The Similarities and Differences of Judaism and Hinduism - Research Paper Example

24 July Assignment Religion is a very important walk of life for most people as they spend their lives living by the rules and faith of the religious path that they follow. There are a few major religions in the world that have been able to establish themselves vastly over most of the population; they are Judaism and Hinduism and have a large following world over. Even in today’s modern society, most people have adapted religion into their way of life and have made it the regulation by which they live. In the modern world, a few major religions have taken over the grasp of the world, namely, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. This paper helps to discuss the various details, rituals, characteristics etc of both Judaism and Hinduism and aims to locate the similarities and differences between the two as well. Judaism is said to be the modern religious philosophy and the way of life that the Jewish people follow. This form of religion has been said to arise from the Hebrew Bible and helps to depict the relationship that God had developed with the children of Israel, the original Jews. It has been established for over 3000 years now and the texts or scriptures of the religion have been greatly influenced by Abrahamic religions that include Christianity, Islam as well as the Baha’i faith. The Torah is the authoritative scripture that is made use of while referring to, understanding and learning about the religion of Judaism. Hinduism on the other hand is the main religion that is followed in the Indian subcontinent and its followers follow the Sanatana Dharma which basically constitutes the eternal law. It has been known to be one of the oldest living religions known to mankind, formulated during the Vedic period during the Iron Age in India. Most Hindus engage in several rituals throughout the course of the year, both at home as well as at the temples. The most devout Hindus perform actions like waking up early to pray to the Sun god as well as worshipping the shrine that they have in their homes. They usually offer incense and food to the Gods as well while reciting hymns from religious scriptures and texts as well as sing and meditate with the help of devotional hymns, dedicated to God. Whenever there is an auspicious occasion in a Hindu household, like a marriage, birth of a baby, as well as death, rituals are followed in order to ensure that God is viewed as sacred despite the kind of adversities and joys that a human being might undergo during the course of his lifetime. Hindus chant a variety of mantras as well as undertake religious customs and rituals with great pride and devotion. For example, when upper caste children reach the age to begin with formal education, they have to undergo the sacred thread ceremony which is also known as the “Upanayanam”. Another ritual that is followed and is customary in all Hindu households is covering the body of a dead person with a white cloth, worshipping it as well as performing a ‘puja’ or a sacrifice to God and then burning the body on a funeral pyre and cremating it. Judaism is a faith that does not have as many rituals as Hinduism. However, Jews do follow a number of rituals like performing a bar mitzvah, havdalah etc. A bar mitzvah marks the coming of age of a Jewish child. When he or she reaches puberty, the family and friends conduct a bar mitzvah where the child then undertakes his journey into the rest of his life and is referred to as an adult in the religion. He receives money and gifts from his family and friends in order to embark upon the second chapter of his life. A havdalah on the other hand is a ceremony that is performed by most Jews around the world in a compulsory manner. According to this ritual, a brief ceremony takes place which marks the end of the Sabbath. It is a very short and simple procedure and mostly entails and provides emphasis on the spiritual aspect of a human being rather than a physical entity of God. Hinduism and Judaism share a number of similarities between each other however, also have a vast number of differences. Both these religions are ancient religions and have been practised since a very long time indeed. They are monotheistic in nature as in Hinduism; every God is a personality of the Lord Brahma whereas in Judaism, the entire universe is considered to be a part of God. Both religions are also two of the main religions practised in the world that have a caste system. The caste system as followed by people in Hinduism includes the Priestly class, the warrior class, and the mercantile class and then followed the untouchables or the shudras. In Judaism, there is also a similar system with a priestly class, the Levite class, the Yisrael class, and then the convert class of people. In both religions, people are not allowed to marry outside their castes. Both the religions have also developed sacred writings or texts and scriptures over the years. They are known as the Vedas in Hinduism and the Tanakh in Judaism. The concept of an afterlife has also been explained well in both religions. It consists of attaining enlightenment or ‘moksh’ as known as in Hinduism and the Judaist term or concept is the same as that of Hinduism. The differences between the two religions are that the founder of Judaism was Abraham and the founder of Hinduism consisted of ancient scholars or the almighty who had written down the texts in the form of the Vedas. Torah, in Judaism revealed to Moses, the information and truth about the religion of Judaism as well as the scripts and the chosen people of the God belonging to this religion is Elohim. In Hinduism on the other hand, the religion was formulated on the basis of scripts and texts laid down by many founders and not a single man or God. It also follows the endless cycle of rebirths and reincarnation which is not believed to be an aspect of Judaism. Finally, Hinduism originated in India whereas Judaism took its roots in Israel. There are many people in the world that have been practising both these religions and personally, I have had the opportunity to interview two people belonging to these religions on the basis of their similarities, differences as well as the preferences and tastes of the people with regard to the religion. My first interviewee is Mr. Pawan Agarwal, an Indian man, living in Calcutta, India, following Hinduism since birth as it was passed down to him by his forefathers. According to him, Hinduism is a walk of life that he was chosen to follow and tread upon and he spends a large amount of time worshipping God and practising rituals. Waking up in the morning and worshipping Lord Krishna has become a daily part of his life and he says that it is a custom that he has been following for the last twenty years of his life. He believes and has a great deal of faith in God. He carries out almost all the rituals and festivals with great gusto as he believes that paying due respect to God is the job of every human being because Hinduism has taught people to respect the creator of human beings. Indian mythology as well as scriptures and hymns have taught Mr. Agarwal a great deal about the culture which he is excited to pass onto his children. He believes that inculcating the faith that his parents instilled within him will make his children understand the importance of believing in a supreme power. Hinduism has taught him a great deal and has helped him gain a great amount of carnal knowledge and wisdom which he has been able to use in his life and ease out all the stress from the same. Mr. Cyrus Rose on the other hand, is a devout Jew and has been practising Judaism, which has been passed onto him from his family, for a long time. The man is a follower of Abrahamic teachings and is proud to proclaim the lessons that he has learnt from understanding the scripts of Judaism and all its subsidiaries. He had undergone a bar mitzvah when he was twelve years old, in order to mark his initiation into the adult world, and spoke about the same with great enthusiasm, talking about the incident as if it had taken place only yesterday. Furthermore, he also practices other Jewish rituals and they have helped him understand the path of his life better as he talks about the entire religion not as a set of rules and regulations that have been passed on in his family through the generations, but as a philosophy that he has been able to study, understand and incorporate within his lifestyle in order to make it better. In conclusion, both these interviews have been successful in trying to understand two religions that have formed a majority over the entire world with respect to their following and popularity. Both Judaism and Hinduism are beautiful religions to follow and people have been doing so for the last 3000 or more years. The concept of attaining enlightenment, knowledge as well as nirvana has been preached in both these religions and even though they have their similarities and differences, they both have a lot to teach people and thus people have a great amount of faith in both these religions as well. Both religions have many differences like their origins, and their ideas of an afterlife, but they do have a few similarities in the way that they share a set of rules that their followers must live by, just as has been talked about and discussed within the scope of this article. These two religions have had a huge impact on our world today, because they are still practiced by millions of people all over the world. They teach people how to live a correct life, and how to be kind to others while they are living on the Earth. Works Cited "Hinduism and Judaism." Relijournal.com. Web. 25 July. . Read More