How does Hinduism deal with the idea of God, man, works, in its various scriptures and traditions?

Topic 1: How does Hinduism deal with the idea of God, man, works, in its various scriptures and traditions?

           According to a statistical comparison of World Religion’s website, Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world with about 1.251 billion members, or 15.16%, and it is one of the most ancient religions in the world. The Indians worship many gods. However, Hinduism is monotheistic, and they have an absolute aspect of God called Brahman, and they worship it in many forms. In this essay, I will introduce Hinduism, dealing with the idea of God, man, and work in its various scriptures and traditions.

The basical beliefs about God in Hinduism

 Each individual in Hinduism is free to worship and choose his god without well-defined doctrines as in other religions. For example, "a Hindu may believe in Jesus, want to follow his teachings, but without ceasing to be a Hindu.”  On the other hand, Hindus believe that God is supreme and human beings cannot reach Him. Therefore, they conceive of God in their own personal way. They call God "Brahman," which means "beginning and end of all things," and we can see everything in this world through His manifestation in divine reality.

 In the Vedas, "Brahman is an entity that has the ability to expand indefinitely"  and Brahman connects with the universe in devine and mystic reality. Through the above definition, Hindus believe that it is hard to relate to God directly in an impersonal way. Hence, they imagine God in a personal way, as' Trimurti ’ . This allows them to easily understand, love, and worship Him in accordance with their devotion.

 It is critical for Hindus to understand not only gods, dogma, creeds, or laws... but also how these gods can help them live better lives and find meaning in their lives. Therefore, the relationship between God and man is very important. And the Hindu Scripture (Vedas) is a source which God has revealed to them. Indeed, in Hinduism, the great significance as well as the very possibility of man's holy relationship with God are revealed in the Vedas, "O Lord, lead us from untruth to Truth; Lead us from darkness to light. Lead us from death into immortality " .

Hindu Sriptures are holy books with four Vedas (Rig-Veda; Sama Veda; Atharva-veda; Yajur Veda), and the Vedas show the world through Devotion (Bhakti), Knowledge (Jñana) or Action (Karma) that man gives himself completely to God. Through intimate experience of God, one will show his faith by actions (karmas) in all situations of life.

We can see that the Hindu has a strong desire to find God in the Truth in their life. Hence, in the Isa Upanisad, it is written: "The face of Truth, Lord, is hidden by a golden disc; remove it, so that I, Truth's worshipper” . The Hindu is committed to the pursuit and worship of Truth, which defines God as Truth, Hindu texts affirm: "Truth is One; sages call it variously"; God is "Truth of all Truth" . Therefore, we need a full appreciation of their religious significance.

Conception about man in Hinduism

In Hinduism, Artha (wealth), Kama (physical love), Dharma (right conduct), and Moksha (liberation) is one of the four basic goals of human life. The most important one of them is Dharma. Indeed, it means "to sustain", "to support" every action of a human to help them live harmoiously and contribute to the well being of society. So "this is the reason why Hindus consider it unimaginable that a person should change his dharma” . In addition, Artha is wealth. If everyone had rich wealth, their country would live in happiness with a good economic and political life. This is necessary to maintain a wealthy life. 

However, if someone lives in violence, such as stealing or killing, they lack Dharma and Artha. Next, Kama means "to desire". It includes the desires for satisfaction or pleasure, such as food, sex, friendship, intimacy relationship, etc. However, if this desire has lust inclinations towards others, it is unworthy and sinful. So, one has to take Kama in the form of Dharma’s norms. And finally, Mosha is a state of freedom from pain, hurt, suffering... It is a state of spiritual realization which directs them to the end of life. These four foundational aspects are very important for the Hindu people because they help human beings live fulfillment and happiness in daily life and overcome all sufferings in realisation.

 However, it is difficult to give a concept of man with a point of view according to the philosophy standpoint. It is distinct from the above religious views with regard to Hindu culture. The text says: "A man should lift himself by his own self, so let him not weaken this self. For this self is one's friend, but it can also be one's enemy" . Indeed, in the reality of metaphysics, we can see that man is structured with a dual personality which has two inclinations (selves) interacting against each other. When a man cultivates a good habit, he rejects the obstacles of evil and gains virtues that elevate him to spiritual goals.

Conception about works in Hinduism

Now, we need to distinguish two concepts: work and worship. Worship is what he does in the temple and shrine room, and work is what he does in the fields, factories, However, the Hindus believe that the attitude when they are doing something is very important, for "We are working to earn money to support ourselves; we are worshiping to receive the blessings of the Gods." This is why the Hindus affirm that work is worship.

 Work is worship; why? Because Hindus believe that by working, we make spiritual progress by completing our natural duties in life. Furthermore, "work helps us in situations where we can interact with others. We also learn good lessons and gradually deepen our understanding, improve our behavior, and become a more spiritual person. In doing so, we work through the karma we created in the past and create new karma to be faced in the future. With this in mind, we can see that our daily work contributes to our spiritual progress just as much as attending pujas in the temple, worshiping in our home shrine, going on pilgrimage, singing bhajans, meditating, or studying scripture..”  Therefore, Paramaguru Yogaswami is reasonable when he says, "All work must be done with the aim of reaching God.” 

From the Hindu perspective, they believe that the world is an altar. When we work, it should be an offering to God, and we are dedicating our actions to God. We all have certain duties in life, so we should integrate spirituality into our work. We can make our work a form of worship to practice our religious duties. In small ways, such as blessings to our place of living, praying for others, spending some minutes doing meditation, yoga twice a day, Furthermore, we can seek ways to serve others without expectation of payment, praise, or prestige, and this helps us live happier and more fulfilled in our inner life.

To sum up, we can affirm that one of the profound beliefs of Hindus is that God is in all things. Hence, the Hindu concept that when we are working on something, dus is that God is in all things. Hence, the Hindu concept that when we are working on something, we are also worshiping God through our daily duties. Therefore, we can overcome challenges and have an opportunity to develop ourselves into our highest spiritual progress. This is the way to fulfil God’s will in our lives.

In conclusion, according to the scripture and tradition of Hinduism, we can realize that the concepts of God, man, and work have deep meaning. For God is supreme, and humans cannot approach Him because they perceive God in their own unique way, and they believe in the revelation of Hindu scriptures (Vedas). The Hindui, on the other hand, has four basic life goals: Artha (wealth), Kama (physical love), Dharma (right conduct), and Moksha (liberation). These will help them live better and easily achieve spiritual goals. Finally, Hindus affirm that work is worship to God, because everyone has duties, and when he completes his duties, he also fulfills God's will. 

Topic 2: How do you understand Hinduism in relation to Christianity?

 Christianity is the largest religion in the world, with more than two billion followers. Although Hinduism and Christianity are two different religions in terms of beliefs, ways of worship, holy books, rituals, symbols, and spiritual practices, people from both religions have no barrier to coming together. In this essay, we will introduce the relationship between Hinduism and Christianity.

 To begin with, we can learn about two different religions' perspectives on God and His existence. For example, Christianity believes in one God who exists in three persons: Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, Hinduism believes in many different Gods that lead us to the way of civilization lived, such as after death. On the other hand, Christianity and Hinduism seem to have different points of view in relation to God. Indeed, Christianity believes that God created everything in 6 days from nothingness (Gen 1, 1-2, 4a). God is the anpha and omega of all things. He pre-existed before the beginning of creation. In contrast, in Hinduism, "the Bhagavad Gita (BG) states the eternality of matter: "Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be beginningless" and also, from the Rig Veda: "There was neither non-existence nor existence: there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it." -- Instead, they believe that the sacred sound "Om" (a symbol of Brahman) was the first sound of creation. The three Gods, Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu, are thought to represent three functions of Brahman (the one ultimate reality). He is the source of all manifestations. The universes are created by Lord Brahma, the creator; maintained by Lord Vishnu, the preserver, and destroyed by Lord Shiva, the destroyer. "Brahman was before creation, in which he was unmanifest.”   There was always something before creation, as it is an impossible notion to assume that anything can come from nothing. These are the different points of view about God between the two religions.

 Secondly, the beliefs in the Holy Book. Although Hinduism and Christianity seem completely different by origin, their beliefs in the Holy Book are the same. Indeed, Christians believe in the Gospel about the Incarnation of Jesus, and the Hindus believe in reincarnation and karma. In Hinduism's Law, it is written that if someone has good karma, then after death he will have a good afterlife. What is the afterlife? They do not know, but the Hindus believe in Vedas’s revelations. The goal of human souls in Hinduism was to achieve moksha. Moksha means the end of reincarnation, where the soul rejoins with Brahman. For example, Christianity is different from Hinduism, telling the truth is important, but the main idea is forgiveness. Everyone sins, no matter the weight of what you do. Christians believe that this keeps you away from God. Yet, in Christian Law, if they believe in Jesus’ words in Scripture and live them, they will enjoy heaven with Him. Both have different standards for the commandments. In Christianity, they try to do good deeds to reach Heaven. In Hinduism, they try to reach Brahman, and they will face a judgment day with their karmas, which depend on their actions in daily life. On the whole, although Christianity believes in Scripture, the Bible and Hinduism believe in Vedas. These are good ways to lead the faithful to God and get happiness and peace in this life and afterlife.

In conclusion, though both are different in beliefs and faith symbols (Christianity’s symbol is the cross, and Hinduism’s symbol is OM), nowadays, Hindu-Christian relationships are good by the major traditions and have been a positive experience in history. However, Christians, in particular, need to remove some of the misconceptions about Hindu religion that were promoted in the course of the missionary effort. Christians must understand Hindu beliefs and rituals in order to appreciate them. Because, "many Hindus readily admit to the beneficial effects of Christian missions in bringing education, health care, social justice, and liberation into reality. However, Hindus have also had considerable problems with some Christians’ exclusive claims, the creation of culturally alternate communities, and the negative presentation of Hindu religion and its values as part of the gospel.  This reality calls on the churches to re-think the assumptions, presuppositions, and goals of mission that were formulated during the colonial period.”     

Minh Đức S.J.

Bibliography: 

  https://world-religions.info/largest-religion-in-the-world/

  Understanding our fellow Pilgrims, Gregory Naik, S.J., Gujarat Sahitya Prakash P. Box 70 Anand Gujarat 388001, 2000, p22

  See. An-avadhika-atisaya-brhat (BS.RBh. I.1.2.) confered, Indian historical Philosophy, Hoanh Son Hoang Si Quy, Hung Giao Van Dong 1970—1974, p.105

  Ibid, p.22

  Atharva veda 10.149.4

  Isavasya Upani 9 ad, 15.

  Brhadarasyaka Upanisad 2.3.6.

  Ibid, p. 

  Bhagavad Glta 6.5, Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2010),

p.100

  https://www.hinduismtoday.com/.../2004-07-work-is-worship/, accessed Aug 22, 2022

  Ibid

  https://www.oikoumene.org/.../christian-self..., accessed Aug, 22, 2022.