Karma
The belief in Karma and Samsara form the basis for the Hindu’s religious worldview. It has been central to Hinduism for thousands of years, and as a result forms a major part in the philosophical thinking of many Hindu’s today. The ideas of Karma and Samsara are evident in almost all of the great Hindu scriptures, being touched on in the Veda’s, but first properly introduced in the Upanishads. When the idea of Samsara was first introduced it led to a quest for liberation through the practice of austerity or meditation or both. To be released form this life the Hindu’s needed to wipe out the effects of their past actions or Karma. It is this set of beliefs that formed the background of many of Hindu’s religious movements and beliefs. Karma is the belief according to which a person’s future life is determined by past and present actions. Every action, bodily, intellectual or ethical, good or bad, big or small will have its! effect. Nothing other than the effects of earlier actions has determined the present state of affairs and nothing other than the present actions will determine the future circumstances. The law of Karma allows no room for chance or div
s dating from 800-400B.C.E) (Smart 1989:49) that we first meet with the doctrines of Karma and Samsara. The Upanishads are concerned essentially with the meaning of the sacrificial rites, and come to the conclusion that knowledge in the ‘true reality’ is the key rather than expertise in rituals like the Rig Veda’s were. In the process they introduce profound metaphysical and religious ideas, such as Karma and Samsara. The Chandogya Upanisad sums up the ideas of Karma and Samsara “those who are of pleasant conduct here the prospect is indeed that they will enter a pleasant womb, either the womb of a Kshatriya or the womb of a Vaisya (high Indian Castes). But those who are of a striking conduct here the prospect is indeed, that, they will enter the womb of a dog, or the womb of a swine, or the womb of an outcast”(Lipner 1994: 45). The central concept in the Upanishads is that of Brahman. Brahman is the highest truth, the eternal being on which all o! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ isolation without the distractions and sufferings of the world hence not forming any Karmic forces. Through this asceticism Karma was overcome by shifting existence to a deeper level, where the ultimate energy is experienced not as fragmented and limited but as the whole and perfect expression of undivided reality at it’s deepest level (Koller 1982:59). Other ways to break Karmic bondage were through yoga, rituals, devotion and through Dharma (fulfilling one’s duty/ truthful action). All these techniques enabled the self to break karmic forces and become closer to the ultimate reality. These techniques are all still widely used in Hinduism today. The Bhagavad Gita (probably composed in third or fourth century B.C.E)(Zaehner 1966:78) marks a dramatic turning point in Hinduism. The gita accepts both the Vedic and Upanishad ways and draws some elements from both, but for the first time a totally new element app
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Approximate Word count = 1336
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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