Hinduism &Christianity

The NumbersHinduism is the World’s 3rd Largest Religion

There are 850,000 – 1 Billion Hindus in the world – 13-14% of the World’s Population

Nepal and India have the world’s largest Hindu populations at 80-81%

There are currently 1.5 Million Hindus in the United States. .5% of the U.S. Population.

24% of Americans say they believe in Reincarnation

Hindus have the highest education and income and lowest rate of divorce among American Religious groups

Less than a half a percent of the population of the Nashville Metropolitan Area are Hindus (8,000 or less).

The closest Hindu temple is in the Bellevue area of Nashville on Old Hickory Blvd. called the Sri Ganesha Temple.

San Jose, CA has the largest number of Hindus per capita.

History•The origins or Hinduism can be traced back to 1500 B.C. in what is now India near the Indus River, which flow from modern day Pakistan.

•It began as a polytheistic and ritualistic religion.

•3,000 years before Christ there was a civilization called the Mohendo-Jaro people who flourished. They were dark skinned Dravidians who practiced a polytheistic fertility religion centered on the worship of nature, use of rituals, merging sexuality with the hope of abundant harvest.

•In 2,000 B.C. a group of light skinned Aryans came over the Causcus mountains and conquered the Dravidians.

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History•Aryans renamed the popular Dravidian gods and wrote down hymns, prayers, mythic stories, and chants into the Vedas, Brahamans, Aranyakas, and Upanishads which made up the Vedic Literature or sacred writings.

•These two groups of people laid the foundation for what would become Hinduism.

•The religion began as a largely ritualistic religion, but there was a revolt by the people because of their inability to perform the rituals correctly and a priestly class was formed to instruct the people on how to perform the rituals. This later led to a move away from ritual toward individual meditation.

History•In 500 B.C. more writings were added to the Hindu scriptures. Purpose was to establish Varna – a rigid caste system or social hieracrchy.

•1 book tells how the 4 classes of people came from the head, arms, thighs, and feet of the creator god Brahma.

•4 Castes: 1. Brahmin – priests. 2. Kshatriyas – warriors and nobles. 3. Vaisyas – merchants and artisans. 4. Shudras – slaves.

•Castes eventually divided into thousands of sub-castes.

•Shudras could not use the Vedas or try and find savlation through them.

•There is 1 non-caste group called the “untouchables” who are considered to be so low that they are outside the caste system and subhuman. They are denied food, property, education, and dignity. They are left to die.

Beliefs•No known Founder

•No credal statements of faith

•No agreed upon authority

•Believe there are 330 million gods.

•Life is an illusion (maya).

•You can be a good Hindu, believe in 1 god, many gods, or no god at all.

•All reality, contradicting or not, is seen as “one.”

•All Hindus believe in Reincarnation and Karma.

Beliefs•Hinduism is extremely diverse but most hold to the following beliefs:

•1. The impersonal nature of Brahman. Brahman is reality. Hindus see reality as being an impersonal oneness that is beyond all distinctions, including personal and moral distinctions. Universe extends from the Being of Brahman.

•2. The Brahman, Atman Unity. Most Hindus believe that they are in their true selves extended from and one with Brahman. They are trying to get back to being in that state which is spiritual in nature.

•3. The Law of Karma. Humanity’s primary problem is that we are ignorant of our divine nature. We have forgotten that we are extended from Brahman and that we have mistakenly attached ourselves to the desires of our separate selves, or egos, and thereby to the consequences of its actions. The Law of Karma is the moral equivalent of the natural law of cause and effect. In essence, we reap what we sow. The effects of our actions, moreover, follow us not only in the present lifetime but from lifetime to lifetime, which is why there is reincarnation.

Beliefs•4. Samsara (Reincarnation). Samsara refers to the ever-revolving wheel of life, death, and rebirth. We are reaping in this lifetime the consequences of the deeds we committed in previous lifetimes. A person’s karma determines the kind of body, whether human, animal, or insect – into which he or she will be reincarnated in the next lifteime.

•5. Moksha (Liberation). The solution in Hinduism is to be liberated from the wheel of life, death, and rebirth. Such liberation is attained through realizing that the concept of the individual self is an illusion and that only the undifferentiated oneness of Brahman is real.

•6. The Way of Enlightenment. Hinduism offers 3 paths by which to attain enlightenment: Karma Marga (the way of ritual), jnana marga (the way of knowledge and meitation), and bhakti marga (the way of devotion). This is all based on one’s own effort. Goal is to lose your individual self in the universal Self.

Beliefs

•7. Maya = illusion - Under the influence

of the three gunas, the soul is (1) misled by matter, and (2)

subsequently entangled and entrapped. Under maya's

influence, the atman, (the soul) mistakenly identifies with the

body. He accepts such thoughts as "I am white and I am a

man," or "This is my house, my country, and my religion."

Thus the illusioned soul identifies with the temporary body and

everything connected to it, such as race, gender, family, nation,

bank balance, and sectarian religion. Under this sense of false-

ego (false-identity) the soul aspires to control and enjoy matter.

However, in so doing he continuously serves lust, greed, and

anger. In frustration he often redoubles his efforts and,

compounding mistake upon mistake, only falls deeper into

illusion. In ignorance (tamas), he is fully convinced that right

is wrong and wrong is right. In passion he is unsure, hesitant,

sometimes enjoying and at others times repenting. Only in

goodness does the soul begin to develop wisdom – to see things

in the real light. Thus enlightenment means moving away from

tamas towards sattva. By so doing, the soul gradually escapes

the clutches of maya and moves towards liberation.

Beliefs

•Reincarnation – belief that the

“atman” or soul is uncreated and eternal. You must repeatedly be recycled into the world in different bodies. Some Hindus believe souls can be reincarnated as animals, plants, insects, or inanimate objects. Reincarnation is a process that takes a human through the great wheel of “Samsara” millions of times. All lifetimes are full of grief and suffering. Each “atman” must endure these lives before attaining “Moksha” or liberation from suffering and union with the infinite. All souls are 96.4 million years old and one must be reincarnated at least 8 million times before one can reach oneness with Brahman. We are all gods who live eternally.

Beliefs

•Karma – “action.” Has to do with

the law of cause and effect. For the Hindu, Karma means merit or demerit which attaches to one’s atman according to how one lives. Karma from past lives effects a persons present life. Karma from this life will effect the next.

Karma and Sin Compared & Contrasted

The Similarities

•Both involve moral issues•Both affirm the existence of a cause and effect relationship between our action sand the results they produce in our present lives.

The DifferencesKarma Sin

Karma does not alienate one from becoming one with Brahman, which is the essence within all things.

Sin does affect our relationship with God in that we become alienated from Him. Sin is rebellion against God. We are completely morally corrupted by sin.

The law of Karma does not allow for the possibility of forgiveness. Its consequences are inevitable and inescapable.

God is personal ad God can forgive us of our sins. Moreover, He has done so through Jesus Christ.

ScripturesThe earliest of the Hindus scriptures are the Vedas.

Veda means knowledge.

There are 4 Vedas: the Rig, the Sama, The Yajur, and the Atharva.

Each Veda is divided into 4 parts: The Mantras (basic verses or hymns sung during the rituals, also called Samhitas), The Brahmanas (explanations of the verses), the Aran-yakas (reflections on the meaning), and the Upanishads (mystical interpretations of the verses).

ScripturesThese scriptures are called shruti which means “that which is heard.” Shruti literature is the Hindu equivalent to scripture that is revealed.

There is also secondary scripture like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. These are epic stories that tell of the main character Krishna. These are not authoritative but have major influence on Hindus.

There are also Vedangas (codes of law) and the Puranas (the genealogies and legends of the gods), the Darshanas (philosophical wirtings), Sutras (rules of ritual and social conduct), and the Tantras (writings on attaining occultic power).

Hinduism and Christianity ComparedHinduism Christianity

God Impersonal Personal

Humanity Continuous in the sense of being extended from the Being of God

Discontinuous in the sense of being separate from the Being of God; continuous in the sense of being made in God’s image.

Humanity’s Problem Ignorance Moral Rebellion

The Solution Liberation from illusion and ignorance

Forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with the personal holy God.

The Means Striving to detach oneself from the separated ego and seeking to be aware of one’s unity with the divine through self effort

Repenting of sin and trusting in the completed and substitutionary work of Jesus Christ.

The Outcome Merge into the Oneness; the individual disappears

Eternal fellowship with God; the person is fulfilled in a loving relationship with God.

SalvationPaths to MOKSHA = the great spiritual challenge is that

the soul, is separated from Brahma (ultimate Reality) and

trapped in Samsara , the seemingly endless process of being

reincarnated over and over.

MOKSHA – liberation from Samsara and reunion with

Brahma is the goal.

3 Paths to MOKSHA = 1. Works – dharma, 2. Knowledge –

inana. 3. Passionate Devotion – bhakh

Dharma – set of goals – specific social and religious

obligations that must be fulfilled. You are to follow your

caste system – occupation, marry within the caste, eat or

not eat certain foods, produce and raise a son who can

make a sacrifice to the ancestors as well as perform other

sacrificial and ritual acts. This will either achieve better

reincarnations or eventually MOKSHA.

SalvationINANA – more difficult to achieve. For men only of highest

caste. You have to self-reincarnate and meditate on the

supreme pantheistic reality of Hinduism. This is all

described in the Upanishad and teaches that the world is

more illusion and that Brahma is the only thing that really

exists and has meaning.

Path of Knowledge includes yoga. Yoga attempts to control

one’s consciousness through bodily posture, breath control,

and concentration.

Point is to try and understand one’s true self and undying

soul.

Quotes“We know not what God is. God himself does not know what he is because he is not anything. Literally God is not, because he transcends being.” – Charles the Bold 840A.D.

“Many faiths are but different paths leading to the one reality, God.” – Sri Ramakrishna

“It is perfectly possible for people to remain good Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims, and yet to be united in full agreement on the basics of doctrines of the Perennial Philosophy.” – Aldous Huxley author of A Brave New World

“A Hindu would find it easy to accept Christ as a divine incarnation and to worship Him unreservedly, exactly as he worships Krishna or another avatar of his choice. But he cannot accept Christ as the only son of God.” – Swami Rabhavanda

“It was more than I could believe that Jesus was the only incarnate Son of God. And that only he who believed in him would have everlasting life.” - Ghandi

Show Conversion Videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUB3cZxTkY