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Compare Hinduism and Christianity
Compare Hinduism and Christianity
Compare Hinduism and Christianity
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After a superficial glance into the realm of Hinduism, one may make the emphatic and definitive claim that the religion is certainly monotheistic. Surely, the coexistence of 330 million gods and goddesses must be an obvious indication that the faith is the antithesis of monotheism. However, after gaining a deeper understanding of the Hindu tradition, it becomes apparent that the Western constructs and perception of the terms polytheism and monotheism may not be entirely applicable or suitable to approach a religion like Hinduism. Outside of Hinduism, it would be fairly logical to assert the mutual exclusivity of polytheism and monotheism. In Hinduism, on the other hand, the ideas of worshipping multiple gods and worshipping one god manage to …show more content…
Interestingly, the same Rig Veda proceeds to praise a wide variety of gods, using more or less the same vocabulary: for example, the text addresses the gods Soma, Tvastri, Varuna, and Vishnu as creators of the earth, the sky, and the sun (Doniger 11). However, the Veda, with both its polytheistic and monotheistic attributes, presents the synchronous and harmonious existence of both types of theisms. Hindus believe, then, that the plethora of gods collectively represent all of the different sides of the same ultimate Reality. In that sense, it is difficult to speak of Hinduism in terms of polytheism and monotheism, so long as the terms are used in their strictest sense. Hence, describing Hinduism as both polytheistic and monotheistic is a much more appropriate classification. Doniger effectually consolidates these ideas in a few compact statements: “And so it appears that I asked the wrong question at the start, the either/or question. Monotheism and polytheism are not mutually incompatible. Hindus are both monotheists and polytheists. No argument” (20). An emphasis on the coexistence of multiple deities also makes …show more content…
Vedanta, a major school of philosophy within the Hindu religion, provides space for both polytheism and monotheism. Swami Vivekananda, who himself worshipped the nirguna Brahman, was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, who worshipped the saguna Mother Kali. Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda both knew from their direct experiences that all of the different forms of gods, though superficially extensively different, ultimately lead to the same Reality. Furthermore Swami Vivekananda knew that “‘all religions are true’ but that the religion of each person’s time and place was the best expression of the truth for that person” (Doniger 18). Hence, with a place for even other religions, Hinduism cannot be reduced to being just polytheistic or just
In looking at the world, one would not be surprised to find a great variety of people with varying beliefs and cultural traditions according to the culture’s history and geographic location. But what might strike one as odd is a great similarity across most of those people as well: a belief in God. And not just any God, but a single God who has divine knowledge and power over humanity. Yet with these commonalities, the three traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each have a unique take on what they feel is the correct belief about God. But with so many commonalities, one might think the three traditions would be closer linked than they appear. Could these three faiths all have a common source beyond simply monotheistic beliefs, but rather a common belief in the same deity? For this paper, through the lens of divine revelation, I wish to research the connection between the three monotheistic traditions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism with respect to the identity of the Supreme Being (God, Allah, YHWH) and discover if these three identities are found in the same being.
Multiple Gods and Goddesses is what causes Hinduism to be known as a “polytheistic religion” (Naik par. 1). Furthermore, “some Hindus believe in the existence of three gods, some believe
Religion is worldwide and virtually understood by everyone. Not everyone believes in the same thing, of course; however, everyone knows about religion in the sense of the big picture. A polytheistic religion is the worship of or belief in multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, as opposed to a monotheistic religion which is the belief in one God. Four well-known polytheistic religions include: Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Taoism/Daoism. These are four of the most of influential world religions in the world. Each of these four religions is unique in its own way, in regards to its belief system and basic teaching. Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Taoism/Daoism each have impacted the people that practice these religions.
Chapter 2: The Different Aspects of Hinduism The Gods and Goddesses Since Hindus generally believe in the existence of Brahman, or the supreme creator, and other minor divinities, Hinduism cannot be considered as a religion based on polytheism. Believers claim that the gods and goddesses in this world (e.g. Lakshmi, Indra, Vishnu, Mitra, Varuna, Siva, Saraswathi, Brahma, Parvathi, etc.) are just manifestations of Brahman, which is the highest god. In addition, these gods are commonly worshipped as individual deities. These divinities are the forms that Brahman uses to implement his tasks and plans as the creator of the entire universe.
Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the three most influential religions in the world and while distinct in many ways, they are still related the way their spirituality presents itself in the physical world and they share a common heritage. They are all known as the “Abrahamic” religions because they trace their origins to the ancient figure Abraham, originally mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The most significant similarity is that they are all firmly monotheistic; the doctrine that there is only one God. Each faith has a different name for God due distinctive linguistic features as well as a shared heritage. Even though the Jews, Christians, and Muslims were hostile with one another, theologians have always asked the same questions about God, proving there is more than just one way cultures can experience God. The commonality is much greater than that which separates Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
“If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: Search after truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth... Hinduism is the religion of truth. Truth is God.”
The researcher, having incurred extensive discussions on Indian Philosophy and being a Christian herself, can cite several discrepancies on both beliefs based on observations. Hinduism involves the worship of many gods and in fact, certain ceremonies
Hinduism has a pluralism of gods, but in the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text of Hinduism, Vishnu is proclaimed supreme and the Gita is almost monotheistic in its tone. According to Geoffrey Parrinder, the Bhagavad Gita "teaches union with God, but in the context of love to God and love from God…." Meditation is the chief method of achieving experience of or unity with the deity, as prescrib...
Is Hinduism more monotheists, polytheist, pantheist, or something else entirely? Hinduism is one of the most popular religions in the world today. Hinduism is unique because they don’t have a scripture or a specific founder. Because of this, their general conceptions of God are different. Hinduism is a mix of all general conceptions. Hinduism in a way is polytheist, because they believe Kalpa. Hinduism is also monotheists and it is best to understand through their belief of God. At last, Hinduism is considered as Atheism because Jainism is part of Hinduism and Samkhya, a Hindu philosopher, also agrees with this philosophy.
Hinduism is seen in several different ways around the world yet, Hinduism is the oldest discovered and studied religion dating as far back as 8000-6000 (pg.176). In the Hindu religion, there are three main gods, a part of the triumvirate, and they are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. However, there are many gods in the religion of Hinduism. To limit the scope of this paper, I’m going to be talking about 5 gods: Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, Kali and Lakshmi.
Monotheism is displayed through the sacred texts of the three Abrahamic religions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Monotheism is defined as the belief in one God. The word is derived from the Greek word monos meaning one and the Greek word thoes meaning belief in the existence of a God or Gods. The purpose of this essay is to analyse the sacred texts of Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
It is evident that the view of all religions depends on the existence of a God or gods or on the existence of an omniscience divine being; this notion being most prominent in the Hindu and Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam)). In the west, most philosophical focus has been on different versions of belief. Moreover, the monotheistic view of God until recent times, has been wrestled upon by ancient philosophers in contrast with a polytheistic concept in opposition to skeptic views and primitive naturalistic ideologies. For example, Plato argued that the view that God is singularly good should be preferred to the portrait of the gods that was articulated in Greek poetic tradition, according to which there are many gods, often imperfect and subject to vice and ignorance (Taliaferro, “The Concept of God”). However, the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam brought about a philosophical enquiry on the view of the idea of theism.
In addition, what makes Hinduism even more complex, is that fact that it is also “viewed as a monotheistic religion, because it recognizes only one supreme God: the panentheistic principle of Brahman that all reality is a unity. The entire universe is seen as one divine entity who is simultaneously at one with the universe and who transcends it as well. [Still others] view Hinduism as Trinitarian because Brahman is simultaneously visualized as a triad - - one God with three persons” (Robinson, 1995):
Trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and the Christian Trinity of God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. In comparing Trinity and Trimurti, religious scholar, Anuradha Veeravali (Indian Philosophies, Encyclopedia of Religion) draws parallels between Brahma and God, Vishnu and the Holy Spirit, and Shiva and Jesus, but persists in the common idea that Christianity is a monotheistic faith while Hinduism is polytheistic. However, Bede Griffiths, a Christian priest living in India, has dared to challenge this firm notion of polytheism, offering comparisons between the Christian Trinity and a different Hindu Triad- Brahman /Atman/Purusha - to conclude that both faiths ultimately share a belief in the One Supreme power. Scrutinizing both comparisons- that between the Trimurti and Trinity and the one between the ‘other’ Triad and Trinity- we can establish that Hinduism, like Christianity, can be considered as a monotheistic faith.
The Hindu conception of god can also be characterized based on its pronounced tolerance to other gods and the conclusion would be that the core of the religion is that the individual is seeking a personal experience with God and the different gods, “like various rivers originate from various mountains and run in different directions, east, west, north and south, and yet eventually come back and mix their water with the cast sea, thus leading all the different religions to you, God” (Radhakrishnan 1834-1886)