mishna and Talmud) also are silent on this topic.

The concept was elucidated in an influential mystical work called the Bahir (Illumination) (one of the most ancient books of Jewish mysticism) which was composed by the first century mystic Nehunia ben haKana, and gained widespread recognition around 1150. After the publication of the Zohar in the late 13th century, the idea of reincarnation spread to most of the general Jewish community.

While ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Socrates attempted to prove the existence of reincarnation through philosophical proofs, Jewish mystics who accepted this idea did not. Rather, they offered explanations of why reincarnation would solve otherwise intractable problems of theodicy (how to reconcile the existence of evil with the premise of a good God.)

Rabbis who accepted the idea of reincarnation include Levi ibn Habib (the Ralbah), Nahmanides (the Ramban), Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher, Rabbi Shelomoh Alkabez and Rabbi Hayyim Vital. The argument made was that even the most righteous of Jews sometimes would suffer or be murdered unjustly. Further, children would sometimes suffer or be murdered, yet they were obviously too young for them to have committed sins that God would presumably punish them for. Jewish supporters of reincarnation said that this idea would remove the theodicy: Good people were not suffering; rather, they were reincarnations of people who had sinned in previous lifetimes. Therefore any suffering which was observed could be assumed to be from a just God. Yitzchak Blua writes “Unlike some other areas of philosophy where the philosophic battleground revolves around the truth or falsehood of a given assertion, the gilgul debate at points focuses on the psychological needs of the people.”

Other rabbis who rejected the idea of reincarnation include Hasdai Crescas, Yedayah Bedershi (early 14th century), Joseph Albo, Abraham ibn Daud and Leon de Modena. Crescas writes that if reincarnation was real, people should remember details of their previous lives. Bedershi offers three reasons why the entire concept is dangerous: (a) There is no reason for people to try and do good in this life, if they fear that they will nonetheless be punished for some unknown sin committed in a past life. (b) Some people may assume that they did not sin in their past life, and so can coast on their success; thus there is no need to try hard to live a good life. In Bedershi’s view, the only psychologically tenable worldview for a healthy life is to deal with the here-and-now. (c) The idea presents a conundrum for those who believe that at the end of days, God will resurrect the souls and physical bodies of the dead. If a person has lived multiple lives, which body will God resurrect? Joseph Albo writes that in theory the idea of gilgulim is compatible with Jewish theology. However, Albo argues that there is a purpose for a soul to enter the body, creating a being with free will. However, a return of the soul to another body, again and again, has no point. Leon De Moden thinks that the idea of reincarnation make a mockery of God’s plans for humans; why does God need to send the soul back over and over? If God requires an individual to achieve some perfection or atone for some sin, then God can just extend that person’s life until they have time to do what is necessary. de Modena’s second argument against reincarnation is that the entire concept is absent from the entire Bible and corpus of classical rabbinic literature.

The idea of reincarnation, called gilgul, became popular in folk belief, and is found in much Yiddish literature among Ashkenazi Jews. Among a few kabbalists, it was posited that some human souls could end up being reincarnated into non-human bodies. These ideas can be found in a number of Kabbalistic works from the 1200s, and also among many mystics in the late 1500s. A distinction was made, however, between actual Transmigration and this form of reincarnation; the non-human subject had its own soul already, the human soul simply ‘rode along with’ the rock, or tree, or giraffe waiting to be ‘elevated,’ that is, to be raised to a higher level and to gradually approach the level of human again. The cow eats the grass, elevating the soul within it, the soul rides with the cow a while until a person eats the cow, and the soul is elevated to the max. Rabbi Chaim Vidal, when asked how he came to be the foremost desciple and sole transmitter of the teachings of his teacher, the great Issac Luria, credits, not study or mitzvot, but his diligence in blessing his food: “For this way I elevate the souls therein. These souls then become my witnesses in the Heavenly Realm, and empower me to receive even greater revelations.”

“Over time however, the philosophical teaching limiting reincarnation to human bodies emerged as the dominant view. Nonetheless, the idea that one can reborn as an animal was never completely eliminated from Jewish thought, and appears centuries later in the Eastern European folk tradition”. [Simcha Paull-Raphael,Jewish Views of the Afterlife, p.319]

While many Jews today do not believe in reincarnation, the belief is common amongst Orthodox Jews, particularly amongst Hasidim; some Hasidic siddurim (prayerbooks) have a prayer asking for forgiveness for one’s sins that one may have committed in this gilgul or a previous one.

Gnosticism
Many Gnostic groups believed in reincarnation. For them, reincarnation was a negative concept: Gnostics believed that the material body was evil, and that they would be better off if they could eventually avoid having their ‘good’ souls reincarnated in ‘evil’ bodies.

The Gnostic Gospel of the Nazirenes - Chapter 69:

1. As Yeshua sat by the west of the temple with his disciples, behold there passed some carrying one that was dead, to burial, and a certain one said to Him, “Master, if a man die, shall he live again?”
2. He answered and said, “I am the resurrection and the life, I am the good, the beautiful, the true; if a man believe in me he shall not die, but live eternally. As in Adam all (1997 = are bound to cycles of rebirth) die, so in the Messiah shall all be made alive. Blessed are the dead who die in me, and are made perfect in my image and likeness, for they rest from their labors and their works do follow them. They have overcome evil, and are made pillars in the temple of my God, and they go out no more, for they rest in the eternal.”
3. “For them that persist in evil there is no rest, but they go out and in, and suffer correction for ages, till they are made perfect. But for them that have done good and attained to perfection, there is endless rest and they go into life everlasting. They rest in the eternal.”
4. “Over them the repeated death and birth have no power, for them the wheel of the eternal revolves no more, for they have attained to the center, where is eternal rest, and the center of all things is God.”
Note: The text above is not from the original Gospel of the Nazirenes, which now exists only in fragments. Rather, it is the product of “channeling” and of recent origin.

The texts contains several parallels to the Gospels, which are, though, traditionally interpreted differently in their context:

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. John 11:25f RSV
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. Revelation 3:12 (NIV)

Christianity
There is a common mistaken belief to the effect that “the early Christian church taught reincarnation.” Two Church Fathers, Origen and Clement of Alexandria are frequently cited as supporting this. However, even casual examination of their writings reveals clear and heated rejection of reincarnation. Origen believed in the preexistence of souls, a different concept. The doctrine of a physical resurrection, incompatible with reincarnation, was established as early as St. Paul, as well as, of course, in the Gospels themselves. See Bible and Reincarnation.

Islam
The Quran says, “God generates beings and sends them back over and over again until they return to him”. The Sufis as a group attempted strongly to preserve this belief in reincarnation, in the East.

First American Nations
Reincarnation is an intrinsic part of many Native American and Inuit traditions. Regardless of the actual religious beliefs and practices of today’s Native Americans, with varying religious beliefs, the idea has survived for centuries. In the now heavily Christian Polar North (now mainly parts of Greenland and Nunavut), the concept of reincarnation is enshrined in the Inuit language. The survival of the concept of reincarnation applies across the Nations in varying degrees of integrity. The Nations are, of course, now sandwiched between Eastern [Native] and Western traditions.

Norse mythology
Reincarnation also appears in Norse mythology, in the Poetic Edda. The editor of the Poetic Edda informs the reader that Helgi Hjörvarðsson and his mistress, the valkyrie Sváva, whose love story is told in the Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, were reborn as Helgi Hundingsbane and the valkyrie Sigrún. Helgi and Sigrún’s love story is the matter of a part of the Völsunga saga and the lays Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and II. They were reborn a second time as Helgi Haddingjaskati and the valkyrie Kára, but unfortunately their story, Káruljóð, only survives in a probably modified form in the Hrómundar saga Gripssonar.

Contemporary movements and thinkers

New religious movements
At the Renaissance we find the doctrine in Giordano Bruno, and in the 17th century in the theosophist van Helmont. During the classical period of German literature metempsychosis attracted much attention: Goethe played with the idea, and it was taken up more seriously by Lessing, who borrowed it from Charles Bonnet, and by Herder. It has been mentioned with respect by Hume and by Schopenhauer. Modern theosophy, which draws its inspiration from India, has taken metempsychosis (or rather reincarnation) as a cardinal tenet; it is, says a recent theosophical writer, “the master-key to modern problems,” and among them to the problem of heredity. The idea of reincarnation is also part of the New Age culture.

Today, among newer movements, belief in reincarnation is widespread in New Age and Neopagan circles. It is an important tenet of Theosophy, and central to Spiritism, founded by Allan Kardec.

Toward the Light is an example of a contemporary work originating in the western world, which very detailed accounts for reincarnation.

Scientology*

Scientology is another new religion that accepts past lives and holds that all beings are truly immortal, although in a variety of levels of awareness. In Scientology,without karma or personal wisdom, a person’s own actions, reactions, and decisions are sufficient to ensure a great deal of adventure, boredom, and strife, along with all the combinations of problems that can be experienced in life. In this context, a lack of personal responsibility and other factors can act together to create something that is similar to karma in other belief systems.

Scientology does not focus on the doctrine of karma as commonly believed (i.e. a mechanism of divine justice). The term karma is not generally used.

The first writings in Scientology regarding past lives date from around 1951 and slightly earlier. The controversy brought the subject to public awareness, and was followed by such cases (not related to Scientology) as Bridey Murphy in 1952

Much of the controversy involving Scientology arises from the logical extension of the concept of past lives to what is effectively eternity. In this context, past lives not only take place prior to Earth, but also in non-Earth civilizations, and even in universes prior to this one, where conditions and rules of existence can be different. One could even have past lives in civilizations where advanced technology was common and/or routine. Thus a person who once lived in a world destroyed by nuclear war could become upset living in a world where nuclear power has been re-discovered.

Scientology does not look to Theosophical writings for explanations on the system of past lives, or for a cosmology. Scientology does not assume that beings in the between life area necessarily have the best interests of the individual at heart (it varies), and that the path to increased awareness is not a guaranteed thing.

Scientology also holds that people are composite beings, in that there is a body awareness which can have recalls in parallel to the genetic line. This entity is separate and distinctly different from the spirit, called a thetan in Scientology. Scientology procedures exist to address this body level awareness, although primary consideration is given to the liberation of the Spirit.

Scientology does not consider the lack of awareness of past lives to be a good thing. It attributes the general amnesia of past lives to a variety of causes, including, but not limited to, pain, unconsciusness, lack of personal responsibility, and even the decision to forget what had just transpired.

Seth Jane Roberts
In the Seth series of books Jane Roberts talks about reincarnation and life after death. Seth believed that time and space are basically illusions. Consistent with this view, Seth argues that only parts of each person incarnate (appear in physical reality). This last argument is part of Seth’s view that man is a multi-dimensional entity simultaneously alive in many contexts.

The New Age movement*
There are many people nowadays who allegedly “remember” their past lives and use that knowledge to help them with their current lives; this kind of occurrence is fairly central to the New Age faith. Some of the people who remember claim simply to remember without any effort on their part. They simply “see” previous times and see themselves interacting with others.

Common variations in the belief
In recalling past lives, there are a number of variations that need to be examined, which are important to its adherants.

In the Urantia* Book, reincarnation is does not always happen. Reincarnation takes place among those souls who have devined the divine meaning and purpose and signification of their life, basically having evolved sufficiently to awaken some form of immortal awareness. Otherwise, death is a permanent affair. The cosmology of the Urantia Book is very complex, but is similar in some regards to the system seen in Theosophy.

Theosophical texts maintain that people are constantly evolving, gradually becoming one of the Ascended Masters. In this system, one may be incarnated anyplace in the chain of life, and this is often in connection with life lessons that need to be learned. One often meets with ones spirit guides, one of the Ascended masters, etc. in order to plan the major events for the next life. The element of karma in reincarnation is often seen as a system of devine justice. See also Elizabeth Clare Prophet for a modern exponent of Theosophy.

In many common new age beliefs, past life recalls involving lifetimes within the historical record (real or supposed, including legendary places such as Atlantis) are commonly accepted. It is sometimes beliefed that prior to that there was a succession of lifetimes in other lifeforms where one was working to become Human. Lifetimes outside the context of earth are rarely acknowledged.

Often, the doctrine of karma as commonly believed is seen to be a mechanism of divine justice, imposed or enforced by rules of the universe. One variation is what one does, comes back to you multiplied three fold.

In Tibetan Buddhism one finds the concept of the Six Worlds, where dependant on the quality of one merit or karma, one is re-incarnated as a citizen of one of the six Worlds, these being the world of Gods, World of DemiGods, World of Men, World of Animals, world of Demons, and the world of Hell. The advantadge of the Human realm is that this is the only place where it is possible to achieve enlightenment, and so pass beyond the cycle of suffering. Incarnations in other realms and worlds are acknowledged, but usually this is considered so long ago that it is not very relevant.

Theosophical and other related beliefs systems explain the common inability to not remember past lives as a part of the devine plan, and that this is a good thing for a variety of reasons.

An interesting variation can be seen in the work of Author Peter Novak[1], who proposes that reincarnation is part of a larger scheme, where soul and spirit are two different entities, united as one during one’s lifetime, and which separate at death, in a process he calls consciousness division or Division Theory. The division of consciousness is not considered to be a good thing.

Evidence of reincarnation
The most detailed collections of personal reports in favor of reincarnation have been published by Dr. Ian Stevenson in works such as Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects, which documents thousands of detailed cases where claims of injuries received in past lives sometimes correlate with atyptical physical birthmarks or birth defects.

Perhaps the most significant anecdotal evidence in this regard is the phenomenon of young children spontaneously sharing what appear to be memories of past lives, a phenomenon which has been reported even in cultures that do not hold to a belief in reincarnation. Upon investigating these claims, Stevenson and others have identified individuals who had died a few years before the child was born who seem to meet the descriptions the children provided.

In the most compelling cases, autopsy photographs reveal that the deceased individuals have fatal injuries that correspond to the unusual marks or birth defects of the child; for example, marks on the chest and back of a child line up precisely with the bullet entry and exit wounds on the body of an individual who has been shot.

However, Stevenson cautions that such evidence is suggestive of reincarnation, but that more research must be conducted.

One hypothesis that comes from the channeller Diandra is past life injuries are stored in the cellular memory of a person’s body that can show as birth marks. These cellular memories can also be triggered this lifetime at the same age it occurred in a past lifetime. Diandra cites one example where she was doing a channelled personal session for a doctor that did not believe in channelling or past lives but came to the personal session because his wife wanted him to. The doctor started crying when Diandra moved into a past life where he died of a heart attack at age forty. The doctor revealed he was a heart doctor who had a heart attack at forty this lifetime. Diandra goes on to say that past life cellular memory can be healed and does not have to be repeated. In another personal channelled session Diandra moved into a past lifetime of a women that was in the 1930’s dust bowl. The women stopped Diandra and told her she has a fetish of coming home from work everyday and dusting.

Objections to reincarnation
Objections to metempsychosis include: that personal identity depends on memory, and we do not remember our previous incarnations. An answer given by Hindu philosophers (like Swami Vivekananda) is that though we do not remember our infanthood, we cannot deny its reality. Another common answer is that this perforce requires the limiting of memory to the known life, thus creating a circular argument; the past life cannot be real because they are not remembered, because whatever it is that is claimed to be a memory does not meet the definition of memory as belonging to this life only, and therefore cannot be considered a memory.

Another philosophical answer is that the soul, or whatever it is that lives these hypothetical multiple lives, is influenced throughout all its qualities by the qualities of the body, and as bodies vary, whatever travels between them would not be the same consciousness. If the soul of a dog were to pass into a man’s body, the argument goes, it would have to be so changed as to be no longer the same soul; and so, in a less degree, of change from one human’s body to another.

René Guénon and others maintain that Reincarnation is both a recent concept (created in the 1800 by Spiritists and Theosophists) and distinct from both metempsychosis (which he describes as an influence from psychic residue that does not involve any true soul or personal essence) and transmigration (which for him, while often mistaken with reincarnation, actually describes the change of a once-corporeal being into some other non-corporeal state). That viewpoint is detailed in his 1923 book “The Spiritist Fallacy”.

Some scientists and skeptics, such as Paul Edwards, have analyzed many of these anecdotal accounts. In every case they found that further research into the individuals involved provides sufficient background to weaken the conclusion that these cases are credible examples of reincarnation. Others, such as philosopher Robert Almeder, having analyzed the criticisms of Edwards and others, say that the gist of these arguments can be summarized as “we all know it can’t possibly be real, so therefore it isn’t real”, a well known logical fallacy traditionally called an Argument from Lack of Imagination.

Critics who claim that reincarnation is impossible often espouse the alternate theory that a large number of mental phenomena such as memory and ability are already accounted for by physiological processes; and may point to moral and practical inconsistencies in the various theories of reincarnation. To the materialistic mind, Occam’s Razor would then seem to dictate that the critical view is to be preferred, as it demands no extraordinary new evidence beyond what is already known to science.

A more skeptical view is that without conclusive evidence showing that reincarnation exists (regardless of the current state of science), the theory of reincarnation cannot be considered to be a valid theory worthy of formal scientific recognition and acceptance.

Some skeptics explain the abundance of claims of evidence for reincarnation to originate from selective thinking and the psychological phenomena of false memories that often result from one’s own belief system and basic fears, and thus cannot be accounted as empirical evidence.

Another argument often made is that claims of reincarnation by casual adherents are usually of having been some famous historical figure instead of being another animal or an insignificant person. This argument, however, is seldom substantiated with a quantitative count of famous and non-famous reincarnation claims, and many accounts are of peasant or other little known people.

Because of such skepticism, many people who feel they may have lived a past life tend to be quite circumspect which whom they discuss this.

Theories put forward to explain the phenomenon

A theory of reincarnation
A belief in reincarnation does not discount the existence of heaven, hell, or a final judgment. There are a number of small children who have reported having memories of past lives prior to their present life, and some also report being able to recall a time between lives (see books by Dr. Ian Stevenson, Carol Bowman, Dr. Jim B. Tucker, and Elisabeth Hallett). In some cases these children have also reported being in a place like heaven between lives, and sometimes that they were given some degree of choice as to whether and when to be reborn, and even in selecting their future parents.

Some of these children claim that being reborn is not necessarily a punishment for past bad “karma”, but rather an opportunity for a soul to grow spiritually. Additional lifetimes could give individual souls a greater opportunity to accomplish more for God, if that is a person’s goal, and to develop better character traits. Eastern views of reincarnation vary and several parallels with this idea are to be found in certain branches of Hinduism and Buddhism.

A more dramatic idea is espoused in at least one account, of a woman who was raped at age 37, and was treated amongst other ways, with regression therapy. It seems she was attempted to be regressed prior to her birth, and reported that she had decided that a traumatic incident would be needed at around that time, to change her life from its previous path. If such accounts were true, they would have profound implications for human life.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Reincarnation”.

* Much, but not all of the New Age movement, Scientology and Urantia do not calibrate over 200.

Hinduism

Hinduism (हिन्दू धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma - सनातन धर्म, and Vaidika-Dharma - वैदिक धर्म) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the Vedas and is the direct descendent of the Vedic Indo-Iranian religion. It encompasses many religious traditions that widely vary in practice, as well as many diverse sects and philosophies. An array of deities, all manifestations of the one supreme monistic Ishvara, are venerated. Beliefs, codes and principles vary from region to region. It has proven impossible to trace the beginning of Vedic religion, although modern estimates of Hinduism’s origin vary from 3102 BCE to 1300 BCE. It is also the third largest religion in the world with a following of approximately 1 billion people. Ninety-eight percent of Hindus can be found on the Indian subcontinent, chiefly in India. It is noteworthy however that the relatively small Himalayan kingdom of Nepal is the only nation in the world with Hinduism as its state religion.

Core Concepts

The Eternal Way
“Sanātana Dharma” (सनातन धर्म, The Eternal Values ), the traditional name of Hinduism, speaks to the idea that certain spiritual principles hold eternally true, transcending man-made constructs, representing a pure science of consciousness. This consciousness is not merely that of the body or mind and intellect, but of a transcendental state that exists within and beyond our existence, the unsullied Soul of all. Religion to the Hindu is the eternal search for the divine Brahman (ब्रह्मन्, pronounced as /brəh mən/, nominative singular being ब्रह्म or /brəh mə/), the Supreme immanent and transcendent Reality or the Cosmic Spirit.

Hinduism’s aspiration is best expressed in the following mantra:

OM Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mrityor māmritam gamaya
“OM Lead me from falsehood to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.”

Hindus believe that every living being is an eternally existing spirit (the soul or the self). Upon physical death, this soul passes from one body to another in accordance with the laws of Karma and reincarnation.
Basic beliefs
What can be said to be common to all Hindus is the belief in Dharma (duties and obligations), Reincarnation (rebirth), Karma (”actions”, leading to a cause and effect relationship), and Moksha (salvation) of every soul through a variety of paths, such as Bhakti (devotion), Karma (action) and Jnana (knowledge), and of course, belief in God (Ishvara/Bhagavan). Reincarnation or the soul’s transmigration through a cycle of birth and death, until it attains Moksha, is governed by Karma. The philosophy of Karma lays forth the results of free-willed actions, which leave their imprint on the soul or the self, called as ātman. These actions determine the course of life and the life cycle for the soul in its subsequent life. Virtuous actions take the soul closer to the divine supreme and lead to a birth with higher-consciousness. Evil actions hinder this recognition of the divine supreme and the soul takes lower forms of worldly life. All existence, per Hinduism, from vegetation to mankind, are subjects to the eternal Dharma, which is the natural law. Even Heaven (svarga) and Hell (naraka) are temporary. Liberation from this material existence and cycle of birth and death, to join, reach or develop a relationship with the “universal spirit” (depending on belief), is known as moksha, which is the ultimate goal of Hindus.

The other principles include the guru/chela dynamic, the Divinity of Word of OM and the power of mantras (religious hymn), manifestations of the divine’s spirit in all forms of existence (pantheism); that is an understanding that the essential spark of the (Atman/Brahman) is in every living being, the concept that all living beings are divine.

Practice (Yoga Dharma)
Hinduism includes a variety of practices, primarily spiritual devotion (Bhakti Yoga), selfless service (Karma Yoga), knowledge and meditation (Jnana or Raja Yoga). These are described in the two principal texts of Hindu Yoga: The Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. The Upanishads are also important as a philosophical foundation for these practices. The yogas provide a sort of alternate path (or faiths) that links together various Hindu beliefs and can also be used to categorize non-Hindu beliefs that are seen as paths to moksha, or nirvana.

The four objectives Of Life
Another major aspect of Hindu dharma that is common to practically all Hindus is that of the purusharthas, the “four objectives of life”. They are kama, artha, dharma and moksha. It is said that all beings seek kama (pleasure, physical or emotional) and artha (material wealth), but soon, with maturity, learn to govern these legitimate desires within the higher framework of dharma (righteousness). Of course, the only goal that is truly ultimate, whose attainment results in ultimate happiness, is moksha (salvation), also known as Mukti (spiritual liberation), Samadhi, Nirvana, or escape from Samsara (the cycle of birth and death).

The four stages of Life
Ideally (though not feasible for most of today’s lay Hindus), the human life is divided into four Ashramas (”phases” or “stages”). They are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. The first quarter of one’s life, Brahmacharya (”meditation in Brahma”) is spent in celibate, controlled, sober and pure contemplation under a Guru, building up the mind for the realization of truth. Grihastya is the householder’s stage, alternatively known as samsara, in which one marries and satisfies kama and artha within a married life and professional career. Vanaprastha is gradual detachment from the material world, ostensibly giving over duties to one’s children, spending more time in contemplation of the Divine, and making holy pilgrimages. Finally, in sanyasa, the individual goes into seclusion, often envisioned as the renunciation, to find the Divine through detachment from worldly life and peacefully shed the body for the next life.

Lord Krishna revealing the eternal super-consciousness to Arjuna
The four classes of the society
The Hindu society has traditionally been divided into four great classes, based on profession—the Brahmanas: teachers and priests; the Kshatriyas: warriors, kings and administrators; the Vaishyas: farmers, merchants, herdsmen and businessmen; and the Shudras: servants and labourers. Each of these classes was called a varna and the system was called Varna Vyavastha. It is highly debatable whether the varna system is an integral part of Hinduism or not; and whether or not it is strictly sanctioned by the scriptures. The Shruti texts make very rare mentions of this system at some places, without defining things very much. The Smriti texts (including the notorious Manusmriti) have elaborated the rules about this system. Earlier, the system was only based upon the profession (and character), and there are dozens of instances where people freely changed their professions and freely intermarried. Later, (the historians do not agree as to when) the system sadly became fixed by birth. Thus, with the evolution of several sub-castes (along with a class of untouchables outside the Varna Vyavastha), the system evolved into the caste system as we know of today. With modernization, caste differences are going away in modern India.

Nature of God
The Vedas depict Brahman as the Ultimate Reality, the Absolute or Universal Soul (Param-atman), One without form, shape, gender, begining or the end (Nirguna, Nirankara). In Hinduism God is a form of Cosmic Energy or Universal Power to create, to preserve and to destroy. To make it easily understandable to primitive people more than five thousand years ago, a concept of the Trinity - god of creation (Brahma), god of preservation (Vishnu) and god of destruction (Shiva) - gods with various physical forms and symbols were introduced. To make it even more tangible and to emphasize the importance of righteous way of life, there is a feminine aspect to the Trinity (Sarswati, Lakshmi and Parvati, respectively) and even their offsprings (Ganesha and Kartikeya). Hinduism because of its very concept, even incorporated some the religious beliefs, gods and goddesses of native people conquered by early Hindus. Some people misunderstand Hinduism as multigod religion but that is absolutely untrue. One of the fundamental principles of Hinduism is depicted in the following words which have been widely accepted as true over numerous hindu generations: ekam satyaha vipra bahuda vadanti meaning ‘The True god is one though addressed by multiple names’. There also exists the lord of the universe, whom some call as Vishnu and some as Shiva, and other devas as different aspects of the potency of one Brahman. Brahman is the indescribable, inexhaustible, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, original, first, eternal, both transcendent and immanent, absolute infinite existence, and the ultimate principle who is without a beginning, without an end , who is hidden in all and who is the cause, source, material and effect of all creation known, unknown and yet to happen in the entire universe. Brahman (not to be confused with the deity Brahmā) is seen as a panentheistic “universal spirit”. The personality behind Brahman is known as Parabrahman (The superior Brahman).

Unlike Abrahamic religions which believe in a strictly personal God, Hindus believe in a both the personal and impersonal concept of God, usually called as Ishvara (ईश्वर, lit., the Supreme Lord). Hindus maintain that Ishvara is One and only One, although He can be viewed as having many manifestations such as Vishnu or transformations such as Shiva while Vaishnavites and Shaivites view Vishnu or Shiva respectively to be the same as Ishvara. The terms Ishvara and devas must not be confused. Devas could be as numerous as 840 million. These Devas may variously be translated into English as gods, demi-gods, deities, spirits or angels. Ishvara could be viewed in any way, as a non-corporeal, infinite, spiritual being, or as anthropomorphic deities such as Shiva and Vishnu, for the sake of devotional worship. Note that Brahmā, Vishnu and Shiva are not regarded as ordinary devas but as Mahadevas.

Brahman is viewed as without personal attributes (Nirguna Brahman) or with attributes (Saguna Brahman, equated with Ishvara) as God. In Advaita Vedanta, Ishvara is simply the manifested form of Brahman upon mind. Thus according to Smarta views, the divine can be with attributes, Saguna Brahman, and also be viewed with whatever attributes, (e.g., a female goddess) a devotee conceives. In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, Saguna Brahman such Vishnu or Shiva is viewed as male. Vaishnavites consider Vishnu to be the source of Brahman. The divine power (or energy) of God is personified as female or Shakti. However, the Divine and divine energy are indivisible, unitary, and the same. The analogy is that fire represents the divine and the actual heat Shakti.

Though all the different paths of Moksha (salvation) are, to various extents, acknowledged by all denominations, the actual conception of Brahman and its nature is what differentiates them. It is important to note that the contemporary perception of Hinduism, influenced by Smarta traditions, depicts an inclusively monotheistic religion, which accordingly holds that the different deities are simply different manifestations of the One God.

Denominations

Each of the Hinduism’s four major denominations share rituals, beliefs, traditions and personal deities with one another, but each sect has a different philosophy on how to achieve life’s ultimate goal (moksha, salvation) and on their concept of God (Ishvara). However, each denomination respects all others, and conflict of any kind is rare. In fact, many Hindus will not claim to belong to any denomination at all.

Contemporary Hinduism is now divided into four major divisions, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Just as Jews, Christians and Muslims differ on their view of God, Hindus believe in one God but differ in their views of God. The two primary form of differences are between the sects of Vaishnavism which conceives God as Vishnu, and Shaivism which conceives God as Shiva. Vaishnavas make up the majority of Hindus in India. Shaktism worships a female divine or goddess Devi or alternatively (where it is viewed as a sub sect of Shaivism) as the power of Shiva personified. Smartism, in contrast, believes in all religions being the same and leading to a pantheistic God. The Trimurti concept (also called the Hindu trinity) of Smartism denotes the three aspects of the divine as Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. A number of reform movements have also given rise to sects like Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s Arya Samaj which condemns iconolatry, veneration of multiple deities and focuses on the Vedas and the Vedic fire-sacrifices (yajña).

Smārtism

Smārtas invariably follow Advaita (monist) philosophy, seeing multiple manifestations emanating from a single source called Brahman. It is seen as ultimate unity, with the personal gods (deities) being different manifestations of Brahman which can be called by different names. Smārtism is the only branch of Hinduism that adopts these ideas strictly. The Smārta perspective dominates the view of Hinduism in the West because of the influence of eminent Smārtins like Swami Vivekananda.

Vaishnavism

A Vaishnavite considers Vishnu (विष्णु) as the supreme being, and considers other deities as subordinate (like demi-gods). Accordingly, many Vaishnavites, for example, believe that Vishnu ultimately grants moksha. Vaisnavites, consider worship of other gods as secondary due to Krishna’s (who is a form of Vishnu) sayings in the Gita :

Whatever deity or form a devotee worships, their wishes are granted by Me (Gita: 7:21-22)

O Arjuna, even those devotees who worship other subordinate deities (e.g., Devas, for example) with faith, they also worship Me, [but] following non-injunction (Gita: 9:23).

Shaivism

Similar to Vaishnavism, many Shaivites hold that Shiva (शिव) is the supreme being and all other deities sprung forth from him. They follow either monistic or dualistic philosophies.

Shaktism

Shaktas worship Shakti (or Devi) in all of her forms, whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity. The “History of the Shakta Religion” explains that The Shaktas conceive their Great Goddess as the personification of primordial energy and the source of all divine and cosmic evolution. She is identified with the Supreme Being, conceived as the Source and the Spring as well as the Controller of all the forces and potentialities of Nature. It is associated with Vedanta, Samkhya and Tantra philosophies, is ultimately monist, and has a rich tradition of Bhakti yoga associated with it.

Shaivite views often consider Shaktism to be sub-denomination of Saivism, arguing that Devi is worshipped as female in order to attain union with Siva, who in Saivism is the male counterpart of Devi and in Shaktism, is viewed as the formless Absolute.

Hindu sacred texts

The overwhelming majority of Hindu sacred texts are composed in the Sanskrit language. Indeed, much of the morphology and linguistic philosophy inherent in the learning of Sanskrit is sometimes claimed to be inextricably linked to study of the Vedas and relevant Hindu scriptures.

Shruti

The Vedas (वेद, literally, “Knowledge”) are considered as Shruti by Hindus. They are said to have been revealed by the Brahman to the rishis while the latter were in deep meditation. While the overwhelming majority of Hindus may never read the Vedas, there prevails in them a reverence for this transcendental notion of “Eternal Knowledge”. The four Vedas (the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas) are various shakhas or branches of knowledge. Depending on the branch, different commentaries and instructions are associated with each Veda. The Vedas, apart from the hymn (mantra) or the Samhitā (संहिता) portion, also have three layers of commentaries integrally incorporated within them. These are the Brāhmaņas (ब्राह्मण, not to be confused with Brahman) containing prose commentaries on the rituals, the Āranyakas (आरण्यक) containing the mystical explanations of the mantras, and the Upanişhads (उपनिषद्) containing highly philosophical and metaphysical writings about the nature of, and the relationship between the soul (Atman) and the Brahman. Each Veda also has various law books and ritual manuals associated with like, like the Dharmashastras, Grihyasutras, etc but most people do not consider them as an integral part of the Shruti or Vedic literature.

The Upanishads set Hindu philosophy apart with its embrace of transcendent and yet multiple immanent forces that is subjective to each individual, seen by some as an identification of unity in diversity. Modern indology suggests that while early Hinduism is most reliant on the four Vedas, Classical Hinduism, from the Yoga and Vedanta to Tantra and Bhakti streams, was moulded around the Upanishads. The Vedas are full of mysticism and allegories. While many schools like Smartism and Advaitism encourage people to interpret the Vedas philosophically and metaphorically and not too literally, Vaishnavism stresses the literal meaning (mukhya vrtti) as primary and indirect meaning (gauna vrtti) as secondary: saksad upadesas tu srutih - “The instructions of the sruti-sastra should be accepted literally, without so-called fanciful or allegorical interpretations.” (Jiva Gosvami, Krsna Sandarbha 29.26-27). The very sound of the Vedic mantras is considered as “purifying” by many Hindus, hence the rigour in learning pronunciation. The rigorous oral tradition of transmitting the Vedas has helped in its perfect preservation.

The Bhagavad Gita describes the mind as turbulent and obstinate. ‘The Chariot of the Body’: The five horses represent the five senses (tongue, eyes, nose, ears and skin). The rein symbolises the mind, the driver is the intelligence while the passenger is the spirit soul.
Bhagavad Gita

A core sacred text of Hinduism and its philosophy, the Bhagavad Gita (भगवद् गीता), often referred to as the Gita, is a summation of the Vedic, Yogic, Vedantic and Tantric philosophies. The Bhagavad Gita, meaning “The Song Divine”, refers to itself as a ‘Yoga Upanishad’ and is sometimes called Gītopanişad. It expounds on Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga. It is an integral part of the epic Mahabharata.

While technically it is considered as Smriti text, it has singularly achieved nearly the status of Shruti, or revealed knowledge. The Bhagavad-gita is described as the essence of the Vedas. This Gita is easy to follow and is also one of the most popular books in Hinduism. Unlike the Vedas, that are most esoteric and intricate, the Gita is read by many practicing Hindus.

Smriti

The other Hindu texts form the latter category—the Smritis (lit., “memory”), all of which laud the Vedas; the most notable of them are the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, major epics considered sacred by all followers of Sanatana Dharma. Their stories are arguably familiar to the vast majority of Hindus. Other texts considered important by today’s Hindus include the Shrimad Bhagavatam, described as the spotless epic detailing devotion to Vishnu as the highest goal, Devi Mahatmya, an ode to Devi, and the Yoga Sutras, a key meditative yoga text of Shri Patanjali. There are also a number of revered Hindu Tantras, the Manusmriti, the 18 Purāņas which vividly describe later Hinduism’s deities and mythology, and Sutras that command the respect of various Hindu sects of different persuasion, some including the Mahanirvana Tantra, Tirumantiram and Shiva Sutras. The eighteen Purāņas, or Ancients, are divided into three groups of six. The Purāņas’ groups and their contents are: 1) the Brahmā Purāņas: Brahma Purāņa, Brahmanda Purāņa, Brahma Vaivarta Purāņa, Markandeya Purāņa, Bhavishya Purāņa, and the Vamana Purāņa; 2) the Vishnu Purāņas: the Vishnu Purāņa, the Bhagavata Purāņa, the Naradeya Purāņa, the Garuda Purāņa, the Padma Purāņa, and the Varaha Purāņa; and 3) the Shiva Purāņas: the Vayu Purāņa, the Linga Purāņa, the Skanda Purāņa, the Agni Purāņa, the Matsya Purāņa, and the Karma Purāņa. The Ramayana, Mahabharata and many Purāņas are much more widely read by today’s Hindus than the Vedas, and the temple and icon worship of modern Hinduism is attributable to them. It is interesting to note that the Hindus attach much more importance to the ethics and the metaphorical meanings conveyed by these texts, rather than only the literal mythology. Other important scriptures are the sectarian Hindu Agamas which are texts related to rituals and worship and is dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. The Shrutis take precedence over Smriti in any matter of apparent mutual dispute. However, many Vaishnavas regard the Purāņas to be as authoritative as the Vedas.

Origins and society

Origins of Hinduism

The Sun Temple in Konark, Orissa is one of the most famous stone monument in the world. The temple is conceived as a massive 24-wheel chariot of the Sun God Surya.Hinduism is the world’s oldest major religion in existence. From a Hindu perspective, the Sanatana Dharma propounds eternal and universal principles with no beginning or end. Hindu puranas and astronomical evidence within place Lord Krishna’s birth at a date of 3100 BCE Krishna’s incarnation was preceded by Lord Rama’s, sometimes dated at over 5,000 BCE, or even millions of years ago according to the Ramayana. It is believed by many Hindus that their religious tradition was fully formed by the time of Lord Rama, believed to be the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Modern indology, on the other hand, suggests that Hinduism only developed sometime between 1500-1300 BCE based on the linguistic and literary dating of the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Hindu spiritual texts. This, however, is based on the Aryan invasion theory, which has increasingly been doubted due to archaeological findings suggesting that there was never such an invasion.

The origin of collective Hindu thought cannot be ascribed to any single founder (though most of its later schools of philosophy and belief can be), or associated with a specific time or a single place of foundation. The Vedas, the earliest Hindu scriptures, are the compilation of spiritual laws and truths binding upon all of creation. It is believed that each Veda was revealed to enlightened sages, called rişhis, over a long period of time. The Vedas are said to have been transmitted to Lord Brahma by Lord Vishnu via meditative trance at the beginning of each creation.

The term ‘Hindu’ itself is a corrupt form of the word ‘Sindhu’, which literally means ‘dweller across the Indus Valley’. The religion is often named (more appropriately) as Sanatana Dharma in all of its books. Hinduism, along with Buddhism and Jainism, is regarded to be an Arya Dharma, meaning, a noble religion.

Etymology
Though linguists and historians haven’t reached a consensus, the term Hindu is generally accepted to be derived from the name of the Sindhu (सिन्धु, i.e., the Indus) river, which is known as Hindu in Persian. The term was used for people that lived around or beyond the Sindhu. In this region, Mohan-jo-Daro civilization is documented to be around five thousand years old. As evidenced by its structure, this was a very advanced civilization. Hinduism, in some form, probably existed long before that. In the Iranian linguistic branch, the /s/ of the Indic branch (as represented by Sanskrit) is cognate with the /h/ sound of Iranian (as represented by Avestan and Old Persian). In the Rig Veda, the Indo-Aryans mention their expanse as sapta sindhu (the land of seven rivers). This became the term Hapta-Hindu in Avesta (Vendidad: Fargard 1.18). Hindu (In-du or In-tu in China) is still used in some languages to denote an Indian or India. The Greek term “India” was originally pronounced Hindia, as in classical Greek there was no character for “h”. In modern Persian and Arabic, the term Hindustan denotes the Indian subcontinent, and Hind or Al-Hind is used to denote the Republic of India.

The word Hindu (हिन्दु), possibly due to Iranian influence, in the sense of people of India, is used in some early-medieval Sanskrit texts like BhaviŞhya Purāņa, Kālikā Purāņa, Merutantra, Rāmakosha, Hemantakavikosha and Adbhutarūpakosha. India is also traditionally, but unofficially called Hindustan or Hind in Hindi, Persian, Arabic, etc. Note that the word Hindustan also has other meanings.

Until about 19th century the term Hindu implied a culture and ethnicity and not a religion. When the British government started periodic censuses and established a legal system, the need arose to define Hinduism as a distinct religion, along the lines of Christianity or Islam. Some scholars, such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, defined it as a religion based on the Vedas, using the analogy of the Bible being the basis of Christianity and the Koran being the Muslim scripture.

That even an atheist may be called a Hindu is an example of the fact that Hinduism is far more than a simple religious system; it is actually an extremely diverse and complicated river of evolving philosophies and ancient traditions.

Vedic religion

Modern Hinduism grew out of the knowledge described in the Vedas. The earliest of these, the Rigveda centers on worship of the deities Indra and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. They would perform fire-sacrifices called yajña (यज्ञ) with the chanting of the Vedic mantras, but they built no temples, idols or icons. Probably animals were also sacrificed in larger yajñas, as claimed by Buddhist and Jain texts. The Ashvamedha was the most important sacrifice described in the Yajurveda, possibly performed for the last time by Samudragupta in the 4th century. The age and origins of the Vedas themselves are disputed, but it is clear that they were transmitted orally for several millennia. They show strong similarities to the language and religion of the Avesta, which are sometimes traced back to either the influence of the 3rd millennium BC Indus Valley Civilisation, or to a 2nd millennium BC Indo-Iranian migration (see Aryan invasion theory), or to a combination of these.

Hindu nationalism

In the 20th century, emerging Indian nationalism began to emphasize Hinduism, in opposition to the British Raj, but also in contrast to Islam, and after Independence in connection with the territorial disputes with Pakistan. Such nationalistic Hinduism is generally termed Hindutva (”Hinduness”, paradoxically not a well-formed Sanskrit word, since “Hindu” is a Persian word), but the boundaries are fluid and the Indian Supreme Court ruled that “no precise meaning can be ascribed to the terms ‘Hindu’, ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Hinduism’; and no meaning in the abstract can confine it to the narrow limits of religion alone, excluding the content of Indian culture and heritage.” Hindutva ideology was enunciated first by Savarkar in his seminal work ‘Hindutva’. Hindutva ideology rose to importance in Indian politics in the 1980s and is chiefly associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh movement. It has come to symbolize the rising bi-polarization of Indian polity in the late 1990’s and the first decade of the 21st century, evident in the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the same period. One of their short term aims is to build a Rama temple at the site of the controversial Babri mosque (whose domes were destroyed by some Hindutva fanatics) in Ayodhya. Lord Rama was said to have born at that site, over which, claim some people and historians, the Mughal commander Mir Baki had built the Babri mosque after destroying a Vaishnavite temple commemorating the birthplace, in his alleged frenzy of iconoclasm.

Temples

Most of the Hindu temples have their principal shrine facing the rising sun and their entrance facing east. An important aspect of the temple design is that it is intended to lead from the temporal world to the eternal one. Shown here, is the Meenakshi temple in southern India.Hindu temples inherited rich and ancient rituals and customs, and have occupied a special place in Hindu society. They are usually dedicated to a primary deity, called the presiding deity, and other subordinate deities associated with the main deity. However, some mandirs are dedicated to multiple deities. Most major temples are constructed as per the agama shastras and many are sites of pilgrimage. For many Hindus, the four Shankaracharyas (the abbots of the monasteries of Badrinath, Puri, Sringeri and Dwarka, four of the holiest pilgrimage centers) are viewed as the four highest Patriarchs of the Hindudom.

Temples are a place for darshan (vision of the divine), puja, meditation, and religious congregation among other religious activities. Puja or worship, frequently uses the aid of a murti (statue in which divine presence is invoked) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of mantras. Devotional songs called bhajans (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), kirtan (devotional songs), and arti are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic communion. This form of icon and temple worship, puja, is integral to the Bhakti cult.

Most Hindu homes also have a section devoted for daily worship of the deities with religious icons and meditation.

Current geographic distribution

Largest gathering of humanity on Earth. Around 70 million people participated in Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.
Hinduism continues to grow, as is evidenced by the modern Neasden Temple in London.Of the total Hindu population of the world, about 94% (890 million) live in India (i.e. Bharat). Nepal, some Indonesian islands, Bhutan, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Guyana, Singapore, and Suriname have significant density of Hindu populations. In Nepal and Bali the major religion is Hinduism and is still reflected in the traditional culture and architecture. Prior to the arrival of Islam, areas of the region now known as Afghanistan and Pakistan were also predominantly Hindu or Buddhist.

Apart from these countries Bangladesh (14.4 million), Sri Lanka (3 million), Pakistan (2.5 million), Malaysia (1.5 million), United States (1.5 million), South Africa (1.1 million) and the Middle East (1 million) also have sizable Hindu populations.

Hindu philosophy: the six Vedic schools of thought

The six Āstika or orthodox (accepting the authority of the Vedas) schools of Hindu philosophy are Nyāya, Vaisheshika, Sāmkhya, Yoga, Pūrva Mīmāmsā (also called just ‘Mīmāmsā’), and Uttara Mīmāmsā (also called ‘Vedanta’). The non-Vedic schools are called Nāstika, or heterodox, and refer to Buddhism, Jainism and Lokayata. The schools that continue to enrich Hinduism today are Purva Mimamsa, Yoga, and Vedanta. See Hindu philosophy for a discussion of the historical significance of Samkhya, Nyaya, and Vaisheshika.

Pūrva Mīmāmsā

The main objective of Pūrva (”earlier”) Mīmāmsā school (also simply called Mīmāmsā) was to firmly establish the authority of the Vedas. Consequently, this school’s most valuable contribution to Hinduism was its formulation of the rules of interpretation of Vedas. Its adherents believed that true knowledge is self-evidently proven, and tried to find out the basis of the Vedic ritualism through reasoning. This school of thought led to later development of advaita philosophy which is key to the Sanatana/Hindu Dharma and was especially championed by philosophers like Adi Sankara and Swami Vivekananda.

Yoga

In Hinduism, Yoga is considered to be the ultimate way of attaining spiritual goals. The earliest written accounts of yoga appear in the Rig Veda, which began to be codified between 1500 and 1200 BCE. Some historians believe that this 5000 thousand years old sculpture is of a yogi.Yoga means union and is generally interpreted as union with the Divine, or integration of body, mind, and spirit. Its goals are moksha or samadhi. It, like the Upanishads, seeks liberation through the disunion of the spirit (Purusha) and the nature (Prakriti), through meditational, physical and spiritual practices, along with a firm belief in God (Ishvara).

Upanishads, sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita are indispensable literature in the study of Yoga and elaborate on Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Gyana Yoga. Of these, the Yoga Sutra is essentially a compilation and systematization of meditational Yoga philosophy.

Uttara Mimāmsā: Vedānta and its three main schools

The Uttara (”later”) Mimāmsā school, also called as Vedanta, is perhaps one of the cornerstone movements of Hinduism and certainly was responsible for a new wave of philosophical and meditative enquiry, renewal and revival of Hinduism, and established strong philosophical foundation. Primarily associated with the Upanishads and their commentaries by Bādarāyaņa — the Vedanta Sutras, Vedānta thought, according to the pre-Shankaran Buddhist sources (Aryadeva, Kamalashila, Bhavya) monotheistic, later split into three principal groups, initiated by the thinking and writing of Adi Sankara. Most Hindu thought today in some way relates to changes affected by Vedantic thought, which focused on unity of the whole God. The great debate between followers the major Hindu philosophical school, Advaita and the schools such as those of Ramanuja and Madhva, focused on the true nature of Brahman, on whether Brahman was essentially monistic, qualified non-dualistic or dualistic in nature.

Pure monism: Advaita Vedanta

Advaita literally means “not two”; thus this is what we refer to as a monistic (or non-dualistic) philosophy, which emphasizes oneness of all Divine. Its proponent was Sankara (788?-820?). Sankara expounded his theories largely based on previous teachings of the Upanishads and his own guru Govinda Bhagavadpada. By the analysis of Vedas, he proposed the relative nature of the Universe and established the non-dual nature of Brahman in which Atman (the individual soul) and Brahman (the Ultimate Reality) are identified to be identical.

To Advaitists (nondualists) Ultimate Reality is best expressed as Nirguna Brahman, or God without form, or God without physical attributes; indeed, some might go so far as to say it is not ‘God’ but something beyond - the Godhead. However, even that definition can be limiting. Nirguna Brahman can never be described as that as It transcends all definitions. All personal forms of God (Ishvara) such as Vishnu or Shiva are different aspects of Nirguna Brahman in physical form, or God with attributes, Saguna Brahman. In fact, when a being tries to know the Supreme Spirit (Brahman) through his mind, Brahman becomes the Supreme Lord (Ishvara), under the effect of an illusioanry power of Brahman called Māyā. True knowledge of the Brahman (Jñāna) is the only way to liberation.

God’s energy may also be personified as Devi, the Divine Mother. For Vaishnvaites who follow Ramanuja’s philosophy, Devi is Lakshmi, who is the Mother of all and who pleads with Vishnu for the salvation of humankind. For Shaivites, Devi is Parvati. For Shaktas, who worship Devi, Devi is the physical form of God. See Advaita Vedanta for more.

Qualified monism: Vishistadvaita Bhakti

Ramanuja (1040 - 1137) was the foremost proponent of the concept of Sriman Nārāyaņa as the supreme Brahman. He taught that Ultimate Reality had three aspects: Ishvara (Vishnu), chit (soul) and achit (matter). Vishnu is the only independent reality, while souls and matter are dependent on God Vishnu for their existence. Because of this qualification of Ultimate reality, Rāmānuja’s system is known as qualified non-dualism. Karma along with Bhakti for is the true path for liberation.

Dualism: Dvaita Bhakti

Like Ramanuja, Madhva (1238 - 1317) identified God with Vishnu, but his view of reality was purely dualistic in that he understood a fundamental differentiation between the ultimate Godhead and the individual soul, and the system is therefore called Dvaita (dualistic) Vedanta. Bhakti is the only way for liberation.

Alternative cultures of worship

The Bhakti schools

Shri Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is widely worshipped as Vignesh, the remover of obstacles.The Bhakti (Devotional) school takes its name from the Hindu term that signifies a blissful, selfless and overwhelming devotion of God as the beloved Father, Mother, Child, or whatever relationship finds appeal in the devotee’s heart. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks to relate to the personal form of God. Seen as a form of Yoga, or union, it seeks to interlink the self with God, since consciousness of the body and limited mind as self is seen to be a limiting factor in spiritual realization. Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. ‘Sins’ and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the devotion of God. The Bhakti movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of devotion and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India.

Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and given India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing elaborate rituals.

Tantra

This is one of the least understood areas of Hinduism. A tantra literally means an act. A mantra is a hymn or sacred words associated with a deity. A mantra is associated with an Yantra ,which is a mystical digram. All acts of worship which include Mantras,Yantras are called Tantras.

Tantras can be divided into two paths - The right hand path( also known as samayachara or Dakshinachara) and the Left hand path (Vamachara).

Extolled as a short-cut to self-realization and spiritual enlightenment by some, left-hand tantric rites are often rejected as dangerous by most orthodox Hindus.

For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given, said Shiva on the Kaula school of Tantrism.
The word “tantra” also means “treatise” or “continuum”, and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as “tantric”. Most tantras were written in the middle ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.

Important symbolism and themes in Hinduism

This young Indian brahmachari bears on his forehead the distinctive triple-line tilaka (made out of ash, referred to as vibhuti) and on his chest a rudraksha (eye of Rudra) and mala (rosary), both symbols of Lord Shiva.
Tilaka (symbol on forehead or between eyebrows)
Main article: Tilaka
The tilaka (or tilak) is a mark worn on the forehead and other parts of the body for spiritual reasons. It is believed to symbolize the need to cultivate supramental consciousness, which is achieved by opening the mystic “third eye.” It is most commonly seen as a dot (or Bindu) worn by women, especially married women, and carries connotations of marriage and auspiciousness.

Hindus stress meditation to acquire knowledge beyond the mind and body, a trait that is often associated with the ascetic god Shiva. Men, too, will bear on their foreheads the equivalent Ţīkā (tilaka) mark, usually on religious occasions, its shape often representing particular devotion to a certain main deity: a ‘U’ shape stands for Vishnu, a group of three horizontal lines for Shiva. It is not uncommon for some to meld both in an amalgam marker signifying Hari-Hara (Vishnu-Shiva indissoluble).

Ahimsa (non-violence), vegetarian diet and the cow

Ahimsa is a concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life — human, as well as animal. The term ahimsa first appears in the Upanishads and in Raja Yoga, it is the first of the five yamas, or eternal vows/restraints of yoga.

A large section of Hindus embrace vegetarianism in a bid to respect higher forms of life. While vegetarianism is not a dogma or requirement, it is recommended as a sattwic (purifying) lifestyle. About 30% of today’s Hindu population, especially in orthodox communities in South India, in certain northerly states like Gujarat, where there is significant Jain influence, and in many Brahmin and Marwari enclaves around the subcontinent, is vegetarian - primarily lacto-vegetarian. Some avoid even onion and garlic, as they are regarded as rajasic.

Those Hindus who do eat meat predominantly abstain from beef, some even avoid the usage of leather products. This is possibly because the largely pastoral Vedic people and subsequent generations relied so heavily on the cow for dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertilizer that its status as a ‘caretaker’ led to identifying it as an almost maternal figure (so the term gau mata). While most Hindus do not worship the cow, it still holds an honored place in Hindu society. It is said that Krishna is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and Shiva’s attendant is Nandi, the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days) and the sacred nature of the cow (Sacred cow), it is no wonder that most Hindu holy cities have a ban on selling beef.

Hindu symbolism
Among the most revered symbols in Hinduism, two are quintessentially a part of its culture and representative of its general ethos:

Aum (ॐ) is the sacred symbol of Hinduism, and is prefixed and sometimes suffixed to all Hindu mantras and prayers. Its contains a deep symbolic message; which is considered as divine primordial vibration of the Universe which represents all existence, encompassing all of nature into the One Ultimate Reality.

Swastika (卐) is an Arya, or noble and auspicious symbol. It stands for satya, truth, and stability within the power of Brahma or, alternatively, of Surya, the sun. Its rotation in four directions has been used to represent many ideas, but primarily describes the four directions, the four Vedas and their harmonious whole. It has been used in ancient cultures around the world and predominantly in Hinduism since the early Vedic culture and is still widespread in the Indian subcontinent. Many other cultures still hold it to be auspicious, especially in India, in spite of the recent association with Nazism which used a modified version of this symbol.

Murtis (icons)

The dancing posture of Lord Śiva, known as the Nataraja, is often said to be the supreme statement of Hindu artWhether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal God (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks contact with the personal source of Brahman, which explains the proliferation of so many Gods and Goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people.

Worship of God is often represented symbolically through the aid of icons (mūrti) which are conduits for the devotee’s consciousness, markers for the human mind that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the power and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle and according to the understanding of the worshipper, the concept or entity is sometimes presumed to be present in them (in monotheistic doctrines) and sometimes not (in monistic doctrines).

In a Hindu Temple, the divine spirit/energy is commonly invoked into the Murtis at the time of their consecration. Veneration of such Mūrtis is done everyday in a temple. Most practicing Hindus also maintain a Puja room like a temple in their homes for worship and meditation. The icons could be two-dimensional paintings or three-dimensional statues.

Some of deities worshipped are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Swaminarayan, Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Agni, Skanda and Hanuman. Also, the Puranas list twenty-five avatara of Vishnu : Caturasana, Narad, Varaha, Matsya, Yajna, Nara-Narayana, Kapila, Dattatreya, Hayasirsa, Hamsa, Prsnigarbha, Rsabha, Prithu, Narasimha , Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Vamana, Parasurama, Raghavendra, Vyasa, Balarama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.

Mantra

Reciting mantras or incantations is a general practice in Hindu rituals. Many mantras are from the Vedas. Much of mantra yoga, as it is called, is done through japa (repetition). Mantras are chanted, through their meaning, sound, and chanting style, to help meditational focus for the sadhaka (practitioner). They can also be used to aid in expression of love for the deity, another facet of Bhakti yoga akin to the understanding of the murti. They often give courage in exigent times and serve to help ‘invoke’ one’s inner spiritual strength. Indeed, Mahatma Gandhi’s dying words were a two-word mantra to the Lord Rama: “Hé Rām!”‘.

The most revered mantra in Hinduism is the famed Gayatri Mantra of the Rig Veda 3.62.10 (see Sanskrit for pronunciation):

Devanagari: ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः | तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यम् | भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि | धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्
Transliteration (IPA):/ OM bhūr bhuvə svəḥ | tət səvitur vəreṇyəm | bhərgo devəsya dhīməhi | dhiyo yo nəḥ prəçodəyαt ||/
Translation: “May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God / so may He stimulate our prayers.”
It is considered one of the most sacred of all Hindu mantras, invoking the universal Brahman as the principle of knowledge and the illumination of the primordial Sun. Many Hindus to this day, in a tradition that has continued unbroken for at least 3,000 years, perform morning ablutions at the bank of a sacred river (especially the Ganga/Ganges) while chanting this mantra.

Criticism
Hinduism is criticized based on current or past regressive social customs such as Dowry, Sati and casteism.

Some sociologists claim that the Dowry system, which was non-existent before the late middle ages, can be attributed to the coming of the colonial and imperialist British with their land ownership rights and the associated revenues. Prior to the British instituted system, no single person held land ownership - in fact the village as a whole owned the land - so no give or take could be possible during weddings. Once individual and fractious land ownership was forcibly introduced by the British (as this facilitated the exploitation and pillage of Indian wealth by the Colonialists), it became possible for land to be traded and offered as gift or transferred. Prior to the British Dowry system, the only wealth given during weddings was the jewelry/ornaments passed from mother to daughter as has been happening since generations. Even now this tradition continues, but has been subsumed by the larger British Dowry system. Citation needed

From the worldview of the three Abrahamic religions, Hinduism is criticized as being polytheistic and for promoting idolatry - both of which they consider evil. The Hindu counter-argument is that Hinduism is not polytheistic (monism or monistic theism is more apt), though it may present an appearance of polytheism to external observers not familiar with its philosophy. Also with regard to idolatry, which is defined as worship of God who does not conform to the Abrahamic YHVH, accusations are natural because of the exclusive nature of Abrahamic religions. Hinduism on the other hand, is more tolerant of God as defined by other religions and does not subscribe to similar ideas of false god or idolatry. Furthermore, some Westerners or followers of Abrahamic religions see the Hindu “gods and goddesses” and mythology as only sexuality and violence—which consequently makes the Hindu deities appear like immoral devils. Hindus strongly condemn such interpretations, most of which, according to them, is not only a stupid and shallow analysis of the Hindu dharma but also willfull and gross misinterpretation of Hindu iconography and mythology, in order to demean Hinduism.

Another criticism is that Hinduism supported a pacified people with an indifferent attitude towards material life. This is supposed to have created an attitude of living with problems rather than solving it which is in contrast with the European civilizations.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Hinduism”.

[Excerpt from VEDA - Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, authors and Jan Mares]

In recent years we see a great spread of terms “reincarnation” and “karma” in public awareness. It is largely due to media which present reports, documents, movies, books a other products with this topic. If we set aside an analysis of this state we can briefly say that it shows a dissatisfaction with answers to existential questions given by modern science and various Western philosophies and religions.

Indeed, these sources cannot answer satisfactorily many of questions made by people nowadays. This creates a space for other philosophical sources and traditions to fill this vacuum. Most often they are various branches of so-called natural religions or various traditions of Eastern philosophies. Among other things they have in common these terms although their explanations differ in details. Their common denominator however is a cyclic perception of time (creation of the world happens repeatedly) whereas contemporary Western science adopted from Judeo-Christian tradition the linear perception of time (creation of the world is only a one-shot event).

Exceptional position among them belongs to Vedic tradition (sometimes incorrectly called hinduism) thanks to its ancient origin and authority based on the oldest texts in the world - Vedic scriptures. Because they are at the same time the widest and most detailed information source about these and many other topics, they definitely deserve attention.

Primary goal of Hare Krishna Movement is to inform the general public with knowledge contained in these books and bring into practice alternative lifestyle and culture based on them.

2. Attitude of Western science to reincarnation

Modern Western science from its beginnings considered the concept of reincarnation to be a mere religious belief or superstition and refused to explore its theses and effects.

Main problem is that science was not and still is not able to explain the life phenomenon. Even though there were attempts to explain the basis and origin of life as a biochemical combination of matter, these theories cannot satisfactorily answer many questions like e.g. origin of unlimited species of life, inherent abilities or experiences of people who went through a clinical death.

In 1966 British molecular biologist and Nobel Prize laureate Francis Crick (* 1916) published that is is possible to scientifically prove, that life is nothing more than complex chemical reaction. He also predicted that in near future science will succeed to synthetically create artificial organisms. But until now there was no success in this field even though highly advanced technologies and billion dollar expenses were used. Many scientists are thus forced to admit that bold claims of Crick and others are just empty promises. Hungarian-american biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (1893-1986) wrote about it:

“While searching for the secret of life I ended up by atoms and electrons which do not show any signs of life. Somewhere on the way the life had to slip through my fingers. Now in my old age I have to backtrack.” (Biology Today, Del Mar, California, 1972)

Life as Vedic science explains is nothing physical or chemical and therefore it is subjected to laws of another nature than those guiding the movements of anorganic matter. Bhagavad-gita, a crucial work of Vedic philosophy, describes these laws as higher, subtle natural laws. Common scientific methods and devices cannot ascertain these higher laws, what to speak of helping to explain them.

3. Eight elements and two bodies

Bhagavad-gita (7.4) describes that the whole material world is composed of eight basic elements - five gross material and three subtle material.

Gross material elements are: earth, water, fire, air and ether. In modern terminology: solid substances, liquids, radiating energy, gasses and all-pervading space. Existence of ether is on the verge of modern science’s abilities to explore it and therefore it is doubted. But it is ether which enables wireless electromagnetic data transmission through space, without which modern communication systems could not function. Its existence was confirmed by Michelson-Gale experiment. (Physicist A. A. Michelson was not satisfied after previous, better known Michelson-Morley experiment and continued to explore the ether. His work culminated in Michelson-Gale experiment which was later independently verified by Georges M.M. Sagnac - www.orgonelab.org/miller.htm)

Scientific proof

All phenomena in this world perceivable by our senses are a combination of these five basic elements.

Above these five gross are three subtle material elements: mind, intelligence and false ego. Although we cannot perceive them due to their higher nature they are still material. Together they constitute so-called subtle material body (in Sanskrit linga-sarira, desire body, also called astral body) in which our thinking, feeling and willing is manifested. This means that our thoughts, feelings and desires correspond to our mind (manas) and intelligence (buddhi). Ahankara creates our false identification with our body (therefore “false ego”).

That which we usually consider a body is therefore composed of two various bodies - gross material a subtle material body. This can be understood with the example of a dream. During a dream our consciousness leaves our gross material daily body, identifies with subtle material dream body and after awakening again identifies with the gross material visible body. In both cases the consciousness, proper self (jiva) remains separated from both bodies. This is obvious from the fact that it observes them - it is a witness (saksi) of their activity - and identifies with them.

4. Soul (jiva) - source of consciousness

Sanskrit terms jiva or atma, sometimes connected into one - jivatma, are for the lack of suitable term in other languages denoted as soul.

Bhagavad-gita (7.5) describes that above these eight material elements is soul which is superior to them:

“Besides these [eight], O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.”

Well-known psychoanalyst C.G. Jung describes the soul as “greatest of cosmic miracles”, which is able within the frame of natural laws to manipulate material energy according to its desire and thus use it for its own benefit.

Interactions of embodied soul with its gross- and subtle material body create a web of unlimited complex reactions which cannot be described by simple laws of modern physics, chemistry or molecular biology. Therefore these natural sciences are unable to define precise difference between living and dead body.

If we would say that life is nothing more than a combination of material molecules then it should be possible bring dead body back to life by mere adding of chemicals whose lack caused death. It should be also possible to create an artificial life in a lab. However, these numerous attempts were unsuccessful and scientists’ interest switched to cloning. The reason is that life comes always and only from life and never from dead matter. Bhagavad-gita (2.17-18) explains that the difference between living and dead body is the presence of the soul. As soon as the soul leaves the body we consider it dead.

Second chapter of Bhagavad-gita (2.20-25) describes characteristics of the soul:

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain. As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same. It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.”

All these qualities of of the soul are outside the field of perceivable molecular reactions. Niels Bohr (1885-1962), Danish nuclear physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, noted:

“In physics and chemistry we cannot find anything at least marginally proving the existence of consciousness. And still we all know that there is something like consciousness, simply because we have it ourselves. Consciousness therefore must be a part of nature, or expressed more commonly, a part of reality. This means that aside of physical and chemical laws described quantum theory there are laws with completely different nature.”

5. Three modes (gunas)

According to Vedic scriptures all variety of species of life is created by a combination of three basic modes of material energy, in Sanskrit called gunas. Here is again seen a limitation of other languages because they lack suitable synonym. Closest is probably the Latin word modus. Guna is therefore a kind of modus operandi (means of functioning) of material energy. They are called:

- sattva-guna (harmony, goodness)
- rajo-guna (activity, passion)
- tamo-guna (inertia, ignorance)

Bodies of individual species can be compared to various apartments or houses of different sizes, shapes and colors temporarily inhabited by embodied soul. Bodily forms limit (under the control of three modes) its freedom of movement and activities as well as possibilities of individual enjoyment. Influence of modes on people describes Bhagavad-gita (18.26-28):

“One who performs his duty without association with the modes of material nature, without false ego, with great determination and enthusiasm, and without wavering in success or failure is said to be a worker in the modes of goodness. The worker who is attached to work and the fruits of work, desiring to enjoy those fruits, and who is greedy, always envious, impure, and moved by joy and sorrow, is said to be in the mode of passion. The worker who is always engaged in work against the injunctions of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, and who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating is said to be a worker in the mode of ignorance.”

6. Internal reincarnation - change of bodies in present life

Consciousness and physical form are directly related. Body and consciousness of little baby necessarily differs from body and consciousness of a young or old person. It can be said that soul travels during the development of the body from birth to death through different bodies with different consciousness. We may not be aware how we are constantly changing bodies in this life because this change is very subtle, gradual and hard to perceive. Did we notice as children how our body grows? We did notice it only when we were reminded of it by someone who saw us after a longer period of time.

This fact is confirmed also by biologists. American anthropologist John. E. Pfeiffer (* 1914) writes his book Human Brain (1955): “Our body today does not contain even one molecule from seven years ago.”

Despite this constant change of bodies we, souls, remain still the same unchanged persons.

Let us say that we are today thirty years old but we are still the same person who was five or twenty years old. We are just in a different gross body. Our current body during the time somehow changed, e.g. we gained more abilities, strength and knowledge, but we are the same persons, we have not become anyone else. Characteristics, abilities, knowledge and perceptions - all this we own but despite all external changes our identity does not change.

This transmigration of soul through many bodies during one life we can call gradual or internal reincarnation.

7. External reincarnation - change of body at the time of death

What will happen with the soul at the time of death of present physical body? In other words: Where are we going when we die? Do we have an influence over our next situation? Can we choose our future life?

In Bhagavad-gita (2.13) we will find answers:

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.quot;

Bhagavad-gita further explains that state of consciousness in critical moment of death is crucial for the choice of new body:

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his present body, in his next life he will attain to that state without fail.quot;

At the moment of death the soul together subtle body leaves the gross, physical body. It is the subtle body and our desires and thoughts recorded therein and recalled by us at this moment which are decisive as to the destination of our next body. This transmigration of soul from one body to another is called external reincarnation (samsara or samsriti in Sanskrit).

Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) 5.11.5-7 mentions that mind is attracted by sense enjoyment, pious or impious. Thus it is subject to three modes of material nature and causes corresponding births in various types of bodies, higher or lower. Therefore the soul suffers material unhappiness or enjoys material material happiness because of the mind. Thus mind under the influence of illusion creates further pious and impious activities and their karma and the soul becomes conditioned by them. Sages say that the mind is the cause of bodily features bondage and liberation.

Here is refuted one widely spread idea that the soul cannot fall from the human body anymore, i.e. achieve animal or another lower body. Human form differs from lower forms in such a way that the soul in it has a free will and thus also a responsibility for its actions (karma).

The fact that the soul reincarnates together with subtle body is confirmed also by parapsychological research. With the help of various methods many people could recall from their subconsciousness memories of previous lives. This would not be be possible if the carrier of these memories would not incarnate together with the soul. According to the Vedic scriptures the memory is the function of intelligence, a part of subtle body. Although at the time of birth we forget our previous life, it is possible by certain means to restore active memories of our previous incarnations. These means however are not always cent percent reliable. In certain exceptional cases, especially in children, is proved a spontaneous ability of recall without external influence of medium or therapist.

8. Definition of term “reincarnation”

Reincarnation (from Latin “re”, again + “incarnare”, make flesh) is a continuous transmigration of the soul together with its subtle material body from one gross material body to another according to its individual karma.

Reincarnation is therefore a process and law of karma is directing it. Examples of various kinds of karma and their effects you will find at Samsara

B. Karma - The Law Behind Reincarnation
1. Law of action and reaction
2. Free will and fate
3. Karma from the action point of view
4. Karma from the reaction point of view
5. Four phases of karma
6. Three kinds of karma

1. Law of action and reaction

Term “karma” is inseparably connected with reincarnation. While trying to understand the reincarnation process one cannot avoid this term.

Sanskrit word “karma” literally means “action, activity, work”, and because other languages again lack any synonym exactly explaining its meaning, it is not recommended to translate it.

In West this term was first used by Russian theosophist Helena P. Blavatsky (1831-1891). Her definition:

“Karma is the basic cosmic law, …which in physical, mental and soul world connects cause with its effect. Because any cause, be it the greatest like the movement of cosmos, or the smallest like the movement of hand, necessarily has a corresponding effect, and because the same acts in a same way, karma is invisible and unknown law which wisely, righteously and and providentially connects every effects with corresponding cause and its originator.”

In his work “Manifestations of Karma” (1910) anthroposofist Rudolf Steiner defines karma in this way:

“…without limiting free will of man, the law of karma acts back on an entity, from which the cause came, like the law of action and reaction.”

These definitions intelligibly explain the core of Vedic term karma. Steiner’s comparing law of karma to the physical law of action and reaction (actio = reactio, third Newton’s law of classical mechanics, 1687) is very pertinent although this law represents only a little aspect of much higher and subtler law of karma. Pertinent is also the maxim that karmic law of cause and effect acts especially on an individual level and leaves a space for the free will of a doer. This is what usually forget different critics of Eastern philosophies who understand karma as a mechanical predestination forcing a man to passively await what the future will bring (nihilism).

Already before Steiner and Newton’s discovery people knew sayings showing a certain understanding of regularity of action and reaction. Also a biblical quote “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatským 6:7) became a folk saying.

2. Free will and fate

According to Vedic philosophy every living being transmigrating in material world from one body to another, is given a free will to act according to its desires, ideas and thoughts.

When Shri Krishna narrated Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, in one of the last verses (18.63) He said:

“Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.”

Vedic scriptures say that desire is a father of thought and thought is a father of action. Desire originally comes from the soul, thought from the mind (subtle body) and actions from working sense organs of gross body.

Living being has due to free will a certain, although limited field of activity. Vedic philosophy teaches that free will and predestination or fate are parallel to each other. By our present actions, performed out of our free will, we create our future karmic reactions. At the same time we reap reaction of our previous actions. Fate is not, therefore, any punishment from above striking on innocent ones (and which God does not want to or cannot stop).

Law of karma is very strict because it must assure fulfillment of desires of all living beings in the whole material world in such a way that they do not contradict but complement themselves and that even one injustice does not go unpunished. American Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) describes it in this way (Lectures and Biographical Sketches, 1868):

“If you love people and serve them, you will be rewarded. Hidden rewards continue to reinstate balance of divine justice. This law cannot be changed. All tyrants, owners and monopolists of this world try in vain to disrupt this balance. Equator still keeps its place and people as well as insects, sun and planets must obey it or be destroyed by backlash reaction.”

Universe is ruled by strict and generally operative laws - like rules of a great game of life - which coordinate desires and mutual relationships among individual living beings. Thus each of them gets exactly as much as it deserves - neither more, nor less.

According to Bhagavad-gita (2.70) the continuous stream of desires coming from the mind of each living being is like innumerable rivers which all enter one vast ocean. In this way originates endlessly complex, multidimensional web of actions and reaction which a man cannot understand. Here is apparent the influence of invisible hand of God who in His aspect of omnipresent Supersoul (paramatma) is accompanying all individual soul during their transmigration through various bodily forms. Bhagavad-gita (13.23) describes this aspect of God:

“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.”

Function of Supersoul is therefore to record innumerable desires of each living being and arrange for their fulfillment as well as observe activities of living beings and grant them corresponding reactions. This directing hand of God is called a law of karma.

3. Karma from the action point of view

Vedic scriptures contain exact information which actions we have to perform if we wish to achieve certain results (reactions). For example it is said: if you want to be rich, you have to act in this way, if you want to be famous, do this, if you want to live a satisfactory family life, do that etc.

If someone is in this life very successful, wealthy, educated, influential or beautiful, we can conclude from it that he must have been in his previous life magnanimous, diligent, and pious and now only reaps results of his previous deeds.

But what he will do with these assets in present life is another question - it depends on his free will. Therefore we see that not every wealthy and powerful person behaves properly.

Same principle is valid for unwanted things. Vedic scriptures can advise us: if you do not want to be sick or bankrupt, you must not do this or that. If we act according to these instructions, we will surely reach desired result in this or some of our future lives. Miscellaneous reactions may come either sooner or later - some immediately and others only after several lives.

4. Karma from the reaction point of view

While looking from the other side we have to admit that whatever happens to us in this life is nothing else than reaction to to our activity in this or some of previous lives. It is not therefore, a matter of blind chance but only a result of our deeds we decided to perform out of our free will.

Therefore it sometimes happens that people who live very pious and proper life are still exposed to all kinds of sufferings. From this one can conclude that in past they had to act improperly. Usually they learn from this and decide to live properly in their present life. Also one whose life is full of success reaps the fruit of his deeds.

Materialistic life and a chain of actions and reactions are inseparable. It is like a long movie of actions and reactions and the length of one life is like its several fields. When a child is born, his present body can be understood as a beginning of another series of actions and the death of an old man as its end. From this it is clear why someone, due to different reactions, is born in rich family and someone else in poor family although they were born at the same time in the same place and under same circumstances. Who carries along with him pious reactions (good karma) will get a chance to be born in rich or pious family and who is burdened by impious reactions (bad karma) will be born in low class and poor family.

5. Four phases of karma

“Plant a thought and you will reap a deed, plant a deed and you will reap a habit, plant a habit and you will reap a character, plant a character and you will reap a fate.” (Indian proverb)

Vedic philosophy (Padma Purana) explains that karmic reaction are manifested in four different phases compared to the phases of a plants’ growth:

1. bija (seed) Our wishes and intentions already exist in subtle form and only later they will manifest in activities. Thus to avoid unpleasant karmic reactions (suffering) we must pay attention to our unspoken material desires before the seeds of actions did not begin to sprout.

2. kuta-stha (sprouting) Reactions manifesting after a decision to perform a deed. They are material desires which already began to sprout.

3. phalonmukha (fructifying) Reactions already bearing fruits (phala). As soon as we perform a material actions - good or bad - it is only a question of time before they manifest reactions (fruit) in the form of happiness or distress.

4. prarabdha (harvest) Reactions already fulfilled at our birth: family (defining our socio-economic situation, nationality, race), physical and psychic dispositions etc.

Previous three phases are also in Sanskrit given a summary term aprarabdha or reactions not yet fully manifested, potential happiness and suffering. Fourth phase, prarabdha-karma, is what is generally called “karma”.

Upanisads describe these categories of karma:

1. sancita (stored)
1.1. anarabdha (not yet manifested) = aprarabdha
1.2. prarabdha (already manifested)
2. kriyamana (newly created)

6. Three kinds of karma

Bhagavad-gita (4.17-18) says: “The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is. One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.”

These verses describe three kinds of karma. Here ‘karma’ does not denote reaction but action, activity.

1. karma Activities in harmony with higher laws of nature (dharma), which are also described in Vedic scriptures. This positive action brings positive reactions in the form of happiness and enjoyment.

2. vikarma Activities forbidden by scriptures písma because they are in conflict with dharma. These negative actions bring corresponding reactions - distress and suffering.

Bad karma - a short movie from film.bullguard.com

3. akarma Activities of higher nature which are not subjected to material laws of nature and therefore are called “inactions”. They do not bring any reactions, neither positive nor negative, and thus they bring reincarnation to an end. This end will occur when our “karmic account” at the end of life is zero. This cannot be achieved, however, by parallel performing of karma and vikarma, as someone may think, because they are counted independently of each other.

The cause of problems is vikarma which is at present performed by huge number of people all over the world in great amounts, and which is a threat for the whole humankind because it affects it in the form of collective karma (summary of individual karmas). This is manifested as wars, epidemics, natural disasters etc.

Reality proves that we are missing knowledge of law of karma because despite all our good intentions and efforts to alleviate suffering there is more and more unhappiness, individual and collective, in this world. This knowledge is ultimately the only solution of current problems. One who realizes this will understand that the change must start with himself.

C. Dharma - cosmic ethics
So how do we know what is “proper” and what is “improper”? This knowledge is crucial for our free decision-making. If there is a law there must be available its written form so everyone can get acquainted with it. After all, it is said that ignorance of law is no excuse.

These rules are listed in scriptures, especially in so-called dharma-sastras (scriptures describing dharma). They are law-books precisely defining how every human being should act according to one’s social and spiritual position. Most famous among them is Manu-smriti or Manu’s Law-book. Passages on dharma are also contained in Mahabharata (and its most important part, the Bhagavad-gita), Ramayana, Bhagavata and other Puranas, Bible, Qur’an etc.

Term “dharma” comes from Sanskrit root “dhri” (maintain, sustain, preserve in work). Usually it is translated as ethical, moral and religious principles which, however, does not fully represent its meaning. Dharma is a law or order of the material world (that which maintains its harmonic function), virtue or righteous conduct. Still deeper explanation says that dharma is an inherent or inseparable quality or nature. There is an example of salt whose inseparable quality (dharma) is salty taste. The word dharma would be therefore possible to translate as “ultimate cause”. This term from Western philosophy expresses the reason for existence of an object. Ultimate cause - dharma - of a house is to provide shelter to people. Uninhabitable house represents adharma (opposite of dharma). Dharma defines the function of the law of karma and itself is established by God. As “pillars of dharma” are called four qualities described in Bhagavata Purana (1.17.24):

- mercy (refusal of violence, meat-eating etc.)
- renunciation/sense control (refusal of intoxicants)
- truthfulness (refusal of gambling and speculations)
- purity (refusal of sex forbidden in scriptures)

It is therefore already established which human activities are good and bring positive reactions and which are bad and bring negative reactions in the form of suffering. This value system is universally valid and does not depend on opinions of individual living beings. I may think that what I do is good and also be able to justify it intellectually and thus impress others. If, however, my activity is not in accordance with universal definition of goodness, I will still reap a negative reaction.

Freedom of thinking and acting so propagated nowadays is sometimes misunderstood as a chance to do whatever we like. Yes, we have a free will, but at the same time we are responsible for our activity. Nothing can be further from reality that an idea that violation of dharma is unpunished. Contemporary state of the world should warn us not to put an economic benefit (artha) before dharma. It is this desire for sense enjoyment (symbolized by money) which is the most frequent cause of dharma violation.

D. Sanatana-dharma: the higher aspect of dharma
Dharma defines the way of life to suffer the least in this world. But the four basic kinds of suffering - birth, disease, old age and death - we cannot avoid here because they are present in the whole material world. It can be seen as a penitentiary institution with various corrective groups with better or worse standard of life. To get from the third group into the first can be considered as a certain advancement but we are still imprisoned. Although there is a small group of prisoners who like to stay in jail, vast majority of people desires freedom. Those who wish to be completely free from all suffering are informed by Vedic scriptures about even higher level called para-dharma (superior dharma) or sanatana-dharma (eternal dharma). Activity on this level is akarma, or free from any reactions. It is bhakti, devotional service to the Supreme Lord which is described in detail in Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam) and other confidential scriptures. Pleasant study!

“Man should serve to Lord Krishna with devotion without any desire for material benefit in this or next life. This will bring him liberation from the shackles of karma.” (Gopala-tapani Upanisad 1.14)