2012-03-10, 06:00
#733
Firstly, before one knows about Brahman, one does not see the world as it really is. Until then we live in an illusion, Maya, unable to know the true nature of the illusion because we live after what we believe is real. We are secondly being constrained because of our congenital ego. We are selfish by nature; it is all about ourselves and how everything affects us. In order to reach a higher spiritual level we need to overcome this. Thirdly, we do not know what we really want, but before we are able to realize what we truly want, one must realize what we do not want, and it will eventually come to everyone, but not to all in one’s current life, which is the underlying meaning behind reincarnation.
We keep on getting rebirth until we understand the true nature of Brahman and it’s not until we do that, that we finally can become one with it, which is the ultimate goal within Hinduism. But we are trapped in this world, this illusion, bound to our physical body until we have achieved the necessary spiritual awareness. Until then we are bound to Saṃsāra which is the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth as a result of our spiritual progress, karma. The goal is Moksa which will be reached once one is spiritual ready to be freed from one’s bodily prison, and thus are able to leave the illusion, the world of mortals, to become one with the Brahman. But before one understands Saṃsāra, one must understand karma.
Karma and reincarnation doesn’t just make some sense of life and death, but it’s also the theories and doctrine that best succeeds in explaining and put some light on the evolution itself. It manages to illuminate the illusion, the Maya, as it is with all human problems. It would explain why some people are fortunate while others are not since it is a result of their actions in a previous life. It is basically a law of nature which punishes and rewards one’s deeds as one have to take responsibility for oneself actions, and even though motive is important it is still the physical outcome that matters the most (Leslie-Smith, 1975: 38-46.) Thus it’s no excuse to blame another person for your own act no matter the circumstances.
A person’s deeds in one’s current life determine how one’s next life will look like. We create our next’s life destiny in our everyday actions. As we die it’s not just a physical body that becomes dissolved, but also everything that have shaped who we are, such as our memories, emotions and experiences. The one thing that remains after our “second death” is one’s spiritual aspirations and higher qualities which will follow the spirit as it’s reincarnates to a new physical body. We are bound to Saṃsāra until we looses our ignorance, our pride, and our possessiveness. All our selfish needs have to go before we are spiritual ready to be released from the Maya, which only existence is make us understand Brahman better.
The Hinduism belief does, however, not require us to hasten this process. It rather encourages us to go after what we want as we need to witness this revelation by ourselves. As long as we think we need what we want, we should go after it. Nothing good can come from repressing or pretending that we do not want it. At first, this might sound very appealing, but then we realize the underlying problem here. Because what do we want?
We begin with seeking pleasure, one of the four legitimates of life, which is a congenital request from the moment we are born. This doesn’t, however, mean that we are free to do whatever we want, but that we are free to give in to our desires as long as the rules of morality is being followed. We are allowed to seek what we want, but we are to do so within reason so that we continuing moving forward on our spiritual journey. And there will come a time in one’s life when one realizes that pleasure is not nearly enough to complete one’s soul as pleasure is essentially selfish as it based upon one’s own desires. In addition, one will realize that lasting pleasure is much more preferable in the end.
We keep on getting rebirth until we understand the true nature of Brahman and it’s not until we do that, that we finally can become one with it, which is the ultimate goal within Hinduism. But we are trapped in this world, this illusion, bound to our physical body until we have achieved the necessary spiritual awareness. Until then we are bound to Saṃsāra which is the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth as a result of our spiritual progress, karma. The goal is Moksa which will be reached once one is spiritual ready to be freed from one’s bodily prison, and thus are able to leave the illusion, the world of mortals, to become one with the Brahman. But before one understands Saṃsāra, one must understand karma.
Karma and reincarnation doesn’t just make some sense of life and death, but it’s also the theories and doctrine that best succeeds in explaining and put some light on the evolution itself. It manages to illuminate the illusion, the Maya, as it is with all human problems. It would explain why some people are fortunate while others are not since it is a result of their actions in a previous life. It is basically a law of nature which punishes and rewards one’s deeds as one have to take responsibility for oneself actions, and even though motive is important it is still the physical outcome that matters the most (Leslie-Smith, 1975: 38-46.) Thus it’s no excuse to blame another person for your own act no matter the circumstances.
A person’s deeds in one’s current life determine how one’s next life will look like. We create our next’s life destiny in our everyday actions. As we die it’s not just a physical body that becomes dissolved, but also everything that have shaped who we are, such as our memories, emotions and experiences. The one thing that remains after our “second death” is one’s spiritual aspirations and higher qualities which will follow the spirit as it’s reincarnates to a new physical body. We are bound to Saṃsāra until we looses our ignorance, our pride, and our possessiveness. All our selfish needs have to go before we are spiritual ready to be released from the Maya, which only existence is make us understand Brahman better.
The Hinduism belief does, however, not require us to hasten this process. It rather encourages us to go after what we want as we need to witness this revelation by ourselves. As long as we think we need what we want, we should go after it. Nothing good can come from repressing or pretending that we do not want it. At first, this might sound very appealing, but then we realize the underlying problem here. Because what do we want?
We begin with seeking pleasure, one of the four legitimates of life, which is a congenital request from the moment we are born. This doesn’t, however, mean that we are free to do whatever we want, but that we are free to give in to our desires as long as the rules of morality is being followed. We are allowed to seek what we want, but we are to do so within reason so that we continuing moving forward on our spiritual journey. And there will come a time in one’s life when one realizes that pleasure is not nearly enough to complete one’s soul as pleasure is essentially selfish as it based upon one’s own desires. In addition, one will realize that lasting pleasure is much more preferable in the end.
