Editing Problem of evil in Hinduism (section)

==Karma doctrine and the problem of evil==
The theory of [[karma]] refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect).<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312474/karma Karma] Encyclopædia Britannica (2012)</ref> The problem of evil, in the context of karma, has been long discussed in Indian religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, both in its theistic and non-theistic schools; for example, in Uttara Mīmāṃsā Sutras Book 2 Chapter 1;<ref>Francis Clooney (2005), in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Editor: [[Gavin Flood]]), Wiley-Blackwell, {{ISBN|0631215352}}, pp. 454-455</ref><ref>Francis Clooney (1989), ‘‘Evil, Divine Omnipotence and Human Freedom: Vedanta’s theology of Karma, Journal of Religion, Vol. 69, pp 530-548</ref> the 8th century arguments by Adi Sankara in ''Brahmasutrabhasya'' where he posits that God cannot reasonably be the cause of the world because there exists moral evil, inequality, cruelty and suffering in the world;<ref name=bilimoria>P. Bilimoria (2007), Karma’s suffering: A Mimamsa solution to the problem of evil, in Indian Ethics (Editors: Bilimoria et al.), Volume 1, Ashgate Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0754633013}}, pp. 171-189</ref><ref>See Kumarila’s ‘‘Slokavarttika’’; for English translation of parts and discussions: P. Bilimoria (1990), ‘ Hindu doubts about God - Towards a Mimamsa Deconstruction’, International Philosophical Quarterly, 30(4), pp. 481-499</ref> and the 11th century theodicy discussion by Ramanuja in ''Sribhasya''.<ref name=bilimoria2013/>

Many Indian religions place greater emphasis on developing the karma principle for first cause and innate justice with Man as focus, rather than developing religious principles with the nature and powers of God and divine judgment as focus.<ref>B. Reichenbach (1998), Karma and the Problem of Evil, in Philosophy of Religion Toward a Global Perspective (Editor: G.E. Kessler), Wadsworth, {{ISBN|978-0534505493}}, pp. 248–255</ref> Karma theory of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism is not static, but dynamic wherein livings beings with intent or without intent, but with words and actions continuously create new karma, and it is this that they believe to be in part the source of good or evil in the world.<ref>{{cite book|author=Yuvraj Krishan |title=The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Brāhmaṇical, Buddhist, and Jaina Traditions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Bi6FWX1NOgC |year=1997|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |isbn=978-81-208-1233-8 |pages=17–20 }}</ref> These religions also believe that past lives or past actions in current life create current circumstances, which also contributes to either. Other scholars<ref>Ursula Sharma (1973), Theodicy and the doctrine of karma, ‘‘Man’’, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 347-364</ref> suggest that nontheistic Indian religious traditions do not assume an omnibenevolent creator, and some<ref>The Nyaya-Vaisesika school of Hinduism is one of the exceptions where the premise is similar to the Christian concept of an omnibenevolent, omnipotent creator</ref> theistic schools do not define or characterize their God(s) as monotheistic Western religions do and the deities have colorful, complex personalities; the Indian deities are personal and cosmic facilitators, and in some schools conceptualized like Plato’s [[Demiurge]].<ref name=bilimoria2013>P. Bilimoria (2013), Toward an Indian Theodicy, in The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil (Editors: McBrayer and Howard-Snyder), 1st Edition, John Wiley & Sons, {{ISBN|978-0470671849}}, Chapter 19</ref> Therefore, the problem of theodicy in many schools of major Indian religions is not significant, or at least is of a different nature than in Western religions.<ref>G. Obeyesekere (I968), Theodicy, sin and salvation in a sociology of Buddhism, in Practical religion (Ed. Edmund Leach), Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521055253}}</ref>