(I'm not Hindu, please don't bash me). I'm taking a Religion class and I'm curious about Hinduism. We haven't learnt much about it yet. Why is it that Hindus have so many Gods? What are your views on reincarnation? How important is Karma in your life?
Simple questions, yet books could be written. I'll giver it an attempt. Yes some Hindus worship many gods, but Hinduism is an umbrella term for several religions. Some are polytheistic, some are henotheistic, and some are monotheistic. So your question only applies to some Hindus. Almost all Hindus believe in reincarnation and karma. They're both core tenets of most religions in the umbrella. Karma happens all the time, because its action. If you're awake and doing anything, then the law of karma is alive and well. Most Hindus are quite aware of it, and consider all action as that which will be returned. So having a friendly chat is talking in a friendly manner to yourself. Hurting someone is hurting yourself. So its there in the subconscious all the time. It's tied to reincarnation too, because how you behave in this lifetime will surely affect future lifetimes. From beginners, or students , there truly are no stupid questions.
Come on @Kiki12 why will someone bash you if you have genuine questions in your mind. I would suggest you to post these 3-4 questions separately, as putting these 3 questions in 1 posts dilutes answers and it gets driven away from one topic to another. Tnx
Hindus don't have many gods they have unlimited number of gods yet 1 with 33 million names. In Hinduism we firmly believes that God does not reward or punish anyone. He gives you destiny based on your thoughts and deeds. Any action that you take in form of thought or action/deed, good or bad brings in good or bad passage of life "As you sow, so shall you reap" Hindu Quotes that will help you understand reincarnation "Like corn mortals ripen and fall; like corn They come up again." - Katha Upanishad "As a caterpillar, having come to the end of One blade of grass, draws itself together and Reaches out for the next, so the Self, having Come to the end of one life and dispelled all ignorance, gathers in his faculties and reaches out from the old body to a new. " - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Reincarnation and karma are interlinked Reincarnation - it is termed as Samsara in the Vedas which means that he is bound to go through the cycle of birth and death repeatedly until his karma's get exhausted . The sould takes birth on basis of his desires and past activities("As you sow, so shall you reap"). Even in Bhagwat geeta Lord Shree Krishna tells Arjuna that " Both you and I have passed through many births. You know them not; I know them all."
