Hinduism And Abortion
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Hinduism And Abortion
Abortion in Hinduism, while generally sinful by traditional Hindu scriptures and the guiding precept of non-injury, can be interpreted equivocally within the vast spectrum of Hindu beliefs and texts and ultimately depends on individual context. The Mahanarayana Upanishad lists abortion with actions such as breaking one's vow of chastity.Stephens, Moira, Christopher Jordens, Ian Kerridge, and Rachel A. Ankeny (2010). "Religious Perspectives on Abortion and a Secular Response". Journal of Religion and Health, 49 (4D), 513–535. Some Hindu scriptures assert that "abortion is a worse sin than killing one's parents" and another text says that "a woman who aborts her child will lose her status". In general, Hinduism teaches the guiding principle of Ahimsa, abstention from causing harm or injury to all living beings, which serves as the root of the ethic of non-violence. However, Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana, as well as scholars disagree about ...
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Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as '' Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other to ...
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Tamas (philosophy)
Tamas (Sanskrit: तमस् ''tamas'' "darkness") is one of the three Gunas (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, Guna, in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Vol. 1, Rosen Publishing, , page 265 The other two qualities are ''rajas'' (passion and activity) and ''sattva'' (purity, goodness). ''Tamas'' is the quality of inertia, inactivity, dullness, or lethargy. Etymology The Vedic word ''támas'' refers to "darkness" and the Indo-European word ''*temH-es'', meaning "dark", and the Lithuanian word ''tamsa'', meaning "darkness", is related to it. Hinduism In Samkhya philosophy, a is one of three "tendencies, qualities": sattva, rajas and tamas. This category of qualities have been widely adopted by various schools of Hinduism for categorizing behavior and natural phenomena. The three qualities are: * ''Sattva'' is the quality of balance, harmony, goodne ...
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Religion And Abortion
Numerous religious traditions have taken a stance on abortion but few are absolute. These stances span a broad spectrum, based on numerous teachings, deities, or religious print, and some of those views are highlighted below. Baháʼí Faith Abortion, merely for the purpose of eliminating an unwanted child, is strongly deprecated in the Baháʼí Faith, though medical reasons may warrant it. Among the possible reasons for terminating a pregnancy are rape, incest, lack of viability of the fetus, and health of the mother. Though Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, considered the intentional termination of a pregnancy as the ending of a life, there are no specific teachings in the Bahá’í sacred texts addressing it; the Universal House of Justice has thus concluded that it is not quite the same as murder and therefore within the purview of the Universal House of Justice to legislate on it, at a future date, if it so decides. At present, Baháʼís are encourage ...
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Shantanu
Shantanu (Sanskrit: शंतनु) is a character in the Mahabharata, described as the ruler of the Kuru Kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Lunar dynasty, and the great-grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The ruler was the youngest son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura and had been born during the latter's latter years. His eldest brother, Devapi, had leprosy, and had given up his inheritance to become a hermit. The middle son, Bahlika, (or Vahlika) abandoned his paternal kingdom, and had started living with his maternal uncle in Balkh, subsequently inheriting his kingdom. Shantanu, thus, ascended the throne of Hastinapura. He is best known for being the father of Bhishma (also known as Devavrata), among the mightiest warriors of the epic. Etymology The meaning of the name can be explained by nirukti available in Adi Parva, through which Sri Nityānanda Miśra elaborates its meaning ...
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Ganga (goddess)
Ganga ( sa, गङ्गा or गंगा, Gaṅgā) is the personification of the river Ganges, who is worshipped by Hindus as the goddess of purification and forgiveness. Known by many names, Ganga is often depicted as a fair, beautiful woman, riding a divine crocodile-like creature called the makara. Some of the earliest mentions of Ganga are found in the Rigveda, where she is mentioned as the holiest of the rivers. Her stories mainly appear in post-Vedic texts such as the ''Ramayana'', ''Mahabharata,'' and the ''Puranas''. The Ramayana describes her to be the firstborn of Himavat, the personification of the Himalayas, and the sister of the mother goddess Parvati. However, other texts mention her origin from the preserver deity, Vishnu. Legends focus on her descent to earth, which occurred because of a royal-sage Bhagiratha, aided by the god Shiva. In the epic Mahabharata, Ganga is the mother of the warrior Bhishma in a union with the Kuru Kingdom, Kuru king Shantanu. In ...
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Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''puruṣārtha'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the '' Bhagavad Gita'', the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and c ...
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Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent. The term ''"Hindu"'' traces back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name ''Sindhu'' (सिन्धु ), referring to the river Indus. The Greek cognates of the same terms are "''Indus''" (for the river) and "''India''" (for the land of the river). The term "''Hindu''" also implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Indus River, Sindhu (Indus) River. By the 16th century CE, the term began to refer to residents of the subcontinent who were not Turkic peoples, Turkic or Muslims. Hindoo is an archaic spelling variant, whose use today is considered derogatory. The historical development of Hindu self-i ...
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Svādhyāya
(Devanagari: ) is a Sanskrit term which means self-study and especially the recitation of the Vedas and other sacred texts. It is also a broader concept with several meanings. In various schools of Hinduism, ''Svadhyaya'' is a Niyama (virtuous observance) connoting introspection and "study of self". Etymology, meaning and usage Svādhyāya is a compound Sanskrit word composed of sva (स्व) + adhyāya (अध्याय). Adhyāya means "a lesson, lecture, chapter; reading". Svā means "own, one's own, self, the human soul". Therefore, Svādhyāya literally means "one's own reading, lesson". Svādhyāya is also a compound Sanskrit word composed of svā (स्वा) + dhyāya (ध्याय). Dhyāya means "meditating on". The root of Adhyāya and Dhyāya is “Dhyai” (ध्यै) which means “meditate, contemplate, think of”. The term Svādhyāya therefore, also connotes “contemplation, meditation, reflection of one self”, or simply “to study one’ ...
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Rajas
Rajas (Sanskrit: रजस्) is one of the three Guṇas (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, Rajas, in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Vol. 2, Rosen Publishing, , pages 546-547 The other two qualities are ''Sattva'' (goodness, balance) and '' Tamas'' (lethargy, violence, disorder). ''Rajas'' is innate tendency or quality that drives motion, energy and activity.Ian Whicher (1998), ''The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana'', State University of New York Press, pages 86-87, 124-125, 163-167, 238-243 ''Rajas'' is sometimes translated as passion, where it is used in the sense of activity, without any particular value and it can contextually be either good or bad. Rajas helps actualize the other two gunas. Description In Samkhya philosophy, a is one of three "tendencies, qualities": sattva, rajas and tamas. This category of qualities have been widely adopted ...
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Mahanarayana Upanishad
The ''Mahanarayana Upanishad'' ( sa, महानारायण उपनिषद्, IAST: Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad) is an ancient Sanskrit text, and is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. The text is classified as a Vaishnava Upanishad. The text exists in three main versions. One version with 64 chapters is attached to the Krishna Yajurveda in several South Indian anthologies, and the same text in Andhra edition exists in an expanded form with 80 chapters attached to the same Veda. A second version is attached to the Atharvaveda, has 25 chapters and is prefixed with ''Tripadvibhuti''. These manuscripts are sometimes titled as the Yajniki Upanishad or Tripad-vibhuti-mahanarayana Upanishad. According to Swami Vimalananda, this Upanishad is also called Yagniki Upanishad in reverence for sage Yagnatma Narayana. The Upanishad, despite its title which means "Great Narayana", is notable for glorifying both Narayana and Rudra (Shiva), both as the first equivalent embodim ...
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Sattva
Sattva (Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, "Sattva", in ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism'': A–M, Vol. 2, Rosen Publishing, , p. 608 The other two qualities are ''rajas'' (passion and activity) and '' tamas'' (destruction, chaos). ''Sattva'' is the quality of goodness, positivity, truth, serenity, balance, peacefulness, and virtuousness that is drawn towards Dharma and '' Jnana'' (knowledge).Ian Whicher (1998), ''The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana'', State University of New York Press, pp. 86–87, 124–125, 163–167, 238–243 Hinduism In Samkhya philosophy, a is one of three "tendencies, qualities": sattva, rajas and tamas. This category of qualities has been widely adopted by various schools of Hinduism for categorizing behavior and natural phe ...
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Sattva
Sattva (Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, "Sattva", in ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism'': A–M, Vol. 2, Rosen Publishing, , p. 608 The other two qualities are ''rajas'' (passion and activity) and '' tamas'' (destruction, chaos). ''Sattva'' is the quality of goodness, positivity, truth, serenity, balance, peacefulness, and virtuousness that is drawn towards Dharma and '' Jnana'' (knowledge).Ian Whicher (1998), ''The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana'', State University of New York Press, pp. 86–87, 124–125, 163–167, 238–243 Hinduism In Samkhya philosophy, a is one of three "tendencies, qualities": sattva, rajas and tamas. This category of qualities has been widely adopted by various schools of Hinduism for categorizing behavior and natural phe ...
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