The Doctrine Of Karma And The Cycle Of Rebirth And Death

The doctrine of karma dictates that every action is met with its own reaction in the past life. The word ‘karma’ translates directly to the English word ‘action.’ Karma attempts to explain the meaning of life by providing Hindu’s with a goal to be attained through their life time. The goal is to achieve ‘moksha’ or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. It creates causality through the souls natural cycle of rebirth and death. Karma to a certain extent is a rational explanation for human suffering and misfortune. However, Hinduism dictates that the explanation of karma is rather to give closure for people and stress upon people good moral behaviour. If one believes that they will be rewarded for good behaviour in their next life, they

Karma is the complex Hindu doctrine that discusses the idea that for every action there is a subsequent reaction. In other words, human suffering that is experienced is a consequence of bad actions in a past life. If someone were to be born unhealthy, blind or deaf, a rational Hindu devout will claim that they were involved in immoral behaviour in their past life and is currently undergoing the consequences. However, what needs to be considered is whether Hindu’s use this concept as an excuse to justify the hardships they experience. At what point does karma become an excuse for idleness? For example, if misfortune is experienced, will they choose to do something about it or do nothing based on their past life consequences which are unavoidable? This then links to an attitudinal view on karma. Those who thoroughly believe in the doctrine may use the law of karma as an excuse for inactivity and delaying aspects of their life, with the view “I cannot control my life, it has already been determined” or “what will be will

Hindu’s hold the view that just as the earth goes through a cycle of creation, maintenance, demolished and then recreated through natural disasters (fire floods, earthquakes), so to is the human. Re-incarnation is the English word for ‘samsara’ however is related to the atman or the ‘true self’ and should be noted that it is not the same person who is reincarnated, but rather the soul which is more permanent than the body. Although karma can offer a reasonable justification for human suffering, the concept of death itself is rather different to most other religions. Hindu’s believe in the reincarnation of souls, and that the body is merely a shell of a person which is disposable. The soul continues through the journey which is ‘samsara’ until it is liberated through ‘moksha.’ This means, that death is not considered a sad occasion, as it means the soul is passing through the cycle and will eventually find liberation or freedom. Another belief which is prevalent in Hinduism is the idea that everyone has an entry and exit date. People are destined to be born and die on a particular date, and no amount of medication and modern science is going to alter one’s natural passage through ‘samsara.’ This is similar to fate, in that determining one’s future is out of our control and that events will happen