apped in this realm of affliction (samsara). The concept of samsara provides a cultural backdrop for the prevading symbolism of Hindu life. In essence, the material aspects of the universe reflect its own coalescing and deterioration. Only when one escapes completely from samsara can the endless cycle of birth, death and suffering be escaped (p. 95-94).
Concomitant in this endless cycle of rebirth and suffering is the affirmation that a person exists simultaneously in different orders of being. To use Western terminology, an individual is supposed to exist equally in his or her psyche, soma, and polis; e.g., a person is simultaneously a self, a body and a social being. The polis consists not only of living members of the family and community, but also of ancestrial spirits, spirit helpers, and the gods and godesses who populate the Indian cosmos (p. 113).
Hinduism(s great worth is in establishing an overarching outline of the universe and placing humanity(s relative position in the universe as reflective of, but no greater than, the sum of the parts.
Nested within Hindu cosmology are the cycles of family life which are indicative of the thresholds of mental and physical health in individuals. The first stage of the Indian life cycle coincides with the period of pregnancy, when the (subtle body( comprising the mind, the soul and the karmic memory-traces from a previous life become cognate. With birth and the cutting of the umbilical cord, karma begins to be generated and stored. The karma of a previous life, in the form of innate dispositions, has already laid down the basic contours of personality. Moreover, the child(s temperament and nature are believed to be influenced by the configuration of planets and lunar mansions at the moment of birth. There is almost a rational a priori that excepts a newborn(s abilities as a reflection of immutable influences. The western image of an infant(s personality as infinitely...