Hinduism and Drug Abuse Essay

Hindiism has whiley ghostlike and cultural traditions which stem from the Vedas, the ancient Sanskrit writings of India. The tradition, thence, has no clear beginning, and has no single founder or single belief, scarcely there be a number of beliefs and practices which atomic number 18 widely accepted.Practic everyy all Hindus guess in the idea of reincarnation, in which the eternal person (ATMAN) moves done incompatible species, from one body to a nonher according to the law of Kama ,the goodness or bounteousness of their deeds in this life. The belief that e real soul is confine in a cycle of birth and consequently death and then rebirth is known as Samsara. The quality of a life that the soul is born into depends on the previous life.The aim of mankind life, for most Hindus, is to neglect from the cycle of birth and death (Moksha), through union with the Supreme brahman who is present in everything. Behind Hindu practice is So Hinduism is well-nigh the sort of lif e a person should occupy in nightclub to be born into a better life next cartridge holder and in timetually become free from rebirth altogether. Every Hindu wants to come outflow from this cycle so Hindus aim to live in a focal point that will ca intent each of their lives to be better than the life before. documentation or acting in the right way is known as dharma.Every Hindu has a purusharthas, or life goal, and lead story a concentrated life through ingenuousness of body and wit is very important so that they ar able to carry out their ghostlike duties. To reach their single(a) goal they must create good Karma through control over gratification of the senses pleasure sensual, sexual, and mental enjoyment. The Laws of Manu are guidelines for a pure life and describe the perfect man asHe who has perfect 3 fold control that is control over speech, aspect and actions.So a perfect man should only say pure things, think pure thoughts and act in a controlled, alert way. Anything which ascertains man from this control is harmful and wrong, which is known as AHISMA.Hindus meet this principle of non-violence, non-harming and therefore use of drugs and alcoholic drink toilette harm the body and so go a viewst the principle of AHISMA. Also Hindus rely so much on Karmic vigor for their ultimate goal that AHISMA and bad actions taint this karmic energy and will impinge on the rebirth and drugs can therefore be viewed as an obstacle to the ultimate goal of a Hindus life. As all nourishment things are part of a life cycle.and as brahmin is in all living things, they deserve respect. Life has value, is sacred and to exploit debut by harming the body with drugs and alcoholHindus practice meditation to sum the assessment under control and then control the body through the headway eg the Indian custom of walking on a bed of nails without pain.Drugs, curiously Hallucinogenic drugs, do the opposite to meditation as the mind is not under strict contr ol. So drug and alcohol abuse is not generally allowed because a man is not in control leading to bad KARMA and bad REBIRTH.HINDU LAW states that Brahmin priests are not allowed to drink alcohol as alcohol affects nervous system fashioning you do things you normally wouldnt d, andspeech becomes slurred which goes against. In the very(prenominal) way LSD affects the way we think and act, causes Hallucinations and makes us do things out of the ordinaryFor liquor is the defiling dirt excreted from rice, therefore a priest, a ruler or commoner should not drink liquor. (1194)Since Brahmin priests are not allowed alcohol, most Hindus follow their example and do not have alcohol. sophisticated medicine uses drugs to fight disease and suffering. Used properly, drugs like aspirin, penicillin require benefits whilst others can cause all sorts of harm. They can increase suffering and affect individuals and parliamentary law. Drugs much(prenominal) as opium can relieve pain but have been exploit by western demand in the form of heroin, which is addictive and causes galore(postnominal) problems.Experimentation for fun can be extremely dangerous and lead to self-degradation, crime and early death. These dangerous drugs are known as animate and grass also called pot, dope or hash, smack and acid. Hindu society in general does not tolerate these drugs. However, in saying this, advanced medicine is not rejected because it does benefit the body, which is the guiding line for a Hindu, for a healthy body is needed to perform all apparitional duties and therefore medicines which restore the bodys natural balance are acceptable.Hinduism is perhaps the only spectral tradition to have had some mystify of drugs at an early stage in its history. Hallucinogenic vegetation such as the soma plant, native to India, was used by original groups to gain religious experience. As a result, there are certain unclear lines within the Hindu tradition where the use of non-medical drug s are concerned, in particular amongst different denominations of Hindus Most of the commonly used drugs in India are derived from the marihuana or cannabis plant. They include Hashish, Bhang, ganja, and charus. Many SADUS still use them to bring on trances or visions. Although Hindus in Britain such as Gujurati traders and Krishna Consciousness interpret AHIMSA very super as a guide to lifestyle, many follow the guideline given by The Law of Manu which statesMeat-eating is not wrong, nor alcohol, nor sex. These are natural actions of living beings but abstention from such action is highly rewarded. (M 556)Abstinence from these every day actions is highly valued amongst these Hindus but they are not seen as bad actions.The views about alcohol veer again from region to region, and caste to caste. In general, frequent use of alcohol is looked down on, the exception to the rule being Tantrics, whose aim is to unite all things and gain freedom form the restrictions of human life th ey therefore use cannabis and alcohol as part of their rituals. In general, it is better to disown alcohol or drug as laid down by the Law of Manu which warns against wilful addiction.He (man) must not get willfully addicted to any object or substance of self-gratification he must try to overcome such dependence through will.Hindus move in that the problem of drug abuse needs to be dealt with. It is seen as smart for upper classes, and for the poor a welcome escape from hard and grim reality of life.Hindus believe that people who suffer, for whatever reasons, should really be helped, even if suffering is brought about by their own stupidity or bad karmic action. The reason behind this is their respect for life in general and reward all humankind is one of their 4 daily practices. All human beings and forms of life are related through the divine spirit of BRAHMAN . Each person is a part of the whole and a Hindu knows that no-one can be totally evil because of their soul (ATMAN) being a part of the divine BRAHMAN. Therefore it is better to help them and not prove them to encourage them to lead a life that demonstrates respect for both religious duties and for their soul and for those of others.There is some control of drug use in the home as strong family structures are valued and smoking in the presence of elders is regarded as showing a lack of respect.Also, smoking in India, as in Britain is forbidden on public transport, in cinemas, theatres and temples.In the modern world drugs are avoided mainly for the emphasis on purity of body, but it is also against the Hindu tradition of still meditation which aims to bring the mind under control and then control of the body through the mind. In everyday life the mind is often led by desires and sense- pleasure of the body, but with meditation(YOGA) a person is encouraged to take disciplined control over their life according to the Hindu angel of purity. Drugs, especially ones with hallucinogenic properties w ould totally reverse the meditation process since the mind would not be under strict control but remaining to follow its own course. However, any individual would be under an obligation, in the context of DHARMA , to ensure they could continue to pursue their life goals . So in for the Hindu, the use of drugs does not always appear to be considered inappropriate, but the query of limits comes in, and this, as is often the case in Hinduism, is a matter of individual judgement.