Life after death is a fundamental concept for most religions. Here i give a comparison of hindu and christian concepts. Hindu and buddhist belief that souls are reborn into new bodies after death. In hinduism, unless a soul is liberated, neither life nor after life are permanent. However, the answer is a bit more complex if we see it geographically and historically. The lds church also adheres to actual locations in the afterlife i. The very fact that all the prophets of god have dealt with this metaphysical question of life after death so confidently and so uniformly the gap between their ages in some cases, being thousands of years goes to prove that the source of their knowledge of life after death as proclaimed by them all, was the same, i. Contextualizing books such as life after death is crucial to judging whether or not they are worthy of readers attention. Hinduism, christianity, and islam 1261 words bartleby. While rebirth and redeath punarmrityu are seen as inevitable, hindus have also believed in the concept of immortality amrita. Hinduism is not an organized religion and has no single, systematic approach to teaching its value system. What happens after the soul leaves the body and before it reincarnates again is a great mystery about which we can form in idea after studying the scriptures. Hindu death practices, however, also reflect popular beliefs and fears, as well as local.
If a hindu breaks caste by becoming either a muslim or a christian, a death ceremony is conducted, the relatives bathe to purge their defilement, and the persons name is never mentioned again. This theory in hinduism is called reincarnation punarjanma. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. After death, the soul reincarnates again until all the karmas have been created hopkins, 1971. Christianity, islam, buddhism, hinduism, judaism flashcards. Death is the most fateful experience of each of our lives. The first seven chapters cover the religious ideas of afterlife in hinduism, zoroastrianism, judaism. Unlike christianity or islam, it is a not a religion that is governed by the book. Trying to read more and more of the explanations and different interpretations by different commentators in order to get better clarity. This essay will compare and contrast views about life after death between two closely related creeds of hinduism, the veda and upanishad texts, and the buddhas own doctrine of buddhism.
Essay on existential questions in judaism and hinduism. Hinduism teaches that through enlightened knowledge the cycle can be broken. In hinduism there are two paths along which souls travel after death. Comparing hindu and christian afterlife concepts practical. Hinduism is such an ancient religion that it had many types of beliefs and religious practices. Feller learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Our body continuously changes, it is not the same as in the previous moment, still i continues to exist. The transition called death, charles hampton, theosophical publishing house, 306 west geneva rd, wheaton, illinois 60187. Hinduism has developed slowly over the thousands of years. Death, according to hinduism, is a series of changes through which an individual passes.
Around the world, what happens after death can be divided into two schools. Missionaries wear sadhu dresses, perform arati, and burn incense, to give impression that very little has changed a prayer hall in kerala has meditating jesus in padmasana posture. If a hindu, reading the lives and teachings of great mahatmas spiritual masters avatara purushas. What happens after the soul leaves the body and before it reincarnates again is a great mystery about which we can form an idea after studying the scriptures.
Aug 21, 2008 wht does hinduism say about life after death. Like most religions, it has basic beliefs about gods, life after death and how a person should live. Hindu scriptures including the upanishad, bhagvad gita and the puranas in a conscious attempt to rationalize and explain the differences between different individuals at birth and the different. The hindu faith draws on a number of sacred texts and there is no standard set of beliefs, so it is a religion which is followed in different ways by different groups of people. In contrast to many other religions, the hindu afterlife is dynamic and cyclical final rest can only be attained by breaking this cycle. Life everlasting at least of the type already sampled is the last thing a.
Sep 29, 2008 hindus were bluntly told to convert to islam if they wanted civic facilities. Hindu end of life death, dying, suffering, and karma ce article. Positive recommendations excerpted from the expository times and publishers weekly and printed in the book s front matter. Many hindus seek truth from multiple sources, acknowledging the fluid nature of time, location, social status and evolving cultural mores, so these views are more faithbased beliefs than they are hard facts. Hinduism believes in the rebirth and reincarnation of souls. However the ideas from religion to religion can vary greatly.
The first part of the essay will talk about hinduism, while the second part will compare and contrast it. Quotations from the holy books of the hindu, jewish, buddhist, christian, muslim, and faiths on the afterlife. A study of the afterlife in world religions, the author appears to have selected students at the postsecondary school level as her target audience. Compare and contrast views about life after death in. Muslim children are continuously taught that hinduism is a false religion. Hinduism, buddhism, some other asian religions, and some other faiths teach that after death, a persons soul or spirit is reincarnated in a new human body. Definition of death in hinduism sanskriti hinduism and. Around 1750 bc aryan invaders from central asia settled in north west india and introduced their own religious. Hindu end of life death, dying, suffering, and karma ce.
They also help to preserve the religious dimensions of family and society. What exactly happens after death according to hinduism. Apr, 2016 yes, sort of i would like to explain what it says. Life after death all of the major religions believe in life after death. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. The prophetic record of human destiny and evolution sacred. Afterlife beliefs and experiences in world religions by christopher m. He the lord of death and of justice, being responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, yamaloka. Tabitha zalot discusses the knotty subjects of karma good and bad, which she terms as an allpervasive law, rebirth, remembering past lives, the concept of heaven and hell and so. Only buddhas those who have attained enlightenment will achieve nirvana. Therefore, the assertions, which have not yet been established through observation and experiment, can only be theories or hypotheses. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. The book was first published in 1995 and has been reissued. In fact, the concept of death in different religions differs a lot.
In the holy bible, chapters five through seven in the book of matthew presents fundamentals of the christian faith. The quran, the most cherished text in islam, is the revelation of gods. Hinduism gods and temples life after death the hindu. Hinduism has very distinct teachings about life after death. The problem of evil, in the context of karma, has been long discussed in indian religions such as buddhism, hinduism and jainism, both in its theistic and nontheistic schools.
In life we are confronted with spiritual issue for which there is no answer in science, such as what should be the family structure or why we we love our forefathers too much, and what happens a. Segals book will be very useful for those who can read religion as a sociohistorical phenomenon and not at all useful for those coming from a position of faithor very nearly useless for the latter. It might be thought of in a different way but all seem to agree that there is a life after death, whether it is moving on to a different plane or reincarnation. The afterlife is the belief that the essential part of an individuals identity or the stream of. The devas who live in the sky and the asuras who live under the. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. Views on death according to different religions religious.
Mar 22, 2014 every religion has the concept of afterlife existence, which depends on the way the person has led life. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. Hinduism has grown to be the worlds third largest religion, after christianity and islam. We are trying to list out here as many hindu scriptures and books as possible. Over two thousand years ago saint tiruvalluvar wrote that death is like falling asleep, and birth is like awakening from that sleep.
Sruti consists of four vedas, upanishads, brahmanas, aranyakas, and bhagavadgita while smriti consists of manu smriti, 18 puranas, ramayana, and mahabharata and other hindu holy books. Every religion has the concept of after life existence, which depends on the way the person has led life. According to hindu scriptures, a soul, which is a part of the supreme soul, dwells in every living organism. An exhibit at the national museum in new delhi, india. The first seven chapters cover the religious ideas of afterlife in hinduism, zoroastrianism, judaism, buddhism, christianity, islam, and the bahai faiths.
When the lessons of this life have been learned and karmas reach a point of intensity, the soul leaves the physical body, which then returns its elements to the earth. They consist of myths about gods, prayers and hymns, as well as long stories called epics. They must go together because they are not contradictory, not two separate existences but different manifestations of the same unit. A persons reward positive or negative, as well as the next birth, is decided, and the atman is. Religious books are about guidance, not about facts.
Nor do hindus have a simple set of rules to follow like the ten commandments. The first, called devayana, way of the gods, is followed by spiritually advanced souls who lead an. According to hinduism the world in which we live is a mortal world mrtyulokam, ruled by death kala, who is a manifestation of brahman himself. To people raised in other faiths, hinduism may seem very complex, but the core beliefs of hinduism are actually quite simple to understand. In the wars that occur in the holy books, as in mahabharta, the different sides had different war weapons which had characters similar to modern day war weapons. Apr 14, 2017 while there are a few religions that focus on some form of reincarnation, i decided to speak to experts in hinduism because it is the main tenet of the religion. The term death applies to our body only and not to the soul because the soul is immortal. This is used by jayanta to bring shukra back to life. There is reference to a happy land of ancestors and gods swarga and to.
The largest web research library on the afterlife, life after death, reincarnation, near death experiences nde, past lives, and related subjects. Birth, death and rebirth in hinduism stellar house. Write a letter to a friend explaining your beliefs about death and the afterlife. The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. The afterlife played an important role in ancient egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history. The soul changes the bodies after death as we change our clothes every day. Belief in an afterlife is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death. Local, regional, caste, and communitydriven practices influence the interpretation and practice of beliefs throughout the hindu. In addressing this universal theme for life after death. Life before and after death a hindu believes and hopes that eventually his soul will join with brahman. Through dying, people drop of their physical bodies, death in the hindu religion is seen as a spiritual opportunity, which helps people to achieve their divine self. Hinduism is neither monotheistic nor restricted to one religious scripture. May 16, 2016 in hinduism, unless a soul is liberated, neither life nor after life are permanent. They welcome death as a step towards gaining this everlasting union with him.
Nearly all the religions believe in afterlife, reincarnation, heaven and hell, or soul. This is a guide telling the dying person how to react and try to ensure a positive. Hinduism is a major world religion, not merely by virtue of its many followers estimated at more than 700 million but also because of its profound influence. He is also personified as time because in this world everyone has a rendezvous with death and meets with it when their time comes. Jan 31, 2012 in this video i ask a question about rituals followed during 16th day of the soul separated from body. Meditation and the art of dying, pandit usharbudh arya, himalayan institute, honesdale, pennsylvania 18431. The hindu religion originated in india thousands of years ago. In vedic tradition, yama was considered to be the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes.
When the body died, parts of its soul known as ka body double and the ba personality would go to the kingdom of the dead. The concept of death clearly influences what is deemed appropriate death behaviour, as was argued earlier in this article. But no hindu really fears death, nor does he look forward to it. For instance, christianity, islam, buddhism, and hinduism have discrete opinions about death and what comes after. There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. Wheel of life, obe, nirvana, heaven, paradise, buddhism, hinduism book 1. I have had the good fortune of studying hinduism under great teachers. I am going to look at hinduism and christianity, two religions that i have been surrounded by all my life, and the different perceptions they have of life after death.
Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the third. Mar 17, 2015 according to buddhism, after death one is either reborn into another body reincarnated or enters nirvana. The vedas scriptures guide hindus in their daily life. What is the origin of life according to hinduism answers. Introduction hinduism stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live in india. Most hindus believe that humans are in a cycle of death and rebirth called samsara. In hinduism, ones actions are accounted for immediately upon death.
Life and death are both part of what hindus call maya, a grand illusion. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. Strategies fool the gullible with hindu religious practices, customs. Additionally, the bhagavadgita, a very popular and sacred text found in the hindu church, establishes the hindu concept of salvation and life after death. Moody, bantam books, 1540 broadway, new york, new york 10036. Smriti literature is considered less authoritative than sruti. Jun 24, 2018 life and death are both part of what hindus call maya, a grand illusion. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population.
This sequence of life, death, and reincarnation is called samsara. Different religious beliefs on death good housekeeping. I am going to look at hinduism and christianity, two religions that i have been surrounded by all my life, and the different perceptions they have of life after. Hinduism for ks1 and ks2 children hindu faith homework. Hindu people view death as a part of the natural cycle of life. Death for the hindu is merely transition, simultaneously an end and a new beginning. The simple answer is, we can either be reborn punarjanma and experience life once again, or be liberated moksha from the cycle of rebirth samsara. The hindus define their community as those who believe in the vedas see veda or those who follow the way dharma of the four classes varnas and stages of life ashramas. Hinduism and life after death, heaven, hell, reincarnation. Science regards as scientific the facts established through empirical methods.
Learn and revise about hindu reincarnation and karma beliefs with bbc bitesize gcse religious studies. The hindu view on death and afterlife is really not so different from many other beliefs. The nature of the next life is influenced by a persons behavior in their present life. Ancient chinese, before buddhism introduced the idea of rebirth, have. Hinduism is the oldest known religion, having been practiced over 8000 years as evidenced by. Which religious book has true facts, the quran or hindus. In sikhism the guru granth sahib contains teachings on the cycle of death and rebirth, and how to be released from it. Science and religion in the holy book the spiritual life. Reading deeper in to ones own religion s holy books bhagavad gita, upanishads bible koran. Several newer religions have roots in hinduism including jainism, originating around 3000 bce. A history of the afterlife in western religion by alan f. But hinduism has many scriptures that were written down over the ages. Holy ash or sandal paste is applied to the forehead, vedic verses are chanted, and a few drops of milk, ganga or other holy water are trickled into the mouth.
I am presenting here the analysis that i have done based on my understanding of both religions. Mar 17, 2015 the afterlife in mormonism mormonism teaches the continuation of the soul after the body is physically dead. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. This case illustrates the importance of assessing cultural factors in palliative care and good communication to ensure optimum care.