Letter to my Hindu Brothers and Sisters

 

I struggled with the writing of this letter because Hinduism is a complex religion. It is as complex as the human mind. It is complex because Hinduism has a long history and throughout its history has adopted many different aspects into its religion. In fact, Hinduism is many religions in one. In this process, it has accepted several different, sometimes opposed schools of thought. The Advaita, for example, suggests that God’s spirit and human spirit are not distinct and therefore whoever gains insight into the depths of his own nature will also realize his identity with God and thereby reach salvation. The Dvaita, on the other hand, holds that the human spirit is not identical to God’s, but it is dependent on Him and therefore salvation depends on the cultivation of love for God and on God’s grace. Within these opposed schools of thought there are many philosophies, such as the personal God (Ishvara), the celestial beings that preside over the forces of nature and act as a link between God and humans (Nyaya), and the sovereign rulers of the forces of nature which govern under a supreme God (Mimamsa). Certain denominations of Hinduism (Vaishnavism or Smartism) believe that from time to time God comes to Earth as a human being to help humans along in their struggle toward enlightenment and salvation. 

 

Hinduism in general is a self-help philosophy with the main objective to achieve a heightened spiritual experience. This is obtained through the following objectives: obligations and ethical tasks (Dharma), rebirth (Samsara), correct acts (Karma), and salvation (Moksha). Because Hinduism is several religions in one, my message would be different for each of the opinion streams. However, we should mention differences in visualizing between what you consider Absolute Truth (the object of meditation) and how the West perceives it (the object of adoration). This important difference should not be a cause for derailing our discussion. I see it as a mere cultural difference.

The case in point is the concept of self-improvement. Hinduism believes salvation is obtained by a combination of predetermined factors associated with soul purification by multiple births and by personal discipline and disposition associated with Karma and Dharma. In other words, there is a portion of ourselves and of our destiny that we have no control over, but there are other aspects of our existence that we do have control and even have an obligation to control. This is baffling to me. Who knows who is who?

Not sure how comfortable you feel believing in these apparent contradictions. But if by thinking a bit about the Hindu thought process does not agree with your logical process, I would invite you to consider the Bible. The Bible is the word of God because of various reasons: 1) it describes the history of creation and of man from the beginning, 2) the characters are not fantastic nor perfect, 3) it explains why we are sinners, 4) gives us the commandments that serve as a mirror to show us how sinful we really are. These commandments are also the basis of our current legal system, 5) it shows us the way out of our current existential dilemma that can be summarized as this: God loves us so much that He sent His only son Jesus to pay for our unpayable debt with Him. The only thing that He demands from us is that we realize once and for all that there is nothing we can do to impress, better, or labor to gain salvation. That, once we arrive at this realization, we ask Jesus to take command of our life and to guide us. Once you do this, you will experience a complete Samsara and, as a result, Dharma and Karma will come to your life spontaneously and with no effort. Jesus said through Matthew 11:28: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". The beauty of all of this is that you will not have a doubt in your mind that you obtained Moksha because that is what God promises to all His children with faith. What God promises, He delivers. No doubts about it. I pray that you will have a change of heart and give that heavy yolk you have been carrying to Jesus and see the changes that He will make in and with you. In Jesus name I pray.