Hinduism
Our True Selves in the Form of a Spiritual Reality
Those unfamiliar with Hinduism may believe that it is a polytheistic religion, this; however, is untrue. Despite the existence of around 330 million Hindu gods, the mediated sacred for Hindus is Brahman. Hinduism is considered to be a monist religion, meaning it takes a variety of existing things and explains them in a single substance. Brahman may also be thought of as monistic because It is considered to be the hub from which all deities manifest. A common belief among Hindus is that Brahman is present in every person as the eternal soul, called Atman. Both Atman and Brahman are central concepts in Hinduism. This paper will focus on defining Brahman and Atman, comparing the two to Christian …show more content…
In the biblical story of the book of Genesis, God created the world and everything in it in six days and rested the seventh and continues to play a significant role in human life and the maintenance of the universe. Hindus believe the relationship between Brahman and the creation of the universe is asymmetrical. Brahman is only the creative source of the universe and does not partake in our lives in any way, as the universe exists only as a byproduct of Brahman.
There are two main ways that Hindus view the relationship between Brahman and Atman; the dualistic view and the non-dual view. The dualistic view is that all individual Atman are joined to Brahman. This is most similar to the Western concept of God. The non-dual view states that each individual Atman is Brahman itself. Both viewpoints are similar in they share the common belief that the individual is not entirely individual, but is “infused with the same Absolute Reality of Brahman as every other …show more content…
“A divine reality enfolds human reality, interpenetrating the material world and human experience, primarily the soul (atman) that animates an embryo in the womb and whose presence energizes human life.”.4 This divinity that lies within everyone may be covered by negative emotions such as hatred, envy, or fear. Each Atman comes from and is made of the same reality as the world soul. The main focus of Hinduism is to release Atman back into Brahman in the process called
Those unfamiliar with Hinduism may believe that it is a polytheistic religion, this; however, is untrue. Despite the existence of around 330 million Hindu gods, the mediated sacred for Hindus is Brahman. Hinduism is considered to be a monist religion, meaning it takes a variety of existing things and explains them in a single substance. Brahman may also be thought of as monistic because It is considered to be the hub from which all deities manifest. A common belief among Hindus is that Brahman is present in every person as the eternal soul, called Atman. Both Atman and Brahman are central concepts in Hinduism. This paper will focus on defining Brahman and Atman, comparing the two to Christian …show more content…
In the biblical story of the book of Genesis, God created the world and everything in it in six days and rested the seventh and continues to play a significant role in human life and the maintenance of the universe. Hindus believe the relationship between Brahman and the creation of the universe is asymmetrical. Brahman is only the creative source of the universe and does not partake in our lives in any way, as the universe exists only as a byproduct of Brahman.
There are two main ways that Hindus view the relationship between Brahman and Atman; the dualistic view and the non-dual view. The dualistic view is that all individual Atman are joined to Brahman. This is most similar to the Western concept of God. The non-dual view states that each individual Atman is Brahman itself. Both viewpoints are similar in they share the common belief that the individual is not entirely individual, but is “infused with the same Absolute Reality of Brahman as every other …show more content…
“A divine reality enfolds human reality, interpenetrating the material world and human experience, primarily the soul (atman) that animates an embryo in the womb and whose presence energizes human life.”.4 This divinity that lies within everyone may be covered by negative emotions such as hatred, envy, or fear. Each Atman comes from and is made of the same reality as the world soul. The main focus of Hinduism is to release Atman back into Brahman in the process called