Hinduism: My Personal Experiences In My Life

I was born to a Hindu family – and therefore, I call myself a Hindu, based on the cultural exposures that I have had through my family and my religious community. And yet Hinduism for me is like a foundation, one on which I have built my own perceptions of God and religion, based on my own life experiences. My particular views may therefore seem unique at best, blasphemous at worst – but they will have a great impact on how I act as a patient, and as a physician. Like many Hindus, I believe in reincarnation. Traditionally, reincarnation means that after death, souls are reborn many times to repay their debts, to right their wrongs, and to rid themselves of their past karmas, or deeds, until they are ready to become one with God. The significance …show more content…
But unlike many other Hindus that I have met, I don’t see the whole cycle of reward and punishment as the real purpose of life. For a long time, I thought it was – and this made me afraid of death, afraid of the judgment that would invariably come when the time came for me to own up to the little fibs I had told my parents to get out of trouble as a child, the unkind things I had said to my sister without really meaning it, and all of the times I had unwittingly offended or hurt others. I feared that for all the good I attempted to do, God would draw attention to my faults, and I would face guilt and punishment after I …show more content…
But based on what I believe today, I find that death secretly excites me. It is no longer some unknown void that keeps me awake at night, half curious and half afraid – but something to look forward to at the end of a life well-lived. This does not mean that I want to end my own life, because I feel very blessed to be alive with the opportunity to learn and to help others. It also doesn’t mean that I won’t grieve when others die, or that I won’t be afraid as a patient facing imminent death. But when that time comes, my fear of death will be similar to the fear that I experience when the car of my roller coaster at Cedar Point slowly ascends the first hill, just before the plunge. The ride itself is enjoyable, but the anticipation that leads up to it can be nerve-wracking. The same is true of death. In my moments of insecurity at the end of my life, I will find comfort in the fact that love, peace, reunion, and explanations to life lessons await me on the other