Peculiarities of Hinduism - Essay Example

Yellow=delete red=make change Religion has become one of the touchiest topics of the day. With many world religions battling it out over cannon laws and shared or unshared beliefs, sometimes people forget or do not understand what is at the core of the belief systems. By putting aside this murky mist one can see what lies beneath. Hopefully one can clear away the clouds of what lay on top, and see exactly what each different religions believes, seeing the truth behind any religion. The religions of Hinduism and Christianity both view the world differently, and have different explanations for the world around us. This can be seen by their varying ideas and explanations of the world, as well as the distinct differences in their beliefs and religion systems. Hinduism is a complex, ancient religion. It is unique because it has no known founder, as with the other religions. Hinduism cannon was put together over the years and mixed with other traditions and lore, until it finally was written down in the Vedas. It is the world's oldest religion, and also the worlds third largest, falling in place behind Christianity and Islam (Hin). Often, Hinduism is confused and labeled as a polytheistic religion, when it is not as simple as that. The writings teach that there is one main deity, Brahman, who can from time to time appear to humans in many different forms and shapes. The Brahman is the supreme deity in the Hinduism religion, however it offers an interesting shape and role to the kind of divine and divinity most religions offer. The God of Hinduism is referred to as Brahman when it is referred to as the all encompassing supreme power of the world. It is one and part of the world, and is part of everything and everyone within its creation. "Brahman is often described succinctly as sacchidananda, meaning 'Truth-Consciousness-Bliss', not only possessing the qualities but also being their very essence."( Hin) showing that inside the religion of Hinduism, the Brahman is everything and anything, and is the supreme force and energy of the world. There are many different interpretations and understandings of Brahman. One such belief states that "ultimately Brahman (the impersonal God) is beyond mere intellectual description and can be understood only through direct spiritual experience, where the 'knower' and the 'known' are subsumed into the act of 'knowing'. The goal is to "wake up" and realize that one's atman, or soul, is really identical to Brahman, the uber-soul(Hin). This helps explain the idea that the Brahman unites all people, and is part of everything and the entirety of the world around us. Several different areas of thought have ideas that contradict this school of thought, and may believe that the Brahman actually has being and personality, and may associate the Brahman with one of the lesser gods of the religion, such as Vishnu, Shiva, or Shakti. All of these different interpretations of the Hindu understanding all come from its ancient history, different readings of the sacred texts, as well as different and modern interpretations of faith. There is also another understanding of the Hindu divine, this being the idea of Isharva, of a more personal idea and personality of the God figure. This is the idea of God as a supreme being, and not an overwhelming force and eternal power such as tied into the Brahman ideology. Some sects of Hinduism do not believe in this idea at all, and some of them believe in it in different forms and facets of belief. Also included in the Hindu belief system is the idea of devas, or demi-gods. It is not uncommon for a Hindu worshipper to pick one of these gods as their personal god, and this god may be passed down as part of family life, traditions, or culture. These personal demi-gods are very unique to the Hinduism religion, and a integral part of their culture, artwork, and history (Hin). Hindus also have varying thoughts and beliefs on the connection between the human and divine. The Atman is the Hindu word for "soul" or "self", and is associated with Hindu beliefs of the personhood and soul. (The). Various schools of Hindu thought have different ideologies on the Atman. Some believe the Atman is at one with the Brahman, and part of the all encompassing power and soul of the universe. Other schools of thought see a different between the personal Atman of a person's soul, and the divine Atman that helps make up the Brahman. A third belief school holds the idea that the Atman is the "is the universal life-principle, the animator of all organisms, and the world-soul", and thus slightly different than the other main ideas and thoughts of the other Hindu schools of belief (The). The ideals of Hinduism offer a different approach and look than that of Christianity. Hinduism offers a look at an all encompassing power and soul, and that ideal it its self is not to far away from the Christian idea and belief in God. Christians believe in one God, and are a monotheistic religion. They believe that this one God created everything, and they believe in Jesus Christ, his Son. The Christian model of faith it the Holy Trinity. They believe In God the Father, God the Son(Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Similar to the different demi-gods of Hinduism, however Christians believe that each part of God is one with the others. A common metaphor for the Christian belief in God is the clover, it is one plant, but has three leaves. However, unlike Hinduism, Christians have a messiah, or founder of the religion. While Christians and Judaism share a common background, (Christianity), Christians believe that Jesus Christ, God's only Son, came down from heaven and died on the cross at the hands of men. It was Jesus who helped lay down the teachings of Christianity, and he was the founder, as well as part of God, in the religion. This is just one difference between the religions of Christianity and Hinduism. Christians believe that "Christianity continued from Judaism a belief in the existence of a single omnipotent God who created and sustains the universe. Against this background belief in the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit was expressed as the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which considers that the three persons of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) share a single Divine substance. This substance is not considered divided, in the sense that each person has a third of the substance; rather, each person is considered to have the whole substance. The distinction lies in their relations, the Father being unbegotten, the Son begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeding. The "begetting" does not refer to Mary's conceiving Jesus, but to a divine begetting before Creation. In Reformed theology, the Trinity has special relevance to salvation, which is considered the result of an intra-Trinitarian covenant and in some way the work of each person. In its simplest form, the Father elects some to salvation before the foundation of the world, the Son performs the atonement for their sins, and the Spirit regenerates them so they can have faith in Christ, and sanctifies them (Chr). Just like Hinduism however, Christianity also has many different schools of thought, sects, and divisions. There are many different religions all under the main religion of Christianity, with Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist and Protestants, just to name a few (Chr). At the basic levels of belief, Christians and Hindus also have several differences. Christians believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and Hindus have no main founding figure. Also, Hindus believe in the idea of demi-gods and lower figures, where Christianity does not. The belief differences between these two religions does not end there. At their basic core, the religions have different ideals and explanations for the unknown. Where Hinduism understands a greater connection between the human spirit, Atman, and the Brahman, the Christian religion puts somewhat of a separation between the divine and the human. The Christian religion places the Holy Trinity, which is not to be confused with polytheistic beliefs, as their supreme Holy being. However, a connection can be seen when Jesus becomes human, and he has qualities of both the human and Divine. However, Christianity teaches no other connection between the divine and human as distinct as the connection in Hinduism. Looking at these religions, one can see the spiritual, as well as mental differences. However, are these differences enough to fight and argue over The road to peace for all religions is through understanding and compromise, and only by understanding religions other than our own, will we be able to appreciate and truly know our own understanding of the divine. Read More