Hinduism And The Eastern Tradition Of Judaism

"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit." Kahlil Gibran

The differences between Hinduism and Abrahamic Religions are many. The primary difference of beliefs is that Abrahamic Religion believes that there is one God. Hinduism beliefs vary being Pantheistic, monotheistic and polytheistic it is one of the most complex religions of the world. In the comparison of Hinduism and Abrahamic Religion differ on their concept of God. Along with their differences on the concept of God the Hindu’s and Abrahamic Religions also differ on their concept of man’s destiny. Finally Hindu’s and Abrahamic Religions also differ on their concept of Salvation.

In Chapter ten the history of Hinduism is discussed in America and India. Instead of illustrating the religious doctrines of Hinduism. The author lists statistics about the livelihoods of Asian Indians. For example, there are eighteen different official languages in India. As the author emphasizes that doctrines have nothing to do with Hinduism, but the actions that individuals commit. The orthodoxy is a set of responsibilities that Hindus must carry out. If they wish to be reincarnated into a higher caste. In addition, the origin of Hinduism is mentioned within the chapter. That Hinduism is the only major religion that does not have a founder and has no beginning as there is not a specific known date of when it originated. Moreover, Hinduism is the oldest major religion and is the only polytheistic faith among the five popular creeds.

Hinduism is a very broad term that encompasses a multitude of different backgrounds, traditions, beliefs, and practices. Hinduism, as we know it today, has gone through many changes. To fully understand how Hinduism became as it is currently, knowledge of its development over the course of history is essential. This paper will demonstrate the primary shifts of its central beliefs, practices, and goals between periods of Early Vedic, Late Vedic, and Classical Hinduism.

Kaitlyn Power Period 3 December 5 , 2015 Judaism and Hinduism Judaism and Hinduism are among the oldest living religions around the world. They both have shared a notable relationship throughout history. Both religions were known to be ethnic religions and not promoting conversions from other religions. Hinduism is concentrated in the Indian subcontinent, which is also the birth place of the religion. Judaism is pivoted at Israel, which Jewish people claim is the land of their forefathers.

Both of the religions Hinduism and Judaism are similar but different in their own ways. Hinduism worships many gods and goddesses, whereas Judaism is a confirmedly monotheistic religion. In the Hinduism religion the bedrock is the belief that the Vedas is sacred and the caste system decribed in it. “Hinduism is a guide to life, and the goal of which is to reach union with Brahman, the unchanging ultimate reality”(75). The dharma or moral law that need to be followed. There are many gods that were worshiped and each person may worship a different god. Images of the gods in homes or temples were presented where each person can show devotion to their personal gods by singing hymns or offering flowers before the images. The Hindus believe in many things such as that the universe undergoes and endless cycle of creation, believe in karma, that the soul reincarnates, the belief that all life is sacred.

Christianity is one of the most influential religions known to man. Starting in c. 4 BCE a structure was about to be formed with the birth of Jesus, which led to the creation of the Christianity after Jesus was crucified and resurrected. The religion is monotheistic meaning it follows one god, referred to as “God”. The structure of Christianity has three major branches which are the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants, each branch containing a number of subcategories. Christians follow the belief that there is only one true God, who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all in the same body. Christians also follow the belief that Jesus is God sent in form as a human messiah who was sent to save the world. Comparatively the major Asian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism hold a vast array of beliefs and values that typically incorporate more than one god. Not only that, but each of the main Asian religion/philosophies were formed before Christianity, by at least 500 years.

At first glance and hearing about, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam these five religions-look and sound a lot alike. Each one was founded and developed by mankind, follow a list of religious principles and directives to live by, and they all share the same consciousness of wrong doings being reconciled. Because anyone can strike up a new religion at any time, however, religion cannot be judged on how it looks or sounds. As a comparison we will see just how different these religions are.

This series draws to a close with the modern view of Hinduism and how it is currently practiced. If there is a dominate theme that characterizes Hinduism is its connection to the world today. Islam and Western culture has had a huge effect with the effectiveness of Hinduism. The Southern religion of India consist of the majority of Hindus. However, in the region of Northern India resides a large Muslim population. Both have stark differences in beliefs. With that, violence and opposition has resulted in much of the area. Not to draw a line, but Islam is partly a reason to this violence. To the Hindus, Islam is simply another caste of people. It is also important to note that the relations amongst these two religions has had its positive moments.

The religion I chose to discuss for this assignment was Hinduism because I do not claim this religion and I am extremely curious about its practices. In the words of Merriam-Webster, the definition of Hinduism is the worship of many gods and the belief that after you die you return to life in a different form. To start off, I would like to ask why does Hinduism have and worships a copious number of gods? Also, why do some Hindu gods exhibit animal features? Lastly, why do Hindus honor all animals with the most prominent one being the cow?

Eastern religions have different views of the divine for each religion. Hinduism, the oldest religion, is monistic, believing in one Great Power known as Brahman, as well as 330 million Gods who each express a different aspect of Bahman. These Gods are worshipped in various ways, as various avatars. Buddhism does not inherently believe in a higher power, it is not explicitly discussed in Buddhist

Since the dawn of mankind, humans have found solace and answers in the gods. The varied geographic locations and cultures of these ancient peoples equates to an assortment of religions and proto-religions being practiced. One of the most recognized religions in modernity, Hinduism, can trace its linage back to what is essentially the birth of organized religion. Hinduism has evolved and thrived, and today it boasts a pantheon of thirty-three million deities. Due to the tremendous amount of divine beings, those who practice Hinduism find themselves devoted to only a few “major” deities. This group, consisting of those being worshipped, features a hierarchy of deities. The exact makeup of the hierarchy can be disputed, but it is a widely

Eastern religions beliefs are very different from western religions. Hinduism is mostly about understanding their main God, Brahma which descends from Atman. Hinduism is mostly practiced in India and is the third largest religion around the world. In Hinduism they believe in Moksha which is the idea that the highest level of being is the freedom from transient human life. Hinduism practices meditation, yoga, and offerings to their deities in the temple. There is not official clergy in Hinduism, but they do have Yogis, Gurus, Brahmins, Priests, and Monks. Hinduism believes that reincarnation is a reoccurring cycle until reaching enlightenment, then moksha will be achieved.

Hinduism is a religion with many different styles of worship . The generic six types of worship are Folk Hinduism which is based on local traditions and cults of local deities; Vedic Hinduism which is practised by traditional brahmins (a class of Hindu consisting of teachers, priests and protectors); Vedantic Hinduism which is based on the philosophical approach of the Upanishads (a collection of ancient Sanskrit texts); Yogic Hinduism; Dharmic Hinduism which is based on karma and Bhakti Hinduism or devotionalist practices[1]. Each of these has a different style of worship based around different gods and practices e.g. Vedantic Hinduism is based around the Upanishad whereas Vedic Hinduism is based around the Universal Spiritual Truths which can be applied to anyone at anytime[2]. For this reason, I think that it will be hard to say what each of these types of Hinduism are and instead focus on arguments for and against the types of theism e.g. monotheism, henotheism and polytheism.

While researching Hinduism beliefs and practices, I found that Hinduism is one of the oldest and most widely practices religions in South Asia. It is also the third largest religion in the world with 16 percent of the world’s population. Hinduism is also known as a polytheistic religion because they believe in more than one god. There are many gods and goddesses in Hinduism, but the main and the highest gods are Lord Brahma, the creator; Lord Vishnu, the protector; and Lord Shiva, the destroyer. Hinduism is a religion with a variety of beliefs and practices. The four major beliefs of Hinduism are the caste system, multiple Gods, karma, and reincarnation.