FREE ESSAY ON DEATH IN HINDUISM

DEATH IN HINDUISM

1 
While examining different religious paths within Hinduism from the perspective of four
patterns of transcendence (ancestral, cultural, mythical and experiential) it is
interesting to see how each pattern found its dominance over four segments of Hinduism:
Vedic sacrifice, the way of action, the way of devotion and the way of knowledge. 
When Hinduism originated as a religion it was mainly concerned with sacrifices for
ancestors. The sacred texts - called the Vedas - on which Hinduism was based were the
main root of the many different branches of Hindu philosophy. The Vedas originated around
1400-1200 BC. They consisted of several different documents, the oldest of them called
the Rigveda. The Rigveda is considered to be the foundation of Brahmanic Hinduism. The
main body of Rigveda's text contains mostly hymns dedicated to the ancient Hindu gods.
The second text of Vedas is called the Yajurveda. It was written in 1200 BC. The main
themes of Yajurveda are the sacred formulas recited by Brahmin priests during the
performance of sacrifices. The third book of Vedas, Samveda (1100 BC), was also known as
the Veda of chants. In its essence Samveda was an anthology of Rigveda writings. The last
Veda is the Arthaveda (1200 BC).It consisted of hymns, incantations and magic charms. 
2 
The original Vedic texts were mostly comprised of hymns to gods and rules of sacrificial
rituals; the purpose of which was to provide ancestors with food and means of sustenance
in the kingdom of Yama (the afterworld). As a result of their devotion people expected
certain favorable influences in their lives, such as good fortune and yet better life in
the kingdom of Yama after their death. Sacrifices were supposed to be a means of survival
in the kingdom of Yama. As the Indian philosophies evolved, Hindus developed the concept
of reincarnation. The essence of that concept lied in the belief that no one is able to
remain in the afterworld forever and eventually should return to the cycle of life, death
and rebirth. As transcendent as the concept of reincarnation was, it did not provide
Hindus with an ultimate salvation from suffering. Thus every living thing must eventually
suffer and die. Such views resulted in further development of Hindu religion, Hindu
philosophers such as Manu questioned the concepts of Vedas and laid the foundation for a
philosophy that transformed Hinduism from a simple ancestral religion to a set of very
complex religious and philosophical beliefs. 
Eventually the attempts of the Vedic texts to satisfy people's need to have contact with
the sacred reality have become insufficient. Even though the sacrifice was a way to 
3 control the cosmos and insure well-being in the world of ancestors, it did not provide
the means of liberation from the realm of maya: reality which Hindus lived in but thought
of it as an illusion. Following the age of Vedas people of Hinduism looked for happiness
through the way of action. The way of action could be very well considered an example of
cultural transcendence. The main doctrine of such philosophy told that one must do all
the tasks presented to him/her by the place in society and social status; and the result
of such rightful life would be the rebirth into a better social position. 
With time the way of action philosophy became less satisfactory for its followers, since
it seemed to lack the total liberation from the infinite cycle of death and rebirth. 
As Hindu religion became more complicated and people began to look for total liberation
from the circle of death and rebirth the segment of Hinduism known as the way of devotion
came into existence. Followers of the way of devotion based their beliefs on the myths
about gods such as Shiva, Vishnu and Krishna. These gods were believed to be a
manifestation of ultimate reality. Believers in the way of devotion were supposed to
worship their god through sacrifices and rituals devoting their lives to the belief 
4 and were expected to be saved from the realm of maya by the manifestation of ultimate
reality to which they entrusted their lives. The essence of the way of devotion was a
mythical transcendence, because it was heavily based on the myth about the encounters
between mortal humans and divine beings (for example the legend of Krishna and Arguna)
that described the main doctrines of this part of Hinduism to its pursuers. 
Following the age of Vedas, texts known as Upanishads came into existence (1000-500 BC).
Unlike the Vedas, Upanishads did not talk about the rules of sacrifices and did not
contain hymns to gods. Instead, those texts concentrated on the essence of reality and on
the supreme being ruling the cosmos-the Brahman. The Upanishads contained one hundred and
eight writings. The main theme of these writings was reality. But it was not the reality
which we perceive (because everything we see and know is an illusion), but the reality
that is real, that does not change; the reality that has answers to every question,
including the one about suffering. In addition, Upanishads spoke of relationship between
the world in which Hindus live, the Brahman, and the ultimate reality. In Upanishads
Brahman was identified as the only true and absolute reality. The Brahman was manifested
in everything: one could 
5 identify Brahman in very act of consciousness. By denying Brahman, one would be denying
his/hers own existence. Hindu philosopher Sankara commented: The existence of Brahman is
known from the fact that it is the Self of everyone. Everyone is aware of the existence
of his own Self. No one thinks 'I am not'(Commentary on The Vedanta Sutras, I,1/1),(Berry
1967,p26)). 
The Brahman is everywhere, it is everything, but at the same time no one is aware of its
being. The Upanishads used metaphors to draw the picture of Brahman existence. An example
of such metaphors is the tale of the Uddalaka and his son Svetaketu. In this story
Uddalaka proves to Svetaketu the existence of the unseen Brahman. First Uddalaka asks
Svetaketu to divide a fig; when to his question of what do you see inside?, Svetaketu
replies: nothing, father; Uddalaka asks: How can a great tree grow out of nothing?.
Later, Uddalaka asks Svetaketu to dissolve salt in water and then asks him to taste it.
Even though the boy cannot see the salt in the water, he can taste every part of it. Then
Uddalaka compared two experiences to Brahman, saying that like salt, Brahman is present
but unseen. This whole world has that as its soul; that is reality; that is Atman; that
art thou, Svetaketu(Chandogya Upanishad)(Zimmer 1951 p.360). 
6 
The Brahman is the Self and Self is the Brahman, that relationship was described by many
metaphors in the Upanishads'. Here is one of them from Heinrich Zimmer's 'Philosophies of
India: 
 Space is enclosed by earthen jars. Just as space is not carried along with the jar when
this is removed [from one lace to another}, so Jiva [i.e., the Self when contained in the
vessel of the subtle and gross body], like the infinite space [remains unmoved and
unaffected. It matters not to Space whether it is to be inside or outside of a jar. The
Self, similarly, does not suffer when a body goes to pieces. The various forms, like
earthen jars, going to pieces again and again, He (Brahman) does not know them to be
broken; and yet He knows eternally(Zimmer 1951p.359). 
When talking about the Self (Atman) the famous description is Nati, nati (not so, not
so), there are no words and symbols in human understanding to describe it, thus
everything we know, every description we make, every symbol we construct is an illusion.
Therefore, nothing known and used by people could be applied to Brahman. The question
which evolves out of such a view is: How would one get in touch with the Self, how is it
possible not just to be aware of it but to physically touch it?. Thus when one is aver of
his/her true self he/she can know the reality that is 
7 deathless. Upanishads give an answer to this question by describing three states of
consciousness. First is the awakened state, where the sense faculties are turned outward,
and the field of cognition is that of the gross body; 2. the dreaming state, where the
field is that of subtle bodies, self-luminous and magically fluid; and the 3. the
blissful state of dreamless deep sleep (Zimmer 1951 p.362.). The dreaming state was
described as a short glimpse into the other dimension: the realm of gods and demons. This
realm was considered to be similar to the realm of awakened consciousness, because as
well as the awakened consciousness dreaming state had its illusions and was not free from
suffering that was a result of constant change. On the contrary, dreamless sleep was seen
as something totally different because it only had a pure being with no consciousness,
and therefore having no worries and no changes in itself. Upanishads see a dreamless
state as the manifestation and human experience of the existing real Self that knows no
change and is unaware of all the illusions. That was considered the state in which Atman
exists. Such philosophy enabled people to experience the state of deathlessness for
themselves and gave beginning to the segment of Hindu religion that had experiential
transcendence in its essence. 
8 
The view portrayed in the Upanishads' was that in order to gain liberation from a cycle
of death and rebirth, one must discover the truth of Brahman which is all existent. In
order to find Brahman one must look inside and find the Atman (the dreamless existence),
which is the real Self and, consequently, the Brahman. When one succeeds in doing so, the
truth will be revealed and the liberation from the realm of maya and therefore death will
be attained once and for all. 
Philosophy portrayed in Upanishads' implies that one can gain liberation by discovering
the true Self. To do so is to follow the way of knowledge. Ignorance of Brahman was
understood to be the cause for the endless cycle of birth, life and death. 
After gaining the truth, the knowledge of Atman, one is freed from the life in ignorance,
and, therefore, freed from constant rebirth. The way to find Atman was to engage in deep
meditation. A follower of the way of knowledge was to look inside and peel off layer by
layer: any needs, senses, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and the awareness of the world,
because all of that is an illusion which prevents one from seeing the true Self- the
Atman. When the yogi (one who is engaged in meditation techniques) will be able to put
away the consciousness itself (by this consciously putting 
9 him/her self into the state of dreamless sleep), he/she will attain the knowledge of
the Atman through which becoming a part of Brahman unaffected by ignorance. Shankara
describes the difference between the one who is searching for knowledge and the one who
attained it as The man of knowledge sees this first in meditation, with his senses
withdrawn; but the man of Brahman even at the time of dealing with the world sees the
Self who has entered into all beings. Now the senses and mind are functioning in the
response to events in the world, but the Self is not felt to be identified whit the body
and mind. It is universal, 'Brahman, in the highest heaven'.(Lingat .1973p.141) 
To conclude, when one examines the philosophy of Upanishads' and the way of knowledge
some connection to reality (as it perceived by those who just want to study the doctrine
of the philosophy) could be found. Logically such philosophy could fit into the mind and
then find support in experiences of its followers. Many yogis who follows the way of
knowledge seem to find inner peace and understanding of life. Transcendence offered by
the philosophy of Upanishads' seems to be real enough to follow the path which leads to
it. That is why the philosophy of the way of knowledge was so widely accepted in the days
of its emergence and later became a base for many other philosophies of India. 
Work Cited 
Robert, Lingat. The Classic Low Of India. 
University of California Press Berkeley, 
Los Angeles, London, 1973. 
Zimmer, Heinrich, Robert. Philosophies Of India. 
New York: Pantheon Books, 1951. 
Chidester, David. Patterns Of Transcendence. 
Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1990. 
Comton's Interactive Encyclopedia. 
America On-line 1995