Communication Between Cultures

tells of the significance of the home in

the following explanation: “Hinduism

wears the face of family and home. A

home’smostsacredspotisitshearth.

Most rituals occur amid daily life. The

acts of bathing, dressing, and eating are

connected to ritual purity.”^188

Dharma

Dharma, because of its influences on how

Hindus perceive the world, live that world, and prepare for reincarnation, represents

one of the most important concepts of Hinduism. As Van Voorst notes,“Dharma is

the foundational concept in Hinduism, a wide-ranging term for righteousness, law,

duty, moral teachings, religion itself, or the order of the universe. Dharma is also the

god who embodies and promotes right order and living.”^189 The multidimensional

aspect of the laws of Dharma provides people guidance on how to behave, perform

their vocational obligations, and act during various life cycles and even how old

people should treat those younger than themselves.^190

An extension of the belief and command of Dharma is the idea that if you go

against Dharma, which is seen as a cosmic norm, you will produce bad Karma.

Because Karma affects this life and subsequent lives (through reincarnation), most

Hindus seek to live a virtuous life and follow their Dharma.

Karma

Having just alluded to Karma, we now explain the concept in more detail, especially

because non-Hindus generally misunderstand the term. The word is now part of pop-

ular culture and as such takes on a host of meanings that only serve to distort the

concept. “Karma”comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “action.”“Karma is the

Hindu view of causality, in which good deeds, words, thoughts, and commands lead

to beneficial effects for a person, and bad deeds, words, thoughts, and commands lead

to harmful effects.”^191 Prothero expands on this important concept when he writes,

“Just as, according to the law of gravity, what is dropped from a tree will fall to the

ground, according to the law of Karma, evil actions produce punishments and good

actions produce rewards.”^192 The final resolution to a person’s Karma has long-range

implications. That is, a person“with bad Karma could be reborn many times into

lower castes of humans, or even lower animals, and then not released until he or she

has been reborn in the Brahmin, or priestly caste.”^193 The ethical implications of

Karma are obvious. Each new birth is not a matter of chance but rather results from

good or bad actions in prior lives.

Four Stages of Life

Another cultural manifestationof Hinduism is referred to as the“Duties of the

Four Stages of Life.”While writings concerning these stages go back thousands

of years, many Hindus attempt to carry outthe specific duties even today. These

stages represent phases the individual passes through as a means of gathering

enough wisdom to become“free”and“spiritual.”These stages are of concern to

students of intercultural communication in that each stage has specific

REMEMBER THIS

Dharma is the most foundational concept in Hinduism. It is a

wide-ranging term for righteousness, law, duty, moral teach-

ings, and religion itself. It even helps explain the order of the

universe. Dharma is also the god. The multidimensional aspect

of the laws of Dharma provides people assistance on how to

conduct themselves, explains their obligations to others, and

tells them how to act during various life cycles.

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

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