christianity & hinduism

[Guest guest]

i am a christian studying about hinduism and was wondering what the hindu teachings are in terms of acceptance of other religions? i have been struggling with this for some time now. i have always thought that hinduism was very open & accepting to all religions, but upon reading parts of the bhagavad gita i could not find anything in reference to this. is this something truly in the doctrine, or just something that some hindus believe? any help & reference to verses would be appreciated. thank you.

[Guest guest]

Bhagavad-Gita is not the sole text of Hinduism. There are many sacred texts. Please be careful about listening to some of the people on this forum as there are a lot of fanatical minorities here. I recommend http://vedanta.org/wiv/overview.html for a good introduction to the philosophy of Hinduism.

[narayanadasa 0]

Jai Sriman Narayan:

 

Being the oldest religion (Sanatana Dharma) I am not sure if any *original Hindu scriptures* would really talk about accepting or rejecting other religions. Remember even the word Hindu is not there in any of the scriptures... the work Hindu was coined by invaders who could'nt pronouce Sindhu (a river).

[Guest guest]

Dear Angeline,

 

I'm glad to hear about your interest in Hinduism.

Hinduism is like a vast ocean, it is not restricted by specific scriptures or philosophies.

You'll be surprised to know that certain hindu streams like Saiva siddantha even reject fundamental scriptures like Vedas.

 

You are corrct in your assumption that hinduism is very open in tolerating and accepting other faiths, just comparing India and Pakistan will reaffirm your opinion.

 

Please don't be mislead be some of the discussion threads. After all this is a forum for hindus to explain the philosophies they have chosen to follow. Since Hinduism is a very broad religion, differences in opinions are inevitable. Sometimes, such differences can even go to fanatical level.

 

I firmly believe and follow Saiva siddantha. If you want more information, you can refer www.ramalinga.org.

[Guest guest]

 

i have always thought that hinduism was very open & accepting to all religions, but upon reading parts of the bhagavad gita i could not find anything in reference to this. is this something truly in the doctrine, or just something that some hindus believe? any help & reference to verses would be appreciated. thank you.

 

 

 

 

Check this site it might have the answers you want

 

http://www.holyindia.org/harmony2.html

[Guest guest]

Only during recent times after the british rule follwing the oppression of the Muguls, Hindusim started recognizing the fact that other religions follow a different doctrine from Hinduism, not merely a change of the name of god.

 

So only the last 200 years have hinduism started realising other religions as having a seperate doctrine. Hindusim is sanatana dharma and no single doctrine.

 

Hinduism's sanatana dharma is the dharma for humanity and that all the religious in india needed to know. Religions differentiating itself based on doctrines is quite new.

 

It's beleived that even the christians of early years followed the local culture and went to church instead of temple and christ instead of a local hindu god. They didn't focus so much on doctrine based differentiation.

 

So it's broadly the ignorance of the doctrine-based differentiation of the other religions, that may be led to their easy acceptance as human beings.

 

Thanks to the british raj's style of divide and rule, and literate generation of the press media which followed, today the educated in India know that the other religions have a clear;y different doctrine and which sometimes conflict with that of the local faith.

 

I think that ignorance was bliss. One of the agendas of the congress socialism was to build awareness of the different doctrines of the different religions. And then to ask people to grow-up and live in peace.

 

To these post-independance soclialists, the press printed the garbage of minorities and majority, painting the picture of victims etc. And these socialists loved this garbage while it also continued to contribute to religious tolerance, though psuedo.

[Azygos 0]

Read some different commentary of the geeta, not the one

by prabhupara!!!

 

I will recommended swami sivananda's version of the geeta

or any published by the ramakrishna mission [www.sriramakrishnamath.org]

 

Then you will clearly understand that Krishna asks NOT to surrender to him [or krishna the god] but to your own atman...which is the brahman...the absolute itself

 

Regards,

Saurav

[Guest guest]

 

Then you will clearly understand that Krishna asks NOT to surrender to him [or krishna the god] but to your own atman...which is the brahman...the absolute itself

 

 

avajananti mam mudha

manusim tanum asritam

param bhavam ajananto

mama bhuta-mahesvaram

 

SYNONYMS

avajananti--deride; mam--Me; mudhah--foolish men; manusim--in human form; tanum--body; asritam--assuming; param--transcendental; bhavam--nature; ajanantah--not knowing; mama--Mine; bhuta--everything that be; maha-isvaram--the supreme proprietor.

 

The ignorant ones, not knowing My supreme natures as the great Lord of all beings, disregard Me when I assume human form.

[Sephiroth 0]

i have always thought that hinduism was very open & accepting to all religions, but upon reading parts of the bhagavad gita i could not find anything in reference to this. is this something truly in the doctrine, or just something that some hindus believe?

 

Main reasons for Hindus accepting Christianity is because in the Gita itself (I'm sure you have seen it) it says "God is One but Sages calls Him in different names".

 

So, when Christianity came around, Hindus thought it was just another followers of God come for a visit (same way they probably thought of Muslims, I guess).

 

If you look for something like - Jesus is God and things like that, forget it. You will not find it.

[maadhav 0]

hinduism is very tolerant, and hindus tolerated a lot more than they should, and have suffered and still are suffering.

 

our position is:

if you do not like hinduism, fine.

we have no desire to convert you.

but please do not try to convert hindus.

 

xianity and hinduism are not same.

please tell your churches to pull out the missionaries from India. why? because we have no desire, plan or action to convert xians; so why convert us?

 

[Guest guest]

I was born Hindu and as a child I liked all the festivals.

I read Geeta,Vedas and Upanishads, they all talk about how best we need to behave so finally how to enjoy that so called "bliss" None of these explained why there is good and evil ? Why did God create eathquakes or hurricanes ? Why Bad thing happen to so called "Good" people ? Why does cancer occur in a young woman? Why a child is born with deformity? The only explanation I found in all the Hindu scriptures is Karma concept which does not satisfy an ordinary person like me. I love this life and all these big Hindu philosophical things did not make any thing to me. Finally I did find the answer in 'Temptation in the desert" ( not crucifixion) where Jesus is confronted by satan. This story sums up every thing. God did not want to be a superman or a batman or like any mighty Hindu Gods, He was absolute about human freedom, He knew there is no LOVE without freedom. It did cost Him, He had to loose the power of miracle, mystery and authority. No wonder this is called Amazing Love. KT

[Sephiroth 0]

The only explanation I found in all the Hindu scriptures is Karma concept which does not satisfy an ordinary person like me. I love this life and all these big Hindu philosophical things did not make any thing to me.

 

Foolish people who likes to run away from their responsibities says things like this.

 

They commit sins but they do not wish to take the responsibility. So what do they do? They find someone to dump it on and that person is Jesus.

 

Laws of Karma is about responsibility. You born on this world - you MUST take responsibility for the actions you commited and no one can take for you.

[Guest guest]

"Foolish people ..... you MUST take responsibility for the actions you commited and no one can take for you"

 

Then as a foolish person I need to ask you enlighted person: How do you explain when a parent looses their loving child in an accident? A young mother about to die of a breast cancer? Recently a young man with a wonderful family while driving home was hit by a crossing deer and the man became qudriplegic. How do you console these people? What responsibility they did not take?? Where was God in these instances? (These are real events)...

 

You may call me Fool...

 

 

 

 

[Sephiroth 0]

How do you explain when a parent looses their loving child in an accident? A young mother about to die of a breast cancer?

 

Life and Death is set, you cannot change it and it IS foolishness to blame anyone for it. When you are born, you already set to die in a specific time, place and by certain cause - set by God (or in this case, Lord Brahma) using your own Karma from pervious life.

 

Since your time is set, instead of worrying about it (or attached to your own existence), you should just concentrate in living a proper life to the best as possible.

 

Recently a young man with a wonderful family while driving home was hit by a crossing deer and the man became qudriplegic.

 

How does a deer can cause a man who is in a vehicle to become quadriplegic? If it is an elephant, I could understand.

 

My explaination is - in his pervious life, he could most likely cause the deer to suffer as he did and now, he is suffering for it and other possible Karmaic deeds.

 

How do you console these people? What responsibility they did not take?? Where was God in these instances? (These are real events)...

 

Depends on them what responsibility they have not taken in their pervious life. Hell, most people do not take responsiblity in this, and you speak of the pervious one.

 

Did you think twice before eating meat about the animals which had to suffer in order to satisfy your need? No? Then why should anyone bother if you suffer in order to fullfill their needs? /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

Did you think twice before scolding or insulting another person for mistake (intentionally or unintentionally) he had done? No? So why should anyone bother to think twice when scolding you?

 

Do you think twice in things you do, say, thinks and such? Do you do it for goodness sake or do simply because you want to do it without sense of responsibility for your actions? If you never bothered about all this things, why should anyone bother what happens to you in the future?

 

Best of all, why should God bother about you? Heaven or Hell is separate from Him. Whether you reach Heaven, it not means you are close to God and if you reach Hell, to Hell with you?

[Guest guest]

"There's no Christ, just Christianity"

You said it right. Christians have killed Christ. There is truth in the "Grand Inquisitor" in the Novel Brothers Karamzov by Fyodor Dostovesky.

 

"Life and Death is set, you cannot change it and it IS foolishness to blame anyone for it".

The point is not blaming some one else, it is how you deal with a fellow human being who is suffering. How does Karma teach empathy and compassion ? Where is heart, where is emotion ? These are real life situations not some dogmatic concept of Karma. I would rather hug and cry with the person who is suffering or dying.I do not live on Mount Everest as a saint.

 

"How does a deer ....cause the man to become quadriplegic?" I do not want to call you fool, size of the enemy does not matter, a virus can kill the whole world.

 

"in his pervious life, he could most likely cause the deer to suffer "

This is the "brain " thing, like saying if u do not believe in Jesus you will burn in the lake of fire, some one concocted

 

"Hell, most people do not take responsiblity in this.."

You sound like you know a lot about Hell and responsibilities

 

"think twice before eating meat"

All vegetarians have tickets to Heaven, NO rebirths for them.

 

"scolding or insulting another person"

Use of your own words "hellFoolish" etc are not insulting.

 

"Do you think twice"....Goodness or morality cannot be forced , it has to come from the Heart, most of our mothers do good to their children from their hearts not thinking Twice or thrice about their responsibility or duties.

"why should God bother about you?.. to Hell with you?"

I do not believe in any religious dogmas, rituals, homas, sacrifices etc But I do believe in God who very much cares and loves dearly us the puppets!

 

We are all Blessed. KT

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

And due to it, every religion, and now, sadly even Hinduism, has fallen prey to the "numbers" game. Whoever has the most followers in any religion wins, and is considered the "Truth", according to the primitive minds lurking in society today. It is not nearly so simple, and the only true way to know is to follow God. Not any doctrine. Hinduism emphasises following God, but even that is open to you. All paths are different, but they all lead to the same place. Now, there is a foolish argument I have seen before saying how can all paths be different and lead the same place? All paths do not lead to Rome. But this is spirituality we are talking about, not roadmaps. Spirituality is about the search for Truth, and you will find the Truth through whatever method you choose. Truth can't be changed, can't be hidden, it can't be disguised as something else, it just IS. So no method can keep you away from the Truth. Eventually everyone must come face to face with it, some prefer to find it while alive, while others choose to live and face it when they die. The choice is up to you.

 

The Bhagavad-Gita does not openly state that you should follow just any religion you like, but one can perceive it as such by knowing that Krishna is God, or at least for those who have different conceptions of God, a stand-in for God. He is representative of God, and the Bhagavad-Gita works on many levels, symbolic, allegory, and physical. It is up to you how to interpret it, I would interpret it in all levels, though it is somewhat hard to do, to have differnet streams of interpretations running through your head simultaneously and yet accepting them all.

 

The Gita details the paths that are open to reach him. He does not name a religion, he does not say simply to follow HIM. He even says worship of other gods (the demigods in Hinduism, but IMHO, ANY god) will ultimately lead to Him. He says that all paths lead to Him, and while in that time it may have meant all different forms of yoga lead to him, IMHO, these religions that are there ARE in their own way different forms of yoga. Islam and Christianity follow the path of bhakti, devotion, yet the path is strict, whereas Hinduism has this path among a number of different yogas, jnana, dhyan, bhakti, karma, etc. That is knowledge, meditation, work without attachment, etc.

 

All of these paths lead to God, Krishna, Rama, Jehovah, Yahweh, Jesus, Allah, etc.

 

While the doctrine and texts are different, these are the nitty gritty. Ignorance consists of not knowing the basis of every religion (not history, but mechanism of realization inherent in every religion, for every religion dealing in spirituality must have one), it consists of trying to distinguish truth from non-truth only failing to do so and pursuing non-truth as if it were truth. One should not worry about truth or non-truth so much as worry about which path to take, then follow it, and see for yourself. While so many people see different things when following different paths, it is the wise who see the truth, that there is no difference aside from who perceives.

 

[Sephiroth 0]

You said it right. Christians have killed Christ. There is truth in the "Grand Inquisitor" in the Novel Brothers Karamzov by Fyodor Dostovesky.

 

Christians "sacrificed" their own Lord (assuming he existed) to some god and then put the blame onto the Jews (who were at that time, non-believers).

 

The point is not blaming some one else, it is how you deal with a fellow human being who is suffering. How does Karma teach empathy and compassion ? Where is heart, where is emotion ?

 

These are real life situations not some dogmatic concept of Karma. I would rather hug and cry with the person who is suffering or dying.I do not live on Mount Everest as a saint.

 

What going to change by hugging and crying with a person? Nothing also ... you are still blame God for it, if not in the open, then silently by your actions.

 

Look at this senario for example - you go to the sea side and saw a man. He jumped into the sea and tried to drown himself. You jump in and save him. He tells you that he cannot take the problems he is facing anymore and turn to jump into the sea again. You jump in and save again and he repeats.

 

You can hug and cry with him for all the time you like, in the end, it will not change anything. Each person's sins will be faced by each person and God can help only by sending you supports to improve yourself. If you waste the opportunity to improve (which could be hard than commiting suicide), God will not help.

 

"How does a deer ....cause the man to become quadriplegic?" I do not want to call you fool, size of the enemy does not matter, a virus can kill the whole world.

 

You said this is real event and when I asked how a deer can cripple a man, you keep quiet. Either you are lying or you are exaggerating yourself. Which is it?

 

in his pervious life, he could most likely cause the deer to suffer "

This is the "brain " thing, like saying if u do not believe in Jesus you will burn in the lake of fire, some one concocted

 

No, it is unrelated.

I didn't say you must believe in Jesus (actions) or he will come and make you suffer, I said you suffer because what you did.

 

All vegetarians have tickets to Heaven, NO rebirths for them.

 

Where did it say that? Don't add to my statement your own stupidity.

 

[b Use of your own words "hellFoolish" etc are not insulting.

 

No, it is common words. Using common words is not foolishness. Matter a fact, calling a person foolishness is more softer in approach than calling him moron, retard and such harsh words.

 

Goodness or morality cannot be forced , it has to come from the Heart, most of our mothers do good to their children from their hearts not thinking Twice or thrice about their responsibility or duties.

 

I think you had an irresponsible mother. Most Asian mothers will tell the child to behave properly, and when the child misbehave, the mother will hit them softly and tell them not to misbehave. If the child continued to misbehave, scolding and beating will occur.

 

In Japan for example, if children misbehave toward someone else, it is the parents who are blamed for the child's impolite ways. In India, beating a child is common to ensure he or she respects the elders and behave properly.

 

People like you could argue that it is inhumane and things like that, but such actions will ensure that the child knows its responsibilities and behave properly and with respect toward others.

 

I do not believe in any religious dogmas, rituals, homas, sacrifices etc But I do believe in God who very much cares and loves dearly us the puppets!

 

That is like saying you don't have a bank account but believe that the bank is a good place to keep money. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

God give Religions and Laws so you could progress in life. However, if you don't believe in religion and do not wish to progress in life, then what for do you believe in God in the first place?

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your responses. You are very knowledgeble and well read.

 

You are happy with your thinking and beliefs. You are right, we need laws, regulations, responsibibilities etc in this world. Alternative would be total chaos. I am not going to argue with you.

 

For me all these religious rituals,Karma, sins, Hell,Heaven,believers, rebirths, reincarnation, going to Mecca etc make no sense. I think I am stupid, not wanting to understand these.

 

The only thing that has given happines in my life is the fact that God loves me through his GRACE and FREEDOM. Christ is metaphorical expression of radical Grace and I do not want to domesticate him. Every day I find God when I talked to, touch and hug a fellow human being. The touch transforms and electrifies me. My heart feels tingly and warm. This is heaven, this is bliss.

 

If you care Please go and hug some one you love, or some one of less priviledged.

 

You do not have to respond . It is HEART that matters, not some BRAIN.....You have a wonderful and graceful day. God loves all of us. God does not treat us like puppets no matter what you say. Kt

 

 

[Guest guest]

I think it sums up what I believe. Thanks for your message.

[Guest guest]

Scholarly people who are well versed with existing writings and follow the writings word for word,in my opinion, have touched fewer hearts compared to humble people who questioned the injustices in the fundamental beliefs and placed love & compassion above all scriptures.

 

Budha, Jesus and Gandhi have led such exemplary lifestyles and their lives and teachings have touched billions of souls.

 

Someone asked a fanatic christian if Mahatma Gandhi would go to heaven or hell.

The fanatic replied that since Gandhi didn't accept bible, he'll definitely go to hell.

 

When the same question was posed to a liberal christian, he felt uneasy to answer at first, but finally he said that though Gandhi didn't embrace christianity and its holy scriptures, he followed the footsteps & teachings of Jesus himself, so he'll definitely go to heaven.

 

It doesn't matter whether you are a hindu or christian or muslim or an atheist, as long as you work for the betterment of humanity and express love and affection to fellow human beings, god will always be on your side.

 

Anbe Sivam !! To me this is veda and Budha, Jesus and Gandhi are real avatars of god.

 

[Sephiroth 0]

You are happy with your thinking and beliefs. You are right, we need laws, regulations, responsibibilities etc in this world. Alternative would be total chaos. I am not going to argue with you.

 

Then why are you still supporting Islam and Christianity?

 

Christianity is about total freedom without sense of responsibility for your actions. Because Christians believes that Jesus commit suicide for their sins, they do not need to bother about the sin they are committing and it is a perfect recipi for chaos.

 

Islam states that Muslims can pray to God and seeks forgiveness when they harmed and abused others. They were taught that Muslims are closer to God and Heaven than other infidels. Another recipi for chaos.

 

The only thing that has given happines in my life is the fact that God loves me through his GRACE and FREEDOM.

 

Wrong ... that so-called "freedom" is your own delusion. You are fooling yourself into thinking you are sinless and free, and contribute it to God, your own Delusions.

 

Everyone in this world bound by Laws of Karma - you reap what you sow. NO exception.

 

Christ is metaphorical expression of radical Grace and I do not want to domesticate him. Every day I find God when I talked to, touch and hug a fellow human being. The touch transforms and electrifies me. My heart feels tingly and warm. This is heaven, this is bliss.

 

Again, this is your delusion also. I don't know whether Heaven exists or not but it is foolishness to seek it on the world. Sure, you can create your own "Heaven" and find "Beauty" in the world but that is just about it. You cannot find God by touching Man - I have no idea what sort of emotions is that but I'm very sure that is NOT Spiritualism.

 

If you care Please go and hug some one you love, or some one of less priviledged.

 

I "hug" with my actions, not with my arms. Twice a week, I perform fasting for God so He could bless the World. That is my contribution to the World as long as I can. Hugging someone and show the World you care but not sacrificing anything or contributing anything to others is just TALK.

 

You do not have to respond . It is HEART that matters, not some BRAIN.....You have a wonderful and graceful day. God loves all of us. God does not treat us like puppets no matter what you say. Kt

 

It is foolish people who says things like this. What matters is your brain - by promoting you to think and do what is necessary in sense of responsibility and duty toward others, not hugging someone who needs help and fool yourself into thinking you have did something. The World (to be a better place than it is now) do NOT need people such as that.

[Guest guest]

few points to note from this post...

 

"Then you will clearly understand that Krishna asks NOT to surrender to him [or krishna the god] but to your own atman...which is the brahman...the absolute itself"

 

would just like to clarify Brahman is both personal and impersonal, just like the holy spirit and the father. different names for the same thing. think about it before getting into segregarian arguments about names of God and the like. it is more futile than asking david bowie not to wear tights.

 

"i have always thought that hinduism was very open & accepting to all religions, but upon reading parts of the bhagavad gita i could not find anything in reference to this. is this something truly in the doctrine, or just something that some hindus believe? "

 

from my point of view, the bible can be considered doctrine. what would you know, if the text wasn't the first thing you've ever read that has changed you and moved you on the inside? have you changed from reading the bible and attending church? well ive changed by reading the gita and following its message. it clearly describes in the gita, the qualities of a wise (or 'saved') man, as well as the process for attaining the state.

 

hindu's are more tolerant because the nature of their religion makes them more open minded. we are not confined by black and white mindframes, which is what the monstorous establishment franchise 'McChurch' change you to become.

 

"None of these explained why there is good and evil ? Why did God create eathquakes or hurricanes ? Why Bad thing happen to so called "Good" people ? Why does cancer occur in a young woman? Why a child is born with deformity? The only explanation I found in all the Hindu scriptures is Karma concept which does not satisfy an ordinary person like me. I love this life and all these big Hindu philosophical things did not make any thing to me."

 

and the gita states a person will take the path they are best suited to. if your personal God and your personal understanding make Jesus better for you, then so be it. but you should know what you are learning doesnt contradict what hinduism has already exposed to you. all the things you complained about above are explained. you should know that karma for us is sin for you. eastern and western language barriers...yes the definitions are different but the end is the same even though the means is different. christians say we are born sinners. hindus say the mind is inflicted by the gunas and ego from our inception into this world. we are all in the yuga when mankind is much further from God, and we suffer for it, which explains the rest of your woes.

 

christianity has such massive focus on particular virtues, such as forgiveness, or i particular lines of thought such as explanations for this or that, that we often forget that they aren't a sole monopoly of christianity itself. i found as much buddhism and hinduism in the churches teachings as christians find christianity in ours (though you wouldnt admit it). the next thing you know, we'll be finding arguments as to why brahman is not omnipotent and omnipresent, whereas jehova is, and so on....you cant claim monopoly on teachings, and you cant make a conclusion on a religion, because the fact is you havent looked deep enough to find the answer in the first place. how much of what you know really matters to you? or does the church tell you that it matters? you say your souls are saved, i say you sold them; you lost them to the church.

 

"How do you explain when a parent looses their loving child in an accident? A young mother about to die of a breast cancer? Recently a young man with a wonderful family while driving home was hit by a crossing deer and the man became qudriplegic. How do you console these people? What responsibility they did not take?? Where was God in these instances?"

 

this is the nature of inquiry, and not an satisfactory argument against hinduism or for christianity. if you are implying hinduism does not teach compassion, then you are unfortunately wrong. take a look at buddhism which stems from hinduism, and you will see a wealth of emphasis on loving kindness. you know a lady once told me she converted to jehovas witness because her father died, she could not stand the thought of him not being in heaven. the thought of her not being able to meet him there is what made her change religions. do you think her fathers fate in the afterlife would honestly be different regardless of what she believed? you cant make illogical decisions like that and try to justify them later. if you think the changing religions would make her see him then that logic is flawed. why? because her father was hindu. according to scripture, he's either a tree right now, or he's off merging with brahman.

 

"How does Karma teach empathy and compassion ? Where is heart, where is emotion ? These are real life situations not some dogmatic concept of Karma."

 

karma is not the be all and end all of hinduism. it is not even an attempt to explain compassion. karma as stated before, is much like the 'dogmatic concept' called sin. where christianity will actually tell you the practical nature of being compassionate, hinduism will ask you to train your mind in such a way that it is a natural response / thought pattern. once again, different means to the same end. one is action, one is description of the mechanics to action. the bible will tell you to forgive. the gita, will tell you the process for being able to reach the mindframe where you forgive naturally. christianity emphasises differentiating between choices of action, whereas hinduism eliminates incorrect action altogether. is one necessarily better or worse? no matter what method, your only possible answer is TRUTH. so why argue over petty things?

 

"All paths are different, but they all lead to the same place. Now, there is a foolish argument I have seen before saying how can all paths be different and lead the same place? All paths do not lead to Rome. But this is spirituality we are talking about, not roadmaps."

 

truth is truth and there is no substitute. what the statement means is that the 'mechanics of action', or the specifics of different religions are not the same, they reach the same end. christianity talks about loving God as opposed to fearing God, whereas islam talks of fearing God as opposed to necessarily loving God. and ask yourself, when you look deep enough, how can one be achieved without the other? Christians say you shouldnt be surrendering to God like muslims are, and yet how else do you interpret accepting that christ died for your sins? it is this concept that that your religion revolves around. christianity emphasises righteousness, however you are taught humility in accepting christ. buddhism emphasises humility, however you are taught righteousness in following the rigid standards of buddah. this is part of the reasoning behind the statement "all paths though different, lead to the same end"...?

 

"The Gita details the paths that are open to reach him. He does not name a religion, he does not say simply to follow HIM. He even says worship of other gods (the demigods in Hinduism, but IMHO, ANY god) will ultimately lead to Him. He says that all paths lead to Him, and while in that time it may have meant all different forms of yoga lead to him, IMHO, these religions that are there ARE in their own way different forms of yoga. Islam and Christianity follow the path of bhakti, devotion, yet the path is strict, whereas Hinduism has this path among a number of different yogas, jnana, dhyan, bhakti, karma, etc. That is knowledge, meditation, work without attachment, etc."

 

actually the gita does state, simply, that you must follow Him. it also states that the worship of demigods is accepted, as it is a method of a slow progress. the bit you left out which the scripture states is "the worship of demigods, ALTHOUGH NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULES, will eventually lead to the supreme". think about your progression in understanding God. when you first inquired about GOd, you thought of Him as some giant entity in the sky, shouting orders. then your knowledge progressed to understand He was on earth and left teachings and he actually loved humanity. then your knowledge progressed to understanding your obligation and surrender to Him. then you understood Him to be the holy spirit, or atman, the essence of your spirit. in the same way, a person of lesser wisdom will worship as they see fit, until they progress to understand more. go to the book store. you can find books on hinduism that focus on the myth. you can find plenty more on the epics. then perhaps when your interest and knowledge arises, you can find the more spiritual topics. why would you be interested in the spiritual topics if you only wanted to read the stories?

 

good luck all...

peace.