“The oldest and most influential Hindu texts are the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Dharmashastras”. (Ellis & Esler, 2003, pg. 76-77) The Vedas, the oldest Hindu texts, were a somewhat contradictory collection of writings that formed the foundation of Hinduism. “The ancient Vedic texts were collected by a group of high priests called Brahmins” (Ellis & Esler, 2003, pg. 77). The Vedas, which are

There are four types of Yoga; they are Jnana-yoga, Karma-yoga, Bhakti-yoga, and Raja-yoga. Karma-yoga brings you closer to Moksha through daily actions. Living a virtuous life and staying away from bad things help greatly in freeing Atman from Maya. Bhakti-yoga focuses on devoting yourself to a god as a path to freedom through prayer and worship. Many Hindu homes have shrines with idols of a certain deity that they care for with great interest. Jnana-yoga deals with the pursuit of knowledge and understanding reality. Understanding what is real and what is an illusory aid greatly in spiritual freedom. Raja-yoga is based on meditation and release from your surroundings. You are to release all physical thoughts from your mind followed by conscious thoughts and then unconscious feelings. You are to acknowledge all of these distractions, but release them from your thoughts so that you can focus solely on finding Brahman. (World History,1999,pg.113)

In Hinduism, Karma is the most powerful influence on our existence. Our actions in previous lives determine our place in this life as well as future lives as well. Our actions in this life will affect our future lives. In the Vedas there are three kinds of Karma called Prarabdha Karma, Sanchita Karma, and Agami Karma. The first type of Karma accounts for actions from this and previous lives that effect your current situation. Sanchita Karma is built up from past lives but will not influence you until your next life or later lives. Agami Karma is created by actions in this life that will affect your future lives. (World History, 1999, pg.110)

In Hinduism the concept of self is quite complicated. Atman is yourself, more precisely, the undying subconscious self, capable of enlightenment and higher spiritual consciousness. Atman is just a small part of the totality that exists; a spacio-temporally located actualization of infinite potential is what you are. Through the process of Samsara you are reincarnated again and again until you become aware of the reality of your existence. It can take many lives to become aware of the truth. You are trapped in this reality of d

Some topics in this essay:
Code Manu, Ellis Esler, Global History, Maya Bhakti-yoga, Sanatana Dharma, Brahman Maya, World History, Atman Brahman, Mahabharata Ramayana, Hinduism Karma, 2003 pg, 2003 pg 161-162, history 2003 pg, pg 161-162, future lives, one’s life, atman brahman, code manu, ellis esler, history 2003, ellis esler 2003, esler 2003 pg, esler 2003, enlightenment unity brahman, virtuous living,