World Religions: Hinduism

Basic Facts: There are an estimated 764 million followers of Hinduism around the world with more than 900,000 residing in the United States

Hinduism - Traditional Beliefs

• Brahman – The ultimate Reality
• Paths to Moksha, the Ultimate Liberation
• Karma – The Basis of Hindu Ethics
• Acts of Worship and Devotion

Hinduism - Spiritual Practices
Hinduism - Actions Before and After Death
Hinduism - Implications for Hospice/Palliative Care
References

Hinduism - Traditional Beliefs

Brahman – The ultimate Reality

• Hinduism teaches there is one ultimate reality behind the universe, which is called Brahman

• This reality is manifested in the universe as various gods and goddesses, who are worshiped as forms of Brahman

• This same reality exists as the inner soul of human beings

• Through reincarnation, or successive life-embodiments of the soul, unity with God may eventually be realized

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Paths to Moksha, the Ultimate Liberation

• Moksha, liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is the ultimate goal of the Hindu

• Paths to liberation include:

• Selfless action
• Religious devotion

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Karma – The Basis of Hindu Ethics

• Hindu ethics is founded on a belief in karma

• Good actions lead to the accumulation of merit, insure a rebirth in a higher realm, and speed the soul toward unity with God

• Evil deeds have the opposite effect

• Right action is determined in part by one’s birth or station in life (economic class, gender, or caste)

• Human life itself is divided into “life stages” with normative ways of living for each

• For example, the elderly should renounce their attachment to this life, rein in desire, eschew worldly pleasure, and relinquish concern over household matters

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Acts of Worship and Devotion

• Two main types of worship are practiced in Hinduism

• In Arati, fire and other items are waved in front of an picture or image of the deity


• In Puja, fruit, flowers, and other ingredients are offered to the deity in a more elaborate ritual. (National)

• Acts of devotion, observance of holidays, and enactment of sacred stories build a personal storehouse of merit and cancel sins

• Some sects believe that Vishnu or other gods can directly assist the devotee in attaining union with Brahman (Kramer).

• Through the practice of yoga, the study of sacred texts of the Upanishads, Vedas, and Baghavad Gita, and more esoteric spiritual disciplines the Hindu may also try to realize the soul’s reabsorption into Brahman

• Both erotic and ascetic practices increase spiritual knowledge of and union with the divine

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Hinduism - Spiritual Practices

Traditional spiritual practices of Hinduism include:

• Right actions that correspond to social location, family obligations, life stages, gender roles

• Yoga, meditation, and study of scripture for self-awareness and overcoming attachment

• Intercessions to and worship of divinities

• Aravedic medicines for purification and healing

• Daily bathing in running water for physical and spiritual cleansing

• Dietary restrictions include not eating beef to strict vegetarianism; Special fast days observed for purification

• Modesty regarding bodily functions and sexuality

• Strict gender roles and castes (in some parts of the world)

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Hinduism - Actions Before and After Death

• Actions before death

• The dying person actively prepares to “attain death”


• Ideally chooses moment to take final breath


• If possible, a relative puts water from the Ganges river in mouth of dying person to bring peace and comfort


• Returning to the holy city of Banaras, India to die believed by many to insure a rebirth in Heaven or release from continued rebirth


• Family chants, reads scripture, sings devotional prayers, and recites mantras to help the dying person focus on Brahman

• Actions after death

• Family washes body after death, trims hair, dresses deceased in new clothes


• Cremation preferred to burial so soul is freed for transmigration
• In India the son ignites funeral pyre of parent, cracks open the skull of deceased to release breath, and collects remaining bones and ashes in three days for ritual disposal


• The funeral is celebratory often employing the image of a marriage party as death is viewed as reunion with the Beloved

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Hinduism - Implications for Hospice/Palliative Care

• Hinduism has a spiritual framework that accepts terminal illness and death as part of a cosmic cycle or order of things

• The state of the mind of the dying person at the time of death influences their rebirth

• Full cognizance is preferred and may lead the patient to refuse sedatives or pain medication that would cause loss of consciousness

• Physical pain or a prolonged dying process may be attributed to selfish or harmful actions carried out by the patient during their own lifetime

• Terminal illness with time for preparation is preferred to a sudden, unexpected death

• If the time of death or course of illness likely to be unpredictable medical staff should inform patient and family

• For the elderly, many medical interventions available for treating cancer and life-threatening illness may be viewed as “futile” because sickness, deterioration of body, aging process seen as natural

• A an elderly terminally ill patient’s detachment from treatment decisions or withdrawal into spiritual preparation should not be mistaken for depression or lack of concern for family


• Contrarily, lack of acceptance of life-threatening disease by loved ones, family conflict, or unfinished business may cause dying person to become “attached” and increase spiritual distress

• Combine Western and Aravedic medicines

• Chanting, singing, meditation, yoga, and other spiritual practices may also be utilized as alternative forms of pain and symptom control

• Patients may prefer aids, nurses, or physicians of own gender

• Provide means for ritual cleansing on daily basis in the hospital

• Ritual fasting may impact the ability to take certain medicines; if death anticipated the patient may abstain from nourishment as part of preparation and renunciation of body/material world

• Death of the young or of adult children before their parents is viewed as unnatural

• It may cause increased distress for family and significantly alter the spiritual framework and practices outlined above

Example

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References

Sylvia Vatuk, “The Art of Dying in Hindu India,” In Facing Death, edited by H. Shapiro, M. Curnen, L. Wandel (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996), pp. 121-128

Hospice/Palliative Care Training for Physicians: A Self-Study Program, UNIPAC TWO: Alleviating Psychological and Spiritual Pain in the Terminally Ill, pp. 97-98. Porter Storey, M.D, and Carol F. Knight Ed.M. (authors) (Gainesville, Florida: American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 1997)

Kramer, Kenneth. The Sacred Art of Dying: How World Religions Understand Death, (New York: Paulist Press, 1988), pp.27-41

Dennis Ryan, “Death: Eastern Perspectives,” in K. Doka (ed) Death and Spirituality, pp. 75-92, (Amityville, New York: Baywood Publishing Company, Inc., 1993)

National Conference for Community and Justice, 1999 Interfaith Calendar, (Chicago, IL, 1998)

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