Mandala of Hindu Beliefs

Jacob Klionsky History 7 April 19, 2013

Hindus all over world have many different amazing beliefs, and I got the privilege to learn five of them. We learned all about Brahma, Hindus Multiple Gods, Samsara, Karma, and Dharma. These beliefs all interested me and I couldn't top finding more cool and fun facts about them. I loved learning about them so much, that I want you to get to know them also. One of my favorite beliefs was Brahman, the major god that is part of everything, but Brahman is the same amount in an ocean as Brahman is to drop of water. He never ends but also never began, it is not a he or a she but is it. Hindus Multiple Gods is another belief that mainly consists on three gods, Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. These gods all of many different incarnations, like Vishnus seventh incarnation is the great Rama from Ayodya. Even though theyre so great they all have Brahman in them because Brahman is everywhere and in everything. Another very interesting belief is Samsara, which is the cycle of life, first with birth, then living, next death, and finally rebirth. After going through this cycle many times your soul will be united with Brahman and then you will be released from Samsara. The next great but now misinterpreted concept is Karma, in India Karma means the sum of a persons actions which will later determine what your form is your next life. If you do bad actions you might be an animal or a low caste (mandatory job) than your previous life, many people spend there days meditating to get lots of good karma for their next life. Lastly there is the belief of Dharma; your Dharma is your sacred duty or your role in life. For Dharma you have to act like your own age, your own caste (which cant be changed), your own gender, and you have to live with no violence. That's just the beginning, next Im going to tell you by Mandala which shows, how some of the beliefs are similar. My mandala is a circle with different sections that show the beliefs; all of the beliefs are next to the ones there are similar with. On top is Brahman, which is bordering Dharma on the left. Brahman and Dharma are similar because everything and everyone is a piece of Brahman and so Dharma is your own sacred duty and that is part of Brahman. Then next to Dharma is Karma; they are both similar because they both determine your next life because if you do your Dharma youll have good Karma. Therefore you will live a good second life in a high caste. Next to Karma is Samsara, which is also relatable because if you have good

Karma you will be released from Samsara earlier and be united with Brahman. Next Samsara is relatable to Multiple Gods, because the Multiple Gods create, preserve, and destroy, which is reincarnation. In order to be released from Samsara you have to go through reincarnation multiple times. Finally Multiple Gods is relatable to Brahman, because all of the Gods are a part of Brahman, the everything. Indias beliefs interest me as much as anything this week, and I hope that they now interest you.