Transcript
THE CHALLENGE OF HINDUISM
“He will rule from sea to sea.” Psalm 72:8
1: Christ shall have dominion over land and sea,
earth’s remotest regions shall His empire be;
they that wilds inhabit shall their worship bring,
kings shall render tribute, nations serve our King.
Christ shall have dominion, over land and sea
earth’s remotest regions shall His empire be
Christ Shall Have Dominion
2: When the needy seek Him, He will mercy show;
yea, the weak and helpless shall his pity know;
He will surely save them from oppression’s might,
For their lives are precious in his Holy sight.
Christ shall have dominion, over land and sea
earth’s remotest regions shall His empire be
3: Ever and forever shall His Name endure,
Long as suns continue it shall stand secure;
And in Him forever all men shall be blest,
And all nations hail Him King of Kings confessed.
Christ shall have dominion, over land and sea
earth’s remotest regions shall His empire be
4: Unto God Almighty, joyful Zion sings,
He alone is glorious, doing wondrous things;
Evermore, ye people, bless His glorious Name,
His eternal glory through the earth proclaim.
Christ shall have dominion, over land and sea
earth’s remotest regions shall His empire be
THE CHALLENGE OF HINDUISM
Hinduism is the world’s third
largest religion and the dominant religion of India
and Nepal. In the year 2000, there were 820 million
Hindus
(13,7% of the world’s population).
Understanding Hinduism
Hinduism is actually a collection of religions, incorporating Animism and philosophy, one god and many gods, vegetarianism and sacrificing.
Hinduism is a pluralistic network of religious beliefs and systems, ranging from the
philosophical (self-realisation),
to village Hinduism (idolatry, occultism, animism).
to Vedic (rituals and good works),
Hinduism absorbs elements of any religion it encounters and is widely perceived as a religion of tolerance. Its global influence is significant through the New Age Movement and the Hare-Krishna Movement. Many concepts of Hinduism have become part of 21st century post-modern culture –
yoga,
guru’s,
Karma, reincarnation
and transcendental meditation.
The Hindu concept of god is pantheistic. Their theology is
syncretistic. Hinduism, as a conglomeration of
ideas, beliefs, convictions and
practices, varies from people to people and from region to region. However, Hinduism can be understood under six broad categories:
Philosophic Hinduism
Philosophic Hinduism is dominated by the
authority of the Vedas and the Upanishads
(Sruti). (This word means hearing). The Upanishads are commentaries on the Vedas and are known as Vedanta which are the
oldest writings considered sacred by the Hindus.
Concerning their
understanding of
ultimate reality, there
are three popular schools
of thought: Advaita
– non-dualism; Dvaita
– dualism and Visishtadvaita
– modified dualism.
Philosophic Hinduism teaches from the ancient
Vedas that there is a spark of divinity in man,
hence to call man a sinner is blasphemous.
There therefore appears to be no need for a Saviour.
Vedas
However this is not quite so, as the vedas clearly teach sacrifice as a form of relief from the guilt of sin. In fact it is recorded that ultimately Prajapathi the lord of progeny will come in the fulness of time and give his own body as the complete sacrifice for sin.
Religious Hinduism
Religious Hinduism places strong belief in avatars (incarnations of gods). Hindus are at liberty to choose their own god from amongst a pantheon of over 330 million gods. They teach that salvation may be obtained in one of three ways: the way of knowledge (gnanamarga); the way of devotion (bhaktimarga) and the way of good deeds (karmamarga).
bhaktimarga
Popular Hinduism
Popular Hinduism is influenced by ancestral tradition, worship of animals, temple cults, magic and exorcism. They are generally indifferent to the authority of the Vedas and are only concerned about a god who protects them, blesses them and makes them prosperous. The majority of Hindus adhere to this form.
Mystic Hinduism
Those who claim to have supernatural gifts of
healing, ability to perform miracles, to read the inner thoughts of people and to prophesy the future are in
some cases seen as Avatars (incarnations of gods).
Many followers are drawn to these mysterious and
apparently spiritual gurus. Avatars from the past.
Tribal Hinduism
Tribal Hinduism
Tribal Hinduism is much influenced by animism, spiritism,
the occult, necromancy and animal worship. The fear of the
unknown exercises instinctive dread
over these followers’ minds.
Secular Hinduism
An increasing number of Hindus are secular, nominal in their beliefs and indifferent to religious practices. Even the few
religious customs that they follow are motivated by materialistic tendencies.
Hindu History
The word Hindu was originally used by the Persians, to refer to the inhabitants
of the Indus River Valley.
Hinduism, as it is known today, can be traced back to about 1500 BC, when the Aryans invaded India.
The original religion of the Indus River Valley peoples ranged from nature worship to monotheism. Those who were
nature worshippers, worshiped the wind, rain, sky, rivers, the sun and fire. The monotheistic groups worshiped Siva in the form of the Lingum (a phallic symbol).
In some areas the female goddess or female creative power was
worshipped. This is called Sakti and she is venerated
in the form of a snake.
The goddess Kali is an earthly manifestation of
this female component of the godhead.
The Aryans introduced Brahmanism – the oppressive class system, which preserves a privileged position for the Aryan masters.
The Aryan speech was
later transformed into what is known as Sanskrit.
The Hindu writings consist of two basic sources:
Sruti – which are the written authority
from
“holy men” called Rishis, and
Smriti – the compilation of
traditions and folk tales, including epics
and myths.
Rishis
The oldest writings are known as the
Vedas (which means to know).
The Upanishads, known as Vedanta are commentaries on the
Vedas and are regarded as occult
secrets.
Page from the Upanishads
The Ramayana is one of the large epics of
Hinduism.
It deals with the adventures of Rama, and covers the marriage of
Rama and Sita, the kidnapping of Sita by
Ravana, the demon king of lanka. Hanuman, the monkey god, came to their assistance and Ravana was killed.
Rama & Sita
Another large epic is the Mahabharata (which means great story of the Bharatas). It describes
the war between two families. Central to the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita (meaning
gods’ song). This contains the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna on salvation. This can be
regarded as the “gospel” of Hinduism.
Krishna Arjuna
The Hindu Pantheon of gods
Indra
is understood as the king of all the gods, the sky or heaven.
Agni
- the god of fire.
Varuna – the sky god – regarded
as the supreme being.
Brahma
– the creator god. Brahma is usually
depicted as sitting on the open lotus flower.
Vishnu – is connected by some sort of external umbilical cord
from its navel to Brahma.
Vishnu is seen as the second part of a triad.
He is the preserver and is pictured together with Lakshmi (his consort, a female goddess),
reclining on a bed consisting of a coil of a seven-headed snake.
His incarnations are identified with the twelve signs of the
Zodiac.
Siva
– the destroyer. Siva is also known as the god of yoga. Hindus believe he sits high on the
Himalayan Mountains at the fountain head of the Ganges River. Hindus think of
Siva as the source of the Ganges.
That is why a sprout of water is seen shooting up from the top of his hair,
and this is identified as the goddess Gangamai, visible
in the form of a snake.
Siva is also known as Natarajah, the lord of the
dance.
Siva is a hermaphrodite.
His consort is Parvathi and he rides on the bull,
Nandi.
Ganesha
– the elephant-headed god,
is a son of Siva.
Kali – is the most well-known and also the most
feared. Kali demands blood sacrifice. She is
depicted with many arms, with swords in her hands, dripping with blood. She has a necklace of men’s heads and hands around
her. She is dressed immodestly, and stands on the body of a dead man. She also holds a
man’s head by the hair in one hand.
Lakshmi – the goddess of good luck or
prosperity. Lakshmi is worshipped in Hindu
homes by the lightning of a small brass lamp in the form of a throne.
Some authorities estimate that there are over 330 million gods or
idols in Hinduism.
Key teachings of Hinduism
Basic to Hinduism is their belief in:
Karma
Underlying all Hindu behaviour, religious activity and thought is their doctrine of Karma. According to Hindu thought, all of life is
controlled by this law, the law of works. Your behaviour in a past life determines your fate in the present life, and your deeds in the present
life determine your future reincarnation.
Samsara
The endless cycle of birth and rebirth is called Samsara (the wheel of Samsara) – reincarnation. When you have built up bad Karma, you move down the ladder, but if you have developed good Karma, you move up the ladder. It takes many lives to go through the whole process for Karma to be worked out, through reincarnation or transmigration of the soul.
Moksha
A Hindu works for the day when he will
finally be able to break out of this
cycle of reincarnation,
having completed his Karma, to
escape into freedom called Moksha. This is a release from the everlasting cycle of
rebirth.
Dharma
Dharma means righteousness.
By living a good life and doing his duty, Hindus believe that they can
work out their own salvation. Dharma wheel
Yoga
Yoga means to be yoked or union. It is seen as
the pathway to freedom or Moksha.
Hindus are very religious people. However, their
religion is one of polytheism, pantheism and syncretism.
Hindus believe that all religions lead to God. They, therefore, reject the need to change from one religion to another. Hindus also reject
the concept of sin. Vivekananda said: ”It is a sin
to call anyone a sinner.”
Polytheism, Pantheism and Syncretism
Although the concept of salvation exists within Hinduism,
it is generally understood as liberation from the cycle of rebirth, not forgiveness for one’s own personal guilt.
Although the
reason why one is caught up in the eternal cycle of birth and rebirth is because of "bad works".
The Hindu doctrine of salvation is radically different from the Christian viewpoint. Similarly, when a Christian speaks of being born again, a
Hindu is thinking of reincarnation.
Bizarre Ethics
When Nepal’s crown prince killed nine other members of the royal family,
including his parents, in 2001, Hindus justified it
by Karma.
For example, Professor Mukunda Raj Aryal (a Brahman) was quoted
in the Washington Post as explaining:
“The members of the royal family brought only short lives into their most recent incarnations based on actions in a previous existence.”
The crown prince should be honoured for having “acted well”
the villainous part he was assigned by his Karma.
Murderer
Prince
Literally millions of Hindus
live as beggars, seeing this as their Karma. One healthy 32-year old beggar was quoted
as saying:
“I blame my own Karma. If god didn’t give me
poverty, then we wouldn’t have to beg in the first place.” Begging is seen as punishment for being mean to other beggars in
a previous life. Indian beggar 1902
Many of the beggars in India beg for about six months of the year and then spend the rest of
the year drinking a potent local brew and
maintaining themselves in a
drunken stupor for the next half of the year.
Worshipping a monkey to death
Some time ago there were reports of 4000 Hindu devotees
attending the funeral of a monkey in Southern India. The
monkey had strayed into a temple dedicated to the monkey
god, Hanuman, in Timmaganipalli Village. The
villagers surrounded the monkey and refused to allow it to leave
the temple. Hundreds visited the monkey each day, seeking its
blessings and garlanding it with flowers.
The monkey finally died of starvation and exhaustion. The distraught villagers explained that when they saw the monkey sitting on Hanuman’s idol, they thought it was a reincarnation of the ancient god. India is dotted with tens of thousands of Hanuman temples, and every
Tuesday is reserved for the worship of Hanuman.
Violent Militancy
Although India gained its independence partly
through the work of Mahatma Gandhi,
India’s current leaders do not hold to its pacifism, either
internationally or domestically. India is involved in a nuclear
arms race and regularly threatens war against its Muslim neighbour,
Pakistan.
Domestically, there has been a rise of Hindu extremists
engaging in hate campaigns against Christians. Anti-conversion legislation and
legal restrictions on Christian activities have been strongly demanded. Some states in
India have enacted such anti-Christian legislation and
condone a rising wave of violence and even murder of
Christian workers.
Human Rights Watch have reported on
“the killings of priests, the raping of nuns and the physical destruction of Christian institutions,
schools, churches, colleges and cemeteries.
Thousands of Christians have also been forced to
convert back to Hinduism.”
In 1999 there was also the highly publicised burning to death of
Australian missionary, Graham Staines and his
two sons, in Eastern India.
Many Hindu leaders justified these murders
by saying that missionaries who preach
“that the only way to salvation is through
Christ” deserve to be punished.
Hindu Christians and foreign
missionaries have come under
increasing attack from Hindu mobs
wielding clubs and swords.
Hinduism alternates between pacifism and violent
militancy.
The Hindu principle of Ahimsa means that Hindus
are not to harm any creatures, even insects.
Ahimsa
Some Hindus, because of Buddhist influence may even wear a cloth over their mouths to prevent their swallowing and therefore
killing small flying insects. But on the other hand, Hindus can justify the murder of Christians and missionaries.
Ahimsa
Superstition and Witchcraft
Rev. Greg Denysschen, the head of Jivannadi Mission, has noted: “Many Hindu people are very jealous and revengeful people. Their deep-
seated superstition also makes them open targets for demonic activity. Because of jealousy, people have killed other people by means of black magic. When they see
somebody prospering and progressing in life, they cannot
stand to see that and so they go out of their way to cast a spell on the
one they are jealous of …
“Some Hindus will also attempt to use magic to enhance their business, cast a spell to win over a girl or
women by means of love magic, discover treasures hidden away somewhere, using some form of magical
divination, win court cases by casting spells on the magistrates or public prosecutors and defend
themselves against their enemies by protection magic.”
Rev. Greg Denysschen also observes that: “the Hindu guru movement is the missionary enterprise of Hinduism … Hindu
gurus are active propagators of Hindu philosophy. They gather a number of disciples around them, impressing these seekers with their occult and psychic abilities. A guru must have disciples, so
they actively canvass as many as they can reach. Offering shorter paths to self-realisation, they are regarded as masters, absolutely
necessary to lead the disciple to enlightenment.”
The Caste System
Every Hindu is born into a group called a caste.
A person cannot do anything to change their caste. At the top of the
caste system is the priestly caste (the
Brahmans);
then the warrior / ruler caste (Kshatriyas); and the farmers, craftsmen and trades people (Vaishyas). These are the
forward castes.
The lower castes, including the
physical workers and labourers (Sudras) and untouchables (Harijans).
These five groupings break down into over 2000 specific
castes in practice.
Harijans
Caste is the Hindus strongest social security. Conversion to Christianity destroys this. When a Hindu converts to Christ, it will lead to his being excommunicated from the community, probably even from his own family, elimination of marriage prospects and
often also physical assault and persecution as well
Although in India the constitution “guarantees” equality and bans discrimination, the caste
system is vital for over 80% of the population.
Over 70% of all Christians in India (25 million) are of the lower classes and tribal communities.
Therefore, the average Hindu associates the Christian Gospel with the underclasses of their society.
Evangelising Hindus
It is not necessary to defend the existence of God to Hindus, although with their pantheistic concept of god, it is essential that we clarify and redefine whom we mean
by God.
The Hindus have a great respect for sacred writings, including the Bible. Hindus will listen
attentively to an exposition of Scripture.
Hindus also have a great respect for the person of Christ, the
quality of Christ’s relationship with
people, His teachings, (particularly the Sermon on the Mount) and His
unique and vicarious sacrifice of Himself
and suffering, all have a strong appeal to the
Hindu.
As Christian communicators,
we need to build on this basic respect for Christ with
an understanding of what Christ
taught and who He is
- The Word made flesh.
The Hindu doctrine of Karma is a barrier in terms of defining salvation. However, it can also be used as a
bridge to communicate the Gospel to Hindus.
The Bible does teach that what we sow is what we reap. What we do now affects our eternity. However: “It is
appointed unto man once to die and after that the Judgement.” Hebrew 9:27
The Hindu must be told of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, who by His vicarious suffering and
death upon the cross, triumphed over sin and has
taken upon Himself, the
penalty for all our sins. Hindus need to understand the
Atonement.
It is important that we be loving and compassionate in our communications with Hindus. That we present our Gospel
message in such a way that it answers the problems, questions and needs understood by the Hindu. We need to demonstrate
love and respect for the listener and his questions. There must be no condescending attitude in our Evangelism.
The Hindu quest for peace (Shanti) is so
overwhelming that he is willing to exert
extreme effort in a relentless search to
find this.
We need to recognise that Hindus consider a willingness to wait, to mortify his body and desires, a willingness to
suffer pain and to fast as essential qualities in any spiritual leader.
Christian leaders with these kinds of spiritual qualifications will find Hindus receptive to their message.
The Gospel in India
There are over 300 000 churches in India. There are well over 25 million Christians in India
(comprising over 2,4% of India’s total population).
There are over 100 000 full-time Christian workers in India, half of these pastoring local churches. There is
on average, only one pastor for every six congregations. There are over 1000 Protestant, Independent and Anglican missionaries in 184 agencies, in India.
In addition, there are over 44 000 Indian missionaries
and evangelists in 440 agencies, of which 60% are working
cross-culturally in India.
There has been a dynamic growth of Indian mission agencies and
church-based mission initiatives in India. Hindus are coming to Christ
in unprecedented numbers.
“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.”
Matthew 9:37-38
Some Practical Guidelines
Do remember, in interacting with Hindus, that the eating of meat is offensive to some of them. So too is the
social mingling of unrelated boys and girls.
Christianity is frequently presented to Hindus as a
foreign (i.e. Western) religion.
There is also the prevalent impression that
only “untouchables” embrace Christianity.
Many Hindus live under the constant fear of evoking the wrath of
Kula Devata (the family god) if they accept the gods of other religions.
There is also the fear of the loss of property, loss of privileges and of position in their society, if
they convert to Christianity.
In India, there is also the loss of economic privileges from the government. Those students who convert to Christianity can lose state financial aid for their studies.
No people group can be reached for Christ by
merely academic means. We cannot, and must not,
place our confidence merely in correct words
and statements, or strategies, but only upon
the living Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Holy
Spirit can regenerate lost souls. The people we win on the street must first be
won on our knees in prayer.
“And pray in the
Spirit on all
occasions with all
kinds of prayers
and requests… be
alert and always
keep on praying
for all the saints”
Ephesians 6:18
“If you abide in Me and My Words abide
in you then you will ask whatever you
want of Me and it shall be given to you.”
John 15:7
“Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already ripe for harvest!” John 4:35
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
‘whom shall I send?’
and who will go for Us?
And I said ‘here am I,
send me!’ “
Isaiah 6:8
Frontline Fellowship PO Box 74
Newlands
7725
Cape Town
South Africa
E-mail: admin@frontline.org.za
Web: www.frontline.org.za
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