Communication Between Cultures

Ethics and Hinduism

Throughout this section on Hinduism we have discussed the idea of ethics on nearly

every page. The reason is that Hindus maintain that“everyday life and religious life

are not separated because Hindu ethics traditionally play a leading role in everyday

life: caste and class, marriage and children, career and retirement.”^195 Hindus believe

that being true to your moral values is the highest loyalty. It is from the Hindu scrip-

tures, primarily the Upanishads, where most specific“recommendations”concerning

ethical behavior, good judgment, and character are drawn. These writings maintain

that being ethical“is a means to an end, its purpose being to help the members of

society to rid themselves of self-centeredness, cruelty, greed, and other vices, and

thus to create an environment helpful to the pursuit of the higher good, which trans-

cends society.”^196 In addition to those propositions just cited, the Upanishads“puts

the main virtues on Hinduism in their most elemental form as the threeda’s: damyata,

restraint and self control;data, generosity; anddayadhvam, compassion.”^197

Notions About Death

Although we mentioned some perceptions regarding death when we discussed

Dharma and Karma, we return to that topic since it is instrumental in how Hindus

approach life. The core of a Hindu’s conviction regarding death is summarized in

one succinct statement:“Hindus believe in the immortality of the soul and in

reincarnation.”^198 With this basic belief as their anchor, Hindus learn not to fear

death or even grieve over the death of loved ones.

As Jayaram V notes,

Death is therefore not a great calamity, not an end of all, but a natural process in the existence

of jiva [being, soul] as a separate entity, a resting period in which it recuperates, reassembles its

resources, adjusts its course and returns again to the earth to continue its journey.^199

The rationale is clear: Even though the physical body dies, a person’s soul does

not have a beginning or an end but simply passes into another reincarnation at the

end of this life. Hindus believe that the state of mind of the person just before death

is critical, demonstrating their conviction that the person continues living after

death. Were the person’s thoughts at the moment of death about family and spiri-

tual matters, or was the person thinking“evil thoughts”? The answer to this ques-

tion is important to the Hindu.

At the actual time of death, Hindus believe the Atman (the personal enlightened

self) moves on. Once the body dies, it is cremated as quickly as possible. The funeral

ceremonies surrounding disposition of the remains are extremely ritualistic and

involve mourners bathing and stories being shared about the deceased. In India, if at

all possible, the ashes of the deceased person are taken by relatives and scattered into

a holy river, such as the Ganges.

Buddhism

Buddhism is yet another religious tradition that has had profound impact on civiliza-

tion. Currently, there are approximately 488 million Buddhists worldwide.^200 Even

144 CHAPTER 4•Worldview: Cultural Explanations of Life and Death

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