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Śarīra (Body)

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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Introduction

In Sanskrit, Śarīra refers to “the body.” A human being has two components in the body: the physical body and the atman (soul). Upon death, the body ceases to exist, while the soul departs to find a different plane of existence [49]. The atman and eventually associates with a new body via re-birth or attains One-ness with existence, as if all associated karmic bonds have been nullified. A desired goal of human birth, according to the Hindu belief system, is dissolving the boundary between the human aspect and the Divine, also known as moksa. This concept is considered one of the four proper goals (purusharthas) of life. The other three are dharma (upholding righteousness, ethical, or moral duty), artha (wealth accumulation), and kama (pleasure seeking) [46, 56]. The four yogas or paths allow us to perceive the higher dimensions of life which outline the role of the physical body including the mind, in order to reach a point of moksa, which is the final release from maya,...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Houston, TX, USA

    Anjali Kanojia

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  1. Anjali Kanojia
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Correspondence to Anjali Kanojia .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Religion and Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA, USA

    Jeffery D. Long

  2. The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Rita D. Sherma

  3. Department of Humanities & Languages, Philosophy & Religious Studies, The India Centre, FLAME University, Pune, India

    Pankaj Jain

  4. Centre for the Study of Comparative Religions and Civilizations, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Kanojia, A. (2022). Śarīra (Body). In: Long, J.D., Sherma, R.D., Jain, P., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1188-1_839

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