Hinduism

Essay-Hinduism and Buddhism The idea of “religare” or binding oneself back to one’s religion is key to many religions. In Christianity, we bind our selves back to the truth unveiled through scripture, myths, tradition, and the church’s teachings. Hinduism, however has a much different interpretation of the idea of binding oneself back. There really is not a whom or what that I can put my finger on. We all came from one God and we must get back to God. But how can one go about doing that? A Hindu would say to free ourselves from the desires and illusions present here on Earth. To free ourselves from the material possessions and pleasures would be to obtain Moksha. Moksha, for Hindus, would be the point of freedom and the attachment to Brahman. In a way this is extremely ironic, for in the act of binding oneself back, a Hindu would obtain liberation. To me, these terms seem directly contradictory, however, this is proof to the fact that our minds cannot understand certain aspects of religion, and that we are limited. The goal of a Hindu is to release themselves, but also to gain a complete understanding of life. By doing this, they are freed from the continuous cycle of reincarnation. There are, as Huston Smith tells us, four paths

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For this very reason, Buddhism ultimately failed in India, because of the widespread control by the Brahmins. I’ve wondered about the way life is connected and how life is a flowing circle of life and death. In his renowned Eightfold Path, there is never any mention of worship. I just wish there would be some way to wipe the slate clean and rework the idea of God in a complete universal sense. The second way to God is through love. The idea that material positions are basically meaningless is something that I dread to think about, because I am most certaintly a victim of todays society based on wealth and power. Hinduism is based primarily on the idea of Brahman and that everything is one. The third path to God is though work. A way between sensuality and asceticism, the Middle Path lay through intelligence. In this way, a Hindu experiments with mental exercises and observing their effects. To my amazement, Hinduism actually addresses a few questions I have had before. Studying Hinduism and Buddhism has been surely an enlightenment for me. The three steps taken on this path is learning, thinking, and the third, a little more complex, consists of separating one’s material ego form one’s Atman. In Conclusion, I do wish to continue studying religions beyond high school maybe it will lead me to some discovery. The love we show to others can be translated into a love for God.

Approximate Word count = 873
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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