Samantha Dabek, Regip Babamusta, & Anthony Mus Essays - Religion

Samantha Dabek, Regip Babamusta, Anthony Mushayev Hinduism GE 2023 01 30 March 2017 Hinduism Origins of Hinduism An identity of a people can be defined by the culture and stories surrounding them, by the legacy those people leave behind and by the things that they choose to believe in. Belief was always there for man, especially a belief in higher power to explain away that which could not be otherwise explained. Over the long history of civilization many religions have risen and fallen. Such examples can be seen from the Egyptians to the Greeks, the Romans, and the Sassanids each having their own distinct culture and religion. It is then quite ironic that through the test of time, Hinduism, the oldest religion known to man, is one of the religions that survived to this day. What is also quite remarkable is the fact that it did not fade into obscurity but instead grew to be the world's third largest religion, practiced by millions of people, not just in India but also around the rest of the globe. Although no one really knows the exact moment that Hinduism was created, it is believed to have been around since 2000 BCE, gradually taking in external influence from the outside world. Although some claim that Hinduism is eternal and has always been around with the texts referring to four different ages, golden, silver, copper, and iron. Each being more and more morally corrupt than the previous until the current age of iron whereas in order to invoke the golden age once more requires divine intervention. Unlike other religions Hinduism was never such a systematic religion in the beginning, it was more of a collection of traditions of the people of the Indus Valley. The first real recognizable signs of Hinduism occurred with the migration of the Indus Valley tribes calling themselves Aryans, meaning noble ones, to the subcontinent where their culture came to dominate the region and their form of the religion to be adopted by most. However, there is debate on whether such a migration occurred, theories include the idea that no such migration occurred and instead the existent culture of the Indus Valley civilization in the region came to form the Aryan culture. Regardless of whether or not such migrations occurred what is known for certain is seen from the language and the excavated artifacts. The language of the vedic culture was called vedic Sanskrit and it was in this language that the Vedas or the sacred texts were written. All those who practice the religion recognize the Vedas as sacred texts. Hinduism is a very much cyclical religion, the way that they view time in a cycle is the way that they also view death and the afterlife or in this case reincarnation. Hinduism believes that the soul reincarnates after the death of its physical body and what happens to it is determined by the Karma that one has built in life. Unlike the common modern belief and misconception that Karma works in life, that if one has done something mean, it will eventually catch up to them, real "Karma is a concept directly related to the belief in reincarnation, an individual's karma (earthly conduct) determining the position into which they are born in the next life. Liberation from the cycle of suffering and rebirth ( moksha ) is the chief aim in life. Moksha is attained through completion of the four stages of life ( ashramas ) and signifies a return to Brahman, the universal world soul." It doesn't necessarily have to be done alone, there is a belief that many choose to reincarnate in a group called a "soul group" in order to learn a predetermined spiritual lesson designed for spiritual growth from their continued joined r eincarnation. Even the gods are accepted as being able to reincarnate the most prominent one being Vishnu the preserver Lord Vishnu is said to have nine reincarnations, tenth 'Kalki' is still awaited, they say whenever there is decay of righteousness and a rise of unrighteousness, God manifests himself! God will come (reincarnate) again and again to save his people, Bhagavad Gita (Chapter IV-7). This idea of endless reincarnation until the eventual end