Five Things You Should Know About Hinduism
B. Friesen
1. The Roots of Hinduism.
Hinduism is an ancient religion of the Middle East that has
evolved over a period of 3,000 years. “Hindu” is derived
from a Persian word meaning India and “Hinduism” simply
means the religion of the Indian people. Hinduism never had
one specific founder or statement of belief. It was simply
formed over many years from many various religious beliefs,
traditions, and practices. Consequently Hinduism has changed
much throughout all of Indian history and many forms of
Hinduism have emerged. All over India, the different tribes
and cultures blended and formed the Hindu way. Hinduism has
developed into a way of life that defines every aspect of
culture and belief for those who espouse its teachings.
Truth for the Hindu is a blending of many different beliefs.
There is no absolute. An individual who desires a more sure
foundation for beliefs and practices would find Hinduism
lacking. We know that God is not the author of confusion as
seen in 1 Corinthians 14:33. He did not leave us on our own
to figure out what we are to believe, what is truth and what
is error. Exodus 34:6 proclaims that the Lord God is full of
truth. Deuteronomy 32:4 also states that God is just and
right, a God of truth and not iniquity. Truth is not a
compilation of different beliefs that can be made to fit
together as the Hindu’s have done, but is found in the
character and work of the one true God. “And this is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3).
2. The God of Hinduism.
The God of Hinduism cannot be clearly defined. “God” could
be many different things to different individual Hindus.
Just a few of the various views would include pantheism
which declares that everything that has existence is God,
animism which concludes that God or many gods can live in
objects such as rocks, trees, and even animals, and
monotheism which is the belief in only one God. There could
even be atheistic Hindus. Some Hindus believe in many gods.
Some believe in one “Absolute” being behind all the gods.
The great “Absolute” is Brahman. Brahman is the creator of
everything. Brahman takes different forms and reveals the
Trimurti or the holy trinity to mankind. Brahman the
creator, Vishnu the preserver of everything, and Shiva the
destroyer and recreator. Other gods are Sarasvati and Kali…
The individual Hindu can decide which form of the Brahman he
wishes to worship.
Deuteronomy declares that the Lord our God is one Lord
(6:4). Malachi 2:10 states that one God is our creator, not
many gods, and not Brahman! There is one God and He has
shown Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus made
the way of salvation for all who would believe and has given
the Holy Spirit who will help us to understand the truth of
God found in His Word. “For
there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)
3. Hinduism and Reincarnation and
Karma.
Hindus believe that the individual soul is reincarnated or
reborn many times into different existences. These different
lives are determined by karma. Karma relates to whether you
have lived your life good enough to be promoted to a higher
state of life after death. It is the guilt that is
accumulated in one’s lifetime that one must pay for. If you
have not attained enough good karma the fate of your next
life cycle is negatively determined by it. The only way to
be rid of the cycle of reincarnation is to achieve enough
good karma. So life goes on from one existence to another.
The goal is to break free from what the Hindu believes is
the non-reality of life to the reality of absorption with
the “Absolute” being. The cycle is seemingly endless, birth,
then death, and then rebirth, and etc. until at last,
perhaps, one might have achieved enough good karma to leave
the non-reality of the world in which we live.
The Bible teaches clearly that one does not have multiple
existences or rebirths. Hebrews 9:27 states that it is
appointed unto man to die once and after that the
judgment. We only have one shot at this lifetime! It is not
an endless cycle that we are trying to be free from; the end
is a lot closer than one would like to think. Romans 3:23
says “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God”. Ephesians 2:8-9 strips us of anything that we
could do to earn salvation by stating that it is not by
works of righteousness but according to His mercy that He
saved us. We do not escape this world by working hard or by
meditation, the only way we can be free from this sin cursed
world is to place our trust in the work and person of Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ has defeated death, eliminating the
fact of reincarnation and multiple deaths, and is our living
Savior- John 11:25-26.
4. Salvation for the Hindu.
In Hinduism there are three different ways that one may
attain to salvation or moksha. There is a way that demands
the individual to perform religious observances in hopes of
invoking blessings from the divine. The second way is that
of knowledge and mystical insight; the goal is to understand
and experience the meaning of life through intellectual
reasoning and meditation. The third way is that of devotion
and discipline. This way, which is followed by most, is the
worship of a chosen deity in hopes of being united with the
divine. This worship is daily and ritualistic being
practiced in temples as well as in homes.
Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life, no man
comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). There is
only one true way of salvation and that is by placing your
faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross
for the sins of all mankind. He provided a way of salvation
that does not require works or rituals but simply believing
what He has accomplished for us.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The only
way that anyone will be free from sin and will have the
promise of life in heaven is through Jesus Christ.
5. The Prominent Deities of Hinduism.
The most prominent Gods of Hinduism are of course Brahman,
Vishnu, and Shiva. Of these Vishnu is the only one who has
made appearances on earth in body and flesh. This is called
incarnation. Vishnu is said to be the great preserver and he
is in control of the balance of good and evil that are
constantly warring against each other in the universe. When
evil seemed to be prevailing on earth, Vishnu would come in
the form of men and would live out lives on earth. There are
only ten of these men and they are called avataras. The most
popular of these avataras are Krishna and Rama. Many
wonderful stories of the actions and deeds of these men as
they battle evil are recorded in the Vedas- the scriptures
of the Hindu.
There
are many gods in the Hindu religion. All are very colorful
and the stories told of them are exciting. Which one do you
choose to follow though? Which deity do you strive to
emulate? Which one is more worthy of worship?
There is a God that is unlike any other. This is the one
true God of heaven and earth. This God designed the complex
world that we live in and has a specific plan for past,
present, and future. He has chosen to give revelation to us
in the person of His Son Jesus Christ and through scripture.
Isaiah 40:13-18 tells us that God cannot even be compared to
anything in this world. He alone is worthy of our worship
and devotion. Check out 1Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 95:6, Psalm
99:5, Jeremiah 25:6, and Matthew 4:10. “Let no one
disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of
angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without
reason by his sensuous mind” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). “For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV).
Carlson, Ron and Decker, ed. Fast Facts on False Teachings,
Harvest House, 1994.
Martin, Walter and Zacharias, Ravi, eds. The Kingdom of the
Cults, Bethany, 2003.
Langley, Myrtle. Religion, DK, 2005.
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2 Tim 4:2
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
KJV
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