Hindu Belief in Reincarnation Analytical Essay by Nicky
An exploration of the Hindu religious belief in reincarnation, and speculation as to its traditional origins.
# 146242
| 1,887 words
| 6 sources
| MLA
| 2010
| 
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Description:
This paper explores the Hindu traditional belief in reincarnation which, like all Hindu beliefs, is supported by stories of traditions of their people that have been handed down since ancient times. The paper explains that the stories of the Hindu God Vishnu and others, and of reincarnation, as well as the rituals of Brahmin, arise from a past so distant as to remain obscure as to their origins. The paper discusses the tenets of reincarnation in detail, including the goals of achieving higher levels of awareness. The paper notes overall that, while there are many faiths that go by different names, as we examine them, we find that each of these faiths have commonalities, especially the element of reincarnation, which resemble the Hindu beliefs very closely. The paper concludes that this is an amazing and interesting aspect of cultural differences and similarities that can be revealing not just about another culture, but about ourselves too.
From the Paper:
"All of these stories about reincarnation are consistent throughout the Hindu tradition, but there is also what might be considered proofs of reincarnation in Hindu society. Dr. Ian Stevenson, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, believes that he has revealed evidence in his evidence to support that there are physical signs of past lives, like birthmarks on a person's body. In a book review of Stevenson's book, David Pratt says that birth marks on the human body are often indicative of where that individual has suffered a physical trauma in a past life, often leading to death. For more than thirty years, Pratt says, Stevenson and his colleagues collected research, mostly from Hindus and Buddhists, that supported his findings about birth marks and the significance of those marks to past life experiences. Stevenson also said that if people paid closer attention to the things that children say, they would be able to perhaps begin to see that young children sometimes retain memories of past lives, and that what many adults simply cast aside as childish jibber-jabber, is actually the child's recollections of a past life."Sample of Sources Used:
- Bennett, Anne. "Reincarnation, Sect Unity and Identity among the Druze." Ethnology 45.2 (2006): 87+. Questia. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5019968112>.
- Dead and Back Again, Unexplained Mysteries, television documentary, December 20, 2008.
- Dubois, J. A. Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies. Trans. Henry King Beauchamp. Oxford, England: The Clarendon Press, 1924. Questia. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99224216>.
- Narayan, Kirin. Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. Questia. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5733263>.
- Pratt, David, Book Review, Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect, Ian Stevenson, Praeger Publishing, 1997, found online at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/stevenson.htm.
Cite this Analytical Essay:
APA Format
Hindu Belief in Reincarnation (2010, December 24)
Retrieved December 04, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/hindu-belief-in-reincarnation-146242/
MLA Format
"Hindu Belief in Reincarnation" 24 December 2010.
Web. 04 December. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/hindu-belief-in-reincarnation-146242/>