Eastern Religion and The New Age
Movement
History, Theology and Practice
Outline
Definitions
Hinduism
Buddhism
New Age
Other Eastern Religions
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Jaina
Confucianism
Daoism
Sikhism
Shinto
Ba’hai
Definitions
Animism: Anima = spirit. A religious system which includes
the belief that spirits inhabit inanimate objects and
phenomena
Polytheism: Poly = many. A belief that the universe is
governed by many gods.
Pantheism: Pan = all. A belief that a spirit fills the universe.
God is the universe, and we are part of God.
Dualism: A belief that the universe is governed by nearly
equally matched forces of good and evil. (Zoroastrianism)
Definitions (cont.)
Asceticism: a belief that enlightenment, or a close
relationship with deity is obtained by an extreme denial
of worldly pleasures and possessions. Associated with
monasteries, monks, nuns, and the like.
Mysticism: a belief which has been incorporated in all
world religions which sees enlightenment and spiritual
powers coming through contemplation/meditation/direct
experience of God.
Other important concepts
Scripture: The list of primary authoritative writings for a
particular religion.
Inspiration: The belief that a particular writing, edict or
tradition comes by direct communication from divinity,
and is therefore perfect and authoritative.
Myth: A story, presumably fictionalized, about a divine
interaction with human beings which teaches an
important religious truth.
HINDUISM
The principle religion of India.
Approximately 900,000,000
adherents.
Began as animism/polytheism
Evolved into
polytheism/pantheism
Syncretistic. Hinduism is not
really a single religion.
Ganesh: a Hindu deity
God of wisdom and
intellect
Important Hindu Terminology
Brahman universal soul
Atman soul, essence atman is part of a brahman.
Maya illusion
Reincarnation a disincarnated soul enters a new body,
starting a new existence (samsara)
Shakti power
Karma a principle of cause and effect
Nirvana oneness with brahman
Dharma righteousness
Principle gods of Hinduism
Lakshmi
Brahma Chief god of the pantheon.
Shiva God of destruction. Worshipped
as a male phalus.
Vishnu Preserver and protector.
Krishna
The eighth emanation of Vishna.
Rama Seventh incarnation of Vishna. Hero of the Ramayana.
Devi Chief female deity. The power (shakti) that animates the cosmos.
Lakshmi Female consort of Vishnu. Godess of prosperity.
History of Hinduism
Aryan invasions about 1500 BC
Early animistic religions of Indian subcontinent merged
with Aryan/Persian religion
Gradually, a huge pantheon of gods distilled down to the
chief deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
Scriptures of Hinduism
Vedas Poems. Ritualistic, priestly. 1500-1000 BC. Include the
Brahmanas.
Upanishads Highly philosophical essays about brahman, atman,
transmigration of atman, karma and so forth. 800-600 BC.
Epics (Ramayana, Mahabarata, Bhagavad Gita) Mythic adventures
of Rama, Krishna and others.
Puranas Largely local legends, myths, many local deities. AD
400-1000. This is the “scripture” of most local Hindus.
Tantras Religious discussions/teachings.
Caste System
A historical remnant of the vedic system and the
interaction between the Aryans and the natives of
the subcontinent
Brahmins the priestly (Aryan) class
Kshatriyas The ruling class. Kings,
landlords, warriors.
Vaishayas merchants
Shudras servant/trade classes
Untouchables
Modern Hinduism
Yogic practices
Gurus (teacher), yogi
(practitioners), sadhu (holy
men)
Transcendental Meditation
Hare Krishna
Paramahansa Yogananda
Buddhism
Principle religion of Korea, Japan,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma
Sri Lanka and China?
400,000,000 adherents.
A reaction against the rigid priestly
system of Hinduism.
Pantheistic, or arguably non-theistic.
A philosophy, a psychology.
Life of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
Born into a wealthy family in north Indiaabout 550 BC.
Renounced his birthright. Sought nirvana/god through
asceticism.
Decided on a middle path between asceticism and
sensuality.
Created the eight-fold path to enlightenment (nirvana).
Important Terms to Understand Buddhism
Nirvana awakened state, lack of suffering.
Bodhi awakenment, enlightenment.
Bodhisattva an awakened being.
Dharma the Buddha’s teachings.
Sangha the Buddhist community of monks and nuns.
Maitreya
the second coming of Buddha prophesied.
The Four Noble Truths of Siddhartha
Suffering is not getting what one wants.
The cause of suffering is desire which leads to rebirth.
The way to end suffering is to end desire.
The way to the end of desire and of suffering is the eightfold path.
The eight-fold path to bodhi/dharma/nirvana/lack of
suffering
Right viewpoint (the four noble truths).
Right values.
Right speech.
Right actions.
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right meditation
Schools/Sects of Buddhism
Mahayana (the greater vehicle) China, Korea, Japan.
Ideal of the bodhisattva. Stresses the divine nature of
the Buddha. Many mini-buddhas (bodhisattvas).
Theravada Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma. A more pure
form of Buddhism?
Zen. An offshoot of Mahayana which emphasized
meditation to achieve nirvana.
Vajrayana Stresses tantric practices, rituals, initiations,
mystical power. Tibet, Mongolia. Similar to Gnosticism.
Buddhist Scripture
The Tripitaka Three sets of the supposedly original
sayings and teachings and philosophy of Buddha.
These were oral only for about 400 years.
Disputes over the content of the Tripitaka led eventually
to the Theravada, Mahayana and other sects.
Jatakas Mahayana stories of previous incarnations of
Siddhartha Buddha. Buddhism is a striving through
many lives to come to a bodhisattva state.
Practices of Buddhism
Many monks and nuns who live ascetic lives
“Lay” Buddhists follow the five precepts, which are, 1. do
not kill 2. do not steal. 3. do not have sex. 4. do not
lie and 5. do not get drunk
Meditation is a big part of many Buddhist traditions,
involving the saying of a mantra. (Om Mani Padme
Hum).
New Age: A Very Confusing Religion
Is it:
Palm reading?
Channeling?
Seances?
Meditation?
Reincarnation?
Occultism?
Gurus?
Paganism?
Gnosticism?
Mother Goddess worship?
Yes… all the above.
So, What is New Age, Really?
You are God, I am God, the trees are God, we all are
God!
New Age is Western pantheism
New Age is a syncretistic blend of Gnosticism, Hinduism,
Spiritualism, Mysticism, Buddhism and Paganism.
New Age is Monism! God is everything I am God!!!
“Once we begin to see that we are all God, then I think the whole
purpose of life is to re-own the God-likeness within us.”
Background
Start with a shaker of the occult
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Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson Truth through
human intuition.
Theosophy (divine wisdom) Madame Blavatzky.
I AM mysticism Guy Ballard Ascended Masters “channeled”
through Ballard and his son.
Stir in some Hinduism
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All of these relied heavily on Hindu theology and practice.
Reincarnation
Pantheism
Meditation (but New Age does not seek to escape the world)
Combine with Greek Philosophy/Gnosticism
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Man has a spark of the divine
Need a guru to initiate you into deeper truths
Interpret the Bible allegorically-let it tell a story
Background (cont.)
Add just a touch of paganism
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Mother Goddess/the divine
female/priestesses/feminism
Combine it all together with a Post-modern
reaction to scientific materialism/rationalism
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Experiential religion
No sin (because we are god)
You get the ultimate man-made (Western) religion. All
religion is truth.
This is very appealing!
You get the ultimate man-made (Western) religion
Enlightenment is realizing the truth that you are God.
There is no sin. Sin (if it exists) is ignorance.
The goal is self-realization.
Response to New Age Religion
New Agers claim their religion is reasonable, but it is not.
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Their revelation through channeling is self-contradictory.
All religions are not the same
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Christianity: One triune God. A personal God.
Islam: One impersonal God. Predestination. God cannot have
a son.
Hinduism: Many gods, pantheism
Buddhism: No god—God is irrelevant
Zoroastrianism: Dualism—good vs evil
Confucianism: Polytheism
Jesus:
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We are not God
We have a sin problem. “Just as man is destined to die once,
and after that to face judgment.” Hebrews 9:27
Jainism
Founder: Mahavira ~600-540 BC
Last of 24 gurus. Parshva 750 BC?
Location: India mostly.
About 5,000,000 practitioners
A reaction to worldly, priestly
Hinduism
Jaina Theology
Very strong emphasis on asceticism
Siddhartha may have been a follower before
finding a middle way.
We are souls trapped in a body. The goal:
escape the body to reach nirvana through
ascetic practices.
The Svastika
a symbol of
samsara
(rebirth)
Reincarnation
Karma
Pantheistic
Jaina Scriptures
The Purvas. Sayings of the 24 gurus all
the original Purvas were lost.
Agama Sutras Sayings of Mahavira
Jaina Sects
Digambaras: Monks are nude, only
males can reach enlightenment.
Shvetambaras: Wear white robes.
Women can be ordained as nuns.
Jaina Worldview
A very strange cosmology. The universe is an infinitely repeating
pattern of cycles of time.
One of the gurus lived 70 trillion years and was 3000 ft. tall.
The earth is the center of the universe
The universe has existed forever.
Five Mahavrata or rules of ascetic living
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Ahimsa. Non-harming (fly-whisk, strain liquids, etc…)
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Satya. Truthfulness
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Asteya. Non-stealing
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Celibacy
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Non-attachment
Sikhism
Location: India, especially the Punjab.
25,000,000 adherents.
Founder: Nanak (1469-1539)
A compromise between Islam and
Hinduism.
Nanak, founder
of Jaina
Avowedly monotheistic, but with many
Hindu idea.
Sikh Teaching and Theology
Reject polytheism but keep
ideas of maya (illusion),
samsara (reincarnation), karma
Reject priestly system. All are
equal before the “True Name.”
Reject caste system.
Opposition to idolatry and to
asceticism.
Sikhs do not try to escape the
world, but to participate in it.
The Golden Temple
Amristar, India
Scriptures of Sikkhism
The Adi Granth Compiled by the fifth guru Arjun in 1604
The Ganth of the Tenth King: Written by the last of the
ten great gurus of Sikhism Gobind Singh.
The Janamsakhis Legends. Obviously mythical
accounts of the life of Nanak, including miracles. (Nanak
never claimed to be a miracle worker).
Works salvation: “Sin and sorrow are destroyed by
hearkening.”
Sikh Practices
The wearing of the male turban is very
characteristic.
Baptism in sugar water holding a
dagger.
Sikhs have been warriors. They have
been very militaristic.
Sikhs are immersed in worldly affairs.
Businessmen, merchants etc.
Think of Sikhs as the opposite of Jains.
Confucianism
Founded by Confucius 551-478 BC.
Principle religion in China? Is it a religion?
Also influential in Korea and Viet Nam.
Not a religious leader—he accepted the religious superstition of
his day as sufficient.
Agnostic—“Keep aloof from spiritual matters, but perform the
ceremony correctly.”
Utilitarian, conservative philosophy. Each person should accept
his position in society for righteousness and stability. Strong
emphasis on proper government, training for holding government
office.
Confucianism (cont.)
Practical rather than esoteric.
Ancestor worship stressed.
Later Confucian philosophy involved emphasis on ying
and yang—the competing balance between good vs.
evil, physical vs. spiritual, hate vs. love. (Dualism)
Confucianism competed with two other
philosophies: Taoism and Moism. Confucianism,
being more practical, generally won out.
Confucian Scriptures
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I-Ching 1000 BC. Book of divination, magic.
Shu-Ching. History, ancient documents, speeches.
Shin-Ching 800-600 BC. Poetry used extensively
by Confucius. Customs concerning courtship,
marriage, war, agriculture, feasts, sacrifices, etc.
Li Chi. Book of ceremonial etiquite. 200 BC – 200
AD.
Ch’un Chiu. History of one Chinese province.
Collected by Confucius?
Lun Yu. Written down 400 BC. The sayings of
Confucius, especially on ethics and government
Analects of Confucius, etc…
Taoism (Daoism)
Founded by Lao Tzu—a contemporary of Confucius.
Scripture: The Tao Te Ching. Tao = way Te = power Ching =
teaching
Basic doctrine: Through non-involvement and withdrawal, we come
to know god/deity. Emphasis on self-interest. “The religion of
selfishness.”
Pantheistic. Experience God by contemplating nature.
Emphasis on mysticism and magic.
“He would not pluck so much as a hair out of his head for the benefit
of his fellow man.”
Baha’i
Founded by Baha-Ullah 1817-1892
The Bab 1819-1850 The John the Baptist of Baha’i
Begun in Iran, moved to Iraq, Lebanon. Very widely
spread today.
About 7,000,000 adherents.
A reform movement within Islam?
History and Teaching
The Bab was martyred in 1850
in 1852 Baha-Ullah claims to have received a vision,
while in prison, of a divine woman who declared him to
be “The Beauty of God amongst you.” ie the next
prophet.
Ba’hai is the culmination of all the world’s religions.
Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad,
Baha’Ullah.
No priests, no ceremony.
Theology and Teaching
Monotheistic.
God is unknowable “The most Exalted, the Inaccessible.”
Baha-Ullah claimed to be
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The second coming of Christ—that John 14:16 was about him.
The Maitreya—the second coming of Buddha.
The new incarnation of Krishna
The fulfillment of the “Day of God” in the Koran.
Strong emphasis on equality, education, peace.
Progressive Revelation. “Religious truth is not absolute but relative.”
Teachings and Scripture.
Salvation through keeping the law as handed down by
Baha-Ullah
Emphasis on good deeds, helping the poor, education
Jesus did not die for our sins, because he did not have
to. We are imperfect, but not lost.
Scripture: The writings of Baha-Ullah. There are many!
Other World Religions
Shinto—the ancestral religion of Japan. Animist
Zoroastrianism—Dualistic religion with origins in Persia.
Worship of Ahura Mazda; a fire god.
Summary
The theologies of world religions are fundamentally and
diametrically opposed to one another. Many paths to the
same God is a ludicrous philosophy.
The truth of the Bible is confirmed by
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Clear evidence of inspiration (fulfilled prophecy, types and
foreshadows, historical accuracy, scientific evidence, etc…)
Public miracles worked by Moses, Elijah and others, and
especially by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:3,4).