Ancient Chinese and Indian Philosophy

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Interrelation of Karma Theories : How They are Connected to Atman according to Bhagvad Gita and Early Buddhist Philosophy

The quest for salvation is ancient and widespread across the continents and so are its theories , which get evolved with time , and also create sects or an entirely new philosophy , while using common terms with different explanations and implications . Such an example can be found by checking Bhagavad Gita and early Buddhist philosophy . Bhagavad Gita , a discourse in 700 verses , containing

the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra , was born just prior to the start of a climactic war . The Bhagavad Gita has often been described as a concise guide to Hindu Vedic philosophy . On the other hand , Buddhism which spans from the 6th century BCE to the present , starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama . Both the philosophies use terms like 'karma ' and 'atman , and relate them with their own theories . What are they ? What are the relations among the theories ? How the theories of karma connect to atman in these philosophies

Relation between Karma and Atman according to Vagavad Gita

The basic relationship among the various theories of Karma lies in their attempt to formulate a roadmap towards attaining the moksha (Hinduism meaning unconditional freedom from rebirth ) or nirvana (salvation after extinction of all earthly desires , according to Buddhism ) of our being (understood as atman in Hinduism

To the uninitiated , both these primary schools of thought could serve a common idea like Karma is the determiner of a person 's destiny in his next incarnation , but it is from here the conceptual shift takes place as the two schools of thought (Vedanta and early Buddhist philosophy perceive different explanations of the terms like Karma and Atman , of which Vedanta philosophy has two prominent sub-sects , viz , Advaita (Monism ) and Dvaita (Dualism

According to Bhagavad Gita , atman is "The invisible Spirit (atma , atman that is eternal , and the visible physical body , is transitory . The reality of these two is indeed certainly seen by the seers of truth (2 .16 . The Spirit by whom this entire universe is pervaded is indestructible . No one can destroy the imperishable Spirit (2 .17 . It is from here , the an Advaitavadi (the monist ) generates her /his belief that the atman resides in each living entity as being identical with Brahman (the all-pervading soul of the universe , whereas a Dvaitavadi (the dualist ) differentiates between the individual atman in living beings , and the Supreme atman (Paramatman ) as being at least partially separate beings . Thus , atman can be used to describe either an individual soul (jiva ) or the impersonal 'supreme

These two theories in the Vedanta philosophy have impacted on the explanation of karma as well . According to Advaitavad , karma is needed for self-realization , which is the way to enter into the world of Supreme Being . Thus the summation of all possible Karma here is "atmanang biddhi (know thyself on the other hand , to...