Showing posts with label Dharma. Show all posts

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit  

Posted by Saki S in


The gifts of the Holy Spirit, also referred to as the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit, are the gifts which Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans consider the Holy Spirit gives away to the people for further their consecration and assistance in order to complete and to make the virtue perfect. These should not be confused with the ninefold fruit of the Spirit mentioned in the Bible.


The Seven Gifts

Here are the seven gifts of Holy Spirit as itemized in Isaiah 11:2-3 along with their explanation as accounted in the Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas:

• Wisdom – Wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This gift provides perfection in an individual's speculative reasons in the light of judgment about the truthfulness.

• Knowledge – Knowledge is one the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This gift provides perfection in an individual's practical reasons in the light of judgment about truthfulness.

• Counsel – Counsel, another essential among all other seven gifts of Holy Spirit, provides perfection in an individual's practical reason in the light of truthfulness as well as permits the individual to counter wisely.

• Fortitude – Fortitude, one of the most essential gifts of the Holy Spirit, provides the perfection of mind strength which is essential to maintain the goodliness as well as to fight off against evil spirit.

• Understanding – This gift is also known as 'Common Sense'. This gift provides the perfection of speculative reason in the realization of truth. This gift is applied when and where self-evident principles are apparent.

• Piety – Piety is a gift of the Holy Spirit, where we offer our service and reverence to the God as our father.

• Fear of the Lord – This is a gift of fear of being separated from the Almighty. It resembles the fear of separation that most children experience in their childhood when they keep separated from their parents. It is like that feeling of separation that we feel with an anxiety of getting detached from the Lord.

As illustrated by St. Thomas Aquinas, the first 4 gifts of the Holy Spirit are the gifts used to the direction of intellect, whereas, the last 3 gifts of the Holy Spirit are used to the direction of will-force towards God way.

Correlation between Capital Virtues and Seven Gifts of Holy Spirit

There are seven capital virtues. These are the cardinal virtues referenced in the Christian philosophy. These seven capital virtues are – prudence, justice, restraint, fortitude, faith, hope, and charity. Now each gift corresponds to a particular virtue like follows: wisdom: charity; knowledge: faith; counsel: prudence; fortitude: fortitude; understanding: faith; piety: justice and fear of the Lord: hope.

Hindu Afterlife  

Posted by Saki S in

permanent link: Hindu Afterlife

Hindu afterlife is a vital concept in Hindu philosophy. According to the Hinduism, when an individual dies, s/he goes either to Swarga (heaven) or Naraka (hell). The heaven is constituted with deities, sages and pure souls. It is a place where pleasures are all around. On the other hand, hell is a place where people go, if they have committed sins in their lives. It is a place where pain is everywhere.

According to the scriptures found in Hinduism (Hindu Shastra), souls are immortal and eternal. Thus there are rebirth and soul reincarnation. This is where the concept of Hindu afterlife comes. A soul belongs to Jiva (life). This is limited with its own impurities of attachment, illusion and karmic law. Therefore, death is not the end of life, but a resting phase and a moment of preparation to continue the journey.

In Hinduism, there is no permanency for life or afterlife, unless the soul is liberated or getting moksha. These phenomenons are nothing but the segment of majestic illusion. Death can be explained as a temporary cessation of normal physical activity and a period for preparing the necessary resources to continue further journey. Each time the life experienced in this materialistic world offers the opportunity to gather knowledge or wisdom to manifest Samaskara, which determines the Karmic cycle in each life, while controlling the quality of life in each cycle.

According to Bhagavad-Gita, during afterlife soul travels along either of two ways. One way is governed by the presence of Sun, which characterizes the path of illumination or the path of Gods. On the other hand, the other way is governed by the presence of moon, which characterizes the path of darkness or the path of predecessors. When the soul travels along the path of Sun, it never returns back. On the other hand, the soul travels along the path of moon, returns back once again.

In Hinduism, it is believed that there are a multitude of heavens and hells and a soul can exist in any plane during the afterlife depending on its acquired Samaskara before it comes back again to experience another life cycle in the materialistic life. Hindu philosophy does not take a unanimous account on what happens to soul during its afterlife just it leaves the materialistic plane. Saivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism offer their own unique perspective in this regard based on their individual religious belief.


Different Types of Dharma  

Posted by Saki S in


The etymological implication of dharma is to hold or that holds. Dharma holds us. We belong to dharma. The entire creation lies within the manifestation of dharma, from microcosm to macrocosm. Dharma is some governing rule that defines the Law of Nature. So when we practice dharma, it implies that we regard the Law of Nature and abide by it.

In its crudest form, dharma can be referred to as religion; however, the actual understanding of dharma has much deeper meaning. At its elaborated extent, dharma deals with righteousness. In other words, dharma is constituted with the principles of righteousness. In addition, dharma is termed as justice as well.

Dharma can be categorized under two divisions – one is called Samanya, which is for general purpose and the other one is called Visesha, which is for specific purpose. Dharma is assumed to be of different kinds such as Sanatana Dharma denoting eternal law, Samanya Dharma defining general responsibility, Visesha Dharma denoting special responsibility, Varnashrama Dharma denoting caste and order related responsibilities, Svadharma defining responsibility towards own self, Yuga Dharma defining responsibility towards age or historical phase, Kula Dharma denoting responsibility towards family, Manava Dharma defining responsibility towards mankind, Purusha Dharma denoting men duty, Stri Dharma defining women duty, Raja Dharma referring king duty, Praja Dharma denoting responsibility of subjects, Prabitri Dharma defining responsibility towards materialistic life and Nribitri Dharma referring responsibility towards non-materialistic life.

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