Salvation in Hindu and Islamic Essay

However, the Wahhabis subscribe to the view that Muslims should be complete

(kaffah) because Islam encompasses all aspects of life and a totally Islamic outlook is required. They advocate the establishment of an Islamic state, the implementation of sharia law and the imposition of state-sponsored codes of dress and public behaviour"(Desker 2002, p.386). Because Islam encompasses a wide range of beliefs, influenced by cultural norms as well as religious beliefs, Muslims clearly are going to differ in what type of behavior is considered moral and what behavior is considered immoral. However, the majority of them still believe that their life will be examined and their good and bad deeds will be evaluated in order to determine whether they have been found worthy of salvation.

The Hindu tradition is very different from the Muslim tradition because good and bad deeds in one's lifetime has one minimal bearing on whether the individual will reach Moksha. Some of the most important components of Hindu tradition are found in the Vedas.

"The Vedas had such a central place in Hindu thinking that allegiance to them as revealed literature, in some sense at least, is one of the few central dogmas of present-day Hinduism" (Hawkins 2004, p.22). Part of this Vedic tradition involves tradition, and these daily rituals are an important part of the Hindu path to salvation. However, it is also critical that these rituals be incorporated into daily life. "The goal of the spiritual quest, Krishna says, is to make of one's whole life a continuous act of worship and in doing so to transcend one's attachment to ego and individuality and wake up to one's eternal identity as Brahman" (Kinsley 1982, p.105).In fact, in some traditions, it is this daily worship that is critical to the achievement of Moksha. "In essence, common worship is a ritual through which the worshiper is deified. Ritually undertaking his own death and dissolution, the adept then recreates the world and himself" (Kinsley 1982, p.121). This ritual rebirth breaks down the delineation between the worshipper and the deity, so that they become one, which is the goal of salvation in the Hindu tradition. "The Kalika Purana states that this ritual enables the adept to have every wish fulfilled and that after living a long and fruitful life he will dwell with the Goddess in her heaven for a long time before being reborn" (Kinsley 1982, p.121). Therefore, even for those Hindus who are unable to achieve Moksha in this lifetime, the rituals become an important component in the cycle of rebirth and help move the practitioner towards the final unity with the deity. This differs from the morality of behavior that determines salvation from a Muslim perspective.

References

Desker, B. 2002, 'Islam and society in South- East Asia after 11 September" Australian Journal

of International Affairs 56(3), 383-394.

Gottschalk, P. 2006, 'Indian Muslim tradition' in Mittal, S. And Thursby, G.R., eds., Religions of South Asia: an introduction, Routledge, London, pp.201-245.

Hawkins, B.K. 2004, 'The beginnings of South Asian religions' in Introduction to Asian

religions, Pearson Longman, New York, pp.12-28.

Kinsley, D. 1982, 'Worship in….....