The belief that there is a life after death is one of the oldest concepts of. The universal presence of death in creation and human life is symbolized in hinduism in various ways. An ancient indian book dense with wisdom, the bhagavad gita is the most important and beloved spiritual text to billions of hindus. You cannot have true experience of hinduism in the sense of a practiced religion without the culture it exists in. Spiritism, a christian philosophy codified in the 19th century by the french educator allan kardec, teaches reincarnation or rebirth into human life after death. Wright news, june, i say yes to the recovery of the new testament and creedal accent on the grand finale and its import for seeking justice and peace on this earth. Comparing hinduism with christianity evidence unseen. What is the evidence for or against the validity of hinduism. Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that the nonphysical essence of a living being starts a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. This interesting and informative 282 page soft cover life after death. According to hinduism the world in which we live is a mortal world mrtyulokam, ruled by death kala, who is a manifestation of brahman himself. Nigosian writes, the persians, who found it difficult to pronounce an initial s, called it hindu. The very fact that all the prophets of god have dealt with this metaphysical question of life after death so confidently and so uniformly the gap between their ages in some cases, being thousands of years goes to prove that the source of their knowledge of life after death as proclaimed by them all, was the same, i.
Here some powerful quotes from the gita that will give you a different perspective on life, and maybe even change the way you look at hinduism. Atman the self or spiritual soul is seen as a kernel that lies at the center of a large onion and is only revealed after the layers around itassociated with the body. A hospice nurse has faith that there is an afterlife. Actually, if there is no life after death, the very belief in god becomes irrelevant, or, even if one believes in god, that would be an unjust and indifferent god. May 17, 2012 in response to rodney clapps essay on the new view of eschatology life after life after death, may 30 and the report on the revision of traditional views of heaven by people like new testament scholar n. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or the eternal way, beyond human history. Living life according to teachings in the scriptures will eventually lead to moksha. One of the most sensational books on evidence for the survival of the human soul after death was the 2002 bestseller the afterlife experiments. This isnt to denigrate the book, but, rather, to place it within an intellectual and historical frame. Sep 24, 2015 death is often viewed in a positive light.
The problem of life beyond death has ever been a most fascinating one from time. At the beginning there was no being and no nonbeing, no air and no sky beyond. In gods loving hands its the door to peace and everlasting life. The acceptance or rejection of life after death is perhaps the greatest factor in determining the course of an individuals life. Hinduism is shorthand for the philosophy, the religious beliefs and practices, and the way of life of many of the people in india. However, some indications of life aroused attention, and vasudev was. This present book by swami sivanandaji maharaj is a departure from the usual. Every deity in the hindu pantheon symbolizes the duality of life and death, and of creation and destruction, in their pleasant, unpleasant and fierce aspects.
The explanation that the quran gives about the necessity of life after death is what the moral consciousness of man demands it. Hindu scriptures including the upanishad, bhagvad gita and the puranas in a conscious attempt to rationalize and explain the differences between different individuals at birth and the different. After death, the body is laid in the homes entryway, with the head facing south, on a cot or the groundreflecting a return to the lap of mother earth. Mark with tollhouse theology beyond the statement that st. It was, in fact, a time before either death or immortal life had begun. In addressing this universal theme for life after death. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc.
We have religious experiences which gives us transcendental hints of an afterlife. According to this doctrine, free will and cause and effect are the corollaries of reincarnation, and reincarnation provides a mechanism for mans spiritual evolution in successive lives. For hindus in india, hinduism is an inseparable part of their existence, a complete approach to life that involves social class, earning a living, family, politics, diet, etc. Christianity broadly consists of individuals who believe in the deity jesus christ.
We are trying to list out here as many hindu scriptures and books as possible. Schwartz is a professor of psychiatry and medicine at the university of arizona, a graduate of. What exactly happens after death according to hindu scriptures. The upanishads, the ancient set of hindu religious texts, postulated an. How did hinduism originated is a difficult question. Thanks veejay israani for such a wonderful article.
Our body continuously changes, it is not the same as in the previous moment, still i continues to exist. In contrast to many other religions, the hindu afterlife is dynamic and cyclical final rest can only be attained by breaking this cycle. Oct 17, 2006 as one grows older we often come to the realization of our own mortality. Muslims believe that, upon dieing, a person enters an intermediate phase of life between death and resurrection. May 16, 2016 in hinduism, unless a soul is liberated, neither life nor after life are permanent.
For millennia, issues concerning death and the afterlife have been a major motif in the scriptures of the worlds great religions. As one grows older we often come to the realization of our own mortality. Reincarnation in the bible part 1 neardeath experiences. Christianity vs hinduism difference and comparison diffen. In certain forms of hinduism, the idea is to live a good life so that your next life will be a better one. According to a 2012 pew research study, there are roughly one billion hindus on earth todayroughly 15% of the population. The accepted theory is that hinduism was evolved after the historical meeting between the aryans and dravidians. Shaktism, the worship of shakti, the active power of the godhead conceived in feminine terms, should be distinguished from tantrism, the search for spiritual power and ultimate release by means of the repetition of sacred syllables and phrases. Hinduism comes from the sankrit name for the indus river. The afterlife acts as a pervading presence in the hindu religion, one of the oldest organized religions in the world.
Sruti consists of four vedas, upanishads, brahmanas, aranyakas, and bhagavadgita while smriti consists of manu smriti, 18 puranas, ramayana, and mahabharata and other hindu holy books. Learn and revise about hindu reincarnation and karma beliefs with bbc bitesize gcse religious studies. Considering this sober evidence, we can understand that as we age, our bodily cells. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the third. Toward the end of the 5th century, the cult of the mother goddess assumed a significant place in indian religious life. For more details on life after death, proof of life after death, concept of life after death visit hinduism reincarnation. The veda consists of four books and more than 100,000 verses. Today we have a perpetual demand for concrete evidence en masse, not of. In their interviews with 704 people living in india about their near death experiences, 64 accounts of near death experiences came to the surface. Here i give a comparison of hindu and christian concepts. Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical belief that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life s actions. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years.
Smriti literature is considered less authoritative than sruti. Evidence of life after death gcse religious studies revision bbc. Join others from around the world and search for answers about life after death. What happens after death is there life after death. A hindu believes and hopes that eventually his soul will join with brahman. Home inspiration life after death evidence of life after death. The dead have a continued and conscious existence of a kind in the grave. Even if you have the thought, when youre dead youre dead, your astral body might just float over your physical body and be dead.
After this, it advanced in knowledge and moral qualities and proceeds to a higher plane, until it eventually reaches the sphere of pure spirit. Comparing hindu and christian afterlife concepts practical. Hinduism is such an ancient religion that it had many types of beliefs and religious practices. Karma and rebirth are the two great pillars of hinduism as well as buddhism. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practised in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. The sacred texts in christianity, judaism and islam talk of an afterlife, so for. Holy ash or sandal paste is applied to the forehead, vedic verses are chanted, and a few drops of milk, ganga or other holy water are trickled into the mouth. Its followers, called christians, often believe christ is the son of the holy trinity and walked the earth as the incarnate form of god the father. Brahman serves as hinduism s ultimate reality and omniscient god. Discover books with inspiring stories of heaven and the afterlife. Breakthrough scientific evidence of life after death by gary e. Some claim that hinduism is mainly an aryan culture whereas the others claim that it is mainly a dravidian culture. Around 1750 bc aryan invaders from central asia settled in north west india and introduced their own religious. Due to the subjective nature of neardeath experiences there can be no conclusive proof.
Marks writings concern primarily the specific point of the state of souls after death, and barely touch on the history of events that occur to the soul. According to hindu scriptures, both heaven and hell are temporary resting. Hinduism and life after death, heaven, hell, reincarnation. Hindu end of life death, dying, suffering, and karma ce article. The ultimate cause of death is creation itself because everything. In hinduism, unless a soul is liberated, neither life nor after life are permanent. We have relationships, go to school, go to work, and we tend to not think about death. I am presenting here the analysis that i have done based on my understanding of both religions. The afterlife also referred to as life after death is the belief that the essential part of an individuals identity or the stream of consciousness continues after the death of the physical body. Introduction hinduism stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live in india. Mar 22, 2014 every religion has the concept of after life existence, which depends on the way the person has led life.
In many cases it reads like a great books humanities course with a religious theme. Near death researchers, karlis osis and erlendur haraldsson, documented the first major accounts of near death experiences in india. Death, afterlife, heaven and hell, suicide, liberation and rebirth in hinduism. Death, according to hinduism, is a series of changes through which an individual passes. In hinduism, in the holy book rigveda, the oldest extant indoaryan text. The afterlife is the belief that the essential part of an individuals identity or the stream of. Learn and revise about christian beliefs about life after death with bbc bitesize. What becomes of the soul after death the divine life society.