Hinduism & Christianity:

Jesus was executed by the authorities who oppose Jesus’ passion for the kingdom of God. The cross carries the meaning as a symbol or an image for the path of transformation, for what it means to follow Jesus. The cross signifies the meaning to die and rise with Christ. It is found in Paul “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”. The cross is the image showing the path of spiritual and psychological transformation that leads to a new identity and way of being.

Significance of Hindu Deities:

There is only one Supreme Being in Hinduism who is called Brahman and who is the God of all religions. The activity of Supreme Being is carried out by three deities: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Lord Brahma brings forth the creation of the universe, Lord Vishnu maintains the universe and Lord Shiva brings the dissolution and recreation of the universe. These three deities together form the Hindu Trinity.

Hinduism is the religion preached by Hindus which has no single founder, no single scripture and no commonly agreed set of teachings. Classes of people since ancient times called Priests were the custodians of the religion. These priests were called by ancient Kings and Emperors at different times in their kingdom. What were the teachings followed were regarded as the customs of Hinduism. This article is written for the request made by Pasture Andrew; if somewhere my expression of writing goes against the sanctity of the religion I beg excuse for that as I am not actually an ardent follower of the religion. As I born as Hindus I had grown up in the atmosphere of Hindu rituals but equally I respect the ethics of all religion. Hinduism is not a simple religion as it embraces many traditions. A preacher may go back several thousand years where he can discover that Hindu revelation is eternal. It concerns with personal spirituality.

Hinduism believes in time cyclical of ages:

Hinduism believes in time cyclical order like the four seasons referring successive ages (yoga), designated respectively as golden, silver, copper and iron. It is believe that during the golden age people were pious and adhere to dharma ( law, duty, truth), but with each successive age, good virtues diminish till the days reach the current iron or dark age (Kali yoga) marked by terrorism, cruelty, hypocrisy, materialism and so on. Hinduism believes in Hindu concepts of Atman, Dharma, Varna, Karma, Samsara, Purushartha, Moksha, Brahman, Bhagavan and Ishtar.

Atman – it means ‘eternal self’. It is also referred to as spirit or soul which underlies our existence. The word ‘self’ carries a great meaning in Hinduism. The meaning or activity of self in Hinduism ranges from the service of self as eternal servant of God to the self as being identified with God. The understanding of the self as eternal supports the idea of reincarnation.

Dharma –the term ‘dharma’ of Indian religion means ‘duty’, ‘virtue’, and ‘morality’. It refers to the power which upholds the universe and society. It was revealed in the Vedas and commonly expressed as ‘universal law’ or law of righteousness. It gives humans the right to act virtuously. It does not mean that everyone will act in the same manner. Different people have to act differently depending upon the circumstances and in accordance to their age, gender and social position. Each person therefore has their own dharma known as sva-dharma. The importance of sva-dharma is illustrated well by the Bhagavad Gita & by Mahabharata. The hero Arjuna refused to fight in the battle to kill his own relatives but Krishna (equal to God) assures him that this battle is righteous and he must fight as his duty or dharma or as his sva-dharma was to fight in the battle because he was a warrior. It is further extended as a correct action in accordance with dharma is nothing but a service to humanity and a service to God. The idea what is known as Sanatana dharma. It is also associated with bhakti movements, who link an attitude of eternal service to a personal deity.

Varna- It refers a person’s responsibility in the performance of dharma and society. Such as Brahmans or Brahmin who are the intellectuals and the priestly class and who perform the religious rituals, Kshatriya ( nobles or warriors) who traditionally had power, Vaishyas ( commoners or merchants) who are ordinary people and earn their livelihood by farming and doing trade, Shudras ( workers) who are serving the higher classes.

Karma- According to Hinduism Karma operates not only in this lifetime but across lifetimes. A good work will take him in a heavenly place while a bad work will place him to a hell in a future human rebirth. This process of reincarnation is called Samsara. It is a continuous cycle in which the soul is reborn over and over again according to the performance of self activity. The goal of liberation is called ‘moksha’ which will make us free from this cycle of rebirth. The Sanskrit words Bhagavan and Ishtar mean ‘Lord’ or ‘God’ who creates, sustains and destroys the universe again and again.

How does Hinduism believe in Many Gods?

It is too simplistic to define Hinduism as belief in many gods or 'polytheism'. Most Hindus believe in a Supreme God, whose qualities and forms are represented by the multitude of deities which emanate from him. God, being unlimited, can have unlimited forms and expressions. God can be approached in a number of ways and a devoted person can relate to God as a majestic king, as a parent figure, as a friend, as a child, as a beautiful woman, or even as a ferocious Goddess. Each person can relate to God in a particular form, the ‘ishta devata ‘or desired form of God. Thus, one person might be drawn towards Shiva, another towards Krishna, and another towards Kali. Many Hindus believe that all the different deities are aspects of a single, transcendent power. Contrary to popular understanding, Hindus believe in one God, Brahman, the eternal origin who is the cause and foundation of all existence. Many gods of the Hindu faith are nothing but the different expressions of Brahman. Different Hindu communities worship their own divinities which are simply different ways of approaching the Ultimate. Hindus recognize three principal gods: Brahma (the creator of the universe), Vishnu (the preserver of the universe) and Shiva (the destroyer of the universe).

Brahma- He is the creator of the universe but he is not worshipped in the same manner as other gods because it is believed that his work- that of creation – has been done. Hindus worship other form of Brahman. (i) Those who worship Vishnu (the preserver also referred to as Narayana) – worship Vishnu’s avatars. Vishnu protects the universe and has appeared on the earth through his avatars (incarnations) to save humankind from natural disasters or from tyranny. Vishnu’s important incarnations – Rama (referred in Ramayana), Krishna and Narasimha. (ii) Those who worship Shiva ( the destroyer) – worship the Mother Goddess, Shakti, also called Parvati, Mahalakshimi, Durga or Kal who destroyed the wicked and establish a new order may be called Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. Lakshmi is the consort of Vishnu is the goddess of wealth and good fortune who is offered special worship during the Divali festival.

God is Jesus: Christianity is a theistic religion and belief in God is all important. The Christian religion says ‘God is Jesus’. It indicates that Christian knows nothing about God except through the life, teaching, death and the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus has shown the love of God by means of his teachings of life and death. Even after being hanged in the cross Jesus said ‘Father! Forgive them; they don’t know what they are doing’. It expresses his love for enemies. He prayed for his persecutor for forgiving and redeeming them with a view to winning them for good life. For every Christian God is father, forgiving, redeeming and reclaiming the sinners. All these virtues are in existence of God which had been directly derived from Jesus. Jesus was a man, descendant in the line of King David. By devoting himself to the service and Will of God, he could reflect the nature of God and also the power of God. Jesus was a revelatory of the person of God.

God is Father: Jesus was Jew and to him God is one and only God, who is the creator, sustainer and final judge of all things. Jesus convinced all men that God is the Father who can give everyone whatever he was asked for. God is he who loves and cares for everything in this world. God annuls one’s sins and gives him protection. This is the mark of redemption whereby a sinner is transformed into a saint.

Ethics of Christianity: Christian religion is virtuous in both thought and deed and as such the religion stresses the need for grace, mercy and forgiveness to save the mankind and save the sinners. The teachings of ethical principles are based on the teachings within the Holy Bible. The ethical commandment of modern Christianity goes as ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself”. This notion of brotherly love comes from the belief that God so loved the world that he gave His son to sacrifice himself for humanity. Eternal life is more important than your life on earth. Bible teaches the virtues of life how to get personal peace by maintaining personal integrity with respect to honesty, loyalty, mercy and forgiveness and rejecting the desire for wealth and power and teaching others in your life through personal joy, happiness and Godly devotion.

The ultimate concepts and ethics of both Hinduism and Christianity are the same

(i)                Hinduism and Christianity both the religion are the same on the concept of God, who is the creator, sustainer and final judge of all things. Hindu religion has given the God another name Brahman. It is too simple to explain Hinduism that the Hindu religion believes in many gods. Hindus believe in a Supreme God called Brahman, whose qualities and forms are represented by the multitude of deities which emanate from him. God, being unlimited, can have unlimited forms and expressions. Each person can relate to God in a particular form, the ‘ishta devata ‘or desired form of God. Thus, one person might be drawn towards Shiva, another towards Krishna, and another towards Kali. Many Hindus believe that all the different deities are aspects of a single, transcendent power

(ii)             The ‘duty’, ‘virtue’, and ‘morality’ to bring discipline in the society and set the feeling of brotherhood of Hindu religion is in no way different from the need of grace, mercy and forgiveness to save the mankind and save the sinners from disaster of Christian religion to upholds the universe and the society.

(iii)           The realization of self, soul and spirit and the ultimate goal is the same in both the religion. The difference lies in the way of approach under different atmosphere.