The Spread Of Christianity Analysis

There are several Hindu stories about the creation of humanity however the main story is that Lord Brahma is the creator of the universes. He and his counterparts who make up the triumvirate, Vishnu and Shiva, create and destroy universes continuously. They believe that one day for Brahma is 4 billion years for us. Also according to Hindu texts, whenever Brahma sleeps the world is destroyed, and every morning when he wakes up it is created again. He created humans from his own soul. One of the stories mentions that Brahma splits himself into two to create male and female. Hindus believe that Brahma is present in every person as the eternal spirit or soul, called the atman. He is said to be an intelligent being, greater and more evolved than

He flows with the stream of happiness, and is enriched by each soul.’

This passage comes from the Hindu sacred text the Yajur Veda. It describes the purposes of life as believed by Hindus and explains that when one is righteous and loving to all human beings and finds fulfilment he ‘becomes a …part and parcel of the Universal Joy’ which means ultimately liberation from reincarnation. This is elaborated on in the 4 identified purposes of life.

Dharma means to act ethically and virtuously throughout one’s life. Dharma also calls for Hindus to repay their debts that they are born with to the gods and other human beings. There are five different debts, namely: debt to parents and teachers, debt to guests, debt to other human beings and debt to all other living beings. By acting righteously, they repay these debts and achieve Dharma.

The second purpose of life, Artha, refers to the pursuit of wealth and prosperity in life. However, one must stay within the boundaries of Dharma whilst achieving this.

Kama, the third purpose of life, is attaining a happy and fulfilling life. Whilst pursuing enjoyment in life it is said that one must control desires or destruction will

They vary according to caste and religious sect of the deceased. They generally involve cremation followed by disposal of the ashes in a sacred river. Antyeshti are parts of a series of sacraments that begin at the moment of conception and are performed at each important stage of life. When Hindus know they are nearing death, priests and relatives are summoned, sacred texts are recited and ceremonial gifts are prepared. After this person dies the body is removed and taken to a crematorium as soon as possible. For 10 days after this the immediate family members (mourners) are considered impure. During this time, they give the ’naked soul’ of the deceased a new spiritual body with which it may continue on to the next life. Because of the belief in the existence of the soul, for Hindus, death signifies the end only of one life and preparations must be made for the deceased person’s eternal soul. The roots of this belief are found in the Vedas (sacred texts in Hinduism), for