Hinduism – Understanding World Religions

Hinduism – Understanding World Religions

History and Background

·Hinduism is among the oldest religions in the world The Rig Veda was compiled around 1500 B.C.

·Modern Hinduism is different from early Hinduism.  Early Hinduism was very polytheistic (believed in many gods).  Modern Hinduism takes on many different expressions but tends to be more pantheistic (all things make up god). This shift to pantheism happened in 800 to 500 B.C. However there is said to be over 30 million gods that are in various degrees of being one with the universe. They dwell in a cosmic hierarchy.

·Hinduism is the source of most Asian religions. Buddhism broke off in 500 BC; India’s Jainism and Chinese Taoism grew out of Hinduism.

·90% of Hindus are in India. However there have been many expressions of Hinduism taking root in USA and Europe

·In 1920 Paramahansa Yogananda came to the US and established the Self Realization Fellowship. There are 500 meditation centers in 54 countries. (There are 90+ additional sister centers in India). He was very good at disarming Christians. He taught that Jesus was a Jewish Guru. He attempted to blend the religions together and it helped to give rise to the New Age Movement. (He writes about these ideas in his book – Autobiography of a Yogi)

·This opened the door for more Gurus to come to the US -both Hindu and Buddhist. In the 1960’s we saw a shift in our culture to be open to these beliefs.

·Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Transcendental Meditation (TM) became popular. Maharishi attained celebrity status because he was the guru of the Beatles.

·The Hare Krishnas/ international Society of Krishna Consciousness was founded in 1965 by Prabupada. They worship the Hindu deity Krishna a forum of Vishna by chanting name over 1000 times a day. Their numbers have dwindled since the death of Prabupads.

·In the 70’s and 80’s we saw a shift to complete devotion to Gurus and Swamis.

·The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Organization) acts as a loose confederation of Hindu groups and lobbyist that promotes Hinduism in India and around the world.

Common Beliefs and practices

As stated earlier Hinduism takes on many expressions. However they do share a few similarities.

·The entire universe is undergirded by an impersonal absolute, universal spirit usually called Brahman. All matter is a temporary illusion of the universal spirit. Essentially we are all part of “God”.

. They believe in Reincarnation sometimes called the transmigration of the souls. “Reincarnation teaches that all forms of life are somehow reborn after death. In the case of humans, this means that individuals are reborn into an improved situation if they have behaved correctly in their previous life. Conversely, if one has lived a bad life, he or she is reborn as a person who is worse off, experiencing much suffering, affliction, or poverty.” Mark Albrecht

(These two ideas are absent from the early Hinduism. These beliefs came into being in 800 B.C.)

·Humans are therefore transient shells with fleeting personalities that
serve to house the immortal soul that moves from one body to the next
in hopes to eventually become one with the universe.

·The soul must save itself by working through the bonds of Karma both good and bad accumulated in thousands of incarnations.

. Remember there are over 30 million gods in various stages to becoming one with the universe. The two most power are Shiva (the destroyer) and Vishnu (the preserver). They are said to balance out each other in an eternal dance of creation, destruction and re-creation. These deities impact the soul as they try to move through the universe to be one with Brahman.

·Their religious practices include: Puja an act of worship in which they offer up flowers, food and animals to specific deities; Meditation on a Mantra -a sacred word or saying which is repeated over and over; Yoga which include a combination of mediation, postures and other spiritual practices .

. A key development in modern Hinduism is advent of the Guru or sometimes called Swami, He is an enlightened master who supposedly is in his last of many thousands of reincarnations.  He is believed to have accumulated an enormous amount of spiritual knowledge and power.

. As stated before Pramahansa Yogananda played a key role in blending of religions. He was very bright and articulate and sought to combine all religions into one. This has become a major tenet in Modern Hinduism thus launching the New Age Movement. He taught that Jesus went to India and Tibet during his “lost years” (12 -30). During these years he gained enlightenment. His teaching has lead to Hinduizing Christianity.

Discussion Points
Listed below are six ways Hindus try to blend their beliefs with Christianity. I will give you the statement of belief and the truth you need to share.

As you go through these points you might want to ask -what do you mean by that? How did you come to that conclusion? Have you considered…? We want to engage these people with truth and grace.

. Jesus was a Jewish guru. Jesus clearly taught from a monotheistic perspective and that salvation was through repentance and the forgiveness of sin that comes through his death and resurrection not by enlightenment. Nowhere do we find Jesus talking about “consciousness”. (Romans 10:9, 10)

. Jesus spent his lost years being enlightened in the Orient. What historical evidence is there of Jesus traveling outside of Palestine? There is none. Even if he did, none of his teachings resembled Hinduism or Buddhism.

·The apostles perverted Jesus’ teachings. In Gal. 2:2 Paul discusses how he went to the disciples to make sure he was teaching the true gospel. The early church leaders were very careful to speak the teachings of Jesus.

·The New Testament was edited after the fourth century. On the contrary, the New Testament was written in the 1st century and assumed its current form by 197 A.D. From the beginning these documents were viewed as scripture. The early church fathers carefully copied each manuscript. Textual scholars have shown these have not been tampered with. The New Testament was written based on eye witness and non-eye witness accounts. The early church leaders wanted to preserve the truth of scripture.

.Special councils were convened to condemn pantheistic teachings. The counsels focused on who Christ is (Christology) and theological interpretations. They did not talk about pantheism and reincarnation. Some of the earlier church fathers in their personal writings made passing mentions of these issues (Justin Martyr, Jerome, and Origen).

·True Christianity is based on the pantheistic notion of a “Divine Within”. Some Hindus quote Luke 17:21 “The Kingdom of God is within you” as an example of God is within all of us. However if you read the verse in context and understand its Greek meaning it would be better translated -The Kingdom of God is in our midst or among us. Jesus was saying the Kingdom of God is here not the God dwells in everyone and everything.

SPECIAL NOTE: Much of the information for this booklet was adapted from Mark Albrecht’s chapter on Hinduism in Evangelizing the Cults.

Compiled by Dave Friese