Hinduism
&
Christianity
Hinduism is the World’s 3rd Largest Religion
There are 850,000 – 1 Billion Hindus in the world – 1314% 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.
•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.
•.
•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.
•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 subcastes.
•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.
•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.
•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
•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.
•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.
•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.
•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.
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.
Karma
The Differences
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.
The 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).
These 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
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.
Paths 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.
INANA – 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.
“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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUB3cZxTkY