Series: Christianity and World Religions text: Eph. 2:1-10
Sermon: Hinduism: The Beyond Within April 30, 2006
CATCHING UP
I ended my sermon last week with the premise that you cannot truly know what something is until you know what it is not. You cannot say you really know
I’m going to do something very radical here. I’m going to argue for Hinduism without holds. I will critique it. But I’m going to pretend to be a Hindu evangelist so that I’m not setting up a strawman argument. And to start we need to straighten up a common misconception.
I had heard before that
But all these rituals are ways to help us become unified with the deity – who is Brahman. Most Hindus speak about God in just about the same way you and I do. Only do the folk Hindus not realize that the gods are simply reflections of Brahman. They talk about God. Period. That God is Brahman. But they also talk about a Trinity of deities: Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer, and Siva the Destroyer. But again, these three primary deities only reflect the Brahman that is all.
On one hand, they think of Brahman as impersonal – the power of the universe that goes beyond knowing and personality. Yet, the deities they worship – some would call them idols – represent the various faces of Brahman.
HINDUISM: THE BEYOND WITHIN
What would make your life most meaningful? I think most of us can answer with a few things. We want being. We would rather live than die and we want meaningful being. We want knowledge. We are insatiably curious beings. Thirdly, we want joy, a feeling that is the opposite of frustration and futility. Finally, we want these things infinitely; we want infinite being, infinite knowledge, infinite joy. The Hindu would tell you that these three fundamental desires can be had; you can achieve infinite being, knowledge and joy. The resources for these are right now in your soul. Infinite bliss is now within your reach. In fact, you already possess them.
What is it to be human? A body? Certainly, but what more? You are a mind, memories, capabilities, life-experiences. But underlying all your human self lies a huge infinite reservoir of being that never dies, is never exhausted, is not even slightly restricted, is fully conscious, and eternally blissful. This infinite center of life, this hidden self inside yourself is Atman. It is your soul. It is also the soul of the whole universe, it is Brahman, the godhead. Your humanity is not fully accounted for if you do not experience and unleash the powers of your own Atman. To a Hindu, you are god. You will be greeted by, “I bow down to the god in you.”
You might ask: If an infinite universe of being, knowledge and joy actually reside in me, why isn’t this more obvious? Why don’t I act like it? Why do I get depressed and discouraged, confused and contrite? Why haven’t I noticed before that I am God? The answer is simple: the eternal Atman lies under an almost impenetrable mass of distractions, false assumptions, and instincts that compromise our surface selves and distract us completely. Your soul, or your Atman, is like an extraordinarily precious lamp that is covered by layers and layers of dust and dirt to the point of being completely obliterated.
THE FOUR PATHS
So how can I get to my deepest soul and have complete access to infinite being, infinite knowledge and infinite joy? There are four paths. Each of us dwell on the brink of an infinite ocean of life’s creative power. We carry this power within ourselves: supreme strength, wisdom and unquenchable joy. It can never be destroyed but it is hidden deep. Hinduism is a religion which trains your mind to draw on the deepest infinite joys and creative powers of life. What would it be to be able to draw from this well unceasingly? This is
The first Yoga is the way of knowledge; this is the way designated for those who are more cognitive by nature. By prolonged intensive reflection, the Atman changes from being a concept to a realization. This happens by careful scrutiny and deep meditation on tiny elements of life. What is this “I” that possesses my body and mind but goes beyond them. It is Atman. This disciple is challenged to think of themselves in the third person to learn that they are much more than their own consciousness; to be conscious of themselves almost as if they were a third party. “Here is Joel, preaching a sermon. He’s trying hard. Poor soul. It will soon be over and he’ll take a nap.” I’m not only Joel, but if I’m in touch with my godhood, I’m also listening to this sermon in your seat. This drives a wedge between your surface self and that part of you that goes beyond yourself. You can think in new ways which open your soul to the quiet presence of Atman.
When I loose a football game, I’m not sad but happy because I’m one with the winners. That is me over there – because I’m one with the universe and one with everyone around me.
The second Yoga is the way of love. This is the shortest path but also the steepest and is the most popular of the four. It is called bhakti yoga and its aim is to direct toward God the love that lies at the base of every heart. The way of bhakti yoga is to adore the deity with every element of your being. Not simply to claim that we love God but to love God in fact; to love God for absolutely no ulterior motive. All the things that clamor for our affections in this world have to be rejected and ignored. By constantly singing God’s praises, or even chanting God’s name, one’s mind is thoroughly engrossed in God. This love for God is expressed through innumerable forms; each a symbol that points to something beyond yet none exhaust God’s nature and being.
The last two Yogas are the way to God through Work and the way to God through what Huston Smith calls Psychophysical Exercises (what we think of when we say yoga).
The Bhagavad-Gita, the most famous Hindu scripture, reads Only that yogi Whose joy is inward, Inward his peace And his vision inward Shall come to Brahman And know Nirvana.
OTHER HINDU BELIEFS
Hindus famously believe in reincarnation; the Atman that comes from God never dies. What we’ve said about unity with the Atman plays into a much larger cycle that goes beyond your life and death. You can only achieve a certain amount of actual Atman-transformation. This isn’t something that happens overnight but over thousands of years.
Through a cycle of deaths and rebirths, called reincarnation, we can process up the chain of being and our soul is united with the Eternal Soul. This is Nirvana - your soul melds back into Brahman like a drop in an ocean. It isn’t easy to do this, and you have to go through several cycles of birth and death, and the practice of yogas. Hopefully, every birth and death will help you make your way up to the ultimate experience of oneness with God – or nirvana.
What governs this process? Two key words come into play, dharma and karma. When you think karma think of bank credit. It is as if your good deeds, your determination to work on your own yoga, develops good karma. Not good energy but good credit that will determine, after you die, whether you are reincarnated up or down: closer or further away from unity with the Brahman. When you think dharma think duty. It is the duty you must follow – often depending upon your caste level – that guides just how you follow your yoga and develop good karma.
I’ve not mentioned Caste System yet. This is the darkest side of Hinduism and very troubling. Strict divisions of humanity into four basic castes are seen as the result of this process. Life is governed by which caste you are born into. The reason you are in a high caste is because people in previous incarnations developed lots of good karma. Lower castes must have developed terrible karma in previous lives.
WHAT WE CAN LEARN
I think I can learn a lot about gaining perspective on things that go beyond my own sphere of experience. I got angry at a driver while walking the other day and realized, “A yogi would tell me that I need to meditate more to realize that I am also the driver, not just the walker.” This could help me realize how self-centered and selfish I am.
Of course, everyone is interested in exercise yoga and in meditation for relaxation and stress management purposes. I’ve even worked on deep breathing exercises and found them to be very helpful in reducing stress. Our Western world is over-stressed and I think we can learn much from the east in reducing this condition. Sometimes it is very, very helpful to simply stop and try to become completely aware of my breathing, etc., and try to transcend my puny sensory inputs. It can be very, very helpful to stop and meditate on God’s immediate presence; breath prayers of, “God is here.”
I have found from time to time an absolutely amazing level of serenity – almost like you float out on a cloud – through meditation. I do not doubt the power of it. However I would explain it not as the encounter with the God-within but with unleashing the god-like powers of the soul. We are made in the image of God and God has put within us more god-like capacities that we often realize. It sometimes takes this kind of settling of spirit to discover what soul-powers you actually have.
WHAT I STRUGGLE WITH IN HINDUISM
There are several things however that I would critique. Interestingly, some of this is a part of the critique that Buddhism also brings to bear. Buddhism is something of a critique of Hinduism.
Critique One: I do not believe that God (Atman-Brahman) dwells at the bottom of my soul. I am not fundamentally infinite. I know my soul pretty well, and I agree there is a lot more power than I give it credit for having (it is created in the very form of God), but I am, at the end of the day, very finite. I’m made in the image of God, I am not God. I do not have infinite knowledge no matter how you cut it or how deeply one delves. I’m a sinner in need of grace and forgiveness. I know that clearly. Our souls are god-like but not god.
The serenity felt in meditation could be a certain unleashing of the god-like powers of the soul. We are made in God’s image and probably have lots more inner strength than we realize. Meditation can help unlock these strengths. That doesn’t mean I am infinite. I am a creature in need of forgiveness.
Critique Two: Hinduism is pretty discouraging in the end. It didn’t work for the Buddha; he tried as hard as he could and realized that, at the end of the day, he might get one step closer to Nirvana. But he would come back in another form and the process starts all over again. Nirvana is being snuffed out like a candle or going into a dreamless sleep. The goal of millions of life cycles of effort is that – simply going to sleep dreamlessly and becoming perfectly one with Brahman. We believe that our personal identities will always be distinct. We’ll experience absolute bliss but that our identities remain.
The Christian God loves me and has acted in human history to provide an immediate access to his forgiving and enabling presence. Hinduism has absolutely nothing like this. When you ask a Hindu if they feel close to God or connected to God, they will often answer, “I hope to be someday.” We have this as a free gift. We read earlier of the grace by which we are saved through faith. Christianity is fundamentally a message of eternal hope but it begins with an honest assessment of our present state. I’m a sinner in need of forgiveness not a person who simply hasn’t become aware of my godhood.
Critique Three: Hinduism is overly tolerant of human suffering. Christianity sees human suffering as something to be fought against. Huston Smith tells the story of the Hindu yogi walking through a camp of malnourished refugees and homeless persons. When he was asked what he thought about it, his response was, “It is all so beautiful.” To the yogi, the world is what it is and all is Brahman – Brahman is all. Besides, suffering is the result of bad karma.
Christians are fighting against evil and suffering. Christianity is a fighting religion.
CHRISTIANITY IN HINDU LANGUAGE
Many Hindus are wonderful people. They make great neighbors and great food. We need to love them and appreciate their religion. We can learn much from them and we would be much less stressed if we did. But we also have something to share with Hindus.
We believe that Brahman came to live on earth in the historical person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is Brahman incarnate, who lived up to all the requirements of his dharma. He died and was resurrected so we can be freed from all our bad karma, so we can experience nirvana now and forever.