Hinduism and the Religion’s Worldviews Essay

Hinduism is not merely a religion, it is also a philosophy and the culture in India, and it has already been a marked part of their everyday living. So much so that everything aspect of their daily lives goes back to it; and it has 950 million followers to wit (mostly from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan). Hinduism ranks third as the world’s largest religion after Christianity and Islam, and it is also said to be one of the world’s oldest organized religion along with Judaism (VandeWeghe, 2007). Hinduism and Christianity differ in many ways, and it is rational that there are disagreements and contradictions when two people from different religions involve themselves in a conversation regarding their beliefs. The purpose of this paper is to discover an effective way to build a pleasant relationship with a Hindu in order to be able to share the gospel with them. In order to accomplish this aim, this paper will discuss the origin, beliefs, practices and the views of Hinduism about Christianity and how they differ from the said religion. Hinduism: A Closer Look According to Robinson (2007), besides being called â€Å"Hinduism†, it is also referred to as Sanata Dharma (eternal religion) and Vaidika Dharma (religion of the Vedas). Hinduism has no specific founder and the day that it was born is still unknown; however, there are two theories regarding the origin of the religion. One is the Classical Theory which explains that Hinduism originated at the Indus Valley around 4000BCE to 2200BCE and that its development was due to various foreign invasions particularly of the Indo-Aryan for they are the ones who were said to have brought the religion of Vedism. The other is the Emerging Theory which went against the first theory by proving that there were no foreign invasions along the Indus Valley and that the Vedic religion (Hinduism at 1500BCE to 500BCE) was allowed to flourish by the same group of people who later called themselves Aryan. The Hindu scriptures as well as literatures, which are even older than the Bible’s Old Testament, are the sources of the religion’s beliefs and practices. The most sacred Hindu scriptures are the four Vedas (Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda) which consists of hymns, incantations, rituals and explanations – among which the Rig Veda (1700BCE to 1100BCE) is said to be the oldest. There are also the Upanishads which discussed â€Å"states of consciousness, dreams, meditations, self-realizations and unity†; the Darshanas which consists of six philosophical system and teachings derived from the Vedas; and lastly and the most recent, the Puranas which tells the stories of the most recent gods (Reid & Corduan, 2008). Hinduism also has the two great epics that show the virtues and ideals that are significant to the religion; the first is the Ramayana which is a tale about a prince named Rama and his wife, Sita, and the Mahabarata, a collection of poems which states the duties of a â€Å"religious, law-abiding man† (Mason, 2000). Not only is Hinduism one of the oldest and largest religions, it is also said to be the most complex one (McDowell, 2002). There are various beliefs in Hinduism and one of them is the very popular and highly criticized Caste System which is said to be the cause of inequality and harsh laws in India. There are four main castes; the Brahmin (priest-teachers), kshatriyas (soldier-nobles), vaishyas (merchants) and sudras (servants). In the early periods, it was supposed to be part of the divine order, however, as years passed by, subcastes were developed and there came the outcastes or the untouchables – people who do not belong to any of the four main castes (Perry, 1989). Associated with this system are other beliefs. The belief that each of them have dharma (duty), depending on which caste they were born into; they also believe in karma and samsara (reincarnation) – thus, they believe that if they do their duty properly, they will have good karma and will be reincarnated into a higher class. On the contrary, if they did not, they might be reincarnated to the lower class or even as an animal. Their goal is to achieve moksha (release), which is their concept of salvation. Here they would not be liberated from sin but to life existence itself for they believe that as long as they are in the maya (phenomenal world) suffering would never stop because of karma and samsara. Moksha can be attained in three ways, by â€Å"way of works†, â€Å"way of knowledge† and â€Å"way of devotion† (bhakti) which is the most popular one, in which a person will completely devote himself to a certain god and the latter will take care of everything in his behalf (Reid & Corduan, 2008). In early Hinduism, Jesus Christ has no particular role in the religion and is not even mentioned in their scriptures; however, due to the rise of Christianity, Hindu thinkers thought of a place where they could put Jesus Christ in their religion. According to Reid and Corduan (2008), since Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, the Hindus viewed Jesus Christ as one of the incarnations or avatars of Brahman who, like Rama and Krishna, is a â€Å"divine self-embodiment† in order to preserve Hindu teachings and another way was by saying that Jesus Christ spent his â€Å"silent years† in India to proclaim the teachings of Hinduism. Nevertheless, Hindus’ incorporation of Jesus Christ into their religion does not seem to fit properly. According to McDowell (2002), Hinduism is known to be tolerant towards other religions because of similarities with Hinduism. This is believed to be one of the characteristics of a polytheistic and henotheistic (believing in one god and regarding other gods and goddesses as just manifestations) religions. However, due to rise of a nationalistic political party which took hold of the India’s government, the separation of church and state collapsed and religious tolerance went down as well, increasing anti-Christian violence in the country (Robinson, 2007). Christianity and Hinduism has numerous differences and some of them are the following: Hinduism’s Supreme Being is the Brahman, an indefinable and impersonal deity, while Christianity has a loving, personal and caring Creator. Hinduism looks at man as a materialization of Brahman who has no value and self-worth at all, whereas, Christianity proclaims that man is created in the very image of God that deserves to love and be loved despite their sinful deeds. When it comes to sins, there are no sins that are committed against Brahman, things that were done wrong are taken as results of ignorance that can be redeemed by following the duty of a specific caste to which the person belongs to and the path going to salvation. On the other hand, wrongdoings that are done within Christianity is taken as acts of rebellion against God. Salvation in Hinduism is referred to as moksha and can be attained in three ways which cannot be accomplished in one lifetime, while salvation in the Christian sense is granted by God to those who deserve it after being separated from him. Lastly, even their view of the material world differ – for a Hindu, the material world is an extension of Brahman and just a transitory and secondary importance; on the contrary, Christians see the material world as an objective reality and a something total different from God (McDowell, 2002). However, despite these differences, it is said that Hindus accept Jesus, but not the Christian relgion. In fact, they even refer Christianity to â€Å"Churchianity. † According to Abhedananda (2002), Hindus can tell apart the religion of Jesus Christ from the religion of the Church for the reason that the true religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of the heart. Thus, it has no dogma and no theology, no rituals and ceremonies, and is not based from a book. From their perspective, the religion of the Church is based from a book, is full of creeds and rituals, and even has an organized way of preaching them. When it comes to the Gospels, they see it as full of inconsistencies and discrepancies, and one very doubtful area for the Hindus comes from their awareness that Jesus Christ did not have His own writings and that there are no precise and contemporary accounts of His life inside and outside of the Bible. In order to share the Gospels to the Hindus, Rev. Dharmaraj (2001), gave some advice to approach the Hindus and make them listen to the Gospels. He said that one should determine and understand what type of Hindu community one intends to visit, since there are different sects that belong to Hinduism. Next, he said that one should explain the concepts incorporated in the Gospels in order for them to understand the Gospels for they have their own understanding of God, salvation, sin, among others. Lastly, Christians should deal with the challenges of dogmatism, risks of syncretism and to focus on evangelism. In addition, according to Reid and Corduan (2008), a Christian should connect with the person rather with the person’s religion; Christians should approach them along with humanitarian efforts and outreach projects since Hinduism does not cater to such. Through a combination of these, Hindus have already felt the kind of loving relationships that pay no attention to the caste which have long been abolished but is still being practiced. The salvation of Christianity even reached them in a way, and it even made them accept Jesus Christ more as they felt that they have been freed from the dark aspects of Hinduism. The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven [is above all]. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. (John 3:31-36, NAB) In the given Gospel, in order for a Hindu to understand it, one should clarify that the God in the Gospel is the Creator and that His son is Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind from sins. In addition, it will also be better to give a slight background of what the Gospel is about – say that at this point in the Gospel, the Savior have finally presented Himself in front of the people. The Hindu should also be informed that â€Å"eternal life† is referring to the promised salvation in a Christian context and that it can only be attained by believing in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the Christian should also point out what â€Å"the wrath of God† means, so that the Hindu could have insights as to the consequences of not obeying their God. And since this pertains to the concept of Hell, it should be also explained again in totality for Hindus do not have this concept in their belief system. Hinduism is a large complex religion that is older than Christianity. If one would be able to understand the essentials of this religion, it would be easy to reach out to the Hindus and make them listen to the Gospel. Christians have their views about Hinduism and Hindus likewise have their own views about Christianity. While they criticize and contradict each other about most of the aspects of their beliefs, setting them aside for awhile in order to learn about one another’s religion makes it possible to establish not just communication but also an open, two-way relationship. To share a Gospel to Hindus, proper understanding of Hinduism is required along with the use of an effective interpersonal approach. References Mason, C. (2000). A short history of Asia – Stone Age to 2000AD. London: Palgrave Macmillan Perry, M. (1989). A history of the world.Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Holy Bible: the new American Bible. (1987). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Abhedananda, S. (2002). Why a Hindu accepts Christ and rejects Churchianity. Retrieved March 31, 2008 from Hinduism website: http://www. hinduism. co. za/jesus. htm Dharmahal, P. (1992). Communicating Christ to the Hindu world. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from Mission Frontiers website: http://www. missionfrontiers. org/1992/0912/sd9211. htm McDowell, J. (2002). A ready defense. Retrieved March 31, 2008 from Jesus Who website: http://www. greatcom. org/resources/areadydefense/ch24/default. htm Reid, P. & Corduan, W. (2008). About Hinduism. Retrieved March 31, 2008 from Christian Answers Network website: http://christiananswers. net/evangelism/beliefs/hinduism. html Robinson, B. A. (2007). Hinduism: the world’s third largest religion. Retrieved March 31, 2008 from Religious Tolerance website: http://www. religioustolerance. org/hinduism. htm VandeWeghe, R. (2007). Prepared to answer. Retrieved March 31, 2008 from Windmill Ministries website: http://www. windmillministries. org/frames/CH30A. htm