Is life and death a cyclical process? Does the cycle keep repeating?

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  • #12298
    Vasudevan Nair
    Participant

    I’m sure everyone thinks of the life and death and if it’s really a cyclical process. Hinduism considers life as cyclical in nature, a process that one goes through till the time one attains Moksha or Nirvana while Abrahamical religions have a judgement day after one’s death where in it decided if one goes to heaven or hell. Would love everyone’s opinion on this.

    #12299
    Vishal Soni
    Participant

    There is an interesting story from Ramayana that conveys that Life is cyclical and not linear. The story goes like this:

    At the very end of Ramayana, after Sita descended and returned to her mother Earth .

    Ram was disheartened

    The people of Ayodhya watched their Ram caress the grass for a long time, stoic and serene as ever and not a teardrop in his eyes.

    The people wanted to fall at his feet and ask for his forgiveness . They wanted to hug and comfort him. They had broken his heart and wanted to apologise but they knew their Ram neither blame them nor judge them and that they were his children.

    Who has taken birth has to die

    and Ram was fully aware of it.

    While taking Luv Khush back to kingdom from the forest.

    At the city gates hanuman spotted Yama (god of death) lurking near the kingdom

    Hanuman a true friend and a self claimed servant wanted to protect him from any harm and gave Yama a warning to never come close to the king and his kingdom.

    One day Ram lost his ring . It slipped from his finger and fell into a crack in the palace floor.’Will you fetch it for me, Hanuman?’ requested Ram.

    Ever willing to please his master , Hanuman reduced himself to the size of a bee and slipped into the crack in the floor.

    To his surprise it was a tunnel that led him to Naga Lok, the abode of snakes. There he met the king of Naga lok and told him he seeks a ring .

    Oh that! You will find it there said Vasuki king of Nagas, pointing to a vast mountain in the centre of Naga-lok.

    Hanuman rushed to the mountain and found to his surprise it was no mountain but a gigantic pile of rings . Each ring looked exact copy of Ram’s ring.

    What is this mystery he asked Vasuki.

    Vasuki said did you think there was only the one? Every time a ring falls into naga loka a monkey follows it and Ram up there dies. This is not the first time it has happened. This is not the last time it will happen.

    So it has happened before. So it will happen again.’

    Hanuman questioned why does the story repeats itself again and again?’

    ‘So that every generation realises the point of human existence’

    ‘Which is?’

    ‘Fear is a constant and faith is a choice. Fear comes from karma and from faith arises dharma’.

    Fear creates Ravanas and they will always be there in the society.

    and faith creates a Sita and a Ram they will come into being only if we have faith in the world even when the world abandons us .

    After listening Hanuman bowed to the king without a word and leaves the tunnel leaving Ram’s ring behind and found that Ayodhya desolate without its Lord…..again.

    The end…..of this Ramayana.

    There are many Ram’s and many Ramayana’s and It indicates that life is not linear, there is no full stop. Life is cyclical; what goes around comes around. Such a view of time will never respect history, for what is the past is also the future.

    That is why in many indian languages the word for tomorrow and yesterday is the same for example ‘kal’ in hindi

    Reference : Chakshu Saini’s answer to this question on quora

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