Question : What sort of criterion can one provide for identifying rebirth as opposed to birth? Discuss.
(2010)
Answer : The concepts of rebirth, moksha and samsara are closely associated with the principle of Karma. Karma in Sanskrit means ‘action. ‘ The term is used to refer to volitional acts as well as the forces that arise from these acts. According to the Indian philosophy Karma is responsible for the entire chain of causes and effects and rebirth. Indian philosophy mainly includes the postulates of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Although these Indian religious beliefs differ from each other but the concept of Karma is primarily similar. According to the Indian philosophy the law of ‘karma‘ is not imposed from without; it is worked into the very nature of the human being. The theory of Karma and rebirth states that men are reborn to bear the fruit of their deeds good or bad. The second premise for the theory of rebirth is the immortality of soul. About the soul or self it is a widely held notion among the believers in the theory of rebirth that soul does not destroy. It is the body that becomes dead and soul passes on to the other body in the form of rebirth. Thirdly third premise for rebirth is that God is the ultimate super power who plays the role of judge and attributes the fruit of good or bad deeds of the human beings. Believers in the notion of rebirth are of opinion that God does exist and so they draw an inference that rebirth really takes place. And last criteria put forward is that many people speak about their previous life. They substantiate their notion by taking examples from the newspaper and magazines which publish such stories every now and then.
Question : Why is the grace of god needed for liberation? Discuss with example.
(2010)
Answer : According to Hinduism the goal of human life is to be free or liberated from samsara, the repeated births and deaths. Such liberation is called moksha or mukti in Sanskrit. Buddhists call it nirvana. The different schools of Hindu philosophy hold differing views about how to attain moksha. Some believe that moksha can be achieved by people only after their death; others claim that it can be achieved even while they are alive. There are three different paths for liberation called gyana marga, karma marga and bhakti marga. Bhakti marga refers to liberation by the grace of God. According to some philosophers God is the supreme reality and benevolent. God loves his subjects and showers good wishes on them. There are four sstates of liberation by the grace of God. One is
Question : If ignorance is the cause of suffering, knowledge should remove suffering. What is the notion of knowledge which a liberate person acquires? Discuss.
(2010)
Answer : True liberation means liberation of the individual soul from the cycle of births and deaths, from the sense of duality and separation, and union with Brahman, the Supreme Soul. Liberation is known variously in Hinduism as mukti, kaivalya, moksha or nirvana. Liberation means when a soul is released from its involvement with Prakriti or nature, which uses its instruments of delusion, attachment and egoism to subject the souls to their physical existence and the cycle of births and deaths. When the individual souls become aware of their true nature and transcend their limitations, they gain freedom and become one with the divine. This is referred as the state of liberation. Hinduism does not prescribe a particular way to achieve liberation. It is goal specific, but not path specific. It specifies the primary and the most important objective of human life as self realization, but leaves the specifics of the manner and the method in which it is to be attained to the wisdom of the scholars and philosophers and the individuals themselves. While this is the basic approach, Hindu scriptures mention three broad categories of paths or approaches to the goal of self realization. They are the path of knowledge (jnana marg), the path of renunciation of action (karma-sanyasa-marg) and the path of devotion (bhakti marg). These three approaches are equally effective, depending upon who is practicing them and how they are practiced, and no one can say with certainty that one path is better than the other. One can attain liberation by practicing any one of them individually or by combining the best of their features. Of these the first path is jnanamarg or the path of knowledge. It said to be ideal for those who are intellectually curious and want to pursue God in an intellectual, intuitive and scholarly way, through the study of scriptures, practice of yoga and meditation and discipline of the mind and the body. The people who follow this path are called Jnanayogis or jnanamargis. This is considered to be a difficult path and hence the assistance of a guru is highly recommended. The path of knowledge has little to do with mental knowledge. Mental knowledge is actually considered as an obstacle, rather than a facilitator in our liberation, because the more we know the less we are inclined to change. Our minds tries to conceptualize spiritual experience, which in the early stages of our progress may help us understand what we are aiming for, but in the later stages starts interfering with our inner transformation. So the jnanamargis aim to silence the mind through various practices and cultivate other ways of knowing and experiencing higher states of consciousness. The basic premise is that the self is all knowing and does not require either the senses or the mind to know. It can know intuitively without the interference of the mind and its subservient sense organs.
Question : Examine why Man has a desire for Immortality
(2009)
Answer : Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in a physical or spiritual form for an infinite or inconceivably vast length of time. As immortality is the negation of mortality, not dying or not being subject to death, it has been a subject of fascination to humanity since at least the beginning of history. The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the first literary works, dating back at least to the 22nd century BC, is primarily a quest of a hero seeking to become immortal. What form an unending human life would take (as well as whether it is subject to incapacitation), or whether the soul exists and possesses immortality, has been a major point of focus of religion, as well as the subject of speculation, fantasy, and debate. It is not known whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering. Such a desire necessarily implies the desire for immortality, because the perfect happiness which the human soul desires would not be total and complete if it had to come to an end because of the mortality of the human soul.
The soul, therefore, by desiring perfect happiness at the same time desires immortality. Such a desire is not just any kind of desire, but it is a “natural” desire, that is, it belongs to the structure itself of the human soul, to its very essence, to such an extent that, if it were absent, the same soul would not exist as a “human soul.” Now and this is the crux of the matter a “natural” desire, which is constitutive of a being, cannot be “in vain,” cannot not have its fulfillment and satisfaction because, otherwise, that being would be contradictory in its own nature. For, it would desire something that is essential to its own nature, but it would never be able to attain it: in other words, it would be an absurd being, one without any meaning.
Therefore, the human soul avoids contradiction and absurdity and has a meaning only if its desire for infinite happiness and immortality can be fulfilled. In short, immortality belongs to the human soul not only inasmuch as it is a spiritual substance but, much more profoundly, inasmuch as it is “naturally” open to the Infinite and the Immortal, inasmuch as it is made for God who is perfect Truth and absolute Good. Certainly, in man there are many desires: for example, the desire to get rich, to be successful, to enjoy good health; but those desires are not “natural,” in the sense that if they are not realized, human existence would not make any sense. For even a life without great wealth, without great success, even a life in which sickness is present has a meaning. Certainly man desires immortality not only for his spirit, but also for his body: he desires to live forever in the totality of his being. He knows nevertheless that his body, because it is material, is naturally destined for death and corruption.
Question : Possibility of rational understanding of immortality and liberation.
(2008)
Answer : Liberation is experienced in this very life as dissolution of the sense of self as an egoistic personality by which the underlying, eternal, pure spirit is uncovered. This desire less state concludes the yogic path through which conditioned mentality-materiality or nama-roopa (lit. name-form) has been dissolved uncovering one’s eternal identity prior to the mind/spirit’s identification with material form. Liberation is achieved by (and accompanied with) the complete stilling of all passions, a state of being known as Nirvana.
Advaita Vedantist thought differs slightly from the Buddhist reading of liberation. In view of such experiences of death it is remarkable that human beings have been opposing the idea of personal immortality to the phenomenon of death throughout the history of mankind. What is the reason of this fact: is it only the fear of death, or, is it perhaps some experience of the immortality of our own selves? It should be remembered that the conception of soul itself and of its immortality is posterior to the idea of personal immortality. The conception of an immortal soul is connected with the attempts to find some rational arguments that have been being made since the birth of philosophy. The primary source of the idea of immortality and the hope of lasting after death are the consciousness of the sense and value of being a personal “I”. Such an interpretation is made evident by the historically common facts of burying human corpses and worshipping the dead ones. Since the very beginning of history humans have experienced the fact of being a personal “I” as something high and precious, regarding themselves as transcendent entities in the world of nature. Thus, they have been worshipping the bodies of the dead and burying them with the hope of a future meeting and continuation of life, understanding that the destination of a human being as a person is to be, rather than falling into oblivion as a nonentity.
All later ontological arguments for the immortality of man were derived from the above-mentioned pre understanding of the sense and value of being a person. It is remarkable, however, that in all cultures known to us human beings connected their primary consciousness of the sense and value of being a person with some religious experience, referring their own existence to the absolute “Thou” of God. The religious understanding of human existence in the world always made them experience death in their lives in terms of awaiting hopefully the new life that would be given to them by God (or the gods).Question : Explain the doctrine of the Law of Karma. Is it compatible with the freedom of the will? Discuss.
(2007)
Answer : The question of karma, destiny and free will has baffled the scholars and philosophers from time immemorial. It is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted subject in the philosophy of life. However, the ancient sages were very clear in understanding this subject and have tried to elucidate us through their teachings. Here, Vedic astrology plays an important role in trying to explain the role of karma, destiny and free will. This is a very complicated and difficult subject to deal with. The quest for knowledge, truth and happiness is as old as life itself and all the choices we make are aimed at attaining this happiness and avoiding unhappiness.
Astrology seeks to guide one in this natural urge towards greater fulfillment by revealing one’s past karma and the resultant samskaras, which determine the way one perceives the world. Karma is the activity of doing and being, and it is action born of desire, which holds the self in bondage. The sages have understood that the problem of life is how to live with acceptance of one’s limitations yet at the same time maximize the opportunities for growth.
The cardinal doctrine of karma is the law of cause and effect in accordance with the maxim “as you sow so shall you reap.” Karma is due to our actions and our actions are due to our thoughts. Karma is what we have already created by our actions in the past that will bear result in the future. Therefore, the future is based on the past. There is no favoritism in the determination of the law of karma as everyone is treated equally, and equal opportunity for growth is given to everyone as well. We have to experience our karma of the past. The astrologer only reads the planetary influences that simply indicate the results of the previous karmas. Therefore there is nothing like fate in the absolute sense, controlling our lives. It is only the law of karma, therefore, which impels human beings to live a right kind of living, for failure to do so may create bad karma which will make us suffer. Having this knowledge helps regulate our actions, thus making the individual wiser and better.
This brings us to the question of what is free will, and how it operates. Our ability to exercise will without the interference or influence of any factor outside of ourselves, gives the impression that we have the freedom to act at will. But Professor Einstein is stated to have observed, “Honestly, I cannot understand what people mean when they talk about freedom of the human will.” Similarly, Professor Schoperhauer has stated that “Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills.” These statements from scientists also indicate that they seem to think a kind of determinism that exists in the nature of human beings.
In a matter of fact, our free will is subject to the influence of our samskaras caused by our past karmas. The real situation regarding karma and free will, as explained by astrology, is that we human beings are partly free and partly determined. The circumstances of the major events of our life such as birth, death, or initiation into spiritual life may be due to the uncanny operation of destiny. In other words, one’s physical nature, heredity, and the social position of one’s family or position in the cosmos are determined. Thus, one cannot change one’s parentage, one’s nationality, one’s place geographically in his country, and even one’s innate temperament, or the fund of one’s life energy are all natural endowments.
These are, in the main, determined. Nevertheless, these constitute our resources, which are in a position to make use of either gaining a lofty status in life, or to suffer a downfall in the ultimate analysis of values.
Nature has endowed human beings with sufficient freedom to make or mar their own self. Astrology never disputes the fact that, since the spark of divinity is present in all of us, sincere efforts to perform actions in the right way will be rewarded. However, in another sense, our life is predetermined to the extent that each one of us enters the world with impressions (which in Sanskrit are called “samskaras”), which are the primitive emotions and tendencies that motivate our lives. They are impressions carried over from our past lives in our subconscious minds which motivate desires, and in turn produce our thoughts and actions.
Thus, human beings reflect their inner ideas on the outside world and their perceptions are colored by their past experiences. Alan Leo, an eminent astrologer of the West, views karma and free will thusly: “The idea seems to be prevalent that astrology teaches fatalism. Those, however, who have studied the subject knows that it does not teach absolute fatalism. We are not utterly bound: neither, on the other hand, are we entirely free. We are limited and restrained by ignorance. All our misfortunes are the result of our imperfect knowledge. Had we even but a little more knowledge, there would be much less suffering.”
Question : “Without some conceptions of immortality of soul, religion is meaningless.”
(2006)
Answer : A religion is a set of stories, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural quality, that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to an ultimate power or reality. It may be expressed through prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos, and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. The term “religion” refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.
Immortality is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time. As immortality is the negation of mortality-not dying or not being subject to death it has been a subject of fascination to mankind since at least the beginning of history. What form an unending human life would take, or whether the soul exists and possesses immortality, has been a major point of focus of religion, as well as the subject of speculation, fantasy, and debate. With every religion some moral code of conduct is attached. It is commonly believed that there is a divine command which helps us bear fruit of our deeds be they good or bad. But the fruits of whatever we deserve as par our karma can’t be given to us in a single life cycle.
Therefore we are supposed to go through a cycle of birth and death. In other words we iftransmigration of soul possible only then we can get the fruit that is due to us and it is our moral right or god’s moral responsibility to shower upon us what we deserve according to our deed. That is why it is said that without the concept of immortality of soul religion is meaningless.
Question : Is Christian doctrine of the immortality of soul compatible with Gita’s doctrine of atman? Discuss
(2005)
Answer : As immortality is the negation of mortality-not dying or not being subject to death-it has been a subject of fascination to mankind since at least the beginning of history. The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the first literary works, dating back at least to the 22nd century BC, is primarily a quest of a hero seeking to become immortal. Christians tend to understand the soul in moral rather than philosophical terms. In this understanding, when people die their souls, which have been formed (or malformed) by the good or evil deeds that the person has done, will be judged by God as being worthy or unworthy of salvation. Though virtually all branches of Christianity - evangelical, mainline Protestants, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox - teach that Jesus Christ plays a decisive role in this salvation process, the specifics of that role and the part played by individual persons or ecclesiastical rituals and relationships, is a matter of wide diversity in official church teaching, theological speculation and popular practice. Some Christians also believe that if one has not repented of their sins, they will go to Hell and suffer eternal separation from God. Variations also exist on this theme, e.g., some which hold that the unrighteous soul will be destroyed instead of suffering eternally. Others recognize the not only righteous as those who will equally inherit eternal life in Heaven and enjoy eternal fellowship with God, but include babies and those with cognitive or mental impairments, as well as all the righteous saints who lived before Jesus Christ came.
Some Christians regard the soul as the immortal essence of a human, the seat or locus of human will, understanding, and personality and that after death; God either rewards or punishes the soul. Different groups dispute whether this reward/punishment depends upon doing good deeds, or merely upon believing in God and in Jesus. Other Christians reject the idea of the immortality of the soul, citing the Apostles Creed’s reference to the “resurrection of the body” (the Greek word for body is soma which implies the whole person, not sarx, the term for flesh or corpse. They consider the soul to be the life force, which ends in death and is restored in the resurrection. Augustine, one of western Christianity’s most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as “a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body”. Some Christians espouse a trichotomic view of humans, which characterizes humans as consisting of a body (soma) , soul (psyche), and spirit (pneuma), however the majority of modern Bible scholars point out how spirit and soul are used interchangeably in many biblical passages, and so hold to dichotomy: the view that each of us is body and soul.
Basis of Hindu philosophy in ‘Bhagwad Gita’ is that one, who is born, shall die one day & whosoever; dies shall be reborn again certainly. The embodied soul in this body is immortal. As per ‘Bhagwad Gita it cannot be cut with any weapon, fire cannot burn it, it is impervious to water & it cannot drench it & neither air can dry this soul. As soul is beyond this visible nature elements of fire, water, air, earth etc. so these nature elements cannot cause any damage to the immortal soul. If a person becomes firm in that belief only that soul inside his body is immortal, then too he attains immortality as then that person goes beyond the visible nature which has formed this visible body of ours. According to Bhagavad Gita for the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting; present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. Descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain.
Therefore you need not grieve for any living being. Thus the concept of immortality of soul in Bhagvada Gita is does not seem to be compatible with that of Christian. Christian does believe that the complete annihilation of soul is possible as if a soul is not righteous, god may bring it to its end which is not the case as per Bhagvada Gita doctrine of soul.
Question : Relation between religion and salvation.
(2004)
Answer : Many people get the terms "religion" and "salvation" confused. It's easy to understand why one looks so much like the other on the surface. Religion emphasizes do while salvation emphasizes done. You can find many good places and denominations that emphasize good works, moral living, rituals, etc.
There is nothing inherently wrong with these things God knows we could use a lot more moral people. But such outward deeds are man's futile efforts to make him acceptable to God. The scriptures tells us that even our righteousness looks like a filthy rag in His sight, no one can make himself acceptable to God through his/her own efforts. It is only when we realize that God already did what was required for us so that we can be saved. He lived the perfect life we cannot possibly live. He fulfilled God's requirements. When He said, "It is finished" he spoke of the fact that all that was needed for our salvation was done. Nothing else we can do is needed; indeed it is not even acceptable. Once a person chooses to accept what God has done, changes towards such qualities as goodness, humility, patience, love will be evident in their life. But it is not these qualities that will cause the person to be heaven-bound; it is what god has done. Religion emphasizes "be" while salvation emphasizes been." Be a good person, be believer.
What matters most to God is what we have been, not what we are trying to be. Without god, we have already been condemned. It is not that we will be condemned some day if we end up being more bad than good. Religion speaks of getting. Salvation speaks of receiving. Some well-meaning people think a person has to get a certain feeling or emotion inside before he/she is saved. Though emotions may play a role in our relationship with God, they do not determine whether or not we have that relationship.Man can produce emotional responses, but he cannot generate salvation of his soul through any emotion or feeling. Feelings and emotions are fickle. Salvation is firm and forever. Religion puts emphasis on experience. Salvation is based on a relationship. External experiences whether a vision, dream, or some other ecstatic event do not necessarily prove a relationship exists between us and God.
When we, by faith, realize God has already done everything required for our salvation, when we receive that salvation and have thus been justified, we have a relationship with Him. That is salvation.
Question : Can the result of a finite action of an individual (Karma) determine the nature of the immortal soul (atman)?
(2003)
Answer : The literal meaning of the Sanskrit word Karma is deeds, including thoughts and words. The finite action here refers to the Nishkama karma or selfless deeds. However, according to Jainism, Karmas are invisible, fine particles of matter prevailing all around us just like the air particles.Our souls attract these karmas through activities related to mind, body and speech. This means every time we get angry, we attract karmas, every time we kill someone, we attract karmas, every time we deceive someone or become greedy, we attract karmas. These karmas form layers upon layers over our souls and keep us from realizing our true potential.As the theory of karma goes, the true nature of soul is pure, crystal clear and full of true knowledge.However the karmas keep the soul away from the truth and make it go through the cycles of birth and death.A worldly soul remains under uncertain condition- at one moment it gets closer to the truth, the next moment it starts doubting it. The strength and duration of karmic bonds are very much dependent on the intensity of our passions.
In other words, our motives at the time of performing any good or bad acts determine the strength and duration of the bondage of karma. Thus motive counts a lot in Jainism: two people performing similar activities could acquire karma in a completely different way.For example, a person killing a deer intentionally is producing a karmic bond much stronger than a person killing insects unintentionally while walking. Both involve an act of killing but the impact is substantially different with regard to the acquisition of karma.
However the real essence of life, the one entity giving life to man is the soul. The theory of Karma stipulates that karma (a thought, word or deed) has to produce a reaction from which the initiator of the karma can't and will not escape. The karmas whose results,have not yet undergone, will take us i.e. our souls, to another birth and life, where the results of our previous birth's karmas will catch up with us. And that theory of this process goes on and on and leads us to take birth, again and again, in this and various other lives, in this country, with this pair or another pair of eyes, different bodies etc. We can neither control it nor have any choices about it unless we perform right Karma. The Law of Nature is therefore intrinsically and unavoidably tied up with the Theory of Karma.
Question : Advaita Vedanta Theory of Jivanmukti.
(2002)
Answer : In Indian religions, Moksha or Mukti literally is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth or reincarnation and all of the suffering and limitation of worldly existence. In Hindu philosophy, it is seen as a transcendence of phenomenal being, a state of higher consciousness, in which matter, energy, time, space, causation (karma) and the other features of empirical reality are understood as maya. In Advaita philosophy, the ultimate truth is not a singular Godhead, per se, but rather is oneness without form or being, something that essentially is without manifestation, personality, or activity. Moksha is union with this oneness. The concepts of impersonal Moksha and Buddhist Nirvana are comparable.
Indeed, there is much overlap in their views of higher consciousness and attainment of enlightenment. Vedanta finds itself split threefold, though the dualist and modified non-dualist schools are primarily associated with the foregoing thought of Bhakti. The most famous today is Advaita Vedanta, a non-dual (i.e. no separation between the individual and reality/God/etc.) perspective which often played the role of Hindu foil to contemporary Buddhist philosophy. In general, it focused on intense meditation and moral realignment, its bedrock being the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and the teachings of its putative founder, Adi Shankara.
Through discernment of the real and the unreal, as a peeling of the layers of an onion, the sadhak (practitioner) would unravel the maya (illusion) of being and the cosmos to find nothing within, a nothingness which was paradoxically being, and transcendentally beyond both such inadequate descriptions. This was Moksha, this was atman and Brahman realized as the substance and void of existential duality. The philosophy of Samkhya also speaks about jivanmukti which means to know oneself and distinguish from Prakriti.
Question : What is meant by immortality of soul? Analyze the arguments of the Bhagavadgita in this regard.
(2002)
Answer : Hindus believe in an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death. According to Hinduism, people repeat a process of life, death, and rebirth in a cycle called samsara. If they live their life well, their karma improves and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower if they live their life poorly. Eventually after many life times of perfecting its karma, the soul is freed from the cycle and lives in perpetual bliss. There is no eternal torment in Hinduism, temporal existence being harsh enough, although if a soul consistently lives very evil lives, it could work its way down to the very bottom of the cycle.
Thus immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time. As immortality is the negation of mortality, not dying or not being subject to death, it has been a subject of fascination to mankind since at least the beginning of history. What form an unending human life would take, or whether the soul exists and possesses immortality, has been a major point of focus of religion, as well as the subject of speculation, fantasy, and debate.
According to Bhagvadgita for the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting; present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body. Descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being.
Basis of Hindu philosophy in 'Bhagwada Gita' is that one, who is born, shall die one day & whosoever; dies shall be reborn again certainly. The embodied soul in this body is immortal. As per 'Bhagwada Gita it cannot be cut with any weapon, fire cannot burn it, it is impervious to water & it cannot drench it & neither air can dry this soul. As soul is beyond this visible nature elements of fire, water, air, earth etc. so these nature elements cannot cause any damage to the immortal soul. If a person becomes firm in that belief only that soul inside his body is immortal, then too he attains immortality as then that person goes beyond the visible nature which has formed this visible body of ours.
Now what is immortality? This soul of ours wears this body made of nature elements. After karmic cycle, depending on the Karmas of our previous life, soul drops this body at death & takes on another body based on the Karmas of our present life. Again we do Karmas in our next birth & that becomes the basis of our further next birth for this soul. So this cycle of wearing different bodies goes on for this soul. As we all feel pleasure & pain in one's life, so can't it be possible that we can avoid this pain that we feel in our body. In Hinduism, the Sanskrit words most closely corresponding to soul are "Jiva/Atma", meaning the individual soul or personality, and "Atman", which can also mean soul. The Atman is seen as the portion of Brahman. GOD is described as Supreme soul. Dvaita or dualistic concepts reject this, instead identifying the soul as part and parcel of Supreme soul (GOD), but it never loses its identity. That is where we as an individual get an identity. According to scriptures, this identity exists eternally; the soul never dies. It only transmigrates from one body to other body.For example, Advaita or non-dualistic conception of the soul accords it union with Brahman, the absolute uncreated (roughly, the Godhead), in eventuality or in pre-existing fact.As per 'Bhagwad Gita when we go to a perpetual divine life, which is beyond this nature, which forms this body then that life is beyond all this pain & is a blissful life. To attain that, we have to establish our self in our soul. As God is the Supreme Soul from whom all these souls have emanated, so worshipping him constantly, one shall be established in the soul & shall attain a blissful life.
Question : Immortality of Soul.
(2000)
Answer : In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and personality, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self. In theology, the soul is often believed to live on after the person's death, and some religions posit that God creates souls. In some cultures, non-human living things, and sometimes inanimate objects are said to have souls, a belief known as animism. The terms soul and spirit are often used interchangeably, although the former may be viewed as a worldlier and less transcendent aspect of a person than the latter. The words soul and psyche can also be treated synonymously, although psyche has relatively more physical connotations, whereas soul is connected more closely to metaphysics and religion. Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time. As immortality is the negation of mortality-not dying or not being subject to death-it has been a subject of fascination to mankind since at least the beginning of history. The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the first literary works, dating back at least to the 22nd century BCE, is primarily a quest of a hero seeking to become immortal.
What form an unending human life would take, or whether the soul exists and possesses immortality, has been a major point of focus of religion, as well as the subject of speculation, fantasy, and debate. It is not known whether human physical immortality is an unachievable phenomenon or not. Biological forms have inherent limitations - for example, their fragility and slow adaptability to changing environments, which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions, engineering, etc. On the other hand, biological immortality already exists among some simple, but multi cellular life-forms. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers, such as scientists Aubrey de Grey and Ray Kurzweil believe that human immortality is achievable in the next few decades.
Others are somewhere in the middle of these two extreme viewpoints, thinking that immortality is achievable in some period of time longer than 20-30 years, but not impossible. In Hinduism, the Sanskrit words most closely corresponding to soul are "Jiva/Atma", meaning the individual soul or personality, and "Atman", which can also mean soul. The Atman is seen as the portion of Brahman. GOD is described as Supreme soul. For example, Advaita or non-dualistic conception of the soul accords it union with Brahman, the absolute uncreated (roughly, the Godhead), in eventuality or in pre-existing fact. Dvaita or dualistic concepts reject this, instead identifying the soul as part and parcel of Supreme soul (GOD), but it never loses its identity. That is where we as an individual get an identity.
According to scriptures, this identity exists eternally; the soul never dies. It only transmigrates from one body to other body. The Bhagavad Gita, one of the most significant Puranic scriptures, refers to the spiritual body or soul as Purusha (see also Sankhya philosophy). The Purusha is part and parcel of God, is unchanging (is never born and never dies), is indestructible, and, though essentially indivisible.
Question : Elaborate the nature of Liberation according to Advaita Vedanta.
(2000)
Answer : A very important assumption in all Vedanta is that man suffers from bondage in the course of his life in this world. This is said to be samsara, which involves being caught in an endless cycle of births and deaths. The quest therefore is to seek a way out of this bondage, to break the cycle of rebirths and attain Moksha or liberation. The most important issues in Vedanta have to be understood with respect to what constitutes bondage and what con Advaita (literally, non-duality) is more often than not deviantly interpreted as monism/monistic system of thought. Advaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedanta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedanta are Dvaita and Visish?advaita. Advaita refers to the identity of the Self (Atman) and the Whole (Brahman). And it is definitely not "monotheism" which is a glaringly erroneous interpretation. Advaita is not about any worship of any kind of deity, not even a singular all powerful supreme being/Ishwara/God. It is about realising the self i.e. Atman as the Bramhan itself which is apparently manifested eternally and simultaneously into animate or inanimate.
This realization is limited and/or inhibited by lack of knowledge and discrimination i.e. Jnana and this verily is the foundation of non-duality (Advaita). Bramhan is described as neti neti( not this, not this or not so not so) in the Upanishads. All principal Upanishads, Bramha Sutras as well as Badarayana Vyasa, Adi Shankara and Ashtavakra have explicitly and repeatedly stated and expounded this with much emphasis. The Advaita school is of the view that jnana (knowledge) of man's true nature is liberation. Bondage arises from ignorance (Avidya) of man's true nature, and therefore removal of ignorance roots out this bondage. Liberation is therefore nothing more or nothing less than man knowing his true nature. This true nature is his innermost essence, the Atman, which is nothing other than Brahman. He who knows this, not merely as bookish knowledge, but through his own Experience, is liberated even when living. Such a man is a jivanmukta, and he does not return to the cycle of rebirths.
Advaitins also believe in the theory of reincarnation of souls (Atman) into plants, animals and humans according to their karma. They believe that suffering is due to Maya, and only knowledge (called Jnana) of Brahman can destroy Maya. When Maya is removed, there exists ultimately no difference between the Jiva-Atman and the Brahman. Such a state of bliss when achieved while living is called Jivan mukti. While one is in the pragmatic level, one can worship God in any way and in any form, like Krishna or Ayyappa as he wishes, Adi Shankara himself was a proponent of devotional worship or Bhakti. But Adi Shankara believes that while Vedic sacrifices, puja and devotional worship can lead one in the direction of jnana, true knowledge, they cannot lead one directly to Moksha.
In the advaita analysis, human life and behavior is explained on the basis of the theory of karma, which sets the cycle of rebirths into motion. All actions, good or bad, create their own karmic residues called vasanas, which exhibit their results over a period of time. The karma which has already started taking fruit is called prarabdha karma. This is the karma that is responsible for the current birth. The accumulated karma which is yet to take fruit is called sancita karma. As long as the cycle of rebirths continues, more karma will be done in the future, and this is called Agamin karma. Liberation (moksha) is the way out of this endless cycle.
In Advaita, moksha is synonymous with Brahman. Sruti says "Brahmavit brahmaiva bhavati" - He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman Itself. In the Advaita understanding of this statement, the "becoming" is only metaphorical. It is not as if something that was not Brahman suddenly becomes Brahman. Rather, "knowing Brahman" means a removal of the ignorance about one's own essential nature as Brahman. Thus, to "know Brahman" is to "be Brahman". The one who has realized the identity of his own Atman with the Brahman is the jivanmukta, one who is liberated even while embodied. Such realization should not and cannot just be a literal understanding of Upanishadic mahavakyas. The jivanmukta is one who has experienced the truth of the identity himself. Thus, Moksha can only indirectly be called a result of ritual action (Karma marga) or of devotional service (Bhakti marga ). These paths lead along the way, and constitute the "how" but not the "why" of liberation. In fact, Moksha is not a result of anything, for it always exists. All that is required is the removal of ignorance. For this reason, the way of Advaita Vedanta is also called the path of knowledge (jnana-marga).
Advaita holds that realization of Brahman is possible on this earth itself. The highly evolved seeker, who approaches Vedantic study with a pure mind, and a strong tendency of mumukshutva, is fit to really experience Brahman. One, who has actually realized Brahman, is a jivanmukta - he is liberated while still living. He continues to live in a material body, because of the momentum of the prarabha karma that has already started taking fruit. But he accumulates no further karma, because all Agamin karma and sancita karma are "burnt" in the knowledge of Brahmajnana. The body eventually dies, and the jivanmukta is said to have attained videhamukti. In accordance with the Sruti, "nasa punaravartate," he does not enter into the cycle of rebirths any more.
Question : Explain the significance of the doctrine of reincarnation in the Indian religious thought. Examine the chief arguments given in support of the doctrine.
(1998)
Answer : Reincarnation is a doctrine or metaphysical belief that some essential part of a living being (in some variations only human beings) survives death to be reborn in a new body. This essential part is often referred to as the spirit or soul, the "higher" or "true" self, "divine spark", or "I". According to such beliefs, a new personality is developed during each life in the physical world, but some part of the self remains constant throughout the successive lives. Belief in reincarnation has ancient roots. This doctrine is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religious traditions, such as Hinduism (including Yoga, Vaishnavism, and Shaivism), Jainism, and Sikhism. Eastern philosophical and religious beliefs regarding the existence or non-existence of an unchanging 'self' have a direct bearing on how reincarnation is viewed within a given tradition.
There are large differences in philosophical beliefs regarding the nature of the soul (also known as the jiva or atman) amongst Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Jainism that do accept such an idea. The concept of reincarnation (along with karma, samsara, and Moksha) was first developed in India by non-Aryan people outside of the caste system whose spiritual ideas greatly influenced later Indian religious thought. Buddhism and Jainism are continuations of this tradition and the early Upanishadic movement was influenced by it. Reincarnation was adopted from this religious culture by Brahmin orthodoxy, and Brahmins first wrote down scriptures containing these ideas in the early Upanishads.
According to the scriptures, the Buddha taught a concept of rebirth that was distinct from that of any known contemporary Indian teacher. This concept was consistent with the common notion of a sequence of related lives stretching over a very long time, but was constrained by two core Buddhist concepts: anatta, that there is no irreducible "self" tying these lives together; and anicca, that all compounded things are subject to dissolution, including all the components of the human person and personality. At the death of one personality, a new one comes into being, much as the flame of a dying candle can serve to light the flame of another. Since, according to Buddhism, there is no permanent and unchanging self (identity) there can be no transmigration in the strict sense. Buddhism teaches that what is reborn is not the person but that one moment gives rise to another and that this momentum continues, even after death. It is a more subtle concept than the usual notion of reincarnation, reflecting the Buddhist concept of personality existing (even within one's lifetime) without a "soul". Buddhism never rejected samsara, the process of rebirth, but suggests that it occurs across five or six realms of existence. It is actually said to be very rare for a person to be reborn in the immediate next life as a human
According to Hinduism, the soul (atman) is immortal, while the body is subject to birth and death. The Bhagavad Gita states that: Worn-out garments are shed by the body; Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body. New bodies are donned by the dweller, like garments. The idea that the soul (of any living being with a consciousness - including animals and humans) reincarnates is intricately linked to karma, another concept first recorded in the Upanishads. Karma (literally: action) is the sum of one's actions and the force that determines one's next reincarnation. The cycle of death and rebirth, governed by karma, is referred to as samsara. Hinduism teaches that the soul goes on repeatedly being born and dying. One is reborn on account of desire: a person desires to be born because he or she wants to enjoy worldly pleasures, which can be enjoyed only through a body.
Hinduism does not teach that all worldly pleasures are sinful but it teaches that they can never bring deep, lasting happiness or peace (ananda). To be trapped in samsara is a result of ignorance of the true nature of our existence. After many births, every person eventually becomes dissatisfied with the limited happiness that worldly pleasures can bring. At this point, a person begins to seek higher forms of happiness, which can be attained only through spiritual experience. When, after much spiritual practice (sadhana), a person finally realizes his or her own divine nature-i.e., realizes that the true "self" is the immortal soul rather than the body or the ego-all desires for the pleasures of the world will vanish, since they will seem insipid compared to spiritual ananda. When all desire has vanished, the person will not be reborn anymore.
When the cycle of rebirth thus comes to an end, a person is said to have attained Moksha, or salvation from samsara. While all schools of thought agree that Moksha implies the cessation of worldly desires and freedom from the cycle of birth and death, the exact definition of salvation depends on individual beliefs. For example, followers of the Advaita Vedanta school (often associated with jnana yoga) believe that they will spend eternity absorbed in the perfect peace and happiness that comes with the realization that all existence is One (Brahman), and that the immortal soul is part of that existence. The principal Hindu Gods are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and their consorts Brahmani, Lakshmi and Parvati. While there is hardly any text describing reincarnation of Brahma and Brahmani, the rest of the Gods are known to have reincarnated in various forms under different circumstances. Lord Vishnu is known for his ten reincarnations, namely Dashavataras.
In Jainism, particular reference is given to how devas (gods) also reincarnate after they die. Reincarnation, simply stated, is the law of cause and effect: reincarnation does not create any caste or differences among people: past and present life's actions simply have a bearing upon a specific individual. Reincarnation in no way makes one superior to another. Lastly, Hindu scriptures divide karma into three kinds: Sanchita (accumulated) Prarabdha (fruit-bearing) and Kriyamana (current) karma. All kriyamana karmas become sanchita karma upon completion. From this stock of sanchita karma, a handful is taken out to serve one lifetime and this handful of actions, which has begun to bear fruit and which will be exhausted only on their fruit being enjoyed and not otherwise, is known as prarabdha karma.
In this way, so long as the stock of sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be taken out as prarabdha karma for being enjoyed in one lifetime, leading to the cycle of birth and death. A Jiva cannot attain Moksha until the accumulated sanchita karmas are completely exhausted.
Question : The path of Disinterested Action.
(1997)
Answer : Nishkam Karma, or self-less or disinterested action is an action performed without any expectation of fruits or results, and the central tenet of Karma Yoga path to Liberation, which has now found place not just in business management, management studies but also in promoting better Business ethics as well. Its modern advocates press upon achieving success following the principles of Yoga, and stepping beyond personal goals and agendas while pursuing any action over greater good, which is also the key message of the Bhagavad Gita. In Indian philosophy, action or Karma has been divided into three categories, according to their intrinsic qualities or gunas.
Here Nishkam Karma belongs to the first category, the Satvik (pure) or actions which add to calmness; the Sakam Karma (Self-centred action) comes in the second rajasika (aggression) and Akarma (in-action) comes under the third, tamasika which correlates to darkness or inertia. Nishkam Karma gets an important place in the Bhagavad Gita. It is the central text of Mahabharata, where Krishna advocates 'Nishkam Karma Yoga' (the Yoga of Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without expectations, motives, or thinking about its outcomes tends to purify one's mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason and the benefits of renouncing the work itself. With the body, with the mind, with the intellect, even merely with the senses, the Yogis perform action toward self-purification, having abandoned attachment. He who is disciplined in Yoga, having abandoned the fruit of action, attains steady peace. By performing the disinterested action one can reunion with god and thus gain an eternal bliss. Disinterested action also refers to the fact that whatever one does is devoted to the God or divine reality. It makes a person free of bondage and life and death cycle.
Question : Bring out the inter-relationship between various paths leading to Moksha and indicate the value of Moksha.
(1995)
Answer : Moksha is a term that refers to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Every person must strive hard and prefer good deeds, so that his soul may rest in peace after his death. A person, who attains Moksha, gets freedom from all sorts of sufferings and pain. When a person gives every materialistic pleasures of life and gets involved in social activities to serve mankind, he heads his way towards heaven. Well, Moksha is a very broad term which encompasses numerous aspects like, peace, knowledge and enlightened. In Hindu religion, self-realization is considered to be the best means to achieve Moksha.
The Hindu dharma preaches the Karma and Bhakti. Well, there can be different ways of achieving salvation. In totality there are four paths of attaining liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, namely, selfless work, self dissolving love, deep meditation and total discernment. In Indian Religion Moksha is also known as Mukti. In Hindu philosophy, it is seen as a transcendence of phenomenal being, a state of higher consciousness, in which matter, energy, time, space, causation and the other features of empirical reality are understood as maya. Liberation is experienced in this very life as a disjunction of the sense of self as an egoistic personality by which the underlying, eternal, pose spirit is uncovered. This desire less state concludes the logic path through which conditioned mentality. Materiality or nama-rupa has been dissolved uncovering one's eternal identity prior to the mind/sprite's identification with material form.
Liberation is achieved by the complete stilling of all passions - a state of being known as Nirvana. In Islam Moksha happens at the Day of Judgment when the individual's fate is decided by 'Allah'.
The Hindu religion teaches people the art of self dissolving love, which paves way for has wrong. We are said to be deeply in love with God when the depth of our love cannot be measured. At that point of time, we attain total bliss, as self realization dawns upon us. When we mediate and try to concentrate in the God, the creator and preserver of this universe, our mind becomes empty. At that movement, there are no thoughts in our mind and we can only think of the almighty God. It directs us way towards attaining salvation. Another king of prime importance that will straightway connect us to God is service to mankind.
In Gita there are three paths to Moksha or liberation. These are Gyan Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. These three paths are interlinked and one path of Moksha prepares an individual for the observance of the other path. Bhakti sees God as the most worship able object of love, for example, a personified monotheistic conception of Shiva or Vishnu. Unlike in Abrahamic traditions or Vaishanavisms, Hinduism does not prevent worship of other aspects of God, as they are all seen as rays from a single source.
The concept is essentially of devotional service in Love, since the ideal nature of being is seen as that of harmony, euphony, its manifest essence being love. By immersing oneself in the love of God, one's karmas (good or bad, regardless) slough off, one's illusion about beings decay and 'truth' is soon known and loved. Both the worshiped and worshiper gradually loose their illusory sense of separation and only one beyond all names.
Vedanta advocates Gyan yoga for Moksha or liberation. It finds itself split threefold, though the dualist and modified non-dualist schools are primarily associated with the foregoing thought of Bhakti. The most famous today is Advaita Vedanta, a non-dual (i.e. no separation between the individual and reality/God etc.) perspective which often played the role of Hindu soil to contemporary Buddhist philosophy. In general, it focused on intense mediation and moral realignment, its bedrock being the Upanishads Brahmasutras and the teachings of its putative founder, Adi Shankara.
The third path leading to Moksha or liberation is Karma yoga. Hardly any one is unaware of the law of karma. Some who might not love heard of it should surely have come across the saying as you sow so you reap. It is an inescapable law of nature that whatever good or bad is done, its result comes to person likewise. Good for good bad for bad. It is also said that one comes into the world because of the force of the karmas that is to pay them off. But this seems to be a vicious cycle, for in the process of a new life one invariably ends up creating further karma. Does it mean that there is no end to this process that brings endless suffering and misery?
In the Bhagavad-Gita it has been said that the Being can surely emerge from the vicious cycle by following the worlds of God. All actions takings place in the world are performed by the attributes of nature, and of by the being. If this is true that the being is not the doer, then why is he responsible for any action or how can he earn any Karma. In other worlds why should he be rewarded or punished for any action? It the being does his Karma submitting it to God or in other words it the performance of 'Niskam Karma' does not result in any suffering as it helps one realize oneself. This is how one can realize or attain Moksha. The interrelationship between Gyan yoga, karma yoga and Bhakti yoga is obvios as Gyan and Karma yoga prepares an individual and enables him to enter into Bhakti yoga.
