Hindus

Adam,

I chatted with a man from the East whose father was a convert to Christianity
from Hinduism. He told me that they believe in 33 1/2 Million different gods.

Yes....I asked him the second time to clarify and he said..."Thirty three and a
half million different gods. Then he said..."Isn't that a shame" ?

Seems like we have a hard enough time discerning and explaining just one God
doesn't it ?

 

Hindus believe in that many gods, yes, but by "gods," they do not mean the same thing that we do when we speak of "God."

First off, let it be known that the word "Hindu" was derived by the British, who, moving into India, began to label everyone as such, even though the Hindu region is actually rather small comparitively. I dare say that there is a lot of diversity in Hindu beliefs, although there is a unifying ideal behind it.

Hindus believe in "Atman," which is the "unborn, undying self." I am not Grant, for instance, but rather I am Atman, trapped in this body, which is not even real. Atman is "god," so to speak, but he is not the creator. There is no creator. Atman, this unborn, undying self, as such, is "dreaming." And in his dream, he might dream that he is a god. And in that dream, that god dreams that he is another god. Etc, etc, etc. And you get down to it, and we are all like dreams within dreams within dreams. Granted, this is just an allusion to something that can't really be explained.

This world does not exist, and we are trapped in it. The more conscious we become of this "fact," the more likely we are to espace it, to release the Atman from this bodily prison.

Now, any time you act, you generate karma, which is the consequence for action. It can be good or bad, per se, but technically, all karma is "bad," because as long as one has karma, he is still trapped. To be free from karma, which causes one to be reborn ("samsara"), one must cease to act. There are a TON of different belief systems on which this is achieved. Some say you must act as if you were someone else; i.e., act without thinking, as if someone else was acting for you. Other more disciplined groups try to do as little action as possible, including eating less and less, breathing less and less, causing your heart to beat less and less, until finally you do so little that you cause "death," but are freed eternally from the cycle of dying/rebirth, and become one again with Atman.

Granted, this could be flawed. This is just what I was taught in my Introduction to Religion class.

In Jesus Name,

Grant

 

Also, from my understanding, the number "33 1/2 million" is just a made-up number, as such, to represent that there are not infinite gods, but that there are too many to possibly comprehend, also.

"Gods," as such, typically have specific functions. So when you need water for crops, you'll pray to that god, and when there is famine, you pray to that god, etc. etc. etc. Again, though, these gods are not like the Christian God, who is omnipresent and omniscient and omnibenevolent, etc. They are more like "sub"gods.

Also, with reincarnation ("samsara"), the more karma you collect, the more you will fall backwards in the chain of life (i.e., instead of being reborn a human, being reborn as a "lesser" animal). From there, one must work his/her way back up the ladder.

ALSO, Hindus would generally consider that Christians are pretty close to the "truth," but not quite there yet.

In Jesus Name,

Grant

 

Adam
May I recommend a good book on the subject?


death of a guru

 

Others (notably Gandhi and RamaKrishna) taught of an immanent God is all of creation. Any religion that seeks this truth is acceptable. Many can accept Jesus Christ as a divine teacher but never as the sole Savior or Son of God.
There are a growing number of Hindus who are accepting the concept of Jesus Christ as Savior and Son of God. Most of these are in predominent Hindu communities that have had some exposure to Christian missionaries. I don't have a lot of info on the subject, but if I find any, I'll post forthwith.

 

OUTSTANDING book. I also recommend it highly.

 

It is interesting to note that Hinndus are quite open to Christianity, often even being keen to accept Jesus, yet when it comes to being "Baptised" there is alot of problems, why? because of what it symbolises.

 

I can't help but point out the striking similarity to the Catholic tradition of praying to certain saints for certain things.

That's the first thing I thought of as I read your post. A friend of mine, who was raised Catholic, wears a medal. On the front it has the Seal of the US Marine Corps, on the other an engraving of a man, with a halo and it said 'protect us saint christopher' (I think it was St. Christopher).

Is he the Saint of war or something?

God Bless,
Kelly

 

I believe he is the saint of hopeless causes The RC church threw him out
years ago. I guess it's hopeless

 

St Christopher is the patron saint of safe travel, or safe journey. Born at Canaan in the 3rd century by the name of Offero. He was killed for his Christian faith circa 250ad.

Legend has it that he would often be in search of of novelty and adventure. In the course of his adventures, he befrieded a certain man who lived next to a dangerous stream. This man made a living of taking it upon himself to guide travellers to safe places to cross the stream. The man shared with Offero the Gospel of Jesus Christ . Over time, Offero took the man's place, but instead of guiding travellers, he carried them safely across the stream.

It is said that one day he carried a small child across the stream; the child's weight nearly crushed him. When they arrived on the other side, he had a vision of Christ being the child, and the Christ Child was so heavy because he bore the weight of the world on himself. Somewhere in history, Offero was said to have been baptized with water from the stream. Offer's service at the stream led to his patronage of things related to travel and travellers. St Christopher is said to pray for the safe journey of all who travel.