Hindu why do we

Some Hindus believe that humans may be reborn in animal form, and that rebirth from human to animal form only occurs if an atman has repeatedly failed to learn lessons in human form. Living life according to teachings in the scriptures will eventually lead to moksha. Some Hindu scriptures describe moksha as the atman becoming absorbed with Brahman , from where each atman is believed to originate.

Other Hindu scriptures describe moksha as living in the realm of a personal God. Hindus believe that the soul, atman , is eternal. When the physical body dies the soul is reborn in another body. This continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth is called samsara. Rebirth is governed by karma : the principle that every action be it physical or mental has a result, like cause and effect.

What an individual experiences in this life is the result of their past actions, either actions they have already taken in this life or actions from a past life. How an individual acts today impacts the future, both in terms of effects felt later on in this life or in a future birth. Though the effects of karma make certain actions easier or more difficult to take, just as our personal habits influence our lives, this is not a deterministic or fatalistic system. Rather, we all have the ability to freely choose how to act in any situation.

Hindus believe we have four goals in life: Dharma conducting ourselves in a way conducive to spiritual advancement , Artha the pursuit of material prosperity , Kama enjoyment of the material world , and Moksha liberation from the attachments caused by dependence on the material world and from the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Hinduism is a deeply pluralistic tradition, promoting respect for other religions and acknowledges the potential for truth in them. Hindus see the varieties of religions and philosophies as different ways to understand and relate to God. This philosophy leads to pluralism within Hinduism and outside of it.

The core philosophy of Hinduism is the search for truth, not the specific path taken. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Hindu American Foundation is a c 3 nonprofit organization. Website by Mittun. Leave a Reply Cancel Reply. I came to understand this when I lost my mother last year and participated in the primary Hindu rituals of death and grief. The cultural practices and experiences helped me find meaning in my loss.

Many Eastern religions do not bury their dead; instead, they cremate them. Most Hindus consider this to be the final sacrifice of a person. One of the central tenets of Hindu philosophy is the distinction between a body and a soul. Hindus believe that the body is a temporary vessel for an immortal soul in the mortal realm. When we die, our physical body perishes but our soul lives on. The soul continues its journey of birth, death and rebirth, in perpetuity until a final liberation.

This is at the heart of the philosophy of detachment and learning to let go of desires. Scholars of Indian philosophy have argued about the importance of cultivating detachment in the Hindu way of life. An ultimate test of detachment is the acceptance of death. Hindus believe that the soul of the deceased stays attached to its body even after its demise, and by cremating the body, it can be set free.