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I see strong connections between Hinduism and Christianity.

Would I be wrong to be a Hindu who has a Hindu approach to spirituality but I hail Christ as the supreme personality of the Godhead and believe that I receive liberation in his name?

Say No To Censorship
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eliyah
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    I want to believe that.. but there are very large incompatibility in Christianity and Hinduism. Basically, believing in Christ is okay, but Christianity comes with 'dogmas' like belief in the one true God and nothing else. – Vineet Menon Jul 08 '14 at 06:48
  • I suggest you read this article.. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0008.html – Vineet Menon Jul 08 '14 at 06:54
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    I don't know what Jesus provides which the millions of deities of Hinduism does not provide. Our meta-physics is very solid and yet very diverse catering to many different levels of consciousness of Humans. – Bharat Jul 08 '14 at 14:37
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    @RBK, OP might be a Christian or a recent convert. (No Offence) – Vineet Menon Jul 08 '14 at 18:26
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    @VineetMenon That's an incredibly inaccurate article. The author doesn't seem to know much about Hinduism. He tries to make Judaism and Christianity look good by making all sorts of false assertions about Hinduism. – Keshav Srinivasan Jul 08 '14 at 18:29
  • yes, I know.. just I couldn't find any better article on comparative study of Hinduism and Christianity on first Google page. I thought of posting a disclaimer about it, but then retracted. – Vineet Menon Jul 09 '14 at 04:53
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    Yes your approach is valid. However it may not be called Hindu or Christian => spirituality. But there are various similarities in Christ's message with that of Hindu messages. Please see this link http://www.ramakrishna.org/universl.htm. There are various Hindu saints such as Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Yogananda, Sri Shirid Sai Baba, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sri Vivekananda, Sri Sivananda, etc. who declared that all religions are valid ways of reaching God. Thus the one who realizes the Unity among faiths transcends RELIGION. He can be called a saint, rather than a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Sikh – Sai Dec 21 '14 at 19:34
  • Yes you would be wrong. –  Dec 23 '14 at 05:16
  • @Sai - Only those who accept atleast the Vedas as Valid and apaurusheya can be considered as part of Hinduism or Sanatana dharma. That doesn't mean we disrespect others. Seeing, god in all the creations is different, but to be Hindu or to be part of sanatana dharma one has to accept the validity of Vedas#Thanks –  Jun 08 '15 at 09:03
  • @Krishna I think there are two points here which you brought up. FIrst is about 'only those who accept the Vedas as valid and apaurusheya'. So I think one can believe that Vedas are valid, but yet believe in the Gospel of the Christ. Here is an analogy. The Bhagavad Gita contains the song of Sri Krishna to Arjuna. Shankaracharya interprets the GIta in an Advaitic way. Ramanujacharya interprets the Gita in a Vishitadvaitic way. The Gita although a single text, is interpreted in two (possibly conflicting) ways by two different saints. so,... – Sai Jun 09 '15 at 03:26
  • @Krishna Similarly the Gospel of Christ can be interpreted in a way that is perfectly in line with the Upanishads and Vedanta. Saints such as Paramhansa Yogananda have interpreted the Gospel in a Vedantic way and shown that one who follows Christ is very much 'Hindu' as you define it to be. 'The Second Coming of Christ' is a work by Sri Yoganandaji . All the best' – Sai Jun 09 '15 at 03:27
  • @Krishna The second point is about 'accepting the Vedas as valid'. To me the one who accepts the Truth defined in Vedas is the true Hindu. So in my opinion, the one who lives by the Vedic Truth, although He does not have any idea about the shlokas or mantras mentioned in the Vedas, is very much Hindu. So to me, many Christians all over the world are as much "Vedic" as HIndus are. The Christian teachings are that of surrendering to God, much like Hinduism. Christianity is about loving God and loving fellow brothers and sisters, much like Hindu. All the best – Sai Jun 09 '15 at 03:33
  • @Sai Sir, it is not about personal opinions . But, at the least Vedas have to consodered as Valid. There are many hindus who will not even have read or seen a verse from vedas, but they believe in its validity. That is the main point. One need not be a hindu at all to be respected and gain respect of others through good deeds. But, to be called Hindu or practice hinduism, one has to accept the validity of Vedas for sure. Else, he can be in his own religion and do good deeds. –  Jun 09 '15 at 07:23
  • The vedanta society have Christian celebrations – user10068 Jun 10 '17 at 04:57

6 Answers6

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I do not see a strong connection between Hinduism and Christianity. Both have completely opposite world views and meta-physics.

A Hindu is free to worship Jesus as a deity and a manifestation of the Brahman. But that would invalidate Jesus' status as the only Son of God in Christianity. If a Hindu were to consider Jesus as the only Son of God, then it would invalidate all the Hindu deities and gods(as being false gods).

Liberation is not same as Salvation which Jesus offers.

If Jesus were to be accepted as a 'savior', it'd invalidate the Hinduism's idea of Sat-Chit-Ananda nature of Humans, i.e. Humans are originally divine and not originally sinful. A Hindu does not need to be saved from sin(Salvation) as there is no sin in Hinduism. The Human Condition arises from ignorance of the true Sat-Chit-Ananda nature and not from Sin resulting is disobeying God's Order. The ultimate aim is to make a "cognitive shift" form avidhya to vidhya(Liberation).

If humans are not originally sinful, every human would be same as Jesus(sinless). Then we don't need Jesus who according to Christianity is a sinless person capable to accept our sins and save us(be our substitute).

Original Sin was committed by Adam & Eve and was sexually transmitted to their offsprings. This goes against law of Karma where one's bad karma is spent by themselves in successive births but not carried over to their progeny. Hence Adam & Eve's bad karma would be spent by them and not all humans. If this were to be the case, then there is no need to be saved from original sin of Adam & Eve by Jesus.

There is no guilt associated with disobeying God(which caused original sin) in Hinduism since most schools believe that the world is a manifestation of Brahman rather than a creation of a personal God who commands humans to obey him. Hence there is no one to disobey but just law of Karma(cause & effect) and Dharma(natural way).

There is no eternal heaven nor eternal hell in Hinduism. You would not go to the eternal heaven if you accept Jesus as a savior while being a Hindu nor would you be damned to eternal hell if you don't. Liberation is not same as going to eternal heaven.

So, nothing prevents you from worshiping Jesus but you should know the consequences of doing so. You'd have to invalidate either Hinduism or Christianity's truth claims in order to worship Jesus while being a Hindu.

Bharat
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  • For books by Sita Ram Goel and Koenraad Elst see http://voiceofdharma.org/books/. There are many books on Hindu-Christian relations. Kalavai Venkat writes at centreright.in: http://centreright.in/author/kalavai/ and his latest book is "What Every Hindu Should Know About Christianity" : http://www.lulu.com/shop/kalavai-venkat/what-every-hindu-should-know-about-christianity/paperback/product-21581035.html – Bharat Jul 08 '14 at 17:08
  • Even in Dvaitavaada, Purusha & Prakriti are divine. All being are divinely manifested by the combination of Purusha & Prakriti. This is very different from the 'originally sinful' nature of human souls in Christianity(applies only to humans, animals don't have souls!). Humans are in nescience until Kaivailya or realization of the true Purusha nature is realized. Nescience is not a sinful nature. – Bharat Feb 17 '15 at 00:00
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    "If a Hindu were to consider Jesus as the only Son of God, then it would invalidate all the Hindu deities and gods(as being false gods)." - Why? There are many Hindu sects that consider their deity as the only manifestation of the supreme, this doesn't invalidate other deities.

    "Liberation is not same as Salvation which Jesus offers." - True, but the OP says he wants to have a Hindu approach to spirituality. This is no different from ISKON saying Krishna is the supreme personality.

     – Aditya K Aug 13 '15 at 10:03
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    My grandfather was a staunch Vaishanva who believed Vishu was his only way to moksha. He did not proclaim Shiva to be a false god and a enemy to be fought. When you accept Jesus, all other deities become false gods who have to be fought and eliminated. Our human body hosts many bacteria and servers as an ecosystem. But not all bacteria can be let to live in us. Some bacteria are harmful and would kill us. Jesus is one such harmful bacterium. Saying that I'll have a Hindu approach & let the harmful bacteria in is suicide. – Bharat Aug 13 '15 at 12:50
  • Quoting Jan Assmann from his book "The Price of Monotheism" : "[In monotheism,]..the truth to be proclaimed comes complete with an enemy to be fought - only they know of "heretics and pagans, false doctrine, sects, superstition, idolatry, magic, ignorance, unbelief, heresy, and whatever other terms have been coined to designate what they denounce, persecute and proscribe as manifestations of untruth." Jesus brings with him very un-Hindu ideas which would be harmful for the Hindu ecosystem. – Bharat Aug 13 '15 at 12:51
  • There is a very strong connection between Hinduism and Christianity. Read "The Holy Science" by Sri Yukteswar. – Pinakin Nov 15 '15 at 14:16
  • @ChinmaySarupria Hinduism by nature looks to make syncretic bonds with other religions which is typical of pagan traditions which traded their gods. Many Hindu gurus have attempted it without understanding Christianity. Christianity on the other hand resists syncretism unless it is able to obliterate the party with whom it is making it. Okay, having said this, the metaphysics of Hinduism like Karma, Dharma, Moksha are incomplete with original sin, eternal heaven/hell, salvation doctrine of Christianity. They are not just incomplete but mutually exclusive. – Bharat Nov 15 '15 at 16:16
  • That's why I have told you to read "The Holy Science". Many people think these 2 religions teach different things. That book is written to clear all confusions. – Pinakin Nov 15 '15 at 16:25
  • @ChinmaySarupria, I have had several discussions elsewhere about him and yogananda who might have been great yogis but completely lacked understanding of Christianity. You please read the books "Hindu View of Christianity and Islam by Ram Swarup" (https://www.scribd.com/doc/19106059/Ram-Swarup-Hindu-View-of-Christianity-Islam) and What Every Hindu Should Know About Christianity by Kalavai Venkat (http://www.amazon.com/Every-Hindu-Should-About-Christianity/dp/1505873428) – Bharat Nov 15 '15 at 16:44
  • Lord Shiva told Sri Yukteswar to write that book. It's your choice to either believe what Lord Shiva wants you to know or don't. – Pinakin Nov 15 '15 at 16:51
  • @ChinmaySarupria, sorry I'd trust evidence & logic than some claim of revelation from lord Shiva. It's your choice to trust evidence & logic. – Bharat Nov 15 '15 at 16:53
  • Sorry I believe in the words of yogis and Shiva/Vishnu rather than people like Ram Swarup or Kalavai Venkat. – Pinakin Nov 15 '15 at 16:56
  • @ChinmaySarupria, if it's all the same and if Shiva has commanded you, why don't to convert to Christianity (if you haven't already). – Bharat Nov 15 '15 at 17:09
  • My soul doesn't have any religion. I know of only 1 religion - the religion of God. – Pinakin Nov 15 '15 at 17:22
  • @ChinmaySarupria, how many such Gods are there? Only one? So your soul doesn't have a religion even though you(not your soul) know of (only)one religion of God? – Bharat Nov 15 '15 at 17:29
  • @ChinmaySarupria, anyways you are free to believe in what you want, but every action comes with a consequence. Be ready to face it. – Bharat Nov 15 '15 at 17:34
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    According to Advaita, everything at the absolute level is one and that is Nirguna Brahman. The different religions are like different rivers, they will all merge in that ocean(Nirguna Brahman). – Pinakin Nov 15 '15 at 17:38
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Bharat Nov 15 '15 at 17:39
  • There is likely a small possibility with Nyaya. – Haridasa Jan 17 '24 at 16:40
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I am not a Hindu scholar, but I can say that Hinduism doesn't stop one from believing in other Gods or religious ways. Yes, you can follow Hinduism and still pray to Christ, if that is the answer you are looking for. But you have to see if Christianity allows you to do such a thing.

senshin
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Yogesh
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I will try to answer your question rather differently. I agree with @Yogi that Hinduism does not define how to worship or whom to worship.

Being the first among the known religions there was no need to make or create a comparison in worshipping style. Rather, Hinduism has always tried to define how to live your life while performing your prime duty for the welfare of self and the society.

'Manusmriti', 'Upanishads', 'Vedas', 'Ramayana', 'Mahabharata' and the 'Bhagavad Gita' are all dedicated to define a way of living (do's and don'ts) for the welfare of the society. Every manuscript defines the do's and don'ts for a man/woman while playing different roles in life. Be it as a father/son/brother/servant/king/soldier/trader/teacher or any other role a person is required to play at the same time.

Hinduism 'does not hold' you from performing the duties of life through any 'channel' be it through The Bhagavad Gita or The Bible or The Quran or The Guru Granth Sahib. You go through any holy book mentioned here or teachings of these saints.

If the teachings you follow guide you to perform your duties for the welfare of the society then perhaps you are following hinduism without the feel of guilt and approval from any 'Pandit' who defines Hinduism or Christianity.

I know, I cannot answer the question perfectly well but I believe that my explanation will help you take your own decision.

A Somani
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Every religion teaches us that we all are children of God, we all are from same family.

I believe in the concept of "vasudheva kutumbhakam".

Still the holy scripts or religious books of every religion ask us to follow one particular God because it is easy for us get confused and our mind starts contradicting one belief if we listen to the other.

Mythology, may it be of any religion, is contradicting in itself as it is either narration, edited version, translation etc.

Somewhere I feel it has lost its true meaning and message behind these holy scripts, that was originally about humanity, love and compassion.

We all are fighting on one topic and trying to prove our point, "my religion is better than yours, or it is the only true religion". All this for what purpose, I don't understand this.

When the message is same, why argue, why can't we be different and still love each other, irrespective of our religious beliefs and differences. When God loves all equally.

Whatever religious beliefs one follows, it doesn't mean to be disrespectful of other's beliefs.

You want to seek God you'll find everywhere or you want find differences, you'll find that too. It's up to you what you seek.

Worshipping Jesus or any other way is completely your personal choice. Faith in God doesn't need approvals from human. Believe what you feel is right and try and keep positive emotions. Worship God not religions. God is only one, religions are many.

ABcDexter
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Inner Peace
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One GOD One Family

Anybody you can choose as "Guru", choose any deity, any Christ, any sadhu, any true devotee or pure soul. But the condition is that soul should be in communication with vibration of GOD.

To reach GOD, the medium or the guider can be anybody.

GOD is one, to reach him ways may vary. Any religion has nothing to do with your choice of "Guru", but yes GOD is only one.

With any religion or any belief system you go, if you say truth and follow righteousness , GOD will choose you. The world see presentation but GOD see intention.

You will be directly guided by GOD to right messenger of him. GOD will not appear to give you knowledge but he will choose any human being to provide you what he wants you to know.

wo janam leta nahi, karma karta nahi, bhogta nahi, lekin us ke kam wo karvata he neemitt banakar.

means, In gita god said, i am ajanma(Birthless), akarta and abhokta, but I make someone neemitta of situations and only and only my will operates world.

In Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta God said

The devotee worships any form/deity who is child of mine, I make his faith stronger in that form/deity and he gets what I have decided for him by that form/deity only.

Note : Your goal should be GOD, not the deities or christs, otherwise god has mantioned , those whose goal is deity, reach deity, those who worship ghosts, reach ghosts, but whose central goal is GOD(I), reaches GOD(me) only.

Means

If you have faith in Christ, purely worship him, you are indirectly worshiping GOD only(Your GOAL is GOD). Because Christ said that he is not god but is god's child. So he is also not willing that someone worship him and consider him god, but yes there is no doubt that he is pure soul and I believe that he is in contact of GOD. If you have faith in Hanumanji , worship him, indirectly every worship to pure souls are to GOD only. and if your faith is pure, GOD will increase your faith such way that your belief in Hanumanji/Christ will be stronger.

Yes there may be some distinction between Christ is avatar of deity or not, but my personal opinion is all deity's are also child of GOD only, and Christ was very humble man and dearest child of GOD.

Both Lord Krishna and Christ , both of them are Guru only. Guru is the one who become medium of source of knowledge from GOD, because only knowledge is what GOD want to give us.

In Hindu there is verse that consider Krishna as World Teacher

Vasudevam, Sutam devam, Kans Chanura Mardnam,
Devaki Param anandam Krishnam Vande Jagat Gurum,

Last phrase Jagat Gurum means World teacher.

Hanuman Chalisa also starts with "Shree Guru" means "Oh teacher..". Any deity is medium but final destination is GOD,Allah, Shiva who is one only.

There is only one difference that Christ was not a GOD. So Hindus will not accept it. But if some one had written it in somewhere I am demn sure Hindus will blindly accept it.

So you personally can/can not consider Christ as deity. but there is no written text in Hinduism about it.

Can one become Hindu?

As per Hinduism , every creature on earth is created by Brahma only and Hindu is sanatana Dharma, means there were no other religions other than Hindu in this world, means everybody on earth is Hindu. Later on many faiths originated as different religions, means people selected different faith (maybe at that time's need was it) but GOD is one.

Being Hindu or Christian is not important, getting liberation from GOD and experiencing GOD's vibrations is important.faith is important. Knowing that GOD is one is important. Choice of "Guru" or "Spiritual guider" is personal for all beings.

prem30488
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    How are all Hindu deities son of God? Hindu deities are manifestation of God(Brahman). Not his son or daughter. The significance of Jesus being son of God in Christianity is different from deities being manifestation of Brahman. Once cannot be a Hindu & a Christian at the same time. If you were to consider Jesus are a Hindu deity, then you are 'downgrading' his status in Christianity. If you think Jesus is son of God as per Christian theory, then you are invalidating Hinduism. Can't have both. Refer to my answer. – Bharat Aug 03 '14 at 02:36
  • The popular Hindu response is that labels(hindu, christian,etc) are just a modern human invention but God is one and all religions have the same goal. This is plain stupidity. – Bharat Aug 03 '14 at 02:37
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According to R. Panikkar, the role of Ishvara in Vedanta corresponds functionally to the role of Christ in Christian thought. There is a functional equivalence between Christ and Ishvara. Both figures, the Logos and saguna Brahman, fulfill the same role within their particular religious manifestation. Both Christ and Ishvara are treated as the personal aspects of God; that 'link' allows personal communication and engagement with nirguna Brahman. Each acts as a mediator between God and mankind. In the same manner, each acts as the means (Jn 14, 6) of creation and salvation.

This homeomorphic correspondence provides a "link" between Indian philosophy with a locus for Christ and Christian theology for Ishvara. The historicity of Jesus (the) Christ, while essential, is not a good starting point for a dialogue between the two religions. The Christ of Hinduism is "hidden and unknown" (R. Panikkar), this hidden link is Ishvara, the unknown Christ of Hinduism. In Vedanta, Ishvara fullfills the role of relation between Brahman and World. Of course, Ishvara cannot solve the problem satisfactorily. Sankara’s Ishvara cannot be a true mediator as he is only "real" from a relative point of view and not real from the absolute. In Sankara’s Advaita, the diversity between Brahman and Ishvara is overstressed to save the consistentcy of Brahman, while in Ramanuja’s Visistadvaita, it is the identity between Brahman and Isvara which is overstressed to save the consistency of the world. But again, Ishvara is still not a satisfactory "link". According to R. Panikkar, only Christ (the Logos) can be the true link between the World and God. Panikkar’s Ishvara requires a subtle reinterpretation of Vedanta, for him, this "link" is both "human" and "divine" (perichoresis), pointing towards a reality which not only connects the two poles of God and world, but which "is" the two poles without losing their identity as persons in the Christian language; this Ishvara of his interpretation points towards the Mystery of Christ.

So, Panikkar is reinterpreting the Ishvara of Vedanta so that it becomes the already formulated traditional Christian understanding of Christ, but, on the other hand, this subtle reintepretation solves the problems between Sankara Ramanuja under the light of the Christian Trinity.

We should bear in mind that "Christ" is the center of reality, the Alpha and Omega, as seen by the scholastic Christian tradition. Jesus is the human manifestation of Christ for the Christian, it is the Christian Ishta-Devata, so to speak, and for the Christian is the definitive and public manifestation of God .

From my point of view, Christianity is the only True Religion because it is Catholic ("universal"), and Hinduism is the religion of TRUTH. One has the True Doctrine and the other the methods to reach the Truth. Boths share the same goal: they are projects of salvation, called Resurrection or Moksha. Boths are perfectly compatible and should learn from each other.

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