Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence

Hinduism emphasizes the importance of sacrifice to the gods in order to achieve the same
religious goal. It is a complex system of multiple paths, or margas for humans to follow.

The Vedas emphasize the importance of the householder's life as an example for humans. The
caste system is based on this idea, where one should bear children and live a proper life,
known as the karma marga, the path of action, particularly ritual action.

The Upanishads challenge the Veda worldview, instead arguing that there is a higher reality
beyond the human realm, Brahman. They believe that humans must renounce the trappings of
the world and embark on a life of asceticism to become one with this higher reality.

In this way, they can train themselves to disregard the things of the material world, which only
lead to grasping and attachments, and thus the creation of karma. If one meditates on the true
nature of the self (the atman), one can realize that everything that one thinks of as the self, as
"I," is in fact no different than Brahman.

When one dies, one is free of karma, and thus not reborn; instead, this person is release from
samsara. This is moksha, which literally means "release," but which really refers to ultimate
salvation, union with Brahman.

The Upanishads is known as jnana marga, the path of knowledge, as a state of karma-less
being through meditation and intense philosophical analysis to gain proper knowledge of the
true nature of the self.

The third path is the bhakti marga, the path of devotion.

Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important sacred texts in all of Hinduism. In the Bhagavad
Gita, the god Krishna explains to the warrior Arjuna that the highest and most effective form of
religious activity is absolute devotion (in the Bhagavad Gita, it is specifically absolute devotion to
Krishna).

Krish is the highest manifestation of Brahman, and all beings, including all of the other gods, are
contained within him. Selfless devotion to Krishna is the greatest form of action which is bhakti.
Bhagavad Gita's advocacy of the bhakti marga is complex, but Krishna states that all sacrifice is
to Krishna, all worship, all good and bad actions on earth.

Krishna tells Arjuna that he must, in fact, continue to follow the path of action, to do his duty,
dharma, as defined by his caste. Arjuna is a kshatriyan, and so he must fight.

Krishna tells Arjuna that he must act according to his caste (varna) and his particular station in
life (ashrama); this is related to the concept of varna-ashrama-dharma

The Bhagavad Gita adds the concept of bhakti to this, thereby introducing the idea that no
matter what one's caste is, from the highest Brahmin to the lowest Shudra, and no matter what
one's age, if one performs the appropriate duties with the appropriate devotion, one is engaged
in the highest religious acts.