Editing Problem of evil in Hinduism (section)

==Applicability==
[[Hinduism]] is a complex religion with many different currents or schools.<ref name=bowker194>{{cite book|author=John Bowker|title=Problems of Suffering in Religions of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7IcQL1JBvAC |year=1975|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-09903-5 |pages=194, 206–220 }}</ref> Its non-theist traditions such as Samkhya, early Nyaya, Mimamsa and many within Vedanta do not posit the existence of an almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent god (monotheistic god), and the classical formulations of the problem of evil and theodicy do not apply to most Hindu traditions. Further, [[Deity|deities]] in Hinduism are neither eternal nor omnipotent nor omniscient nor omnibenevolent. [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] are mortal and subject to [[samsara]]. Evil as well as good, along with suffering is considered real and caused by human free will, its source and consequences explained through the [[karma]] doctrine of Hinduism, as in other Indian religions.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Kaufman | first=Whitley R. P. | title=Karma, Rebirth, and the Problem of Evil | journal=Philosophy East and West | volume=55 | issue=1 | year=2005 | pages=15–32 | doi=10.1353/pew.2004.0044 | s2cid=159781530 }}</ref><ref>Francis Clooney (2005), in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Ed: Gavin Flood), Wiley-Blackwell, {{ISBN|0631215352}}, pages 454-455;<br>{{cite book|author=John Bowker|title=Problems of Suffering in Religions of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7IcQL1JBvAC |year=1975|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-09903-5 |pages=194, 206–220 }};<br>{{cite book|author=Chad V. Meister|title=The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8Fm0-SubkUC |year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534013-6 |pages=163–164 }}</ref><ref>Francis X. Clooney (1989), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1204034 Evil, Divine Omnipotence, and Human Freedom: Vedānta's Theology of Karma], The Journal of Religion, Vol. 69, No. 4, pages 530-548</ref>

Both evil (''agha'', अघ) and suffering (''dukkha'', दुःख) are extensively discussed in ancient and medieval Hindu texts.<ref name="Meister2010p163">{{cite book|author=Chad V. Meister |title=The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8Fm0-SubkUC |year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534013-6 |pages=163–166 }}</ref><ref name="Bowker1975p207">{{cite book|author=John Bowker|title=Problems of Suffering in Religions of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7IcQL1JBvAC&pg=PA198|year=1975|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-09903-5|pages= 207–225}}</ref><ref name="Hudson2013p3">{{cite book|author=Emily T. Hudson |title=Disorienting Dharma: Ethics and the Aesthetics of Suffering in the Mahabharata| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BcFE9O-IgQUC  |year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-986078-4 |pages=3–9, 27–46 }}</ref> However, neither good nor evil, neither bliss nor suffering are linked to gods or god, but considered a part of the innate nature of living in the [[Saṃsāra]] cycle of rebirths.<ref name="Herman1993p235">{{cite book|author=Arthur L. Herman |title=The Problem of Evil and Indian Thought |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGdFsGl7U1oC |year=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0753-2 |pages=235–241 }}</ref> In Hindu thought, some suffering is self-caused (karma in this life or past life, either intentionally or from ignorance), some caused by evilness of others, some are natural (aging, disease, natural disasters).<ref name="Meister2010p163"/><ref name="Hudson2013p3"/><ref name=othmar1998/> Some texts include the actions or influence of supernatural forces on evil experienced by man. One text of the ancient [[Samkhya]] school of Hinduism, for example describes three kinds of suffering: first, of body and mind caused by diseases or personal behavior such as anger, greed, delusion, etc.; second, suffering caused by other beings such as men, beasts, reptiles etc.; third, suffering caused by the influence of yaksha, planets and such forces.<ref name=othmar1998>{{cite journal| author= Othmar Gächter |year= 1998| jstor= 40464839 |title= Evil and Suffering in Hinduism| journal= Anthropos|volume=Bd. 93, H. 4./6.|issue= 4/6|pages= 393–403}}</ref> The Hindu texts describe and discuss suffering caused by both moral evils and natural evils.<ref name=othmar1998/>

Hinduism and other Indian religions do not focus on the [[problem of evil]] as formulated in monotheistic religions, by attempting to reconcile the nature of one all-powerful, all-seeing, all-benevolent god with existence of evil.<ref name="Herman1993p235"/> Rather, they focus on the path to spiritual liberation called [[moksha]], one that grants bliss in the present life such that evil and suffering have no effect on the liberated person's state of inner peace and happiness, and attaining moksha also means an end to the cycle of rebirth.<ref name="Bowker1975p207"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Arthur L. Herman |title=The Problem of Evil and Indian Thought |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGdFsGl7U1oC |year=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0753-2 |pages=235–241, 252–257 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author= Harold Coward|title= The Perfectibility of Human Nature in Eastern and Western Thought: The Central Story|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LkE_8uch5P0C |year=2008|publisher= State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-7336-8|pages=102–103 }}</ref> In theistic devotional sub-traditions of Hinduism, the personal god such as [[Krishna]] or [[Shiva]] or [[Devi]] is believed by the Hindu to stand by, as a form of spiritual support and liberator, when one faces evil and suffers.<ref name=othmar1998/>