Hinduism's Interpretation Of The Supreme Consciousness

Every religion has its own interpretation of the true meaning of the world. In many Indic religions, Brahman, or the Supreme Consciousness is the force behind the world. It runs through everything and comprises the world. Naturally, different religions have their own interpretations of this Supreme Consciousness and have developed symbol systems based on these interpretations which serve to explain Brahman. Hinduism and Buddhism have distinctive views of Brahman, and based on this they created the atman and anatman symbol systems to help lead followers to enlightenment. Hinduism has created the symbol system of Atman to understand and explain Brahman so that they may achieve Moksha. Hinduism believes in the symbol system of atman, which is

Hindus believe that Brahman takes different forms, and so there must a variety of ways in which human beings can connect with the divine. Hinduism originated as a conglomeration of many different South Asian religions. “Religion in South Asia has been the most pluralistic… [Including] forty-two discrete ‘religions’” (Reading 7.3). As different cultures and nations merged, a unified religion began to emerge. Hinduism is a kathenotheistic religion, meaning that they believe in multiple gods, but no primary god. Kathenotheism allows Hinduism to add to its beliefs, which has allowed it to persist for thousands of years. Atman has also been a tool used to explain Brahman and Moksha to different converging religions and peoples through history. The ultimate goal of Hindus is to achieve Moksha, which is liberation from all earthly suffering caused by dependence on the physical world. Moksha can be achieved by attaining the correct mentality and making righteous choices. Individuals can perform Yogas, such as the Karma Yoga (performing the right

Both Atman and Anatman are symbol systems that attempt to explain how to achieve happiness. Brahman is such an intangible idea and concept that leaders around the time of the founding of Hinduism had to search for ways for individuals to comprehend Brahman. They created Gods, symbolic figurines and the concept of the Atman to make a tangible expression of an individual being’s soul, it’s repeating life, and its relation to Brahman. Hinduism embraces success and prosperity, believing that success and righteous living in one life will translate to the same in the next, through one’s atman and Karma. In contrast, the Buddhist system of anatman reflects the Buddhist concept of impermanence in the world. Buddha taught that desire was the cause of suffering, and so by removing all greed and desire, beings could become enlightened and achieve Nirvana. The symbol system of anatman reflects this idea that individuals do not have souls or atman, and that people should embrace the impermanence of humanity. Buddhism also has symbols of Nirvana that help explain Brahman to the world. The religions are similar in that they have symbols to represent concepts, but their overall viewpoint about atman is a key difference between the way that Hindus and Buddhists view