“Critical Thinking – Hinduism Worldview” Hinduism is the world's oldest extant religion, with a billion followers, which makes it the world's third largest religion. Unlike other religions, Hinduism is a way of life, a Dharma, the law that governs all action. It has its own beliefs, traditions, advanced system of ethics, meaningful rituals, philosophy and theology. In this paper I will attempt to explain my view on Hinduism worldviews and will also elaborate on differences between Christianity and the Hinduism religion. The question of Origin asks "How did life begin?", "How did I come into existence? There is no central person to whom Hinduism can trace its origin unfortunately. The word “Hinduism” is not to be found in the scriptures, making it difficult to present a moment in time when the movement launched. Hinduism is a system that “attempts to maintain a complex polytheism on the one hand, and an earth-based worship of nature on the other” (Hindson and Caner, 263). Somewhere in the middle, these two religious impulses collide, and Hinduism is born. The question of Identity seeks to identify "What does it mean to be a human?" Hinduism states that humans are the highest of all creation. Souls can take many births in lower forms to get the eligibility to be born as human. Life can form lower than human beings, such as insects, plants and animals to name a few. The question of meaning/purpose asks, "Why does mankind exist?”, “Why do I exist?" In Hinduism they believe in eternal spiritual truth, called Brahman, from whom all existence comes. The purpose of life is to understand this truth and to understand one’s eternal identity as the soul. The soul passes through many kinds of life, but only human life offers the chance of learning this truth. The Question of Morality asks "What is meant by right and wrong?" and "How should I live?" Karma is the Sanskrit word for action. Actions are important because they bring reactions. Hindus believe every experience, pleasant or unpleasant, is linked to past actions, in this lifetime or in some previous lifetime. This does not rule out free choice, because by practicing yoga, or spiritual discipline, one can change one’s actions and so change one’s future. Belief in karma teaches people to accept responsibility for their behavior, and learn from their mistakes. Hinduism teaches that time is cyclical and so are ethics. The Question of Destiny deals with "Is there life after death?" "What will happen to me when I die?" Reincarnation is the belief that the soul is eternal and lives many lifetimes, in one body after another. The soul is sometimes born in a human body, sometimes in an animal body and sometimes in a plant body, such as that of a tree. All forms of life contain a soul, and all souls have the chance to experience life in different forms. The cycle of rebirth is called “Samsara” and under the influence of karma, the soul moves upwards and downwards on the wheel of rebirth. Hinduism teaches that the ultimate solution to life's basic problems is to be released from karma and gain freedom from this cycle of rebirth. Let’s now examine worldview differences between the religions of Hinduism and Christianity. Are they truly that different? Christianity is the #1 religion in the world, while Hinduism is #3. There are numerous differences between both religions. These differences range from the actual beliefs systems which can be followed within the religions themselves, towards the Gods and Goddess that the religious believers follow. The main differences among the religions, nevertheless, are formed about their beliefs concerning the nature of the world, the systems their society follows and runs by, along with the quantity or lack of quantity of Gods in their particular religion. If we look at the question of Origin between religions, In the Christian worldview, the question of origins is entirely rooted in God. Most Christian churches teach that God is triune and all three Persons of the Godhead were involved in the creation of the universe and mankind (Weider-Gutierrez, 2011, 56). Hinduism does not have a founder like Jesus Christ who is the central and vital part of Christianity. Instead, it is extremely difficult to trace the origin of the tenets of Hinduism. It is one of the oldest religions of the world. The origin of Christianity on the contrary can be traced to at least two thousand years. The question of identity seeks to identify “what does it mean to be human?” Are we more important than animals or other creations? In Hinduism humans are considered to be the highest of all creation, everything else is considered a lower form of creation. Souls can take many births in lower forms to get the eligibility to be born as human. In Christianity the bible states that God created mankind above the animal and man was created, "a little lower than the angels" (Psalm 8:5). Male and female were both created "in the image of God" and were given the responsibility to rule over the animals and to be their caretakers (Genesis 2:15). Mankind is responsible to take care of God's creation, but let’s not forget that everything and everyone is important in the eyes of God. Now let’s compare the question of meaning/purpose of why we exist?” In Christianity man was created in the image of God. To be created in the image of God is to say that we have things like a mind and a personality like God, we are creative and we can create, and in doing so, point back to the creativity of the Creator. To glorify God is man showing the greatness of God’s creation, the pinnacle of which is man in God’s image. In Hinduism, the purpose of life is to understand the truth, Brahman, and to understand one’s eternal identity as the soul. Now let’s review the question of Morality and ethics. In Hinduism actions are important because they bring reaction, Karma. They truly believe what goes around comes around. Morality is useful; its conclude is always to purify the soul from needs to ensure that it could possibly attain mystical consciousness. In Christianity the ultimate standard of knowing right from wrong is God Himself, and He is holy, separated totally from evil. The standard of morality is present in all humans and in their conscience, but ultimately exemplified in Jesus Christ, so the Christian is to follow God’s moral standard. Finally we look at the question of Destiny. Is there life after death? One difference between both religions is that Hindus do not believe in Haven, they believe in reincarnation. Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates through many births until all karmas have been resolved and liberation, from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny. The Christian destiny is redemption, of our lives and our bodies and even the whole of creation, the heavens and the earth. As stated in John 3:15, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:15).
References
Hindson E., Caner E. (2008). The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Oregon: Harvest House Publishers.
Weider L., Gutierrez B. (2011). Consider. Virginia Beach: Academic Publishing Services, Inc.