One of the concepts I find especially fascinating within the Bhagavad-Gita and Hinduism in general is the concept that reincarnation is a dreadful curse. I personally believe in reincarnation, and I consider it to be a great blessing. However, I also find this planet to be a lovely and fantastic place, and am very much attached to physically being here and experiencing everything this plane of existence has to offer. If I was correct in my interpretation, my attachment is exactly the kind of thing Hinduism does not endorse.

However, the dissolution of being upon escaping the cycle of reincarnation reminds me of something. I read a book several years ago detailing people's experiences in near-death situations. Some of them recovered with a fantastic amount of knowledge of concepts they were unaware of before their various incidents. My mother told me she believed they had not gone to heaven or hell, but to a "Greater Knowledge". The way it was talked about in the Bhagavad-Gita reminded me of that idea, and if there is an end to the reincarnation cycle (as there surely must be), then if it is a "Greater Knowledge" like my mother described, I can see why many of the Hindu faith would desire it.

Okay, I'm going to apologize in advance if this post gets a little wordy, I like to make sure I explain myself fully.

In class today, we discussed how those who practice Hinduism have the freedom to worship deities from any religions, such as Buddha or Jesus. This interested me, because this freedom is found in my religion as well. For those who don't know, I am an avid practitioner of Wicca. Before you yell "Witch!" and burn me at the stake, let me explain a little about Wicca.

Wicca is a largely individualized religion. What this means is that there is really no set code on how to practice Wicca. The one rule Wiccans follow is known as the Wiccan Rede, which states: "An ye harm none, do what ye will." I have spoken to Wiccans who worship Hindu deities, Egyptian deities, the Christian God, and no deities at all. Included with the diversity of deities is the diversity of worship. Some perform "magic", some pray, some dance in the woods at night. Whatever one does, it is typically for spiritual connection with deity or the five elements. It is not the evil cult that it has been made out to be in the past.

Personally, I worship a deity that fits the occasion I am praying for. For instance, if I am ailed, perhaps I'll offer a prayer to Iaso, a Greek goddess of health. However, many Wiccans will choose a patron deity. A Wiccan will have a strong, personal relationship with this deity, who provides guidance as a Wiccan travels their spiritual path. My patron deity is Brighid, a Celtic deity of healing, poetry, divination, and craftsmanship.

A picture of the deity "Brighid"

While doing research into Brighid, I discovered that she is also worshiped as "Saint Bridget" in Catholicism. I thought it was interesting how some religions saw the same being as a deity, while others did not. Despite many years in the Catholic Church and Catholic School, I cannot recall all of the teaching of Catholicism, so feel free to correct me on the following, and I mean no offense in the following observation. However, it almost seemed to me that the Catholic Saints exist a way for the Catholic religion to be polytheistic without violating God's will on worshiping him and him alone. It's entirely possible that I'm wrong, I will not deny that.  If anyone can educate me further on the saints, I'd love to hear about it! :)