The Two Principles of Hinduism That Connect the Divine to This World

[and/or www.mantra.com/jai]

The Two Principles of Hinduism That Connect the Divine to This World

By Errol Manguso, Demand Media
people.opposingviews.com
April 26, 2013

[Caption] People pray inside a Hindu temple.

The two Hindu principles that connect the divine to this
world are karm and dharm. Both are linked to the
Hinduism belief in a reincarnation cycle of birth, death
and rebirth known as sansaar. The primary spiritual goal
in Hinduism is to break free from the sansaar cycle and
achieve a divine state known as moksh. Moksh is where
Hindus are liberated from the suffering found in this
world. Hindus believe that they can free themselves from
the reincarnation cycle by doing good acts of karm that
are based on the ideals set forth by dharm.

Karm

Karm is best known as a moral law that says every action
produces an equal reaction. In Hinduism, a person who
acts in a positive, moral way in one life will experience
positive reactions such as happiness when they are
reincarnated in a following life. The Yajur Ved, one of
Hinduism’s holy texts, says this about karm: “According
as one acts, so does he become. One becomes virtuous by
virtuous action, bad by bad action.”

Dharm

Dharm is what defines good and bad karmic actions. It’s
an ethical code of conduct that Hindus believe is God’s
law, which governs everything in the universe. Following
the code allows Hindus to find spiritual advancement that
allows them to break free from the sansaar cycle.
Although dharm can be defined differently from one Hindu
to the next, Hindus generally turn to sacred scriptures,
tradition, wise members of their community and their own
conscience when seeking guidance in interpreting it for
themselves. Hindu holy scripture says, “Dharm yields
Heaven’s honor and Earth’s wealth. What is there then
that is more fruitful for a man? There is nothing more
rewarding than dharm, nor anything more ruinous than its
neglect.”

Reincarnation

In Hinduism, when an individual’s physical body dies,
their soul remains immortal and is born again into a new
physical body. In the period between death and rebirth,
the soul is believed to exist in an astral plane, which
some Hindus believe is the place where dreams take place.
Rather than fate, an individual’s reincarnated life is
determined by their own personality and karmic actions.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, another sacred Hindu text,
expands on this responsibility: “An individual creates
for himself his next life as a result of his desires,
hopes, aspirations, failures, disappointments,
achievements and actions performed during this life of
his.” If an individual makes negative choices, it’s
possible that they may regress and be reincarnated in a
following life as something non-human, such as an animal.

Moksh

The moksh state of liberation is defined differently
among Hindus. In general, it’s when an individual’s soul
experiences self-realization and is freed from any
selfish wants or attachments. According to the editors of
"Hinduism Today Magazine," most Hindus believe that once
an individual is released from the reincarnation cycle,
they exist in a higher world populated by deities and
other spiritually evolved souls. Some Hindus believe that
the soul continues evolving in the moksha world until
they become one with God.

References

Jeffrey Brodd: "World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery"
The Editors of Hinduism Today Magazine: "What is Hinduism?"
BBC: Hinduism - Concepts
Jeaneane Fowler: "World Religions," Chapter 4: Hinduism

About The Author

Errol Manguso is based on the East Coast. Since
graduating with a B.A. in Journalism and English from the
University of Minnesota nearly 10 years ago, he has
written for a wide variety of publications such as Spin,
The Art Newspaper, American Songwriter, and many others.

Photo Credits

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images News/Getty Images

More at:

http://people.opposingviews.com/two-principles-hinduism-connect-divine-world-6977.html

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj

o o o

o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used
for the educational purposes of research and open
discussion. The contents of this post may not have been
authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion
of the poster. The contents are protected by copyright
law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely
not be read, considered or answered if it does not
contain your full legal name, current e-mail and postal
addresses, and live-voice telephone number.

o Posted for information and discussion. Views
expressed by others are not necessarily those of the
poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted
material the use of which may or may not have been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This
material is being made available in efforts to advance
the understanding of environmental, political, human
rights, economic, democratic, scientific, social, and
cultural, etc., issues. It is believed that this
constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the
material on this site is distributed without profit to
those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving
the included information for research, comment,
discussion and educational purposes by subscribing to
USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more
information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article
for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you
must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Since newsgroup posts are being removed by forgery by one
or more net terrorists, this post may be reposted several
times.