Some say that the Bhagavad-gita and Dante's Inferno are among the most popular scriptures supporting a detailed account of the Hindu way of life. Others argue that Dante's Inferno is characterized by Catholic ideas, a likely illustration of Dante's Italian origins. The most questionable concepts are the concepts of Dharma (sustaining the world), Karma ("what happens goes around") and Samsara (rebirth), as found in the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with the beliefs Dante's strict Catholic upbringing. Both beliefs deal with critical ideas about the afterlife, hell, and, most importantly, the concepts of sin, justice, and divine retribution. The pair have striking parallels as well as differences in their depiction of the afterlife. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay The concepts of Dharma, Karma and Samsara are very important in understanding the Bhagavad-Gita and the way Hindus are supposed to live , including their predetermined priorities. fate. For example, the Dharma contains three paths to salvation; one of these paths is known as the “path of duties,” or, in simple terms, the obligatory social obligation or duty that must be fulfilled before death (Basham). At the beginning of the Bhagavad-Gita, in a struggle for lands belonging to Dhritarashtra (the king) and his people, Arjuna must kill Duryodhana, despite being a cousin. His family members and friends are on both sides of the battlefield, and Arjuna realizes that he is not ready to kill his family members. Krishna quickly reminds him that he must fulfill his obligation by destroying his enemy, Dhritarashtra (Arnold). Here we can see that Arjuna’s “duty” is to kill the king – a predestined fate. According to Krishna, it would be dishonorable to disrespect Dharma. Furthermore, killing, in this case, is not a sin, since both the murdered person and the murderer will live a better life after death; the death of the enemy would restore the power of good. Dante goes through similar struggles in that he is willing to give up on God's greater mission. Dante is lost, confused and suffering in a “dark wood”, nevertheless the personification of his fears. His journey, however, is meant to be the same path that every human being takes to understand their sins and find peace with God. It is also important to note that to understand the afterlife, the duo (Arjuna and Dante) experience guardianship. Virgil and Beatrice both guide Dante through his many encounters while Krishna plays the role of guide in the Bhagavad-Gita. In the Bhagavad-Gita it is explained that people are reborn according to their actions and the life they have lived. Throughout Dante's Inferno, we find similar visions of rebirth and events that prove there is life after death. After all, Dante places people in different levels of Hell depending on the severity of the sins they have committed; the punishments nevertheless correspond to the crime. For example, those who committed suicide are sent to the Suicide Woods where they exist as trees; since they took charge of their lives on Earth, they have absolutely no control over their bodies in Hell (Alighieri). Although this embodies the Hindu belief of Karma, it also illustrates the Catholic religion, where committing suicide is just as sinful as killing another person; similarly, Catholicism helped dictate which sins qualified someone to spend eternity in hell and which sins were worse than others. In fact, the sins represented in this written Hell parallel the.