HINDUISM AND CHRISTIANITY

Themes in Comparative Religion

General Editor: Glyn Richards

Published titles John Brockington Hinduism and Christianity

Forthcoming titles Masao Abe Buddhism and Christianity

P. S. Alexander Judaism and Christianity Julia Ching Chinese Religion and Western Christianity Owen Cole and P. S. Sambhi Sikhism and Christianity:

a Comparative Study John E. Smith Humanism, Marxism and Nationalism:

Quasi-Religions A. V. Williams Zoroastrianism and Christianity

Hinduistn and Christianity

JOHN BROCKINGTON

M MACMILLAN

©John Brockington 1992

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published 1992 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS L TO Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-333-47438-9 ISBN 978-1-349-22280-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-22280-3

Contents

Series Editor's Preface vii

Introduction ix

1 The Nature of the Divine 1

2 Divine Interaction with Mankind 24

3 Authority and Mediation 46

4 Devotionalism and Personal Piety 70

5 Meditation and Asceticism 96

6 Social Values and Morality 118

7 Teleology: Meaning and Ends 142

8 Contact, Conflict and Dialogue 167

Notes 190

Bibliography 200

Index 205

Series Editor's Preface

A series of monographs on themes in comparative religion might possibly give rise to misgivings in the minds of some readers because of misconceptions concerning the nature of comparative religion. It is often maintained, for example, that comparisons are odious; that religious comparisons are more odious than most; and that those who are concerned with comparative religion are only comparatively religious. The aim and purpose of this series of monographs, however, is not to present a comparatively religious outlook, nor to engage in odious comparisons which could result in one religious tradition being elevated to a position of superiority over others. The intention rather is to look at what might be called 'family resemblances' that pertain in the major religious traditions of the world.

Contributors to the series were asked to examine certain basic themes in the different world religions from an empathetic stand­point - that is, so far as possible, from within the religious tra­ditions concerned and in a way that would meet with the approval of adherents of those religions. Since Christianity is the basic religious tradition of the West it was considered appropriate that the comparative thematic approach adopted by the series should involve Christianity on each occasion, and that religious themes in the different religious traditions of the world should be related to similar themes in the Christian tradition.

An indication of this approach would be the way in which the mystery of divinity takes different forms and finds expression in a variety of ways in different religious traditions. The Tetragramm­ation or Logos of the Judeo-Christian tradition, for instance, might take the form of the Tao of the Chinese religious tradition, or the Brahman/Atman synthesis of the Hindu way of life, or the Kami of Shinto. A similar comparative approach involving 'family resemblances' would apply to other themes, such as creation and emanation; death and immortality; liberation and salvation; revel­ation and enlightenment; ethics and morality; the Kingdom of God, moksha and nirvana; and the ritual practices involved in the realisation of ultimate goals.

vii

viii Series Editor's Preface

Naturally the choice of themes for the different monographs in the series, which include a comparison of the relation of Hindu­ism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Japanese religions, Chinese religions, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, primitive religions and Humanism with Christianity, would depend to a great extent on the way in which the different contributors to the series approached their subject matter. But the concept of empathy pre­vails throughout and the odious kinds of comparisons sometimes associated with comparative religion, albeit mistakenly, are excluded.

It is hoped that this open-ended thematic approach to compara­tive religion will prove helpful to the enquiring mind. In the pluralistic religious situation of today, with its great variety of religious experiences, we ought to be able to escape from the small island of our own culture, and from the ghetto mentality that would confine us to the insights of a single religious tradition. Such a mentality simply isolates us from the richness and diversity of other cultures and from the deep, spiritual insights of other religious traditions.

GLYN RICHARDS

Introduction

This volume contains a selection of themes from the two religions of Hinduism and Christianity and does not claim, therefore, to constitute a full presentation of either. The themes I have selected are intended to do justice to both religions in their central concerns but many more peripheral matters are either omitted entirely or touched on only incidentally. I have also tried to avoid the tend­ency to apply to other religions simply the categories applicable to Christianity, but to cover topics which are genuinely significant for both religions. The themes have been laid out in the successive chapters in an order which is aimed at revealing their interconnect­ion, as well as involving a broad progression. The main exception is that the final chapter provides a survey of the contacts over the centuries between the two religions by way of a summary; indeed, some readers might prefer to start with this more historically oriented material. As this material demonstrates, the existence of several major religions is not of course anything new, but for most Christians in Europe or America it has not been part of their everyday experience until very recently (and not always now), whereas Hindus have for centuries had to reckon with the fact that people belonged to different communities, worshipped different deities and followed different rituals. Religious pluralism has thus long been a fact of life in India, even if on a local rather than a global scale.

It should also be recognised from the outset that both religions reveal a substantial degree of internal diversity. The style of treat­ment adopted is intended to illustrate this (so far as is possible within the limits of space available) and to avoid presenting a monolithic view of either. So considerable, indeed, is the diversity within Hinduism that there has been quite a scholarly debate over the last decade or two about whether it should be classified as one religion or as many. Perhaps the best way of giving some notion of what is involved without too gross oversimplification is to invoke the idea of 'family resemblance', for even if the different forms of Hinduism should be treated as separate (as 'individuals') they do have certain characteristics in common (the 'family like-

ix

X Introduction

ness') which set them apart from other religions. On balance, I would regard Hinduism as one religion, while acknowledging that the opposite argument deserves to be taken seriously. What is perhaps not so immediately obvious is that Christianity too is very varied; it encompasses, over time and regional variations, so wide a range of theological expression, of worship and of organisation that attempts undertaken on a much larger scale than this to provide a single, yet comprehensive definition have proved inade­quate.

In part the reason for this lies in the nature of religion in general, in the tension between the traditional artd conservative (often rather cynically seen as especially characteristic of the religious temperament) and the radical or prophetic. Recurrently in all religions a teacher or leader has taken a 'prophetic' role and, in reflection on the tradition, has reached a more original perception of its meaning. Often such radical reshaping has led to a break­away from the older, 'orthodox' grouping, with the emergence of a new sect, which may over a longer or shorter period develop into an entirely separate tradition. The real question is: when is such a new movement a sect within an existing tradition and when is it a separate religion? Christianity is clearly distinct from Judaism but the issue was not settled overnight and there are still contexts in which it makes most sense to talk of the Judea-Christian tra­dition. How, though, do we define the results of the Reformation? Luther was after all excommunicated in 1521 and to this day the Roman Catholic Church does not in some respects recognise the Protestant Churches as churches, denying the validity of their orders and excluding their members from the Eucharist. Yet, the general consensus would surely be that Roman Catholic, Prot­estant and, let us not forget, Orthodox alike are all Christians. Within Hinduism, too, there have occurred movements of dissent, including a number of such 'prophetic' character which have none­theless remained or been reabsorbed within the wider tradition. Here, one of the most extreme examples is that of the Li:ti.gayat or Virasaiva movement, emerging in the twelfth century, which rejected the supremacy of brahmans and the authority of the Vedas in a movement of radical social protest, but which has now become a distinct community or caste (depending on one's viewpoint) within the total Hindu social structure.

There is, however, a cluster of beliefs or doctrines which serve to give Christianity a definable core, while the same cannot really

Introduction xi

be said for Hinduism. Indeed it is possible to be a Hindu and an atheist, for belief in the existence of a deity is not an essential component of religion for all Hindus. What is far more difficult is to reject the various practices typifying different Hindu communi­ties and yet to remain accepted as a Hindu. On the other hand, the absence in many forms of Hinduism of a centralised authority, such as is typical of much of Christianity, makes any categoric statements dubious. This is not to say that different types of religious leaders and centres of religious authority are non-existent but that their influence is not universal. Temples are significant foci and in some of the major ones their priests cater for worship­pers and pilgrims from a wide area, providing rituals of some complexity, while in many local shrines the pujiiri, who is more of a shrine attendant than a priest and often belongs to a lower caste, has only modest ritual functions and little standing in the community. Others with religious authority include renouncers, the leaders of religious communities and more particularly the ritual specialists who conduct the life-cycle rituals. This diversity of religious authority is in part a reflection of the fact that the individual's religious duties, his dharma, are centred on his caste and his family and thus Hinduism is as much a way of life as a belief system and not infrequently more so. In addition, the sheer size of India and the diversity of its regions are important features. Each region or state has a distinct historical experience and conse­quently a religious composition that is peculiar to itself.

The selection of themes to be treated is also intended to provide a reasonable balance between doctrine and practice. Many studies of Christianity tend to concentrate on the doctrinal side and con­versely there is a tendency for much that is written on Hinduism to focus mainly on the area of practice. This has led on occasion to rather unbalanced comparisons between the two, usually to the detriment of Hinduism. There is a real need to compare like with like, at all levels, not only by greater care in discriminating between theory and practice but also by greater awareness of the context, whether social or historical, in every case.

Since the treatment is thematic and only to a limited extent chronological within a given theme, dates have been included so far as practicable to provide a reminder to the reader of the process of historical development which is so important for a complete understanding of any religion. These dates are not necessarily

xii Introduction

always based on very firm evidence and the reader is asked to accept them, despite any lack of precision, as a useful pointer to the period and thus to the stage of development to which the individual or movement concerned belongs. Where there is an inherent improbability about some aspect of the dates given (most often in the lifespan of an individual) this has generally been signalled by adding some such word as 'traditionally'. Unless otherwise indicated, dates are in years of the Christian era and dates originally expressed in one or another of the several eras used at various periods in India have been converted to that (but minor discrepancies due to the fact that the year usually begins with the month corresponding to March-April have been ignored).

It is assumed that the reader will already have at least some acquaintance with the basic features of both religions, such as could be gained by reading a general introduction to either (and a certain number of these are included in the Bibliography). It is not expected, however, that this acquaintance will be such that a great deal of detail is actively in the reader's memory and so a fair amount of incidental or supporting information is included. On the assumption that in most cases the reader will be rather less familiar with Hinduism, description of related material is some­what fuller for that religion and treatment of the themes normally begins with it, although there is also quite an intermingling of the material as part of the process of comparison.

A certain number of technical terms in both Sanskrit and Greek have been retained but a definition of their meaning has been provided on their first occurrence (and subsequently, if appropri­ate); there is therefore no separate glossary, since these definitions are accessible through the Index. For such terms, and names, in Hinduism I have adopted the standard transliteration for Sanskrit, the language from which most come (and are then taken over virtually unchanged into the modern Indian languages). Although this may appear slightly complex at first, it means that each sound has only one representation and so the pronounciation is certain (it will also be found in almost any other scholarly treatment of Hinduism to which the reader may turn). Long vowels are distinguished from short by the macron (a), except that e, ai, o and au are regularly long, being diphthongs in origin; r represents vocalic r (a sort of purring sound). The letter h always indicates aspiration even in such combinations as th and ph (pronounced roughly as in coathook and uphill), and cis always pronounced as

Introduction xiii

in the Italian cinquecento (or like the ch in English church, but in Sanskrit ch is the aspirated f<;>rm of c). A dot below the letter distinguishes retroflex consonants, pronounced with the tongue far back in the mouth, from the dentals (t, th, d, dh, n) made with the tongue against the teeth. Of the three sibilants, s is pronounced as in English sit, whiles and~ represent slightly differing sounds, both close to sh. In Hindi and other North Indian languages a final short a at the end of a word here given in its original Sanskrit form is not in fact pronounced, and so, for example, Rama is now said in these languages as Ram and iiSrama as as ram.

It remains, in conclusion, for me to make various acknowledge­ments. I should like to express my appreciation to Glyn Richards for inviting me to contribute this volume to the series. I am also indebted to Macmillan's reader and to Professor J. P. "Mackey for helpful comments, which I should no doubt have taken into account more fully than I have done. In particular, I am indebted to my wife, Mary, who once again has compiled the Index, as well as having contributed immensely to the volume in many other ways.

JoHN BROCKINGTON