Hinduism: A Glimpse at the Third Largest Religion of the World

Hinduism is a religion that is commonly practiced in India and all the parts around it, but it has definitely spread around the world since it was first started. After Christianity and Islam, Hinduism is the third largest religion and its base of beliefs isn't just one solid practice. Its base begins with those of the Vedic people who entered India from Asia thousands of years ago. They believed in the same reoccurring themes that come with Hinduism like transcending and meditating. All themes of which require a person to separate body from mind. I will now begin describing the way of which a Hindu is supposed to live their life by talking about the solid base of which the Hindu religion follows. It is called The Four Ends which is what Hindus believe to be the thing that puts their soul in a higher place to go when they reincarnate after they die--this is the general point to Hinduism.

The first is Darma, which are their periods of life and what to do for each transition. It starts with a young man who is required to learn. Unlike the west coast beliefs where to learn is to sit in a lecture and hear a teacher talk to them, the Hindu's believe that by learning is getting knowledge from an elder. Elder's are very well respected in the Hindu world for they believe that they have more wisdom.

When a person of Hindu belief reaches middle age, they're supposed to be a householder where they get a home and a job to support a family. They're supposed to raise their kids to be good kids, filled with knowledge and just provide a good home for their family. Once a person of Hindu belief is of older age, their job is to be as spiritual as possible though meditation. They're supposed to be a holy man and are to pass on their knowledge that life has taught them on to the younger generations.

The second end is Artha, also known as wealth. It simply ties together with Darma because a person needs to be financially well off to support a family. It also teaches not to be greedy with their wealth by sharing it with those who need it more than they do. By doing the first and second ends, Darma and Artha correct, the person will achieve the third end known as Karma. By following the laws of the first two ends, it is believed that the person will receive good Karma and will be rewarded by being placed in a higher position of power in their next life.
Karma also exceeds passed that, for it also means to satisfy the human spirit through meditation or the arts. Through this, Hindus are very comfortable with sexual desires as compared to the west coast which is much more modest about anything regarding sex. Hindus also believe that while feeding their bodies with karma, or pleasure and satisfaction, it is also important to keep it in moderation. Over-indulgence in anything is bad and they believe that overdoing anything that brings them to Karma will bring them bad Karma. For example, if a person spends too much money on material items to the point where it gets in the way of supporting their family, that will result in horrible Karma for their next life.

The fourth end is Moksha, also known as freedom. Moksha is the hardest of the ends to follow for it requires ultimately separating one's self from the cycle of reality. It means to forget the cycle of birth and death and to embrace that everything is one within itself. There is no beginning or no end for it is all just constant. Life and the universe is nothing but a continuous endless cycle that just keeps going for eternity. To finally accept this is to achieve complete Moksha and by achieving all four ends will bring someone of Hindu belief to reincarnate to a very high place. For example, they believe that everyone starts out as something small like an ant and as they practice the four ends, they gradually make it up in the chain. It is belief that human is the highest form to achieve.

In conclusion, the Hindu religion gets very complicated and often hard to wrap your head around. For the most part it's best just to grasp its main views and concepts which are basically the fact that everything is one. Once that is practiced in ever day life through the four ends, one can reincarnate to what's considered to be a higher level in the minds of the Hindus.

Source: Unknown Author www.hindunet.org Dharma Universe