Hinduism/Ashlyn Chadd

What is the human condition?

For Hindus, the human condition is living a life full of righteousness. Hindus believe in reincarnation and that karma can follow you from lifetime to lifetime so they always try to do good in order to have good things happen to them in their current and future lives. During their life, most Hindus try to acheive Atman, which, in most basic terms, is the realization that everyone and everything is a manifestation of God. It is believed that once a person acheives Atman, they are no longer reincarnated into a physical body but instead they become in a state of constant bliss. So, obviously, they all aim to acheive the state of constant bliss.

What is the solution to this condition? How do we move from problem to solution?

There are four yogas that Hindus use to help them get closer to acheiving Atman: Bhakti, Raja, Jnana, and Karma. Each one uses a different way to help try and find eternal bliss. Different people choose different yogas to focus on in order to figure out which one suites the individual best. Some people also practice all of the yogas but choose to focus on one more than the other. it is all about which one the individual is the most comfortable with. Once the person figures out which works best for them, they tend to practice that one(or more) yogas everyday. They believe that by doing so, you are learning to connect more to Brama. In a way, you could say that the yogas help a person to see the world without any lines separating things. It's like all the people and animals and objects are interwined together to form Brama. Atman makes the lines disappear and connects everything and the yogas are the ways to try acheive that.

How best to live the solution in our own lives?

For those who wish to acheive Atman, they can practice their chosen yoga(s) daily in order to help them connect to Brama. However, some Hindus might like their current life and not want to achieve Atman because they want more lifetimes and if that's the case then keep going on with your daily lives and every now and then throw in a slightly bad activity and you'll be all good.

I liked learning about Hinduism. I liked the fact that it was so open and understanding to people of all beliefs and can pretty much work for anyone. However, I was very confused by their idea of reincarnation and the fact that people can be reincarnated as animals. It makes me come up with a million questions. Such as, is a person's spirit transfered from one body to another the moment life leaves the body? If so, why does the population of people and animals keep increasing and decreasing? Also, what about when a person dies and then they are brought back by a doctor or emt? If a person's spirit isn't immediately transfered to another body, then where does their spirit go, and how long does it take to reach its new body? I can understand why people believe in Hinduism, however, I just think that it leaves me with more questions than with answers.