I am a bit sad that christians and muslims are missing out on the greatest Gift of all - the Gift of Life. Christians and muslims are one-and-done, this is the last life for you, whereas we Hindus are given this great Gift over and over.
Let's take an example: A child misbehaves. As a parent what do you do? Forgive him or punish him? Hit him with a belt or a cane? Using physical violence against a child? That is the option that christians will face when they face their God. Recently there was a video of a girl in the Taliban area of pakistan being violently punished - she was held down while being lashed with a whip, while she cried in pain! Is this what your God will do to you? If the parent simply forgives the child, has the child learnt anything? If a terrorist or a pedophile is simply forgiven what kind of a message is God sending? Imagine the shock of the victims of these evil to come to heaven and find their tormentors cozying it up in heaven!
Karma & Rebirth is the non-violent way, as opposed to Hell which is the violent, abusive way. Here the parent instead of forgiving or hitting the child, uses persuasion and softer methods to get to the child. Take away his allowance or TV privilages, make him hit the school books more. The child is encouraged to take responsibility for his actions and must make things right. That is the essence of Karma.
If we have made mistakes in a past life, in this life we are asked to own up our responsibility but God is also giving us another chance to make things right. Help the people that we have hurt in the past. Also another life gives us another chance to fulfil the unfulfilled aspirations of a previous life - the lost love, the unfilled ambitions - we can make them come true in this life! What a great Gift, the Gift of Life! I am so glad that I am born a Hindu!
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