Life after Death

Life after Death

1. Karma

   • Karma means "action, and is referred to the accumulated reactions of a persons activities. Your Karma depends on where your soul goes at the end of your life
   • If you had good karma, you will probably move up the levels of consciousness, it not, you will move down. Karma only applies to humans because they have free choice. In the lower species, the atman makes no moral decisions
   • In the Bhagavad Gitas there are 3 types of actions: Karma(those which elevate), Vikarma (those which degrade), Akarma (those which neither cause good or bad reactions)
   • When a Hindu dies, most Hinu's believe that their soul is likely to be reborn into another human being, some people believe that it is possible for a person with lot's of vikarma to be reborn as an animal
   • Karma only applies to the humans because they have free choice. In the lower species, the atman makes no moral decisions
   • In order to achieve moksha, they need to have no bad karma, in other words have led a good life. It can take many life-times to achieve this
   • How to reach moksha
     • Show devotion/love and respect towards Brahman
     • Seek wisdom (understand who Brahman is and what he has done)
     • Good karmic action (living a morally good life, carrying out ahimsa (respect for all living things and avoidance of violence towards others), non violence
     • Completion of your dharma (dependent on your varna-ashrama: social caste and stage in life which decides the duties you have to complete)
     • Disinterested and unattached action (becoming a sadhu- holy man- and leaving all material possessions)
   • Hindu's might believe that a person lives in poverty because they are being punished due to bad karma collected in a past life

2. The Caste System

   • The system of dividing up society into different groups (castes), The laws of Manu is an ancient Hindu Holy book that contains laws and guidance about how to live a good life
   • First and most important is the Brahmins, these were the Priests and holy men of society. It was their job to learn to read the sacred scriptures and to teach others the messages that these contain. "From his head and mouth came the Brahmins"
   • The second group were the Kshatriyas, the soldiers and rulers of the country, whose job it was to protect the rest of society "from his arms the Kshatriyas came"
   • The 3rd were the Vaishyas, they were shop keepers, merchants and farmers. These were the people who kept the economy going and met the materialistic needs of society
   • The lowest varna was the Shudras, who served the other groups and provided a labour force
   • A person is born into a caste, and is expected to remain in it for life. Castes are often linked to jobs or trades and marriages could only take place between people of the same cast
   • "it is better to do your own duty badly than to do another man's well"
   • The lowest group of all is the 'untouchables' or Pariah or Outcasts. They are below the varnas in the social hierarchy and do jobs which are seen as polluting a persons karma- working with leather

3. Samsara and Reincarnation

   • The four recurring problems in life- birth, disease, old-age, death
   • Levels of consciousness: humans, animals, birds, reptile and insects, plants and aqautics
   • Samsara- the process of passing from one body to another throughout all species of life
   • Most Hindu's consider samsara essentially painful, a cycle of four recurring problems: birth, disease, old-age, death. All of these problems involve suffering
   • It is the ultimate aim for a Hindu to escape the cycle of Samsara to be reunited with Brahman (moksha)
   • The soul is compared to a drop of water and liberation to it's merging into the vast ocean which represents the Supreme soul (God). Thus, one's mistaken sense of individuality is dissolved, and one merges into the all preceding supreme.

4. Maya- creates an illusion that makes the atman think that the body and the earthly life are more important