While Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity are three distinct organized religions, they share many more similarities than is most times thought. However, with respect to the concept of heaven, Hindus and Christians have quite different expectations. In the Hindu religion we are reborn from a previous life until we “realize our oneness with Brahman” (Comparison 1). This cycle of death and rebirth is called samsara. The goal of spirituality in Hinduism is to achieve deliverance from samsara by realizing oneness with Brahman. In the Buddhist religion, we are reborn from a previous life until we reach a condition known as Nirvana, “the extinction of all desire and release from suffering” (Comparison 1). This cycle of rebirth and death is also known as samsara. By achieving Nirvana as the Hindus achieve oneness with Brahman, deliverance is achieved from the samsara cycle. In Christian religion, living a life of service to God and others and faith in God enables Christians to achieve atonement and salvation. For those who do, they will enter into the glory of Heaven after bodily life ceases.
We can see that religious consciousness differs from ordinary consciousness in many ways. Typically ordinary consciousness preoccupies itself with earthly concerns of the flesh. However, the desires we often are conscious of are actually what causes suffering and rebirth cycles in the Buddhist and Hindu religions. Life’s aim is to end this cycle of suffering and rebirth by reaching Nirvana and oneness with Brahman respectively. Perfect insight, enlightenment and perfect knowledge are not typically part and parcel of ordinary consciousness, but they are included in the kind of religious consciousness aimed at by believers of Hinduism and Buddhism. Human suffering is brought about by the ignorance of the soul. Only a higher consciousness brought about through self-realization can the Supreme (Buddhism) be achieved known as Sunya...