|
Basics of Hinduism There is no single book of Hindu doctrine. The most important of what is called sacred writings is the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Manu Smriti. The Vedas are the oldest books with teachings on prayer, hymns, rituals, theology, mysticism and philosophy. Some of the writings are stories of conversations between different gods. The Manu Smriti contain social law where the basis of the caste system came from. Hindus believe in many gods. Some say there are 330 million gods, based on the idea of the god within each individual. The gods take on many forms and powers in nature. Hindus believe in a universal spirit called Brahman, made up of many divinities. The three most important are Brahma, creator of the universe, Vishnu, its preserver, and Shiva, its destroyer. Shiva’s wife has multiple names, Durga, Kali, Parvati, or Uma, depending on her function. As Parvati or Uma she is goddess of motherhood. As Durga or Kali she is goddess of destruction. Hindus believe life and death are a continuous cycle through their many lifetimes. Karma is defined as the accumulated sum of one’s good and bad deeds. And the Hindus believe that karma determines how you will live your next life: good karma, good life; bad karma, bad life. When Jesus was asked who sinned that a certain man was born blind, He made it clear that one’s good or bad deeds had nothing to do with the condition with which he was born. He said in John 9:3 “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” And Hebrews 9:22-27 tells us that righteousness is obtained through the shedding of blood, not works, and it is appointed to man to die once, not to live many cycles of reincarnation. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Galatians 2:16 clearly contradicts the idea of good deeds saving you. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Hindu doctrine states that animals have spirits as human do. Cows are considered sacred along with monkeys, snakes and many other animals, and their statues are worshipped ritually. In fact, in the natural, these animals are often treated with more respect than people. What does God say? He clearly commands us to not worship animals. Exodus 20:4 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:” Romans 1:22-23 “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” And in Genesis 1:26-27 we are told that only people have a spirit like God Who is Spirit. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” There are many schools of Hindu thought or philosophy, one of which is yoga. Yoga is a set of mental and physical exercises designed to free the soul from reliance on the body, so the soul can unite with Brahman. The Scripture tells us that our souls belong to God and are not to be divided from our bodies. Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” 1Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here are two excerpts from an article on yoga in Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia; “(Skt. yuga, “yoke”), one of the six classic systems of Hindu philosophy, distinguished from the others by the marvels of bodily control and the magical powers ascribed to its advanced devotees. Yoga affirms the doctrine that through the practice of certain disciplines one may achieve liberation from the limitations of flesh, the delusions of sense, and the pitfalls of thought and thus attain union with the object of knowledge. Such union, according to the doctrine, is the only true way of knowing. For most Yogi (those who practice Yoga), the object of knowledge is the universal spirit Brahma. A minority of atheistic Yogi seek perfect self-knowledge instead of knowledge of God. In any case, it is knowledge and not, as is commonly supposed, feats of asceticism, clairvoyance, or the working of miracles, that is the ideal goal of all Yoga practices. Indeed, Yoga doctrine does not approve of painful asceticism; it insists that physical and mental training is not to be used for display but only as a means to spiritual ends.” “As a system of practice, Yoga has from the beginning been one of the most influential features of Hinduism. Yoga exerted a powerful attraction upon Hindus because of the wonders attributed to it and because it gives countenance to the performance of austerities, to which Hindus are so strongly inclined. The strong influence of Yoga can also be seen in Buddhism, which is notable for its austerities, spiritual exercises, and trance states.” Many churches offer or host yoga classes defined as Christian exercise. Please understand there is no such thing. Yoga is far from Christian; in fact, the very word “yoga” means yoke. Yoga positions hold spiritual significance in Hindu beliefs and are yoked to certain gods. Please reconsider if you have been involved in a yoga class; there are many other beneficial forms of bodily exercise that do not invoke interaction with demonic forces. Hindu lives consist of certain activities (good works) called purusharthas: Dharma, the practice of righteousness in their religious life, artha for prosperity, kama for gratification of senses, pleasure, sensual, sexual, and mental enjoyment. Hindus have a saying, “the truth is one, but different sages call it by different names.” That is their justification for worshipping multiple gods, including tolerating the worship of Jesus as long as it doesn’t exclude the other gods. Jesus states that there is only one way to salvation. John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And the apostle Paul writes in Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” And the Scripture informs us about “sages.” Romans 3:10-11 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Let’s listen to the warning the apostle Peter gave us in 2 Peter 2:12-14, “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:” Hindu temples have many shrines in them. Although there is a principle shrine devoted to a single god or goddess for each temple, all the shrines have a sculptured image of its god. The image is treated as a human being. Priests will wash, dress, and bring food to the image. Hindus believe the gods are actually present in the image. There is also worship in the home with shrines to gods chosen by the family. Recalling Exodus 20:4, we have already seen the folly of this. Other scriptures speak to this issue as well. Psalm 97:6-7 “The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory. Confounded be all they that serve graven images that boast themselves of idols: worship Him, all ye gods.” Isaiah 42:177 “They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.” 1 Corinthians 10:14 “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. They worship the living and the dead.” The dot that some Hindus wear on the forehead is more than a fashion statement. It symbolizes the third eye focused inward toward the god within. There are four divisions in the caste system of Hinduism: Brahmans who are priests and scholars, Kshatriyas who are the rulers and military, Vaisyas who are the merchants, farmers, professionals and the Sudras who are the laborers and servants. The Dalits were outcasts who were not important enough to even be considered part of the system. The practice of untouchability was outlawed in 1949, but in actuality, the caste system is still in the thinking of many Hindus. A Hindu greeting, with a hand gesture, named “Namaste” has come into our culture as a universal, supposedly harmless gesture. It does have a spiritual significance. A Namaste greeting is when someone puts their palms together with fingers pointing upward and gives a slight bow to another person. It means that the person giving the namaste greeting is acknowledging the god in the other person, recognizing the Hindu belief in divinity within ourselves. It literally means “may our minds meet.” We have recently seen Wesley Snipes and Oprah, to name a few, exhibit this greeting publicly. We as Christians need to be aware of these practices and discerning as to how this and other false religious systems have invaded our culture. |