Karma In The Gupta Empire

This section of the course focused on the Gupta Empire. The Gupta Empire was an ancient empire from 320 to 550 CE that covered much of the Indian subcontinent. In this part of the world, Hinduism was the primary religion practiced. Today, Hinduism is still the primary religion in India and the oldest religion in the world. Hinduism consist of five concepts which include: dharma, moksha, kama, artha, and karma. Of the five concepts, karma is the most important because it determines what your future will hold. The Columbia encyclopedia defines karma as, “One’s state in this life is a result of actions (both physical and mental) in part incarnations, and action in is life can determines one’s destiny in future incarnations (“Karma” Columbia

According to Brahmana literature, the one who has right knowledge and performs right action will escape repeated deaths, while the one who does not have such knowledge will become the victim of repeated births and death (“Hinduism”). This emphasizes the importance of doing the right thing because your future depends on it. As a result of the theory of karma and rebirth, the Upanishads teach that the final goal of life is release from samsara (“Hinduism”). If you do not break the cycle you will never be at peace and redo life until you do accordingly. Only by freeing the spirit of karma altogether can the cycle be broken (“Karma” Chambers Dictionary). The breaking of the cycle allows divinity within itself and achieve transcendence, liberation from

God, the ultimate dispenser of karma, may intervene and mitigate the natural consequences of the impersonal law (“Karma” Chambers Dictionary). God is the basis of eternal sacred duty. I am the infinite spirit’s foundation, immortal and immutable, the basis of eternal sacred duty and of perfect joy (BG14.27). The hiduism religion teaches these theories, and one should act accordingly. In conclusion, a person has to perform his or her duty. In other words, Karma means actions. One is to fulfill duty because it must be done (BG18.9). With actions, come consequences, which is outlined in every definition explaining karma. Karma is a very important aspect to the Hindu religion because it contributes to an individual fulfilling their duty. Karma can produce good or bad future effects which the individual is left in control of. God is the ultimate decision maker and one never knows intervention, so at all times act