World Philosophical Traditions

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

In the unending revolutions of the world, as the wheel of the Eternal turns mightily in its courses, the Infinite Energy, streams forth from the Eternal and sets the wheel to work, looms up in the vision of man in various aspects and infinite forms. Each aspect creates and marks an age. Sometimes She is Love, some She is Knowledge, sometimes She is Renunciation, sometimes She is Pity. This Infinite Energy is the Mother of us all. When we raise our eyes and turn our gaze, huge masses of strength rise before our vision.

What is underlying idea of the passage?

According to the passage, what do worldly pleasures lead us to?

PASSAGE
Every potent phenomenon is bound between the law of cause and effect. Though the cause is not visible, effect can be seen. An apple falls due to gravitation but we can’t just perceive it. So this force which is subtle, which is invisible can be felt only when we witness the gross object of this force i.e. the result. Every change that takes place is due to this hidden unseen subtle force. Our body too is an expression of this subtle force. Our body’s birth, growth, decay and death all revolve around this invisible concept. Even our rebirth or reincarnation depends on this subtle force. We gather many ideas, tendencies, desires which initiate a subtle body. When a person dies these feelings lie deep - untouched, undeciphered in the mind. These are stored as impressions in our mind but slowly they rise as physic waves and magnetize new desires. These desires lead to manufacture of a new body. The unfulfilled longing of “worldly pleasure”, the lust or cravings become the cause of rebirth. Till these retain themselves in the body they as a subtle force lead to hundreds of births. So, desires need to be accomplished if one wants to break free of the vicious circle of birth & death.

What is the central idea of the passage?

PASSAGE
Every potent phenomenon is bound between the law of cause and effect. Though the cause is not visible, effect can be seen. An apple falls due to gravitation but we can’t just perceive it. So this force which is subtle, which is invisible can be felt only when we witness the gross object of this force i.e. the result. Every change that takes place is due to this hidden unseen subtle force. Our body too is an expression of this subtle force. Our body’s birth, growth, decay and death all revolve around this invisible concept. Even our rebirth or reincarnation depends on this subtle force. We gather many ideas, tendencies, desires which initiate a subtle body. When a person dies these feelings lie deep - untouched, undeciphered in the mind. These are stored as impressions in our mind but slowly they rise as physic waves and magnetize new desires. These desires lead to manufacture of a new body. The unfulfilled longing of “worldly pleasure”, the lust or cravings become the cause of rebirth. Till these retain themselves in the body they as a subtle force lead to hundreds of births. So, desires need to be accomplished if one wants to break free of the vicious circle of birth & death.

According to the passage, which of the following is a tenet of Eastern philosophy?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

While the East has always been more favourable towards the pre-ordained destiny model of life, West has embraced the ‘actions ordain destiny’ model of thinking.

While the general direction of life has been attributed by the East to a preordained destiny intricately conjoined with actions of the past lives and subsequent Karma accrued, the deliberate actions of this life are often geared towards accrual of a better karma, which in turn will help in the afterlife and rebirth and the cycle is endless till a spirit evolves so much that it becomes a part of the ‘Supreme Soul’ thereby attaining Moksha. In a manner of speaking, the life that is being lived today is directly linked to the previous life and will impact the lives to come. As we pass this marker, there seems to be a certain confluence of the two divergent philosophies in that the concept of an accession to heaven or a descent into hell is dictated by the actions of this life.

A book on a case study by a leading psychiatrist from U.S.A. has set the cat among the legions of spiritualists and philosophers. The learned doctor, who used hypnotic therapy to treat the symptoms of a present day disease of his patient claims to have found proof of the cycle of births and rebirths. Initially a skeptic, the psychiatric was amazed when the patient took him onto journeys into her past lives ranging from the stone ages to the middle ages to just centuries ago. Supposedly, during the therapy of the aforesaid patient, not only did the doctor find proof of reincarnation, but also found a common, invisible thread that binds the spirits that are close in this birth into other past lives as well. Working on the theory of probabilities, it is also well nigh conceivable that what is true for the past will remain steadfast for the future also. According to the doctor, or rather his inference of the past life events of his patient, every birth that we take is to help us spiritually evolve to the next level of consciousness. As long as we remain trapped by the same thoughts and beliefs, our forward journey into the next level is impossible. A spirit chooses its time of rebirth and death, even the sex, circumstances and the family that it will reincarnate withm but the learning has to be taken to the next level before it can proceed to the next level of consciousness.

Maybe, the cycle of birth and death in itself is a manifestation of hell and heaven with evolving spirits moving up to the next level of consciousness and progressively closer to a final communion with the Holy Spirit, while the spirits which are tied down by the petty events and emotions of the present are sentenced to hell by the virtue of having to go through similarly painful experiences till the time they learn to break free. The intervening period between death and the next rebirth is perhaps a period of silent introspection while suspended in a state of flux.