What are the Essential Beliefs of Hinduism?

[imranhasan]

I am completely new to the study of Hinduism. I would appreciate, if someone would kindly enlighten me on what are the essential beliefs ascribing to which, a person becomes a Hindu.

 

Serious answers only, please.

 

Thanks.

[Gaea]

 

I am completely new to the study of Hinduism. I would appreciate, if someone would kindly enlighten me on what are the essential beliefs ascribing to which, a person becomes a Hindu.

Serious answers only, please.

Thanks.

That's a tough one! - mostly because there are so many schools of thought in the Hindu religion. In fact one might go as far as to say that Hinduism is not by itself a religion but a collection of religions. The only commonality is that all of these sects get their ideas from the Vedas, which are a HUGE repository of knowledge. The scripture is written in Sanskrit, which is pretty much a dead language now, rather like Aramaic, which means there are always disputes about meanings etc.

This forum is mostly made up on Vaisnavas, a sect that will predominantly preach Bhakti yoga (devotion to God, God being Visnu/Krnsa/Rama). If you want to know more about Hinduism on a wider scale you might be interested in other schools of thought (google things like "Dvaita and Advaita", "Shaivism", "Vaishnava"). I hope you have alot of time on your hands because it will be impossible to learn everything in one lifetime

Hope this helps.... do you have any specific questions? Perhaps we can be of more help that way.

[imranhasan]

Thank you, Gaea for your response.

 

I really would appreciate if you can give a little more elaboration on this. Do you mean that the vedas have differences in their teachings? One who ascribes to any of these different teachings will be a hindu?

 

Can you please give a brief example of how significant these difference can go up to?

 

For example, can one be a hindu and not worship any idols? can one be a hindu and not believe in reincarnation?

 

Thank you again, for your time.

 

Regards,

[rand0M aXiS]

Here is a true copy of the Constitution signed by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1966:

 

 

 

CONSTITUTION OF ASSOCIATION

 

1. The name of the society is the International Society for Krishna- Consciousness.

 

2. The headquarters of the Soceity are located at Radhakrishna Temple, 26 Second Avenue, New York City, 10003, USA.

 

3. The objectives for which the Society is being established are: (A) To educate the greater human society in the techniques for spiritual life as the basis for a balanced psychic and biological development, and thereby achieve for the first time in human society a real peace and unity among the contending forces in the world today.

 

(B) To propagate the Sense of Godhead, the all attractive Personality of primal and eternal Form, as He Himself revealed in His own words in the Bhagavad-gita, The Holy Scripture of the Lord Sri Krishna, the Godhead.

 

© To bring together individuals in a Society, regardless of national- ity and irrespective of creed or caste, in order to develop a nearness to the Godhead and thereby the idea that within the members and humanity-at-large there is an infinitesmal soul-spirit that is part and parcel in quality with the Godhead, the Supreme Soul.

 

(D) To encourage the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who demonstrated practically the transcendental process of approaching the absolute Personality of Godhead by His acts of congregational chanting of the holy name of God, a process known as Samkirtan.

 

(E) To prove by active work and preaching that Lord Sri Krishna is the only enjoyer of all the outcomes of individual and collective sacrifice, penance, meditation, arts, culture, sciences, because He is the Supreme Proprietor of the whole universe, eternally apart of Him eveyone knows Him as a friend. Real peace can be attained when this is realized, in fact.

 

(F) To assist whenever and wherever possible in the buidling of a social structure on the real foundation of spiritual progress and es- tablishment of peace and unity between men throughout the world.

 

(G) to attempt to save men individually from the chain of victimization the ongoing trend in modern civilization operates by, in the name of ideologies of false sentiment, so that man may again be a free soul, to act and live freely with spiritual vision. This is possible by individual spiritual initiation, Diksha, when a man can see everything in Godhead and Godhead in everything.

 

(H) To further toward realization this highest truth as revealed by Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the six Goswamins headed by Srila Rupa and Santana Goswamins.

 

(I) To have for its objective amongst the others four principles which the Goswamins had in view. They are the following: 1. To erect a holy place of transcendental pastimes as well as a place where members of the Lord Sri Krishna can flourish.

 

2. To propagate all over the world in the form of missionaries the process of devotion, the transcendental service to the Godhead, and to make known that this devotional service is the main function of the human being.

 

3. In order to accomplish this, to adopt proselytizing methods of peaceful means and to establish a broader society of association for all members, including scholars and admirers, to engage in this service as put forth in the Srimad Bhagwatam.

 

4. To install, wherever it is possible, the worship and temple of Radhakrishna and that of Sri Chaitanya, and to give facility to everyone to become trained in the modes of Archan or preparatory principles of devotional service.

 

(J) To introduce to the members of the Society and humanity-at-large a simpler and more natural purpose in life by means suitable to the particular place and time, and as enjoined in the Bhagavad Gita.

 

(K) To organize educational programs, such as classes and lecture tours, and to institute services, such as mailing, for the benefit of the members of the Society and humanity-at-large.

 

(L) To publish periodicals, books and/or pamphlets in all important languages in order to reach human society and give an oportunity to same to communicate with the Society.

 

(M) To invoke the quality of goodness particularly in every member of the Society, individually by the process of Diksha and by establishing one in the status of a Brahmin (good and intelligent man) on the basis of truthfulness, knowledge and faith in the transcendental service of the Lord.

 

(N) Among the secondary objectives of the Society, it shall undertake the following activities:

 

1. To revive the scientific system of social orders of classification based on intellligence, martial spirit, productivity and commmon assis- tance, generally known as the four castes with reference to quality and worth for the common cause of world society.

 

2. To discharge as a matter of coures the vitiated system of supremacy of one man over another by false prestige of birthright or vested interests.

 

(*Note from rand0M aXiS: Please don't misunderstand "2." The New Webster's Dictionary defines discharge - to unload, to discharge cargo,to absolve, free oneself from, to release (am arrow or bullet) to rid of an electrical charge, to dismiss etc. . . . vitiated- spoiled ., made defective, corrupted (morals or taste), invalidated or made wholly or partly ineffective.)

 

3. To popularize the vegetable-grain diet under apporved methods in order that full value of protein, carbohydrate, fat and vitamin benefit may be derived therefrom.

 

4. To discourage intoxication or addicting habits of all descriptions and dimensions and to expose such persons thus affliced to approved methods of spiritual realization.

 

This document is signed by:

 

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Acharya Raymond Marais

Michael A Grant

Robet Lefkowitz

James S. Greene

[imranhasan]

Thank you rand0M aXiS

I am sorry, I cannot see the relevance of your post to my request. I had asked:

 

I really would appreciate if you can give a little more elaboration on this. Do you mean that the vedas have differences in their teachings? One who ascribes to any of these different teachings will be a hindu?

 

Can you please give a brief example of how significant these difference can go up to?

 

For example, can one be a hindu and not worship any idols? can one be a hindu and not believe in reincarnation?

 

In response you post the constitution of association of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. Please do note that I am not asking about any society, but about Hinduism. And please give your answers keeping in mind that I am new to this study.

Thank you & Regards,

<!-- v3 Arcade --><!-- /v3 Arcade -->******** type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_309919", true); *********>

[Avinash]

Hi Imranhasan,

You have asked how one becomes a Hindu. The same question can be asked about some other religion. For example, one may ask how one becomes a Muslim. Many Muslims will answer that one who follows the teachings of Quran is a Muslim. But often, this definition is not strictly followed. In government records many are mentioned as Muslims because they belong to Muslim families even if they may violate some of the teachings of Quran.

 

As you can see, irrespective of whatever definition you may prefer for the word 'Muslim', in practice, more definitions than one are used.

The same is the case with 'Hindu'. Often a person is called a Hindu because he belongs to a Hindu family even if his beliefs may be vastly different from those of the other members of the same family.

 

So, rather than going into how to define 'Hindu', let me tell what beliefs comprise Hinduism.

 

As one poster has mentioned, Hinduism can be considered as a collection of religions. This is because there are many groups within Hinduism. If you want, I or somebody else here can talk (as per our knowledge) about some specific group. But in this post I will only mention the beliefs common across those groups.

 

Again, let me take parallel with Islam. If we ask one book which contains the teachings of Islam, then the name is 'Quran'. If we ask who gave those teachings, then the answer is Prophet Muhammed. (I understand that many may object to this saying that the teachings originally came from Allah. However, to the common folks on Earth, the teachings were given by Prophet Muhammed even if he, in turn, got those teachings from Allah). But, in case of Hinduism, we cannot pinpoint a single book or a single teacher. It is believed that ages ago, many sages gathered spiritual knowledge. They passed on this knowledge to others. At present, that knowledge is distributed across various books: Vedas, Puransas, Itihasa, Ramayana (a poetry) etc. So, you can say that Hindus believe in the teachings of these books (though not all Hindus interprete these teachings the same way).

Now, what are these beliefs?

 

1. One supreme God:- Hindus believe in a single supreme God with many demigods and demigoddesses (who are not supreme). Not all sects of Hinduism agree on who this supreme is, but it is common belief across all sects that there is one Supreme.

 

2. Eternal soul:- One's body dies but his soul is eternal.

 

3. Rebirth after death:- The soul accepts a new body. What kind of body one is reborn depends on what good and bad actions he performed in previous birth(s). Based one one's good deeds, one may become so spiritually advanced that he is not reborn again i.e. he becomes liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Then, it is said that he has attained 'moksha'.

 

4. Law of Karma i.e. 'as you sow, so shall you reap':- Your good and bad actions always affect you even if you may not know what actions of yours are affecting you in what way or even if you forget those actions. You experience the results of some of those actions in the same birth and the remaining in future births in case a single birth is not sufficient for the results of all the actions.

 

5. Heaven and hell:- Going to heaven or hell is a corollary of the law of karma. You do good and after death you go to heaven. Do bad and you go to hell. If you do some good actions and some bad, therefore, after death, some part of time you will spend in heaven and some in hell. You are in heaven/hell only death and rebirth. The time spent in heaven/hell may not be sufficient to take care of all your accumulated karma. You have experience the results of remaining karma in future births as mentioned in (4) above. If you attain moksha (as explained in (3)), then you go to supreme abode (or highest heaven).

 

These are some of the beliefs of Hinduism I could think of now.

[Gaea]

Hi

I can only answer your questions from my viewpoint so please forgive me if i'm not more expansive...

 

Thank you, Gaea for your response.

I really would appreciate if you can give a little more elaboration on this. Do you mean that the vedas have differences in their teachings?

 

This can be the case. For example, the Shiva Purana will have a teaching that many Dvaitins will find antagonistic. You see, you it must understood that there are different teachings for different people. Imagine your body is a vessel. Different people have different sized vessels. Moreover there may be some substances that the vessel might not be able to hold because of its material. Therefore the Vedic people of old, realised souls, evolved beings (whatever you want to call them) taught an ideology that was relevant for the time and the place and for the people who were listening. So, Christ taught his Teachings, Mohammed taught his Teachings, etc. etc. - the teachings were relevant for the time/place/constitution of the people who "needed saving". The one thing you will find constant is LOVE AND DEVOTION for God, whatever the intracacies of philosophy. I would ask you to see this unity in diversity.

 

One who ascribes to any of these different teachings will be a hindu?

 

Hey, why not? "Hindu", as Avinash alluded to, is just a label for the body. If it makes you happy, good for you, use it. Spirituality is universal to everyone.

 

Can you please give a brief example of how significant these difference can go up to?

 

Some will say God has a form/name, some will say not. Some will say everybody is God, others will be disgusted by this thought and say God is above us. Very different, as you can see. However none of them will say "Hate God", "Hate people" etc. All realise the importance of Love.

 

For example, can one be a hindu and not worship any idols? can one be a hindu and not believe in reincarnation?

 

This is a popular misconception encouraged by those who know nothing about Hinduism and try to write text books about it. Hindus are not Idol worshippers in the sense that the Ten Commandments forbid (OTHER POSTERS - if you have a quiff with this start off a different thread please!). Why we use Murtis ("Idols") is a whole different story. But essentially yes, there are many Hindus who do not use Murtis in their regular practice. There are also some Hindus (but not many) who don't believe in reincarnation. Are they gonna burn in hell for this? No, i don't think so. The most important thing is LOVE GOD. That is the essence of Hinduism. It is the essence of almost every religion on this planet (at least in their original states).

G.

[Logical]

 

I am completely new to the study of Hinduism. I would appreciate, if someone would kindly enlighten me on what are the essential beliefs ascribing to which, a person becomes a Hindu.

Serious answers only, please.

Thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu

Pls read above link.

[kcp1982]

Beliefs and Facts of Hinduism

 

1.

Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world, dating back to millions of years.

 

2.

Hinduism is the most peace-loving Religion of all. This can be proven by the fact that Hindustan (The Land of the Hindus) or India has never attacked or invaded another nation. The Hindus have never stolen land belonging to others. The other religions certainly cannot say the same.

 

3.

The Hindus have the richest culture of all.

 

4.

The Hindu scriptures are the oldest known to man. There main scripture of Hinduism is the The Bhagavad-Gita. The Bhagavad-Gita is the only word of God in Person. It is the conversation between a man called Arjun and God himself in the human form, Lord Krishna.

 

5.

Hinduism preaches that there is only ONE god, who has many different manifestations. Hinduism is the only religion based on following a God who was actually seen by millions of people in the past and who will be seen again by millions in the future. God appeared as Lord Ram about 2 million years ago, as Lord Krishna 5000 years, as Lord Buddha 2500 years ago, and will appear again as Lord Kalki in 427,000 years time.

 

6.

Hinduism is the only religion, which clearly states that there is life on other Planets, and actually gives description of life and the names of other Planets with living beings. This information can be found in the Shrimad Bhagavatam.

 

7.

Hinduism preaches that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.

There are four ages (Yugas):

Satya Yuga: The age of the truth and true religion. The yuga lasts 1.728 million years.

Treta Yuga: The introduction of ignorance takes place in this age. The yuga lasts 1.296 million years.

Dvapara Yuga: Increased decline in the truth and religious values takes effect in this age. The yuga lasts 864,000 years.

Kali Yuga: The age of irreligion and ignorance. The truth being virtually non-existent. The yuga lasts 432,000 years.

We are now 5000 years into the Kali Yuga, after another 427,000 years. The Satya Yuga will start, and true religion (Hinduism) will once again be the only religion of the world.

 

8.

Hindus believe in the law of Karma.

Karma is the Law of action and reaction. For every action we take, we face a reaction in the future. Do good today, and tomorrow will be good day. Do bad today, and tomorrow will be a bad day. Nothing happens by chance or luck. Everything happens according to our karma.

 

The Law of Karma

 

9.

Hindus believe in Reincarnation.

The soul passes from one body to the next. We never die we just keep changing bodies. What you will be in your next life will depend on your karmic actions taken in this and previous lives.

 

The Reality of Reincarnation

 

10.

Hinduism preaches that God is present in the heart of every living being, including animals, as the super soul, accompanying the individual soul.

 

11.

Hinduism is the only religion, which preaches vegetarianism. All life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice non-injury.

The action of killing and eating animals is very bad karma and will have equal opposite reactions in proportion. Due to the law of Karma, if you kill and eat animals now, you will be killed and eaten in the future. You will be treated the same way you treat others, including animals.

 

Must We Kill In Order To Live?

 

12. The oldest and most systematic language in the World is a Hindu language, Sanskrit.

 

13. Hinduism preaches that all living beings have a soul. The only religion, which preaches that animals too have a soul.

 

14. The Worlds first University was established by the Hindus in Takshila (India) in 700 B.C. It had more than 10,000 students from all over the World studying more than 60 subjects.

 

15. Ayurveda is the oldest medical science.

 

16. The most intellectual game of all, Chess. Was invented by the Hindus.

 

17. Martial Arts and Meditation originate from the Hindus.

[Yogkriya]

Hinduism pertains to the ageless Vedic Sanatana Dharma as was practiced by the Aryans of India (arya = noble person, race). Ater the muslim invasion of India about 1000 years ago, this ancient spiritual culture of Sanatana Dharma gained popularity as 'Hinduism' after the Indus valley where it has been primararily practiced. The Vedas do not write the religion as Hindu, but Hinduism represents it in its entiriy and not just one stream.

The Vedic culture also contains the peronal as well as impersonal lines of Philosophy. The Islamic philosophy can be said to be impersonal as they don't believe in a personification of God and don't believe in having images of God like in Hindu Temples.

There are also different lines of thoughts and philosophy. But in a nut shell Hinduism represents a culture that has been alive and practiced for about over 50,000 years. But in fact this spiritual culture is millions of years old. The various "avatars" or personifications of God are also worshipped. And there are basically two kinds of spiritual practices 'sakam' and 'nishkam'. the first one, is done to obtain material or spiritual gains, and the second one is done for just pleasing the God and obtaining liberation. Love, devotion, Truth, justice, non-violence, brotherhood and courage are the main pillars that help the spiritual life of a Hindu.

Of course, in this age of Kali-yuga, not everyone is truthful. And this is true for every religion, race or country. But these are the general

principles that do not really differ much from other world religions and Hindus try to follow this religiously and logically without fanatism.

But Hinduism is much much deeper and ancient with the Vedic knowledge touching every aspect of human material and spiritual life and its growth. And these also included ellaborate scintific works carried out by the ancient rishis on various subjects of importance, from astronomy, astrology, alchemy, biology, Kayakalpa, surgery (including plastic surgery), medicine, advanced warfare, samudriik Vigyan, telepathy and so on. And the Hindu scriptures are still being studied by numerous research departments in major universities world over.

 

Where Space travel and highly advanced warfare weaponary and streams like spiritual healing sciences were there, highly complex and well developed forms of art, music, dance, culinary and culture were also part of ancient Hindu life. Many of the works accomplished by the ancient yogies are still to be understood and rediscovered by modern day scinetists. And a person can uplift himself towards the divine following this tradition and spiritual way of life. It is the way to bring soul to supersoul. To bring human conscious to divine conscious. May you call it Krishna Consciousness or Shiva Consciousness. Christians call it the Christ consciousness.

 

Since Hinduism has many different lines of philosophies and ways to spiritual upliftement, each time some prophet or saint comes following one school of thought only, his followers later on, at times, start drifting away form the mainstream Hinduism that is liberal and more flexible. Such break away sects then try to accentuate their individuality by claiming that they are non-Hindus or Hinduism is not what they practice. Iskcon is an example of this. But in fact the devotion or bhakti we practice is the same and the principles are the same in their essence. Hinduism, Islam, Christianinty all prophesise devotion to God in their own way.

Though there can be volumes after volumes written on the subject, I recommend also reading the lives of important ancient rishies or sages, and the avataras of God. Shiva worship has been major in ancient Vedic culture, whether we see the Satyuga, Dwapar or Treta Yuga. Along with that Vishu and Durga worships have also been important through the centuries. Hinduism chiefly has three important streams - Shivaism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism. Each emanating from their respective forms of the divine, namely Shaivs follow Shiva as the Supreme God, Vaishnavs follow Vishnu (and his avatars Rama, Krishna), and Shakts follow Durga and her different expansions. All the avatars have their premordial energies that control various aspects of nature or prakriti governing the universe and life. The worship traditions have been following through from one generation to another down the ages.

 

The soul is considered to be immortal and changes bodies from one birth to another according to its karmic bondage. Hindus believe in rebirth and re-incarnation. After the demise of the material body, the five elements return back to their individual sources. And the soul continues its spiritual journey. Law of Karma binds the living soul to mundane material existence and is important to understand it. What goes around - comes around concept is well understood and followed even by illitrate Hindus in villages.

 

By spiritual practice, one can uplift oneself with the divine mercy and if the soul gets liberation, it is freed from this circle of birth and death, which is mainly the aim of all spiritual practices and devotion. Shiva Gita, Bhagwad Geeta and Shiva Samhita explain these beautifully. There are four Vedas and 108 Upanishads, besides numerous, bhashyas, Puranas, and commentaries written over the centuries by enlightened seers of India.

Whether it is the Vaishnava or Shaiva way of pure devotion, mantric ways of tantra or Yogic ways of chakras, kundalini and pranayama, all are considered important and devotees practice them according to their inclinations, level and aim.

I just explained a very cursory and brief information. This can get more technical and deeper, if needed. But in a nut shell. This is it.

 

Also, Please refer to real Hindu sites and not the ones who "pretend" to be Hindu sites. You can also refer to:

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/

 

 

Om Namah Shivaya !!

 

 

I would appreciate, if someone would kindly enlighten me on what are the essential beliefs ascribing to which, a person becomes a Hindu.

 

Serious answers only, please.

 

Thanks.

[Guest guest]

Hinduism, a misnomer is a way of life and not a religion.

It comprises all beliefs Christianity, Muslim, Sikhism etc., etc., in this world and beyond.

It is not limited to Shiva, Vishnu etc.,

God is present everywhere. But how do you realise him? To start with, you concentrate on a fiorm and as you advance fell His Presence in Form and Otherwise.

When you have utter belief in Him and feel His Presence near you, in youall the time, you live your life in the way He has ordained it.

Hold on to His hands like a child clings on to its Mother's hands feeling security and Love Supreme.

God doesn't restde in just Temples, Churches and Mosques. He is with you all times.

Our belief is sbjective and manifests in Temples etc., but while away, think we are intelligent and are leading our life. When in trouble, we feel God is not helping us. When powerful, we forget Him and feel powerful.

Once our belief is 100 % we will start feeling His Presence and really live!

No amount of knowledge of scripts and perfoming rituals is of any use in realising Him, but absolute faith and affection and love for Him will make youlive in Him.

balaravi

[saumya]

I agree with RAVINDRAN R. Previously I was also confused what,why etc.But when I started to believe in GOD and His ultimate Power, I feel secure and protected.Its all inside us.We must seek to know it.

 

GOD is too lovable and Hinduism emphasizes it to its fullest.

[Guest guest]

Good day....

 

The reasons I believe that formlessness of God is considered by modern

day thinkers (esp. Hindu thinkers) as the more advanced concept of God

than God ultimately possessing a form of His own, are :

 

1) The notion that temple worship is primitive and mainly performed by

backward people

 

2) Non-Hindus deride deity worship as idol worship

 

3) A formless God "incarnates" into form so that primitive man can

"see" Him with material eyes

 

4) God will be "limited" in some way if He possesses a form.

Specifically an "all-pervading formless" God is more powerful and

mysterious than a God "living" within a body. That is to say if He is

limited to a Body then He cannot be all-pervading.

 

I believe that the logic we are used to, which is : either one or the

other, this or that but not both simultaneously is a limited logic

applicable only in the material world. God has a body albeit a

spiritual one beyond the laws of material physics. Simultaneous

existence as Form and formless is called cinta bhedha-abhedha logic

which is spiritual logic. He can "multiply" Himself and be

simultaneously present even between atoms - this concept is consistent

with our Hindu scriptures which state that God is present everywhere.

In other words God can replicate Himself from Himself and still the

fully powerful entity that He is i.e. 1-1==1 OR 1-unlimited== 1 AND =

unlimited, which is a result impossible for material maths and physics

but fully acceptable in spiritual physics i.e. God even though

replicating Himself and His power into countless forms between atoms ,

OR an all powerful boundless presence everywhere - still remains an

all powerful entity whose power remains full and "unexhausted". Most

people of Indian descent know that our forefathers and the great sages

of the past were anything but primitive - we know the history of India

as a materially and spiritually advanced civilisation possessing

knowledge of mathematics, architecture, astronomy etc Yet somehow we

have presently lost all of that knowledge and as a result we are

obviously grappling to discover truth. It is not my intention to make

this an "Indian" thing as all civilisations on earth are descendents

of Manu and in previous ages the whole world followed one religion. I

also don't believe that the present form of Hinduism we are following

today was that religion of the past but simply a "tranformation" of

that religion.

 

We may not have the intelligence, knowledge and ultimately the "proof"

that the great sages had in realising God but atleast we know the

ultimate conclusions of great sages such as Vyasa who put in writing

the Vedas and his personal favourite the Srimad Bhagavatam. All is not

lost.

[imranhasan]

Thank you, Ravindran R.

 

Hinduism, a misnomer is a way of life and not a religion.

It comprises all beliefs Christianity, Muslim, Sikhism etc., etc., in this world and beyond.

Your statement is clearly a very attractive one. If it is as true as it is attractive, it can lead humanity to an extremely blissful situation. I congratulate you for that. However, I request some clarification, please.

1- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity and Islam is the Day of Resurrection of the Dead and the Day of Judgment. Does Hinduism too ascribe to that belief?

 

2- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity is that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Does Hinduism ascribe to this belief?

 

3- One of the essential beliefs of Islam is that God is absolutely unique and was never born to any parents, nor has or requires any children. Does Hinduism hold this as true?

 

4- If what you have mentioned is true, then Hinduism would comprise of the belief that Jesus was the son of God (from Christianity) and also that God has no children (from Islam). Would that not be mutually exclusive?

To keep this exchange fruitful and possible, I would restrict myself to these points only. I will defer my questions on the remaining part of your response, till later.

Thank you very much indeed, for your time.

[Guest guest]

Namaste!

 

Firstly, thanks to all of you.

 

Dear Art Rajkumar, your views on deity worship as an idol worship

in this modern age are precise.

 

What can you say yourself about point four -"all-pervading formless" vs. living God?

 

I can only confirm that God's math cannot be handled in traditional

materialistic view

of people.

 

Can you please elaborate more the topic of acinta bhedha-abhedha logic?

 

yours LeoB

[imranhasan]

Thank you very much Avinash. I greatly appreciate your contribution. God bless you.

Before I send you any question on your reply, I would bring to attention an important point. You mention rebirth as an essential belief of Hinduism. However, in the reply posted by our friend Gaea, he writes:

 

There are also some Hindus (but not many) who don't believe in reincarnation.

This obviously implies that a person may not believe in rebirth and still be a Hindu. Subsequently implying that rebirth is not an essential belief of Hinduism. Would that be correct?

Thank you very much

[Gaea]

These are interesting points. Whilst I won't say that Hinduism encompasses all religions, I will say that if you do away with the belief of the absolute word, the seeming contridictions become no more. What i mean by this is that the words of the Bible/Koran/etc can never fully describe God and His infinite lila because He cannot be contained by language or grammar. So with that in mind, let's answer some of your questions:

 

1- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity and Islam is the Day of Resurrection of the Dead and the Day of Judgment. Does Hinduism too ascribe to that belief?

 

Absolutely. Is it not concievable that these concepts of resurrection and judgement are a direct synonym for reincarnation and karma alike?

 

2- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity is that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Does Hinduism ascribe to this belief?

 

Why not? The "Son of God" phrase is widely accepted as a synonym for incarnation (Avatar).

 

3- One of the essential beliefs of Islam is that God is absolutely unique and was never born to any parents, nor has or requires any children. Does Hinduism hold this as true?

 

Yes, God is unique. He is the original. And being as such, there is no possibility that He had parents - if you are original, you have no predecessor. So yes, Hinduism holds this true. God is One without a second.

 

4- If what you have mentioned is true, then Hinduism would comprise of the belief that Jesus was the son of God (from Christianity) and also that God has no children (from Islam). Would that not be mutually exclusive?

 

Following my explanation, Hinduism would hold that Jesus was an incarnation of God (or perhaps a prophet - i won't say either way, i don't want to get into that argument). So that is now reconciled. You may argue that an Avatar has parents and that Islam says God cannot have parents. I would ask you to open your mind - The original supreme Lord has no parent. If He wants to appear in this Earth (which, by the way, Hinduism holds as a grand illusion anyway so anything that happens here is not really real) He selects parents. Are these His "true" parents? No. Of course not. They are just His "tools" with which He acts in this world.

All a bit confusing, no? That's why when you first posted on this forum my reply had an emphasis on Love and Devotion. If x amount of effort is put into finding contridictions (which are unavoidable and inevitable) then x amount of effort must also be put into finding commanalities - fair is fair. So, Love and Devotion - the universal Truth of every religion - is the unifying factor.

[Gaea]

 

Subsequently implying that rebirth is not an essential belief of Hinduism.

 

The operative words in my reply were "not many" - very few Hindus, at least the ones that know anything about the Vedas, will deny reincarnation. That said, I read your question with respect to my own beliefs about Hinduism itself. You ask "essential" belief. In my opinion, the only essential belief is Love and Devotion to God. Doesn't matter if a devotee does not believe in reincarnation, know the 64 subtle marks of an incarnation, know the Vedas inside out, etc. etc... The only thing that matters in the end of the day is Love and Devotion - THAT is the essential belief.

[Avinash]

 

... Subsequently implying that rebirth is not an essential belief of Hinduism. Would that be correct?

There are few people who call themselves as Hindus but do not believe in rebirth. However, they are very few. Moreover, all of our scriptures talk about rebirth. So, if you go by the teachings of the scriptures of Hinduism, then rebirth is a very fundamental belief.

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

 

There are also some Hindus (but not many) who don't believe in reincarnation.

I think there are no practicing Hindus who do not believe in rebirth, as that is an undisputable and fundamental aspect of the Hindu system of thought. Some people are born in Hindu families but don't believe in their religion. They still sometimes categorize themselves as Hindu, simply based on their birth. I would not take such people into consideration when trying to determine what are the fundamental beliefs of Hinduism. Hinduism is based on scripture, and the Vedic scriptures are clear on one point, if nothing else, and that is that the soul is eternal and rebirth is a reality.

[Guest guest]

Thank you, imranhassan,

 

Light was thought of as wave and later it was found that it acts like matter. Matter has a wave associated with it.

 

> 1- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity

> and Islam is the Day of Resurrection of the Dead

> and the Day of Judgment. Does Hinduism too ascribe

> to that belief?

 

1.Resurrection and Judgement are universal. It may happen everyday within us every moment or happen in another dimension which is beyond TIME. But it wil HAPPEN.

 

> 2- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity

> is that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Does

> Hinduism ascribe to this belief?

 

2. Revelations in various regions of the world keeps happening ad GOD sends or manifests in ways beyond our perception to guide. Whether you call him a Saint, Son of God, Prophet or Incarnation is a local perception and has the same meaning.

 

> 3- One of the essential beliefs of Islam is that

> God is absolutely unique and was never born to any

> parents, nor has or requires any children. Does

> Hinduism hold this as true?

 

3. Islam's principle is absolutely acceptable as God is Absolute and no son is required and not Born as ascertained by Upanishads. See 2 above

 

> 4- If what you have mentioned is true, then Hinduism

> would comprise of the belief that Jesus was the son

> of God (from Christianity) and also that God has no

> children (from Islam). Would that not be mutually

> exclusive?

 

4 By 3 above no exclusiveness is there. Common logic does not bind HIM

 

5 Whether one calls GOD by any name and ascribes certain beliefs, is absolutely right as applied to himself. What is more important is to attain HIM and live inHIM. Sanathana Dharma does not bind one to any particular method of living.

 

I would add that a Really Devout Hindu will be able to pray in a Temple, Church, Gurudwara, Mosque or wherever there is a special manifestation of GOD, with equal devotion and feel HIS Presence.

balaravi (Ravindran R)

[Guest guest]

Dear LeoB,

 

Diety worship is not at all irrelevant in modern age.

All people beleive consciously or unconsciously in a

personality cult, even today. It may be cricket or

films or politics. If so many personalities can be

worshipped as great, why not Krishna, the Supreme

personality? And more so if it is in line with the

scriptures, how can anyone think to call it primitive,

alone. It is as much modern as it is primitive. And it

also is a deep form of meditation. That is my

experience.

 

Regards

Abhilash

[Logical]

Many people had started to reach to a similar destination at top of hill via different paths. There can be some differences in different paths, but starting point and destination will be the same. We may have covered certain distances on our different paths. Thinking our or other's path is not right and change it or try to change of others--may mean to spoil whatever covered and to restart afresh.

[Guest guest]

Dear Imran.

 

I do not profess to be any authority on Hinduism, and I am sure you will receive more authoritative replies, but here are my 2 cents:

 

1- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity and Islam is the Day of

Resurrection of the Dead and the Day of Judgment. Does Hinduism too

ascribe to that belief?

 

Vikas: According to sanatana dharma (essentially the base for Hinduism as well as Jainism, Buddhism & Sikhism) everyday is a day of judgment. You are made accountable for every past deed (good or bad) with the deserved fruits coming your way (again, good as well as bad). So long as good or bad deeds are done with a feeling of attachment, you would keep on receiving the resultant actions. Albeit the reaction to the actions set by you is like a boomerang, it takes some to come back to you. I am as yet not sure, what dictates the timing (ie how soon shall you reap what you sow).

 

There is one another way in which I can answer the concept of judgment day: As per Hinduism, Brahma (Universe, or in personified form Lord Brahma) has a very definite life (the measure of this life is different and runs into billions of years). Every now and then Brahma destroys itself and merges with the LOrd Infinite (call Him Krishna, Shiva or Allah, philosophically, names do not matter). In that sense, yes, Hinduism does believe in "dissolution" of this world.

 

2- One of the essential beliefs of Christianity is that Jesus Christ

was the son of God. Does Hinduism ascribe to this belief?

 

Vikas: According to our beliefs, the Lord and his 'expansions' come to this world in many forms, many times and at different intervals. Each such 'avatar' has its own meaning and purpose. Therefore, it is not difficult for a Hindu to bow to any such divine persona. So, yes, Hindus would definitely believe Jesus to be 'Son of God". Where they may differ, or build upon this statement is, he was a more aware son of God and realized that he is a son of God. We all are sons of God, but in most part have forgotten it and do not live up to it, in that manner. To answer differently, 'Once a man realizes Jesus as his savior (ie that he is but a reflection of God, or son of God) he attains salvation. Through only such knowledge can one realize the Holy Spirit and God himslef (for a Hindu, through atma you will come to know the parmatma).

 

 

3- One of the essential beliefs of Islam is that God is absolutely

unique and was never born to any parents, nor has or requires any

children. Does Hinduism hold this as true?

 

Vikas: I have a question - What do you mean by "La Ilah Il-Allah". If God is one, then what else is there but God alone? For ex. You have a body, that body has different parts. By saying that because of the food you take with your hands and eat with your mouth, your body grows, are you trying to say that these body parts are any different existence from the body itself. Another way to look at this is: Electricity in the house is the force that runs all appliances, but you need to press a different switch every time. Does it mean that a different electricity is being talked about everytime?

 

The concept of evolution in Hinduism is, there was one absolute, it decided to procreate to recreate. The long and short is that One absolute divided itself into: One Spiritual form, a material aspect (the elements), the "holy spirit" (Shakti, paramatma) that inter-twined with the material aspect to create living and non-living universe. To bring order certain divine laws were instituted. Through each living being He enjoys Himself and His creation. So while asking this question, are you referring to the original Absolute (that has merely changed its form, mathematically, the Universal set, and the worls and each aspect of creation being the sub-set of this universal set) or are you referring to his extensions? In this sense, Hindus definitely to - La Ilah Il-Allah, because to them every thing, living or otherwise, is Allah itself. The confusion arises only when you limit the power of the limitless Allah by wanting to see him as a different and separate existence.

 

4- If what you have mentioned is true, then Hinduism would comprise of

the belief that Jesus was the son of God (from Christianity) and also

that God has no children (from Islam). Would that not be mutually

exclusive?

 

Vikas: I hope after reading 2 & 3 above, you do not have any misgivings about this question any more. The son and the father are no different.

 

Humbly,

 

Vikas.

[Guest guest]

While rebirth is an essential belief of Hinduism, Hinduism is much more than that. The religion does not revolve around one or two concepts/ books. The problem in describing Hinduism lies in the limitation of the English language and the western thought process of observation- inference and QED. The Buddhist analysis of thought -- totally without limits -- makes it easier to understand Hinduism.