Karma
If there is one constant in this world, it would surely be death. Dying is an unavoidable part of life, and the fear of death is held by everyone as well. Perhaps it is the relationship of death with pain or the unknown state of the human consciousness after death, or maybe a combination of both. The fear felt is undoubtedly universal, but the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse. Christians, for example, believe that souls that have lived by the words of their god will exist eternally in heaven as divine being themselves. This conception of an afterlife is generally what we people who are residents of the United States hold to be true. Similar to Christianity, Hinduism also eases the fear of death by presenting a life after death. Between Christianity and Hinduism, both have few similarities and many differences on how men and women have made dying less depressing and disturbing through religion. The focus of this paper is the differences between the western and eastern ideas of life after death.
One of the few similarities between Hinduism and Christianity is the concept of Karma. Karma is the process of determining the reincarnation of your soul after death. It is a “spiritual principle” based on the theory of cause and effect. It is based on the philosophy that “God” is not responsible for the happiness or failure of an individual, rather, we as individuals are solely responsible for the consequences of our own behavior. The concept of Karma has two major interpretations; the western and eastern ideals. In my paper, the western ideas represent Christian ideas, and the eastern ideas represent Hinduism. In the west, no serious research has been done on the subject, however, the influence of Karma in in the Western hemisphere can be seen in the bible and other religious scriptures. The closest mentioning of Karma is in the biblical scripture, “For whatever a man sowest, that shall he reap”. Despite this idea, Christian society still refuses to attempt a true understanding of the spiritual and mystical forces in the soul and in nature.
As I stated before, Western and Eastern ideals are two different interpretations of Karma but there are also two levels of Karma. The subjective level of karma suggests formation of one’s own inner character, the objective level determines the “external circumstances of birth and general trends of life events” The most common approaches are to the idea of reincarnation. For example, the act of swatting. a fly could be perceived as killing a person, perhaps your mother in a past life. In the west, no serious research is done on the subject of reincarnation. If in fact Christians do show substantial interest in reincarnation, it is only with a skeptical curiosity of knowing who they were in previous lives. Eastern people, however, are not really curious to find out what they were in the past life.
Karma is a small connection between Hinduism and Christianity, but significant dissimilarities are also seen between the two. The influence of Christianity in the Western Hemisphere has left Christians with the belief that God chooses to punish or reward one’s own actions in life and perhaps in heaven or hell. For example, “Christianity which holds the soul, works out its rewards or punishments in a single lifetime”, as opposed to eastern ideas which state that their status in this life is a consequence of their actions in a previous lifetime. As you can see, both ideals hold extreme view points.
Western ideas of Karma also bare no existence to reincarnation, and eastern ideas are devoted to the existence of reincarnation. Most Christians refuse to believe in the “transmigration of souls”. Believing that a person could be a human being in one life and an animal in the succeeding life, is a basic idea of reincarnation that westerners refuse to accept. Hindu’s believe in reincarnation and hold a fatalistic idea of the Law of Karma. Drastically, different from the west, Hinduism accept their destiny and believe it cannot be changed. They believe that the reason for having an unhappy and miserable life is due to the Law of Karma. In other words, they have no doubt that they deserve the misery they are in now because of the terrible person they once were in their preceding existence. It is within their beliefs that if they accept their punishment calmly and try to be good in this lifetime that they will be rewarded with higher status next time around. Rewards and punishments in the after life, relating to Hinduism is known as good or bad Karma. Good Karma comes about good actions that usually bring happiness to the soul at the expense of your ego. Bad Karma usually results in happiness of ego and pain to the soul.
Contrary to Christianity, Hinduism believes that every thought and every action create sets of consequences in our after life. Everything we do will produce effects, which will return on us for either good or for bad. This is the way we experience what good and bad Karma is. Every instant we are creating Karma, we are creating our fortune right now. Good Karma is created through giving good service or actions. “One serves and one draws oneself to good energy, and by giving positive energy, you set in motion a cause.” This is the Hinduism Law of Karma. Until one finds the right relationship with each other, with ourselves, and nature we will go on making bad Karma. Looking at these concepts on Hinduism on a personal level has brought nothing but positive effects in my life, it has slowly enhanced my desire to become more spiritual and at peace with everyone and everything around me.
Sometimes it is in our own best interest to take a look at life from a different angle, one that is new and unique to us. For me, an American college student raised in a Catholic and Buddhist household, looking at a life from a Hindu perspective is a difficult to comprehend and very challenging. For example, I decided that, while at work, I would try to be the best worker possible. I am a front desk employee at a large hotel, I went in thinking that I would receive no true fruits of my labor because I am paid hourly. For almost a week while at work I worked harder to make sure that I was extra pleasant to my coworkers, harder working, and constantly aware of the quality of customer service. I refrained from constant complaining that is common in the workplace and stopped looking at the time clock counting minutes until I was able to punch out and go home. When I had the chance to come in contact with people dining in the cafeteria I was extra helpful and pleasant.
Although I applied only the Law of Karma to the teachings of my everyday life I feel I am a better woman for it. I am more at peace with myself and my surroundings. Although I couldn’t possibly live up to many of the teachings of Hinduism, the knowledge gained by this experience helped me to be a better, happier worker, and I will probably try to keep that perspective in my everyday life. At times I found myself at odds with one of the principal teachings that I was trying to live up to. Being raised in western capitalist society, it is very difficult for me to work harder and better for the sake of doing a better job and not for the possibility of reward. The amazing thing I discovered is when I stopped worrying about the pay rate and hours I was working. I felt a huge weight and pressure being lifted off of me and started, for the first time, to truly enjoy my job and the feeling I got from the completing a job well done. The basic concept of Karma through Hinduism has gradually inspired me to become a better person. It has motivated me to neglect the satisfaction of my enlarging ego and instead it has encouraged me to take responsibility for my actions. I hope with this attitude I might one day achieve peace of body and mind.
