n, the Hindu term for "ultimate reality; the eternal, unchanging essence that underlies all things" (Kinsley 155). This emphasis on identifying with brahman in liberation is important because it reflects the fundamental Hindu belief that "death is a happening on the periphery of external consciousness, as are all physical and Psychical ills, and so one is affected by these only so long as one is caught up in the lower stages of consciousness" (Klostermaier 203).
These Hindu attitudes toward death developed during ancient times in India's history. The earliest specific references to the concepts of reincarnation and karma can be found in the texts known as the Upanishads, which were composed during the fifth century B.C. Thus, the idea of samsara "is first mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where it is said that after death a human being may be reborn in a higher or lower form of life" (Bishop and Darton 189). Around the time that the Upanishads were being written down, the religions of Jainism and Buddhism were also being formed in India. It is interesting to note that all three of these religious systems share a belief in reincarnation, and that all three emphasize the importance of becoming liberated from the ongoing cycle of death and rebirth. Undoubtedly, all three of these belief systems were based on older teachings which had been passed down from ancient times. However, t
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