Ethics, anarchy and atheism

[Eretik]

Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma (सनातन धर्म) by its practitioners, a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal path" or "the eternal law".

Hinduism is the world's oldest major religion that is still practiced. Its earliest origins can be traced to the ancient Vedic civilization. A conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions, Hinduism has no single founder. It is the world's third largest religion following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India and Nepal

Beliefs

Temple carving at Hoysaleswara temple representing the Trimurti: Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.Hinduism is an extremely diverse religion. Although some tenets of the faith are accepted by most Hindus, scholars have found it difficult to identify any doctrines with universal acceptance among all denominations. Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra (The continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).

Karma is originally a religious practice from the Hindu tradition.It is Dharmic.

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The afterlife or life after death is a generic term for a continuation of existence after death, typically in a spiritual or ghostlike afterworld. Deceased persons are usually believed to go to a specific region or plane of existence in this afterworld, often depending on the type of person they are and the life they lived. Some believe the afterlife includes some form of preparation for the soul to be transferred to another body (reincarnation). The major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics. There are those who are skeptical of the existence of the afterlife, or believe that it is absolutely impossible, such as the materialist-reductionists, who state that the topic is supernatural, therefore does not really exist or is unknowable.


Types of views on the afterlife
There are two fundamentally different types of views on the afterlife: observation based views and faith based views.

The first type is based on some form of observation by a human or an instrument. These observations come from reincarnation research, near death experiences, out-of-body experiences, astral projection, electronic voice phenomena, mediumship, various forms of photography etcetera. They are studied by survivalism. The work of people like Bruce Moen and Robert Monroe are also of this type. Also scientific research into the afterlife is based on observation.
The second type is based on some form of faith, usually faith in the myths that are told by ancestors or faith in the truth of religious books like the Bible, the Qur'an, the Talmud, the Vedas, the Tripitaka et cetera. This article is mainly about this second type.

The afterlife in different metaphysical models
In metaphysical models, theists generally believe some sort of afterlife awaits people when they die. Atheists generally believe that there is not a life after death. Members of some generally non-theistic religions such as Buddhism, tend to believe in an afterlife like reincarnation but without reference to God.
Agnostics generally hold the position that like the existence of God, the existence of supernatural phenomena, such as souls or life after death, is unverifiable and therefore unknowable. Some philosophies (i.e. posthumanism, Humanism, and often empiricism) generally hold that there is not an afterlife.

Many religions, whether they believe in the soul’s existence in another world like Christianity, Islam and many pagan belief systems, or in reincarnation like many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, believe that one’s status in the afterlife is a reward or punishment for their conduct during life. To the extent that the afterlife is a form of justice, it is usually restricted to humans, as animals are not held responsible for their actions.

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After life is not exclusively religious, but is mostly religion based.

I don't believe in karma or laws of three or rebound.Actions have consequences.I should hope so,it's a law of physics which I rely on, else I would not act.I dislike/disagree with the argument that morality/ethics are inexorably tied to religious beliefs,come from godhead etc.It's a leftover remnant from the days of Abrahamic supremacy,designed to stop dissent and free thought,a way to keep control.

[Kolohe]

I may not have expressed my self very well in the first post, I certainly believe in real life consequences, although I am more about teaching understanding and emotional intelligence than very strict laws and punishments. I think most major religions teaching of "divine" consequences actually does the world a disservice- in so many cases it just leads to divisions and fighting about what is the right way, the most basic rules are inherent in all our consciences(most anyway), no one group has the right way.

One of my teachers (ex U. S. Special Forces, law enforcement, martial arts guy) said once that we have too much violence in our entertainment and not enough in real life. Once actual, real life crime or violence hits you or someone close, you feel a different appreciation for how wrong it really is, not that I'd wish that on anyone, but we should think about how we'd feel and harm it would cause if situation was reversed before doing something that might hurt someone else.

Kolohe

[Eretik]

I think you expressed yourself very well,Kolohe.This topic is a question that philosophers,mystics,priests,kings and politicians/leaders have debated and written about for thousands of years.My inner pedant comes out,from time to time,lol,so I thought the definitions [ in the classical sense] would be useful.I find it fascinating that the US constitution arose from these questions,the French system is also founded on egalitarian ideals,based on freedom of thought,ours also,in part..The founding fathers debated all these points and more.It is unique history and makes for interesting discussion.Here in the UK we have no written constitution or bill of rights,an interesting and little known fact.

[jcrowfoot]

One of my teachers (ex U. S. Special Forces, law enforcement, martial arts guy) said once that we have too much violence in our entertainment and not enough in real life.

I like this. Part of the problem is that most people do NOT know how to handle a violent situation when it arises, which means that we run like a herd of panicked zebras without thinking about what needs to be done. Which means those times, most people do stupid things in critical situations, and never even think about what they might have to do. This is why they frequently end in tragedy. The only context under which people in western society are exposed to violence are as children on school grounds, and without the proper lessons on how to handle the situation, save from a few parents... or neighborhood thugs.

Which may or may not be reasonable, helpful, healthy or accurate.

The violence on TV (or movies, computer games or whatever) doesn't teach you how to handle it. It just is there to get your heart pumping faster, and so you just learn more "deer in the headlights" or worse yet, "cheering rabble" behavior.
Learning how to handle a potentially volatile situation is a part of being a civilized people. We're sort of falling down on the job.