Doctrine of Devils Session 6

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Doctrine of DevilsSession 6
HINDUISM v.s. CHRISTIANITYPart 1
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HINDUISM v.s. CHRISTIANITY Part 1
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What is Hinduism?

• One of the oldest religions of humanity
• The religion of the Indian people
• Gave birth to Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
• Tolerance and diversity "Truth is one, paths are
  many"
• Many deities but a single, impersonal Ultimate
  Reality
• A philosophy and a way of life focused both on
  this world and beyond

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Hinduism The Mother Of All False Religions

• It has been said on many occasions and by
  numerous authors and thinkers that all of the
  religions of the world may be reduced to one
  Hinduism.
• The chief enemy of this proposition is its
  largest competitor, CHRISTIANITY, but
  nevertheless, philosophically and foundationally,
  the essence of Hinduism is that all of reality is
  one (Dictionary Of Cults, Sects, Religions, And
  The Occult, 116).

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Hindu Texts
Polytheism

• Four Vedas (Veda knowledge)
• 1500-600 B.C. Samhitas
• 1500 B.C. Rigveda 1028 hymns- Ten chapters for
  rituals and sacrifices. There are praises to
  many deities.
• 1000 B.C. Samaveda Very redundant much like
  Rigveda.
• 800 B.C. Yajurveda Mixes hymns for sacrifice
  with explanations.
• 600 B.C. Atharavaveda Contain verbal formulae to
  control and manipulate the spirit world. (Spells,
  incantations for health, protection, success
  etc.)

Pantheism
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What do Hindus believe?

• One impersonal Ultimate Reality Brahman
• Manifest as many personal deities
• True essence of life Atman, the soul, is
  Brahman trapped in matter
• Reincarnation atman is continually reborn into
  this world lifetime after lifetime (Samsara)
• Karma spiritual impurity due to actions keeps
  us bound to this world
• Ultimate goal of life to release Atman and
  reunite with the divine, becoming as one with
  Brahman (Moksha)

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Who do Hindus worship? the major gods of the
Hindu Pantheon
Brahma, the creator god
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Who do Hindus worship? the major gods of the
Hindu Pantheon
Vishnu, the preserver god
Incarnates as ten avatars (descents) including
Rama (featured in the Ramayana)
Krishna (featured in the Mahabharata)
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Who do Hindus worship? the major gods of the
Hindu Pantheon
Shiva, god of constructive destruction(the
transformer)
Appears as Shiva Nataraj,lord of the dance of
creation
and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha(the
elephant headed remover of obstacles)
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How does Hinduism directlife in this world?

• Respect for all life vegetarian
• Human life as supreme
• Four stations of life (Caste)
• 1. priests teachers
• 2. nobles warriors
• 3. merchant class
• 4. servant class

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How does Hinduism directlife in this world?

• Four stages of life
• Student
• Householder
• Retired
• Renunciant
• Four duties of life
• Pleasure
• Success
• Social responsibilities
• Religious responsibilities (moksha)

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What are the spiritualpractices of Hinduism?

• The Four Yogas - seeking union with the divine
• Karma Yoga the path of action through selfless
  service (releases built up karma without building
  up new karma)
• Jnana Yoga the path of knowledge (understanding
  the true nature of reality and the self)
• Raja Yoga the path of meditation
• Bhakti Yoga the path of devotion
• Guru a spiritual teacher, especially helpful
  for Jnana and Raja yoga

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Hindu Scriptures

• The Vedas (which literally means wisdom or
  knowledge.) contain hymns, prayers, and ritual
  texts composed from about 1400 to about 400 B.C.
• The Upanishads are a collection of writings
  composed between 800-600 B.C. Over one hundred
  of them still exist. These writings marked a
  definite change from the sacrificial humans and
  magic formulas in the Vedas, to the mystical
  ideas about man and the universe specifically
  the Brahman, and the atman (the self or soul).
  The Upanishads had a great influence on Gautama
  Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
• The Ramayana is one of the two major epic tales
  of India. The work consists of 24,000 couplets
  based upon the life of Rama, a righteous king who
  was supposedly an incarnation of the God Vishnu. 
• The Mahabharata is the second epic.  It is an
  the story of the deeds of Aryan clans, and
  consists of some 100,000 verses and was composed
  over an 800-year period beginning about 400 B.C.
  Contained within this work is a great classic,
  the Bhagavad Gita, or the "Song of the Blessed
  Lord."

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Bhagavad Gita

• The Bhagavad Gita is not only the most sacred
  book of the Hindus, but it is also the best known
  and the most read of all Indian works in the
  entire world, despite the fact it was added late
  to the Mahabharata, sometime in the first century
  A.D. 
• The story revolves around man's duty, which, if
  carried out, will bring nothing but sorrow. The
  significance this story has on Hindu belief is
  its endorsement of bhakti, or devotion to a
  particular god, as a means of salvation, since
  Arjuna, the story's main character, decides to
  put his devotion to Vishnu above his own personal
  desires. The Gita ends with Arjuna devoted to
  Vishnu and ready to kill his relatives in battle.

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Essence of Hinduism

• Origin India, about 2500 B.C. to 1500 B.C.
• Founder No single person
• Not one religion, but a family of religions
  religion of the people from the Indus Valley
• The essence of Hinduism is that there are many
  ways of viewing a single object, none of which
  gives the whole, but each of which is entirely
  valid in its own right.
• Tolerant of other religions, believing that
  truth is the kernel of every religion.
  Doctrines, rites, etc. are all signs pointing
  beyond them to a region of utter clarity truth.

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How do Hindus worship?

• Bhakti Yoga is seeking union with the divine
  through loving devotion to manifest deities
• In the home (household shrines)
• In the Temples (priests officiate)
• Puja making offerings to and decorating the
  deity images
• Darsan seeing the deity (not idol worship)
• Prasad taking the divine within your own being
  through eating of food shared with the deity

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What about the goddesses?Devi the feminine
divine
Saraswati, goddess of wisdom, consort ofBrahma
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What about the goddesses?Devi the feminine
divine
Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune, consortof
Vishnu
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What about the goddesses?Devi the feminine
divine
Parvati, divine mother, wife ofShiva
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
aspect of Kali
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Shailaputri The embodiment of the power of
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, she rides a bull and
carries a trident and a lotus in her two hands.
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Bharmacharini She holds a rosary in her right
hand and a water utensil in her left hand. She is
blissful and endows happiness, peace, prosperity
and grace upon all devotees who worship her.
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Chandra Ghanta She has a chandra or half moon
in her forehead in the shape of a ghanta or
bell. That is why she is called Chandraghanta.
She is charming, has a golden bright complexion
and rides a lion. She has ten hands, three eyes
and holds weapons in her hands. She is the
apostle of bravery and possesses great strength
to fight in the battle against demons.
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Kushmanda So she is considered the creator of
the universe. The universe was no more than a
void full of darkness, until her light spreads in
all directions like rays from the sun. Often she
is depicted as having eight or ten hands. She
holds weapons, glitter, rosary, etc., in her
hands, and she rides a lion.
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Skanda Mata The mother of Skanda or Lord
Kartikeya, who was chosen by gods as their
commander in chief in the war against the demons.
She is accompanied by the Lord Skanda in his
infant form. Skanda Mata has four arms and three
eyes, holds the infant Skanda in her right upper
arm and a lotus in her right hand which is
slightly raised upwards. The left arm is in pose
to grant boons with grace and in left lower hand
which is raised also holds a lotus.
He is an embodiment of perfection, a brave leader
of god's forces, and a war god, who was created
to destroy the demons
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Katyayani Once upon a time, there was a great
sage called Kata, who had a son named Katya. Kata
was very famous and renowned in the lineage of
saints. He underwent long austerities and penance
in order to receive the grace of the Mother
Goddess. He wished to have a daughter in the
form of a goddess. According to his wish and
desire the Mother Goddess granted his request.
Katyayani was born to Kata as an avatar of Durga.
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Kaal Ratri A necklace flashing lightning adorns
her neck. She has three eyes that shine bright
and terrible flames emanate from her breath. Her
vehicle is the donkey. Her raised right hand
always seems to grant boons to all worshippers
and all her right lower hand is in the pose of
allaying fears. Her left upper hand holds a
thorn-like weapon, made of iron and there is a
dragger in the lower left hand. She is black like
Goddess Kali and holds a sparkling sword in her
right hand battle all evil. Her gesture of
protection assures us of freedom from fear and
troubles. So she is also known as Shubhamkari
one who does good.
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Maha Gauri As a result of her worship, all sins
of past, present and future get washed away and
devotees get purified in all aspects of life.
She wears white clothes, has four arms, and
rides on a bull. Her right hand is in the pose of
allaying fear and her right lower hand holds a
trident. The left upper hand holds a damaru (a
small rattle drum) and the lower one is in the
pose of granting boons to her devotees.
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The 9 Appellations of Durga
Siddhidatri Siddhidatri has supernatural healing
powers. She has four arms and she is always in a
blissful happy enchanting pose. She rides on the
lion as her vehicle. She blesses all Gods,
saints, yogis, tantrics and all devotees as a
manifestation of the Mother Goddess. In Devi
Bhagvata Purana it is mentioned that Lord Shiva
worshipped her and was blessed with all Siddhis
(supernatural powers). By her blessings his half
body became female and other half body male in
the avatar of Ardhnarishvara.
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All these deities are but Manifest forms
(attributes and functions) of the impersonal
Brahman
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Lord Brahma

• Lord Brahma is the first member of the
  Brahmanical triad, Vishnu being the second and
  Shiva, the third.
• Brahma is the god of creation and he is
  traditionally accepted as the Creator of the
  entire universe.
• Destruction and creation go hand in hand. They
  are like two sides of a coin. The three gods of
  the Trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Siva represent
  creation, maintenance and destruction, and these
  are essentially one and the same.

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Lord Vishnu

• Lord Vishnu, major god of Hinduism and Indian
  mythology, popularly regarded as the preserver of
  the universe.
• In the ancient body of literature called the
  Veda, the sacred literature of the Aryan
  invaders, Vishnu ranks with the numerous lesser
  gods and is usually associated with the major
  Vedic god Indra (same as the persian Mitra or
  Mithra) in battles against demonic forces.
• In the epics and Puranas-writings belonging to
  subsequent periods in the development of
  Hinduism, Vishnu (especially in his incarnations)
  becomes prominent.

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Lord Vishnu

• Some Puranic literature refers to him as the
  eternal, all-pervading spirit and associates him
  with the primeval waters believed to have been
  omnipresent before the creation of the world.
• Vishnu is depicted frequently in human form,
  sleeping on the great serpent Shesha and floating
  on the waters.
• The concept of Lord Vishnu as preserver is
  comparatively late. It is based chiefly on two
  beliefs humans may attain salvation by
  faithfully following predetermined paths of duty,
  and good and evil powers (gods and demons)
  contend for dominion over the world.
• Occasionally, the balance of power is upset in
  favor of evil, and then Lord Vishnu is believed
  to descend to earth in a mortal form (his avatar)
  to save humankind or the world.

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Lord Vishnu

• Chrishna, comprehended in himself "a full measure
  of the God-head bodily.
• The Hindoo Pantheon," has one represented as,
  suspended on the cross, the Hindoo crucified God
  and Son of God, "our Lord and Savior" Chrishna,
  with holes pierced in his feet, evidently
  intended to represent the nail-holes made by the
  act of crucifixion.

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Lord Shiva

• Shiva is one of the gods of the Trinity. He is
  said to be the god of destruction. The other two
  gods are Brahma, the god of creation and Vishnu,
  the god of maintenance.
• The three gods represent the three fundamental
  powers of nature which are manifest in the world
  viz. creation, destruction and maintenance.
• These powers exist perpetually. Creation is going
  on all the time. So is destruction and
  maintenance.
• All three powers are manifest at all times. They
  are inseparable.

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Core Beliefs

• Hindus Believe...

• Christians Believe...

• That in Adam's sin, the human race was
  spiritually alienated from God, and that those
  who are called by God and respond to his grace
  will have eternal life. Those who persist in
  rebellion will be lost eternally.
• God gave us rules because He cares about us.  He
  also gave us free will we can choose to
  disobey.  Disobedience (sin) is an offense
  against God.
• Against you, you only, have I sinned and done
  what is evil in your sight, so that you are
  proved right when you speak and justified when
  you judge.  Psalm 514
• For all have sinned and fall short of the glory
  of God.  Romans 323

• That all souls are evolving toward union with God
  and will ultimately find spiritual knowledge and
  liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Not a
  single soul will be eternally deprived of this
  destiny.
• Sin is committed against oneself, not against
  God. 

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Core Beliefs

• Hindus Believe...

• Christians Believe...

• In karma, the law of cause and effect by which
  each individual creates his own destiny by his
  thoughts, words, and deeds.
• Since sin is committed only against oneself,
  the penalties are accrued only against the self. 
  The penalty is the repeated cycle of rebirths,
  until you can escape to Nirvana. 

• That through God's grace and favor, lost sinners
  are rescued from the guilt, power, and eternal
  consequences of their evil thoughts, words, and
  deeds.
• Sin cannot exist in the presence of God. 
  Therefore, the penalty of sin is spiritual death,
  or separation from God.
• For the wages of sin is death  Romans 623a

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Core Beliefs

• Hindus Believe...

• Christians Believe...

• That the soul reincarnates, evolving through many
  births until all karmas have been resolved.

• That it is appointed for human beings to die
  once, and after that face judgement.
• Salvation is a free gift to us from God.  We must
  only accept it.  We cannot earn it.  Jesus bought
  our salvation by taking all our sin upon Himself
  on the cross, dying as a sacrifice for us, and
  then rising from the dead three days later. 

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Core Beliefs

• Hindus Believe...

• Christians Believe...

• Salvation means spending eternity in heaven with
  our Almighty God!
• but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
  Jesus our Lord.  Romans 623b
• For God so loved the world that he gave his one
  and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
  not perish but have eternal life.  John 316
• For it is by grace you have been saved, through
  faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the
  gift of God--not by works, so that no one can
  boast.  Ephesians 28,9

• Salvation is the release from the wheel of life,
  the cycle of rebirths,
• through which we must work to better ourselves,
  and realize our oneness with Brahman. 
• It must be worked out by each individual through
  successive lives.

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Core Beliefs

• Hindus Believe...

• Christians Believe...

• That divine beings exist in unseen inner worlds
• temple worship
• Rituals
• Sacraments
• personal devotionals
• all create a communion with the devas and gods.

• That spirit beings inhabit the universe, some
  good and some evil but that our worship is due
  to God alone.
• Jesus said, "...You shall worship the Lord your
  God, and serve Him only" (Matt. 410).