In reply to Achayen from the US's questions on the comment from the previous post, I thought I would put up a full length post.
Have I read the Bible in depth? No, and in fact the version of the story of Christ that I know best comes from Jesus Christ Superstar and was shocked to find out that it wasn't really like that and that Judas was supposed to have done it on his own accord. I am not questioning the Bible's validity. However, to say that something which was written by various authors years after an event occured, and later translated and then edited by a different set of people and then translated again and so on, is accurate word for word seems like a very bold statement.
What attracts me to other philosophies or religions other than Christianity?
Before I begin, I should explain that the philosophy or religion I adhere to and believe in can be only very loosely called Hinduism in its current context. I picked up my beliefs from what little I've read of interpretations of the Vedas, the Yoga sutras and many lectures and books published by the Ramakrishna Math. I have freely borrowed from publications of the Math in my explanations below. My reasons are not given in any particular order.
1. God is within us and not something distinct from us.
God is the essence of our being and the very substance of the universe as well as the force in it. However, being Infinite, It can be perceived as a Father, Divine Mother or any other form which makes It more approachable. Our oneness with God only needs to be realized (different from understand) and we will achieve nirvana or realize heaven. Heaven too is not something distinct and our entry to it is not going to be judged by a third party, however compassionate He is.
2. Reincarnation and the Law of Karma.
One lifetime seems too little to little to realize the Infinite. Reincarnation is very appealing to me. Hindus say that we have already gone through 100,000 births before earning enough good Karma to be born as humans, the only birth in which we can introspect and thereby discover God. The law of Karma yoga which I have explained in the post here also seems to make a lot of sense to me.
3. Different Paths.
Hinduism accepts that there are different paths to realize God. Hindus have been practising Jnana, Raja, Bhakti and Karma Yoga for centuries since each individual is understood to be naturally inclined to different methods of learning. Swami Vivekananda summed of the whole of religion thus :
Have I read the Bible in depth? No, and in fact the version of the story of Christ that I know best comes from Jesus Christ Superstar and was shocked to find out that it wasn't really like that and that Judas was supposed to have done it on his own accord. I am not questioning the Bible's validity. However, to say that something which was written by various authors years after an event occured, and later translated and then edited by a different set of people and then translated again and so on, is accurate word for word seems like a very bold statement.
What attracts me to other philosophies or religions other than Christianity?
Before I begin, I should explain that the philosophy or religion I adhere to and believe in can be only very loosely called Hinduism in its current context. I picked up my beliefs from what little I've read of interpretations of the Vedas, the Yoga sutras and many lectures and books published by the Ramakrishna Math. I have freely borrowed from publications of the Math in my explanations below. My reasons are not given in any particular order.
1. God is within us and not something distinct from us.
God is the essence of our being and the very substance of the universe as well as the force in it. However, being Infinite, It can be perceived as a Father, Divine Mother or any other form which makes It more approachable. Our oneness with God only needs to be realized (different from understand) and we will achieve nirvana or realize heaven. Heaven too is not something distinct and our entry to it is not going to be judged by a third party, however compassionate He is.
2. Reincarnation and the Law of Karma.
One lifetime seems too little to little to realize the Infinite. Reincarnation is very appealing to me. Hindus say that we have already gone through 100,000 births before earning enough good Karma to be born as humans, the only birth in which we can introspect and thereby discover God. The law of Karma yoga which I have explained in the post here also seems to make a lot of sense to me.
3. Different Paths.
Hinduism accepts that there are different paths to realize God. Hindus have been practising Jnana, Raja, Bhakti and Karma Yoga for centuries since each individual is understood to be naturally inclined to different methods of learning. Swami Vivekananda summed of the whole of religion thus :
- Each soul is potentially divine
- The goal is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling nature - external and internal
- Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy, by one, or more, or all of these - and be free
Each path leads to the same goal but the seeker according to his tastes can chose the path best suited to him.
4. Direct Experience.
Since God is within us, direct experience is encouraged and systematic steps are given to achieve this. Further, a lot more analysis has been done on the mind, and how it functions and so on.
5. Absolute Tolerance.
The essence of Hinduism is I feel tolerance and acceptance of people and their faiths. At least in my version of it, it accepts that other religions and faiths can get you to the goal as well.
6. Constantly Evolving.
There is no single book or prophet in Hinduism. Saints and spiritual seekers have been coming out with their interpretations of the scriptures and everything is open to discussion, with the religion itself accommodating the different theories and evolving accordingly. From Sankaracharya, to Ramakrishna and even Sri Sri, people come out with their understanding and modification to the path as per their understanding. I'm not at all saying that all Gurus are divinely inspired or anything at all like that of course, but its the spirit of evolving and possibility of adapting to circumstances which I find appealing.
Also, replying to lawyeramma's comment in the previous post, not going to church and keeping lent doesn't make the religion or philosophy easier. In fact, a lot of times, I think it would be just easier to go to church, rather than the constant effort to observe your thoughts, discriminate and figure out how it being influenced by fear and greed, born of the ego, to use your intuition and listen to your inner self, to practice a regular routine of sadhana even when sometimes it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, to remember to submit the results of your action to God and so on.
Anyway, once again let me make it clear that I am not saying the Bible will not lead one to God, but just that its not the only path.
4. Direct Experience.
Since God is within us, direct experience is encouraged and systematic steps are given to achieve this. Further, a lot more analysis has been done on the mind, and how it functions and so on.
5. Absolute Tolerance.
The essence of Hinduism is I feel tolerance and acceptance of people and their faiths. At least in my version of it, it accepts that other religions and faiths can get you to the goal as well.
6. Constantly Evolving.
There is no single book or prophet in Hinduism. Saints and spiritual seekers have been coming out with their interpretations of the scriptures and everything is open to discussion, with the religion itself accommodating the different theories and evolving accordingly. From Sankaracharya, to Ramakrishna and even Sri Sri, people come out with their understanding and modification to the path as per their understanding. I'm not at all saying that all Gurus are divinely inspired or anything at all like that of course, but its the spirit of evolving and possibility of adapting to circumstances which I find appealing.
Also, replying to lawyeramma's comment in the previous post, not going to church and keeping lent doesn't make the religion or philosophy easier. In fact, a lot of times, I think it would be just easier to go to church, rather than the constant effort to observe your thoughts, discriminate and figure out how it being influenced by fear and greed, born of the ego, to use your intuition and listen to your inner self, to practice a regular routine of sadhana even when sometimes it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, to remember to submit the results of your action to God and so on.
Anyway, once again let me make it clear that I am not saying the Bible will not lead one to God, but just that its not the only path.
No comments:
Post a Comment