Copyright@shravancharitymission
By Kamlesh Tripathi
By Kamlesh Tripathi
DOCTRINE OF KARMA
AND REINCARNATION
Why do Hindus believe in these two doctrines?
One being karma and the other being reincarnation. Because these doctrines not
only explain the unusual occurrences logically, they also shed light on
day-to-day events of life. Hindus do not consider life and death to be mutually
exclusive. But intertwined and inseparable, like two sides of the same coin. If
there are disparities between two individuals at the time of birth, and if we
can see these disparities, then the cause for these disparities must have preceded
their birth.
·
Karma: The word karma means “action.”
In accordance with the cosmic laws of karma. Each individual reaps the fruits
of his actions, performed in this life or in former lives. This logically
explains the disparities in creation, between various individuals, environments
and situations. No deed, small or great, good or bad, can be without an effect—this
is the law of karma, the law of casualty. In fact one begins to feel as if Newton’s
3rd law of motion—‘to every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction’ was drawn out of the doctrine of karma.
·
Karma is no fate. Fate implies helplessness
in a human being, to determine his own destiny. The law of karma states that
the individual is the creator of his own destiny because his conscious choices
in life determine his actions and the fruits thereof.
·
Reincarnation: Hindus believe that
the jiva, or the individual being, travels from life to life, acquiring
bodies and environments best suited to exhaust his vasanas (vices) or
innate tendencies that are expressed as desires, emotions, and actions. The exhaustion
of vasanas allows the jiva to reach his ultimate goal: complete freedom from
the cycle of birth and death through the realization of his true nature as the
Self, or Brahman.
---I read this in a book on Hinduism—by Chinmaya
Mission Trust---
*****
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