Hinduism / Christianity / Yoga
Meditationtime Forum Post
Date: Posted 3 years before May 15, 2016
MiBeloved 3 years ago
This is from Linked In:
Colleen wrote:
"The cultures are so different." We certainly can agree about that. I also honor your caution to me about comparing Vedic and Christian systems. Comparison seems to be somewhat inevitable, but first before I get to the point of comparing, I want to understand them both correctly.
I accept that Christianity is probably a simpler system over all.
There are not pantheons of deities to deal with to be sure. But, I was under the impression that many modern Hindus consider that the deities are just manifestations of the different aspects and characteristics of a more comprehensive and all-mighty God or ParamAtma. Is that not correct?
MiBeloved's Response:
This is not correct but it is the prevailing propaganda which many leading Hindus give to Westerners so as not to come under the gun of the Judeo-Christian bias against a polytheistic approach to religion.
To find out what is really going on, one has to check their scriptures, just as in Christianity if one wants to understand one has to check those texts. For instance you say you are a Mormon and if someone from another country say that Mormonism is Christianity and that they all worship and have the same beliefs, then that would be an oversimplification and actually a misunderstanding laden with ignorance.
The truth is that in India everyone does not agree about the same deity being God. In Christianity that problem does not exist because it is so simple that there is only one son of God and God and that is it.
In Hinduism there are certain super-popular deities like Krishna, Shiva and Devi. Now when you read the scriptures of each, it does not establish that these persons are just manifestations of each other. In the Shiva Purana Shiva is God and everyone else, all the other deities are subordinate to him. In the Devi Purana, Devi, the Goddess, is God and all the other deities are under her authority and are ridiculed even. Therefore the idea that it is all a seamless reduction as you described is simply not true.
There are also sects which do not accept any of these popular deities as God but list them only as limited entities.
So this is why I advise not to try to mix the systems or even find correlation in them. Each, the Western and the Eastern methods have credence in their own right because ultimately in the material world, we are looking at results which come out in the form of organized civilization.
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Colleen wrote:
In Christianity there is the understanding that this all-mighty God is what we refer to as God, the Father. In Hebrew He is known as Elohim. Jesus was both mortal according to his mother and immortal according to His Father. When Jesus, as the literal son of the Father, both as to the Spirit and to the Flesh (maybe divine DNA or something like that, it is only speculation) was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He took upon himself the sins, pains and death of mankind, and He was only able to do so because of his immortal nature. This must have seemed like a very painful thing even for Him, and for a moment asked if there was another way that it might be accomplished. There is no indication that He would back out of it because in the same sentence followed the words, "Thy will be done."
MiBeloved's Response:
I don’t care that he went through with it. My concern is that he had uncertainty. He hesitated. It happened like that according to the statements. That is heavy because if he had that, what can be said about others, whom the same text places on such a lower level.
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Colleen wrote:
The biggest difference that I see in Christian/Hindu thought has to do with the fate of the body. Christians live in the hope of resurrection. The rejoining of a perfect and glorified body with their spirits to never be separated again. In the Hindu view, the body is a temporary housing, and one that eventually will be discarded forever. I don't try to reconcile those two things--they are what they are. I personally can't prove it to anyone, one way or the other; so as I contemplate them and engage them, I seek to know what those two scenarios might mean for me. I would imagine that it comes down to this kind of point for most people. How can I know for myself? You've been there. So we appeal to scriptures and pray and meditate. And, that knowledge and spirit which quickens us determines our compatibility with whatever stages come next.
MiBeloved's Response:
I agree with this paragraph.
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Colleen wrote:
As far as what constitutes righteous lifestyle is concerned, I just think that God knows the realities, and when he offers rules or commandments, they are aimed at either keeping us free or empowering us. Austerities which go beyond those two categories are not accepted in most of Christianity. Mormonism is particularly emphatic that "...men are that they might have joy." So, what do we do with all of this? I say, let each choose as they will. ...and in the meantime let us offer good will and love to one another.
MiBeloved's Response:
I agree with this paragraph. I add this:
The rules and commandments are given in Yoga as the first and second stages, as Yama restraints and Niyama social observances. But Yoga goes further beyond where Christianity and Mormonism stop. But there are sects in Hinduism which are exactly like Christianity where they gave these commandments or regulative principles and then say that the follower will be secured just by doing that and adhering to the deity.
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Colleen,
One special note is that religion in India is religion as it is anywhere else. Yoga and Meditation are not religion. These are separate disciplines but some Indians themselves are responsible for the confusion because they themselves try to merge these and do not know how to distinguish each.
Yoga is really physical and psychological self-study. An Indian may be a Shivaite and do yoga. One might be a Vaishnava (Krishna bhakta) and do yoga. One might be an atheist and do yoga. Yoga works for any of these.
The other thing in India which we confuse with religion is Philosophy. For instance the Advaita Vedanta system is actually a philosophical stance but it has adherents who are religious which is actually a contradiction, because it points towards no religion or no devotee and no deity.
In the West if a man thinks there is no God, we usually do not find him in churches but in India there are many who swear they are Advaita Vedantis and we find them doing puja special worship to deities.
This is all the more why I suggest not to compare the Eastern with the Western.
One of my astral yoga-gurus was an Arya Samaj in religion but in yoga he was the very best, a Mahayogin. He took the highest training from a Vaishnava yogi. Vaishnavas do not get along with Arya Samajis because they (Samajis) only attach importance to the original four Vedas and they look down on everything else which came after including the Puranas.
I cite this to make you understand that yoga is not religion. I studied kundalini yoga from Yogi HarBhajan Singh way back in 1973. He never said, “Now you become a Sikh.”
This is because I came to him to study yoga not to fall into his religion. Religion is not yoga, Please understand this. Patanjali has laid down the exposition of what yoga is and in his book he did mention worship, very endearing and focused worship (pranidhanani) to a deity but he never named the Deity. He only listed the powers and faultlessness of the deity.
Can you imagine that?
So why did he leave the name blank? Why did he not say,
“Look, this ……………is my deity. Worship my deity.”
Answer is simple, Yoga is not religion. It can be used to upgrade and accelerate one’s religious aspirations for sure. Yoga is the fast track, the bullet train, to either realize your aspiration or realize that it is false.
