A Comparative Analysis of The Major World Religions

Transcription

Many Paths to One Goal? - A Comparative Analysis of The Major World Religions
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
OF THE MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS
FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
by Ernest Valea
The goal of this site is to investigate whether or not there is sufficient evidence to
prove that world religions are complementary and equally true, according to the
model inspired by an old Indian tale - that of the blind men who tried to describe
an elephant. It is said that once upon a time a king gathered a few men who were
born blind. They were asked to describe an
elephant, but each one was presented with
only a certain part of it. To one was presented
the head of the elephant, to another the trunk,
to another its ears, to another the leg, the body,
the tail, tuft of the tail, etc. The one who was
presented with the head said: "The elephant is
like a pot!" The one who was presented the
trunk answered, "The elephant is like a hose".
The one who touched only the ears thought
that the elephant was a fan, the others said that
it was a pillar, a wall, a rope, a brush, etc.
Then they quarreled among themselves, each thinking that he was the only one
right and the others were wrong. The obvious truth is that the elephant is a unity
of many parts, a unity that they could not grasp in their ignorance.
According to the pattern suggested by this tale, it is often said that world religions
form a unity, and only this unity provides the right perspective on ultimate truth.
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A similar syncretistic trend is encouraged by
the suggestion to consider the various world
religions as alternative paths to the same
transcendental finality or, using a known
illustration, many paths to the same
mountain peak. Although this vision is
arousing a lot of enthusiasm in many people
today, it is important to know that it is not
the only one, as Christianity and Islam each
claim to be the only right path to God.
Therefore the other option is that world religions are not pieces of the same
puzzle (parts of the same spiritual "elephant") or alternative paths to the same
goal.
Judging theoretically, both possibilities exist. Therefore, a proper evaluation of
such opposite views must be done before we decide on a course of action. If the
first is true (all religions lead us to the same finality), and we choose the second
(only one of them is right), we have not lost anything. Despite our ignorance, we
will arrive at the same happy end as the other travelers who have chosen other
spiritual paths. A less happy situation would be given by the second possibility,
that a single spiritual path is valid and we have chosen the wrong one. In this case
religious syncretism is only a way of misleading the travelers to spiritual disaster,
so they at least should be warned. A third possibility, that all spiritual paths are
wrong, is denied by the nature of our spiritual quest itself, which demands a real
fulfillment. Otherwise, our hunger for ultimate truth could not be justified and all
religions would be nothing but human fantasy.
The following articles are not meant merely to generate a conflict of rational
proofs for justifying one or another alternative. No matter how complex and
logical the rational proofs on behalf of one or the other cause might be, it is
possible to find counterpoints of the same nature, so that at a rational level, the
dispute could fill a lot of books with no benefit to anyone. Nobody can be
persuaded or converted to one or another religious perspective only through
rational proofs. This may be possible in science, but not in religion. However,
rational proofs have to be considered because we are rational beings. Reason
should not be rejected and experience proclaimed the only way of knowing truth.
No divorce between reason and experience should be accepted, because they are
complementary and work together, so that neither can exclude the other. As a
result, we do not have to reject a priori the proofs of reason in our spiritual quest
in order to abandon ourselves to the arms of mystical experiences, whatever their
nature might be.
Rather than generating sterile debates, the information presented here should help
the reader clarify his/her own stand toward comparative religion and develop a
critical ability to analyze today's spiritual market. Suggestions, comments and
critiques are strongly encouraged, with the hope that they will improve the
content of this site. Please make them as specific and clear as possible.
The comparative analysis presented here is focused on Christianity and the major
Eastern religions, especially Hinduism and Buddhism, because they play a major
role in defining today's world spirituality. This is an obvious phenomenon on the
Internet too, where a lot of spiritual movements indebted to classic Eastern
doctrines and practices can be found. Some may believe that a comparative
analysis of the major world religions like this may fuel religious hatred and
intolerance, but this is wrong. Religious tolerance and freedom cannot be built on
ignorance but rather on the understanding of commonalities and differences.
Jesus Christ is the perfect example of teaching love for one's neighbor despite
religious differences (see The Parable of the Good Samaritan). Unfortunately,
some of His followers did the opposite. Loving the person is possible even if one
rejects his or her religious convictions.
The Christian approach will be done on an ecumenical basis, grounded on The
Nicene Creed as statement of faith, which is common to all three branches of
Christianity - Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. The
Holy Bible (NIV ecumenical translation) is acknowledged as the first doctrinal
authority, and second the doctrinal commentaries of the Church Fathers of the
first centuries AD, as far as they are accepted by each of the three branches of
Christianity.
The analysis will survey a comparison of the following defining aspects of all
world religions:
1. God or the Ultimate Reality, and creation
2. Man’s condition
3. Man's salvation and eternal destiny
4. The nature of evil
5. Conclusion
Special files are available concerning critical considerations regarding Eastern
religions as spiritual paths toward Ultimate Reality:
1. Reincarnation. Its meaning and consequences. Reincarnation and Christianity.
2. Four criteria to evaluate any religious perspective
3. Critical considerations concerning pantheist religions and philosophies
(Vedanta, Tantrism, Hatha Yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, etc.)
4. Critical considerations regarding the dualistic Samkhya-Yoga metaphysics
5. Critical considerations regarding the Yoga technique as an instrument to attain
liberation
6. Critical considerations regarding the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita
7. Critical considerations regarding Buddhism
8. The divine incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity; Jesus Christ and other
Saviors and religious founders
9. Alleged Eastern equivalent sayings of Jesus Christ
10. The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Buddhism and Christianity
11. Revelation and knowledge in Christianity
12. How can those who have never heard about Christ be saved?
The quotes used for describing each religious perspective belong to scriptures
considered to be first hand authority by its followers. In presenting some special
features of Christianity some useful links will be mentioned. There are also many
links available for a more thoroughly comparative study of Christianity and
Islam.
Since the domain of comparative religion is so vast, the present analysis had to be
limited to a brief account, sacrificing many details and secondary aspects, but
with the hope that global relevance will not be affected. The reader is invited to
study this topic further, according to his interest in it, knowing that this is neither
the first nor the last attempt to discuss the complementary and divergent thought
among world religions. The discussions, arguments and debates in comparative
religion did not start recently and will certainly not stop until the end of the
world, the time when the Truth will reveal itself in fullness.
© Ernest Valea, 1999
Last modified June 7, 2000
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The Nicene Creed (A.D. 325)
THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only - begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of
God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.
By whom all things were made, both which be in heaven and in earth. Who for us men and for our
salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate and was made man. He suffered and the third day
he rose again, and ascended into heaven. And he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead.
And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost. And whosoever shall say that there was a time when the Son of God
was not, or that before he was begotten he was not, or that he was made of things that were not, or that he
is of a different substance or essence from the Father or that he is a creature, or subject to change or
conversion - all that so say, the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes them.
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The Ultimate Reality in world religions
THE ULTIMATE REALITY
IN WORLD RELIGIONS
Each world religion admits an Ultimate Reality that is eternal and unchanging. But is it the same? If the
world religions are only parts of a global and unique spirituality, it should be the same.
There are three fundamental ways in which Ultimate Reality is defined: personal being (a personal and
loving God), impersonal being (as origin and target of all personal beings) or an eternal truth or principle
that governs the universe. Are these three possibilities mere manifestations of the same Ultimate Reality?
The Ultimate Reality in Hinduism
Hinduism is not a unitary religion, but a multitude of religious and philosophical trends. Three main
patterns can be identified among them. First, there is henotheism, the religion of the ancient Vedas and
later Vaishnavism and Shaivism, which states that many gods exist, but one of them is more important
than the others. Second, there is pantheism, the perspective brought by the Upanishads and later Vedanta,
which considers Ultimate Reality to be an impersonal transcendent being. Third, there are the Samkhya
and the Yoga darshana of Patanjali that admit two ultimate realities. Let's briefly describe them
following an approximate chronological order.
The Vedic gods
The oldest sacred scriptures of Hinduism are the four Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Veda). They
are four collections of hymns (Samhita) describing deities, their works and the praises that must be
addressed to them in religious rituals. Each of the four collections of Vedic hymns is associated with
three other kinds of Vedic literature - the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. Together they
represent the most sacred religious literature (Shruti) of Hinduism. (NB: Remember that throughout the
content of this website by “Vedas” we mean only the four collections of hymns, and not the whole
corpus of Vedic literature.)
The hymns of the oldest Veda, the Rig Veda, are almost all praises addressed to gods. The ancient
Aryans worshipped many gods, associated with the elements of nature, among which we can discern at
least two important generations. The oldest supreme god, according to the Vedas, seems to be Varuna,
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the sustainer of creation and guardian of universal order. A hymn in the Atharva Veda proclaims:
This earth belongs to Varuna, the King,
and the heavens, whose ends are far apart.
Both the oceans are the loins of Varuna,
and He is merged within the small water drop.
If one will go away beyond the heavens,
still he cannot escape King Varuna;
His envoys move about here from the heavens,
and, thousand-eyed, they look upon the earth.
(Atharva Veda 4,16,3-4)
A second generation of Vedic gods has Indra as the most important representative. He takes over all the
functions of Varuna after saving mankind from demon Vritra's influence, the embodiment of the rough
aspects of nature. Vritra had locked the waters in the sky, which caused a catastrophic drought on earth.
At humans' demand, Indra consumed a large quantity of ritual drink (soma), took the lightning (vajra)
shaped by god Tvashtri and, with the help of other gods, killed the demon and brought back the rain on
earth (Rig Veda 10,113). That is why he is praised in the hymns:
Adorable Indra, our savior,
Vritra-slayer and furtherer of our highest aims,
May he be our protector from the end,
from the middle, from behind, and from in front.
Lead us to a free world, wise one,
where lie divine luster, sunlight, and security.
Valiant are the arms of thee, the powerful;
we will take to their vast shelter.
(Atharva Veda 19,15,1-2)
It is important to notice that although Indra takes over the role of fertility god from Varuna, he fulfills it
with much more effort than his predecessor does. Indra depends on the ritual drink soma, and
consequently on the sacrifices done by people (which represents a weakness), and has to fight in order to
maintain the universal order. His sovereignty over the world is not so striking as it was with Varuna. On
the other hand, people appreciate him more than Varuna. They didn't understand Varuna's ways, but can
influence Indra through the sacrifices and therefore get the earthly blessings they seek. Once proclaimed
sovereign Lord, Indra takes over the title of maker of the universe, which he doesn't create, but
rearranges after his conquest.
Two other gods of this generation, with less important roles in the Vedas, but which will play major roles
in later theistic Hinduism, are Rudra (forerunner of Shiva) and Vishnu. Rudra has a dual aspect; on the
one hand he is monstrous, murderous and savage; on the other hand he is benevolent, divine healer and
protector of cowherds. Vishnu, too, has a minor role in the Vedas, being just one of Indra's helpers in his
combat against Vritra and in building the universe. At the same time, he is an intermediary between gods
and people, a role that will certainly develop in his later special position.
Along with praising the gods, there are passages in the Vedas that suggest another kind of Ultimate
Reality of the universe, beyond the gods we mentioned. One of the most important Hindu cosmogonies is
that of the golden egg (Hiranyagarbha), an entity that was the source of all existing beings and worlds:
At first was neither Being nor Nonbeing.
There was not air nor yet sky beyond.
What was its wrapping? Where? In whose protection?
Was Water there, unfathomable and deep?
There was no death then, nor yet deathlessness;
Of night or day there was not any sign.
The One breathed without breath, by its own impulse.
Other than that was nothing else at all.
Darkness was there, all wrapped around by darkness,
And all was Water indiscriminate. Then
That which was hidden by the void, that One, emerging,
Stirring, through the power of ardor (tapas), came to be.
(Rig Veda 10,129)
There are two important aspects to be noticed here: 1) water produced the One; and 2) the whole process
was realized by the power of ardor (tapas). This idea is very important because it opens the way towards
the notion of One (the primordial matrix that encapsulates all existence) and also toward asceticism, the
cosmic creative energy through which the unmanifested becomes manifested. Another important element
here is the preexistence of an impersonal reality (the One) against personal beings. Gods and men are
said to have their origin in this primordial impersonal entity.
Considering an impersonal Ultimate Reality above the gods is a pattern that will dominate most Hindu
religious elaboration. The cosmogony of the golden egg is continued in the Brahmana texts in a similar
fashion as in the Rig Veda, adding the appearance of a Creator (Prajapati) from the golden egg
(Shatapatha Br. 11,1,6). The same way as the golden egg appears as a result of ardor, this Prajapati
created the world using the power released by his ardor. His words are fulfilled as a result of ardor and
the material out of which he builds the universe is his own body.
A similar view is presented in the Purushasukta hymn (Rig Veda 10,90), that can be found in a similar
version in the Atharva Veda (19,6) and in the Taittiriya Aranyaka (3,12). According to this hymn, the
product of the golden egg is the giant Purusha. By his consuming himself in the fire of creation all of the
worlds came into existence, including our physical world, the four-caste system, the animals and the
duality of the sexes. There is no doubt that Purusha and Prajapati are equivalent, both being produced out
of that impersonal One of the Rig Veda 10,129. This passing from a personal Ultimate Reality
(represented by the gods) to an impersonal One is an important feature of early Hinduism that will have
major implications for later developments.
The Ultimate Reality according to the Upanishads and Vedanta philosophy
Already in the Brahmana writings (Shatapatha Brahmana 6,1,1) it is stated that the whole universe has
its origin in non-existence (asat), meaning that existence must be the product of manifestation of some
unmanifested potentialities. This topic is made clear in the Upanishads, which claim that the origin of
any manifestation is Brahman, the One of the Vedic hymns:
As the spider moves along the thread, as small sparks come forth from the fire, even so from
this Self [Brahman] come forth all breaths, all worlds, all divinities, all beings
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2,1,20).
According to the Upanishads, the Ultimate Reality is Brahman. It (neuter gender) is at the origin of any
physical, moral or spiritual activity (see also Brihadaranyaka Up. 4, 1-2; Chandogya Up. 3,18,1-6;
Taittiriya Up. 2,6; 3,1). Paradoxically, Brahman has two aspects: immanent, or manifested, and
transcendent, or unmanifested. For a better understanding of this concept, we can compare it to the "Big
Bang" theory on the origin of the universe. The point of infinite mass out of which all celestial bodies
would have originated, according to the astronomic theory, has its ideological correspondence with the
unmanifested Brahman of Hindu cosmogony. However, in the manifestation of Brahman, the product is
not only matter, but also living beings, gods, humans and animals. The cause of the manifestation process
is Brahman's desire to be multiplied: “Let me become many, let me be born” (Taittiriya Up. 2,6,1).
(However, in a pantheistic context, this is a strange and contradictory idea, because the impersonal being
cannot have desires. Probably a more accurate term would have been that of necessity of becoming
manifested.) After the manifestation is completed, all its products tend to return to the initial state of
unmanifestation, evolving from one level of manifestation to another. Then another manifestation will
happen:
As from a blazing fire, sparks of like form issue forth by thousands, even so, O beloved,
many kinds of beings issue forth from the immutable and they return thither too (Mundaka
Up. 2,1,1).
Similar to the day and night cycle, the transformation of Brahman between the manifested state and the
unmanifested one is everlasting (Kaushitaki Up. 3,3).
The philosophical system (darshana) that follows the pantheistic teachings of the Upanishads is called
Vedanta. The most important organizers are Badarayana (4th century AD) and Shankara (9th century
AD), the one who conferred to it a pure monistic character as Advaita Vedanta - "the Vedanta of pure
monism".
Shankara's vision of the relation of the Absolute with the phenomenal world is reflected in an old Hindu
parable, that of the rope mistakenly perceived in the dark as a snake. As the coiled rope in the dark is
thought to be a snake, the same way the empirical world is mistakenly considered to have a distinct
existence, independent to the Absolute, through the illusion (maya) produced by ignorance (avidya). As
only the rope exists, not the snake, only Brahman has a real existence (sat) and is the true reality. The
phenomenal world is real only if perceived as Brahman, as the "reality" of the snake's existence lays in
the substratum that produced the confusion, namely the rope. The plurality of the phenomenal world is an
illusion (maya), a veil that has to be put aside in order to perceive Brahman. The universe is not unreal,
but has the same value as the snake in the parable - it produces confusion and causes man to pursue a
wrong spiritual direction. All that goes beyond this vision of the world is illusion, produced by
ignorance.
Shankara tried to settle the relation of the Absolute Brahman (Nirguna Brahman - the One without any
definable characteristics) with the origin of the world by proclaiming two distinct points of view: the
absolute (paramarthika) and the relative (vyavaharika). In an absolute sense, Brahman is above any
duality and external relation; nothing real exists outside him. But from our empirical and relative point of
view, Brahman is the cause of the universe we know. In fact there is no real causality; the world is only
an illusory sight of Brahman, as with the rope seen as a snake. Brahman's activity in the world and
among human beings is nothing but lila, divine play. In conclusion, the Vedanta of Shankara is somehow
different from Upanishadic philosophy; the universe is only a phenomenal appearance (vivarta-vada) of
Brahman and not his transformation (parinama-vada). From a substantial manifestation, the universe
becomes only a dream (or self-forgetting) of Brahman.
The gods of theistic Hinduism
According to the pantheistic view of the Upanishads and Vedanta, the gods are merely inferior
manifestations of the supreme impersonal Brahman. However, they continued to play an important role
for the average Hindu. The gods that are worshipped today are not the same as in Vedic times. The most
important ones became Vishnu and his avatars (especially Rama and Krishna), Shiva and the goddess
Kali.
Here is what is said in Vaishnavism about the relation between Brahman and Vishnu:
Just as light is diffused from a fire which is confined to one spot, so is this whole universe
the diffused energy of the supreme Brahman. And as light shows a difference, greater or
less, according to its nearness or distance from the fire, so is there a variation in the energy
of the impersonal Brahman. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are his chief energies. The deities
are inferior to them; the yakshas, etc. to the deities; men, cattle, wild animals, birds, and
reptiles to the yakshas, etc.; and trees and plants are the lowest of all these energies....
Vishnu is the highest and most immediate of all the energies of Brahman, the embodied
Brahman, formed of the whole Brahman. On him this entire universe is woven and
interwoven: from him is the world, and the world is in him; and he is the whole universe.
Vishnu, the Lord, consisting of what is perishable as well as what is imperishable, sustains
everything, both Spirit and Matter, in the form of his ornaments and weapons.
(Vishnu Purana 1)
Some pantheist thinkers consider that devotion is nothing but an easier path to the same impersonal union
with the impersonal Ultimate Reality. According to them, devotion can serve to attain the extinction of
personhood, the main source of illusion (maya). As the adored god is nothing but a form of Brahman, the
mystical union with him would be, in this case, nothing more than the same impersonal fusion
atman-Brahman. However, the theistic Hindu thinkers strongly disagree with this. They see the personal
creator God (Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Saivism) as having no preceding origin. Consequently,
the One of the Rig Veda, Purusha of the Purushasukta, and Brahman of the Upanishads are considered
nothing but the supreme personal God (Vishnu or Shiva). He is both the creator and the substance of the
world (as a result of creating the world out of himself), the One that both creates and disintegrates the
world at will, and the target of all religious rituals and devotion.
The best known piece of literature representative of Hindu theism is the Bhagavad Gita, where the
worshipped god is Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Although in classic Hinduism Krishna is a
manifestation of Vishnu, and Vishnu himself is one of the first manifestations of Brahman (along with
Brahma and Shiva), in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna is granted a fundamental theological importance. He
claims to be eternal (4,6), “the supreme Lord of all planets and demigods” (5,29) and the source of
existence: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from me” (10,8). He
is not only the creator but also the substance of the universe (9,16-19; 8,4; 10,20-42). The cycle of
permanent transformation between the manifested state and the unmanifested one is characteristic for
Krishna too, as it was with Brahman:
At the end of an era (kalpa) all creatures disintegrate into my nature and at the beginning of
another era I manifest them again. Such it is my nature (prakriti) to follow again and again
the pattern of the Infinite manifestations and disintegrations.
(Bhagavad Gita 9,7-8)
Krishna has to "follow the pattern of the Infinite manifestations and disintegrations", which implies that
the process is a necessity that surpasses him. He is just a detached (but also helpless) spectator to it.
Therefore it is hard to accept his dominion over creation along with the periodic manifestation of nature
(prakriti). Rather, we should conclude that the creation of the world is not an option for him, but a
necessity at the end of each cosmic cycle, as was the case with the manifestations of Brahman of the
Upanishads. Disagreeing with this, theistic commentators see this "necessity" rather as a divine play in
which Krishna creates and disintegrates his creation at will. (For more information on this debate on the
character of Krishna see our special file on the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita.)
The excess of Krishna's superlatives and his identification with the whole existence grants him a personal
portrait that is difficult to grasp. A better Hindu theism will be founded later in time by the great theistic
Hindu thinkers Ramanuja (1017 - 1137 AD) and Madhva (1238 - 1317 AD). They refused the idea that
the Ultimate Reality is the impersonal Brahman, who has no attributes, no initiative and no influence on
man. As it is impossible to take Brahman as an object of worship, both thinkers accepted the god Vishnu
as Ultimate Reality. He is not limited by karma, time, space or any other factor, and has an infinite
number of attributes (unlike Nirguna Brahman), the most important being love, absolute knowledge, and
compassion. According to Madhva, Vishnu is said to be totally different from the substance of the world.
Neither nature nor the souls of the universe fuse with him to form an impersonal primordial state. He
created the world out of a primordial substance (prakriti) and helps it to attain perfection. In fact,
creation is periodic and dependent on the karma acquired by souls in previous existences. At the moment
of creation, karma works out the fruits of the soul under divine providence. However, that means that the
act of creation is still not totally independent, as an act of God’s sovereign will. He is not free to create
the world at will, but has to create it in order that souls may work out their karma.
The Ultimate Reality in the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas
Samkhya and Yoga are two of the six Hindu orthodox schools (darshana) developed in the
post-Upanishadic period. As most of their metaphysical basis is common, in the absence of any
supplementary explanation, what is mentioned here is valid for both schools.
The origin of the Samkhya system is attributed to Kapila (7th century BC), and the real organizer is
considered to be Ishvara Krishna (5th century AD). The Yoga system was structured by Patanjali
(sometime between 2nd century BC and 3rd century AD), who only systematized the ancient traditions
preserved until his time. The writing in which Patanjali formulated the essence of the Yoga system,
which represents today the reference writing on this topic, is the Yoga Sutra.
Considering how reality is defined, Samkhya and Yoga are dualistic philosophies, stressing two
fundamental notions: purusha (the equivalent of atman) and prakriti (the primordial substance). More
will be said about purusha in the next file, where we focus on man's destiny in the two darshanas.
Prakriti, the primordial substance, is an impersonal matrix capable of manifestation through
transformation. In some way it resembles Brahman through its periodic manifestations. Unlike Brahman,
it does not contain the spiritual principle purusha.
As a result of the duality postulated by this system, the material world is the product of the manifestation
of prakriti and has real existence (not illusory, as in Vedanta). Its manifestation is a result of the
existence of three inner tendencies, called gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas. They are the material which
evolves into the categories of existence when one or the other gains a dominating force. Sattva is the
tendency that brings light, purity and knowledge; rajas is responsible for activity, energy and dynamism;
and tamas opposes action, producing darkness, heaviness and ignorance.
The world and individual beings came into existence as a result of the disturbance of the initial state of
equilibrium between the three gunas. Any known form in which we see the world is generated by the
participation of a certain proportion of the three gunas. The categories of prakriti's manifestation are, in
hierarchical order, as follows:
1) mahat, the first product of manifestation, considered to be a mass of pure energy appeared as a result
of the guna sattva domination. Its psychic aspect is the intellect, buddhi.
2) from mahat evolves ahamkara, the principle of individuation (the sense for the "I").
3) after producing ahamkara, the evolutionary process bifurcates. Under the influence of the guna sattva,
the psychical evolutes are produced: mind (manas), the five cognitive sense organs (sight, hearing, touch,
taste and smell) and the five conative sense organs (speech, movement, prehension, excretion and
reproduction). Under the influence of the guna tamas the physical evolutes are produced: the five subtle
essences (the essences of color, sound, touch, taste and smell) and the five gross elements, which emerge
from the essences (the five fundamental elements in Hindu cosmology - earth, water, air, fire and ether).
The guna rajas provides the force required for this evolution.
The majority of the Yoga darshana metaphysics, at it was systematized by Patanjali, comes from
Samkhya. It only adds the existence of a divinity, Ishvara. However, this Ishvara is not a personal god,
but rather a macro-purusha that was never involved with psycho-mental activity and the law of karma
(Yoga Sutra 1,24). We will return to this subject later, in discussing man's possible relation with Ishvara
as it is stated in the Yoga darshana.
The Ultimate Reality in Tantrism and Hatha Yoga
As a distinct spiritual trend, Tantrism appeared in the 4th century AD. It is possible that it doesn’t have
Vedic origin, because its theology is grounded on two deities that did not belong to the Vedic pantheon:
Shiva and the Mother Goddess (Shakti), the goddess of land, fertility and life. The two deities Shiva and
Shakti became the fundamental terms in which Tantrism developed a pantheistic view of life, Shiva as
the transcendental aspect, the pure existence, and Shakti as the immanent and dynamic aspect, through
which the phenomenal manifestation occurs.
Hatha Yoga is also a pantheistic school, which shares the same metaphysic with Tantrism. Its forerunner
is considered to be Goraknath (13th century AD). He and his followers used three sources to ground the
new doctrine: Tantrism, devotional Saivism and ascetic practices of the so-called siddhas (the perfect
ones). Hatha Yoga reached its full development through Svatmarama (15th century AD), the author of
the Hatha Yoga Pradipika treatise. Other important writings are the Gheranda-Samhita and the
Shiva-Samhita. They all belong equally to Tantrism.
For both Tantrism and Hatha Yoga, the Ultimate Reality of the universe is the god Shiva. Together with
his divine consort Shakti, they form a state of primordial unity and unmanifestation that corresponds in
the Advaita Vedanta to Brahman Nirguna, the unmanifested Brahman. The world and the human beings
came into existence through the dissociation of the primordial unity of Shiva and Shakti. In the
Shiva-Samhita 1,92, it is stated:
Out of the combining of the spirit, that is Shiva, with matter, that is Shakti, and by the interaction
of one on the another, all creatures were born.
The same manifestation of the Absolute in creation, as stated by the Upanishads, is presented in the
Shiva-Samhita 1,52;69-77.
The philosophy and ritual of Tantrism have penetrated most forms of today's Hinduism. It can be found
in Buddhism too (where it generated the Vajrayana school), and also in Chinese Taoism, seeming to be a
true panasiatiac movement.
The Ultimate Reality in Buddhism
Buddhism is another important Eastern religion that extended beyond the boundaries of India, shortly
after it was proclaimed by its founder, Siddharta Gotama - the Buddha (6th century BC). Two main
forms of Buddhism are known today: the conservative branch, represented by the Theravada school,
spread mainly in Sri Lanka and southeast Asia, and the liberal branch - Mahayana, spread in China,
Tibet, Korea and Japan.
The Theravada school, which claims to have guarded the unaltered message of its founder, teaches that
there is neither a personal god, nor a spiritual or material substance that exists by itself as Ultimate
Reality. The world as we know it does not have its origin in a primordial being such as Brahman. It exists
only as a mental construction shaped by the senses. What we see is only a product of transitory factors of
existence, which depend functionally upon each other. The Buddha said:
The world exists because of causal actions, all things are produced by causal actions and
all beings are governed and bound by causal actions. They are fixed like the rolling wheel of
a cart, fixed by the pin of its axle shaft (Sutta-Nipata 654).
That gods exist is not rejected, but they are only temporary beings that attained heaven using the same
virtues as any human disciple. Gods are not worshipped, do not represent the basis for morality, and are
not the givers of happiness. The Ultimate Reality is nothing but a transcendent truth, which governs the
universe and human life. The Buddha expressed it in the following words:
There is grief but none suffering,
There is no doer though there is action.
There is quietude but none tranquil.
There is the path but none walks upon the path.
(Majjhima Nikaya 1; Visuddhi Magga 16)
We will analyze these concepts in the document aimed at analyzing man's destiny in Theravada
Buddhism. The Buddha was concerned only with finding a way out of suffering. Therefore he refused to
speak about things considered to be irrelevant or even hindrances in reaching nirvana, and this included a
definition of Ultimate Reality.
The other branch of Buddhism was grounded later, probably in the 1st century AD, and organized by
Nagarjuna in the 2nd century AD. Although the texts of Mahayana Buddhism claim to be a recollection
of early speeches of the Buddha, they sometimes contradict conservative doctrines of the Theravada
school. It is said that the latter texts were revealed many years after the master's death, because at that
time there were too few people able to understand them. Mahayana takes a different stand on the person
of Siddharta Gotama. According to the traditional view he was a physical being, the founder of the "four
noble truths" and the first man that reached nirvana. In Mahayana Buddhism he is considered to be only
one of the many humans who attained the state of a boddhisattva, the celestial being that helps other
humans to find liberation.
Reality, according to Mahayana Buddhism, has three levels of perception, known also as the three bodies
(trikaya) of Buddha: nirmanakaya, the physical body of the founder, that is subject to change;
sambhogakaya, the body of the boddhisattvas; and dharmakaya, the ultimate nature of all things. The
dharmakaya state is also called suchness or emptiness (devoid of attributes). Although any resemblance
to the Hindu Vedanta is denied, there are at least two important aspects that suggest the contrary. First,
the pure state dharmakaya, the absolute body of the Buddha and, at the same time, the fundamental
nature of the universe is described in the same way as Brahman:
How should enlightened beings see the body of Buddha? (dharmakaya) They should see the
body of Buddha in infinite places. Why? They should not see Buddha in just one thing, one
phenomenon, one body, one land, one being - they should see Buddha everywhere. Just as
space is omnipresent, in all places, material or immaterial, yet without either arriving or not
arriving there, because space is incorporeal, in the same way Buddha is omnipresent, in all
places, in all beings, in all things, in all lands, yet neither arriving nor not arriving there,
because Buddha's body is incorporeal, manifesting a body for the sake of sentient beings.
(Garland Sutra 37)
This statute of the Buddha allows him to become manifested whenever people become ignorant, have no
more interest in getting spiritual wisdom, and are too concerned with carnal lusts. The same message
appears in the discourse of Krishna of theistic Hinduism (Bhagavad Gita IV,7-8). The resemblance is
even greater by the fact that the boddhisattva beings (as the Hindu avatars) are mediators between
humans and Ultimate Reality. This is the second resemblance, the substitution of the Hindu gods with the
Buddhist boddhisattvas, which might be interpreted as a penetration of the Hindu bhakti tradition in
Buddhism.
In conclusion, Mahayana Buddhism is a pantheistic religion, with an impersonal Ultimate Reality (the
dharmakaya) and personal beings (the boddhisattvas) acting as intermediaries between humans and it.
Ultimate Reality in other Eastern Religions
Taoism
Like the Hindu Vedanta or Buddhist Mahayana, Taoism states an impersonal Ultimate Reality that is
both the creator principle and the eternal truth of universe. It is the Tao, the immutable and unchanging
principle that is the basis of multiplicity and the impulse that generates all forms of life. The founder of
Taoism, Lao Tse (6th century BC), stated in his important writing, Tao-te Ching:
There was something undifferentiated and yet complete,
Which existed before heaven and earth.
Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change.
It operates everywhere and is free from danger.
It may be considered the mother of the universe.
I do not know its name; I call it Tao.
(Tao-te Ching 25)
In the same way as the Hindu Brahman or Buddhist Dharmakaya, Tao is the source in which originate
and return all the manifestations of the world:
All the flourishing things
Will return to their source.
This return is peaceful;
It is the flow of nature,
An eternal decay and renewal.
(Tao-te Ching 16)
Tao holds two complementary and opposite modalities that are present in all creation: Yin and Yang (Yin
- the female principle of darkness, potentiality, regression; and Yang - the male principle of light, activity
and progress). Their dynamic and the proportions in which they become mixed at a certain moment
determine any given aspect of nature or living beings: day and night, seasons, life and death. Any
personal existence, gods or humans, receive their wisdom from Tao, being merely inferior and temporary
forms of its manifestation:
[Tao] is its own source, its own root. Before heaven and earth existed it was there, firm
from ancient times. It gave spirituality to the spirits and gods; it gave birth to heaven and to
earth.
(Chuang Tzu 6)
The Taoist divinities are probably reminiscences of an ancient Chinese pantheon, many of them being
humans at their origin and then proclaimed gods as time passed. This is probably the result of a late
syncretism that tried to combine devotion to the ancient Chinese gods with classic Taoism, as a way of
making it more acceptable to the lay people. Later religious developments such as deities, temples,
priests, rites and symbolic images are foreign to the spirit of Taoism. Deities like the Jade Emperor
(Yu-huang) and The First Principal (Yuan-shis Tien-Tsun) are considered in some traditions to be gods,
while other deities like the three Pure Ones (San-ch’ing) are more like Buddhist bodhisattvas, acting as
manifestations of Lao Tse.
Confucianism
Rather than a religion, Confucius (6th century BC) founded an ethical system in order to harmonize
social relations in the Chinese state. For this reason it is hard to say that Confucianism, at least in its
original form, is a true religion. Although Confucius respected the religious traditions of his time, he
gave them a mere ethical interpretation. The supreme principle in the universe according to him is the
moral law, a universal principle, omnipresent, hidden and eternal:
There is no place in the highest heavens above or in the deepest waters below where the
moral law is not to be found.
(Doctrine of the Mean 12)
Following the moral principles means to conform oneself to the will of heaven, but more metaphysical
speculations about heaven and afterlife are useless (Analects 7,20).
ULTIMATE REALITY AS A PERSONAL GOD IN THE THREE
MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD - CHRISTIANITY,
JUDAISM AND ISLAM
The three great monotheistic religions of the world have a personal God as Ultimate Reality. First we
will present the difference brought by Christianity among the world religions in defining what God is,
and then show the distinctive aspects of Judaism and Islam.
The personal and triune God of Christianity
Christianity presents an Ultimate Reality totally different to all we have found in the other religions. The
intuition of the wise men of the East almost never diverged from pantheism as the determinant view of
existence. Brahman of the Upanishads or of Shankara's Vedanta, Shiva of Tantrism, the Dharmakaya of
Mahayana Buddhism or the Chinese Tao, all represent an impersonal Ultimate Reality. Most forms of
theistic Hinduism are no exception, as their gods are merely inferior manifestations of the impersonal
Absolute.
Christianity holds a totally different position. The Ultimate Reality of the universe is the personal and
triune God. He exists as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, without beginning and
without having his origin in a primordial impersonal essence. As an early church creed states:
In this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, but the whole three
Persons are co-eternal together and coequal.
There are some important things to clear up about the origin and meaning of the term "person" (Latin
persona, Greek prosopon). Initially used in the Greek ancient theater for the actors’ mask, the term
designated in Hellenistic philosophy "the masked face of the impersonal being". The term used for the
impersonal essence of reality was ousia, and its determined, singular forms were called hypostasis. If
Christian theology had been only a form of Hellenistic philosophy, it should have said that the
hypostases - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - are mere functional aspects of the divine nature ousia. The
novelty brought by Christian theology is the fact that each person of the Holy Trinity has the fullness of
divine nature, and the ontological character of the Ultimate Reality is defined only by the reality and
relation that exists between the three hypostases, in the Holy Trinity "of one substance". A major
contribution in defining this aspect was made by the Cappadocian fathers of the Church (Basil the Great,
Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzen).
The Holy Trinity should be understood neither as a sum of three Gods (tri-theism), nor as a
mono-personal God that assumes successively three distinct forms (the modalistic heresy). God’s being
does not exist outside the three persons, but only as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and they are the only
way for God's existence. So there cannot exist an Ultimate Reality "beyond" or "above" the Holy Trinity,
as in pantheism (Brahman as the ultimate nature of the gods). Therefore none of the three hypostases,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, can be considered a kind of Hindu Ishvara, a first manifestation of the
impersonal Brahman. Christian theology overthrew the values of Hellenistic metaphysics in order to
adapt its terms to the new revealed reality. In defining divinity, the accent must be transferred from an
impersonal Ultimate Reality to the personal character of the Holy Trinity and the relation between the
three hypostases. Here is the origin of the term "divine person" (from the Latin persona), and (derived
from it) the term "human person".
The triune God of Christianity exists by Himself. He proclaimed to Moses: "I am who I am" (Exodus
3,14). He is sufficient in Himself and by Himself, not depending on any exterior element. His existence
is expressed through love, omnipotence and omniscience, among which there is perfect unity and
harmony. None is manifesting itself by infringing on the other because the Holy Trinity is perfect in love,
will and deed. Associated with these characteristics are justice and immutability. God’s immutability is
not a reminder of Brahman Nirguna's immobility, but an absolute stability in truth and good. Likewise,
when the Apostle John proclaims that "God is love" (1 John 4,8) this should not be interpreted as an
expression of the impersonal primordial energy, but as form of expressing the supreme unity of the
tri-personal communion. It doesn't just mean that God has love, as a quality, but that He is love, that this
is His way of being in the Trinity, each person existing not just for himself, but for the others, in a perfect
communion of love.
(The following links should be helpful for understanding the concept of Holy Trinity:
Gregory of Nyssa, On the Holy Trinity, and of the Godhead of the Holy Spirit; On "Not Three Gods";
Early Christians on the Trinity)
The God that presents Himself in the Bible cannot be equated with any god of the Hindu pantheon. They
are only aspects of an impersonal Absolute, manifestations that will finally be absorbed by it. The triune
God of Christianity is different from Krishna, who is a slave to the cyclic manifestation and annihilation
of the universe (Bhagavad Gita 9,7-9). According to Christianity, God does not create the same world
many times, but just once, and then not out of a necessity that surpasses him. Neither can He be equated
with the "Hindu trinity" Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer). The
three Hindu gods are reminiscences of the old Vedic polytheism, from where they have been later
assimilated as primary products of Brahman's manifestations. The "Hindu trinity" cannot be an
equivalent of the Christian Holy Trinity, but rather a kind of pagan tri-theism.
The God of the Bible has no equivalent in the other world religions. There is no deeper Ultimate Reality
above him, a kind of Brahman, as Meister Eckhart suggested. He is not an Ishvara manifested out of
Brahman (or a Deus manifested out of Deitas, according to Eckhart), a god that comes and goes, located
far beyond the impersonal absolute. The triune God of Christianity does not admit the existence of a
"deeper reality" in which He originated, because He says:
I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God (Isaiah 44,6).
As a consequence, it is absurd to define a superior and esoteric way (apara-vidya), that aims at the
impersonal Absolute, and an inferior exoteric way (para-vidya) for those who are so limited that they are
satisfied with a personal manifestation of the absolute. Christianity cannot be assimilated as a form of
bhakti-yoga, a way accessible for the inferior and weak people to attain the impersonal Ultimate Reality
of the world. We will return to this aspect in a further file.
The nature of creation in Christianity
Directly linked to what we accept as Ultimate Reality is the significance we grant to the physical world.
Being consequent to the idea of the fundamental unity of the world in Brahman, pantheism has to
consider the physical world and man as manifestations of Brahman, manifestations of the same
primordial essence to which they are destined to return. For this reason, it can be said that the impersonal
Absolute is incomplete without his "creation", i.e. without the manifestation of his potentiality. The
manifestation of Brahman is a necessity derived from its very nature. A similar situation is to be found in
the Samkhya-Yoga, where prakriti (the primordial substance) transforms itself into the forms of the
world. In Eastern religions creation is always a transformation (or manifestation) of a primordial
impersonal unity. It is not a replacement of "nothingness" with "something", but a transformation of the
Ultimate Reality from one ontological condition into another. What once existed in unity becomes
multiplicity and manifestation, an actualization of preexistent virtualities.
Things are different with the creation presented in the Bible. An unprecedented element in world
religions, God creates the universe out of nothing (ex nihilo) and not out of his own substance (ex Deo).
This "nothing" has no ontological statute, it is not a primordial substance, because prior to creation,
nothing existed except God. Creation ex nihilo is not an artifice of Christian philosophy, but the only
possibility compatible with the existence of a personal God as Ultimate Reality. The psalmist writes
about the act of creation:
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your
hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing
you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years
will never end. (Psalm 102,25-27)
The creation presented in the book of Genesis is an act intended and completed by the Creator, not out of
necessity, but of desire and love. The beginning or cause of the world is not an impersonal necessity or a
blind manifestation of an undetermined nature, but the product of the free choice of the personal and
triune God.
God and creation in Judaism and Islam
The God of Judaism is the God of the Old Testament, God the Father of Christianity, so that the Old
Testament is common to the two religions. Although there are some hints pointing to the Triune God in
the Old Testament, Judaism accepts only God the Father as the true God. The rejection of Jesus Christ as
God the Son represented precisely the appearance of Christianity as a new world religion. The God of
orthodox Judaism is the same as God the Father of Christianity, having the same attributes. In time,
however, some Judaic sects, such as the Kabbalah for instance, rejected the personal God and adopted a
pantheistic view of Ultimate Reality: “Bear in mind, that before the emanations were emanated and the
creatures were created, the upper simple light has filled entire existence” (The Tree of Life, 1). This
“simple light” or “endless light” is not the personal creator of the Old Testament, but rather an equivalent
of the Hindu Brahman.
The other great monotheistic religion of the world, Islam, also has a personal god as Ultimate Reality.
Allah is presented in the Quran as an eternal being, transcendent and almighty. In the 112th Surra it is
stated:
Say, He is God, the One!
God, the eternally Besought of all!
He neither begets nor was begotten.
And there is none comparable unto Him.
Allah seems to have the same attributes as God the Father of the Old Testament, since the influence of
the Old Testament on the Quran is beyond doubt, given the many episodes taken over from the Bible and
reinterpreted.
The following links should be helpful for understanding how the content of the Bible and the Quran was
transmitted during history:
“The Bible and the Quran” - An Historical Comparison (manuscript, documentary and archaeological
analysis)
“The Textual history of the Quran and the Bible”, by John Gilchrist.
The Triune God of Christianity is considered to be a heresy, both in Judaism and Islam, an attempt
against monotheism. Therefore, Allah cannot be the same with God the Father of the Old Testament,
because he clearly states that belief in the Trinity is one of the worst possible heresies and sins:
Surely, unbelievers are those who said, "Allah is the third of the three [in a Trinity]". But
there is no god but One God. And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful
torment will befall the unbelievers among them (Quran 5,73).
However a strictly mono-personal, not tri-personal, God cannot be perfect in his personal attributes
because some of them are defined only in relation with another person (for instance love, goodness, and
compassion). Such a god is conditioned by his creation in order to be loving, caring and good, because
otherwise he has no one toward whom to express these attributes. A god that depends on his creation
(mankind) to be perfect (or perfect since creation) in his personal attributes is less than perfect. A
possible solution to this problem would be that God and creation should always coexist, but this would
mean that God is not the creator, and that is absurd. The only possible solution is the Holy Trinity "of
one substance" in which there is an absolute communion of nature, will and deed, who creates man not
out of necessity, but out of his superabundant love.
Conclusion
The world's religions hold very different views on Ultimate Reality. More than different, they are even
irreconcilable one with another. Indeed, the impersonal Brahman of the Upanishads, who balances
between the manifested state and unmanifestation (the same as Shiva in Tantrism), or the lack of any
transcendental being, as stated by Theravada Buddhism, are positions that cannot be reconciled with the
personal God of the monotheistic religions. Even among the many branches of Hinduism are stated
irreconcilable positions (see for instance the gods of the Vedas, the Brahman of Vedanta, Vishnu of the
theistic trends stated by Ramanuja and Madhva, and Ishvara of the Yoga darshana).
On the other hand, a personal God as Ultimate Reality cannot be at the same time a manifestation of an
impersonal Absolute (as in some cases of Hindu theism) and a being above whom there is no deeper
reality (as the monotheistic religions claim). Even the three great monotheistic religions of the world
state irreconcilable positions concerning the nature of God. He must be either tri-personal (the triune God
of Christianity), or mono-personal (as in Judaism and Islam). Considering all these alternatives, we
cannot accept the claim that the world's religions are parts of a unique spirituality, or parts toward the
same transcendental finality.
Next article: Man’s
condition
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Critical considerations regarding the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita
Critical considerations
regarding the philosophy of the
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (henceforth referred to as the Gita) was probably composed sometime between the
7th and the 6th centuries BC and later incorporated into the great Hindu epic Mahabharata. It stated a
new path towards liberation, a new kind of asceticism at hand for any human, independent of social
status. It requires neither withdrawal from social life as the Upanishads do, nor performing severe
austerities as the Hatha and Raja Yoga. This probably explains its great success both in the East and the
West. The new Yoga presented in the Gita is mostly concerned with one's attitude of mind when
performing normal social duties, and could be defined as a combination of Karma, Bhakti and Buddhi
Yoga. Karma Yoga in the Gita means the performance of one's duties in a spirit of renunciation, of not
being bound to its fruits (5,1-2), Bhakti Yoga is one's effort to bring all actions as sacrifices to Krishna
(14,26), while Buddhi Yoga is a particular kind of wisdom one has to develop in understanding life
(2,49; 10,10; 18,57). Let us analyze the way this new kind of Yoga works, as well as its natural
implications.
Yoga according to the Gita
The Gita is an episode of the great epic Mahabharata (6,25-42), which narrates the dialogue of Arjuna,
one of the five sons of the Pandava family, and the Hindu god Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu. A major
battle is about to begin in which Arjuna sees himself playing a contradictory role, that of fighting against
his relatives, the Kaurava family. Caught between his warrior duty and the ethical meaning of fighting
against his cousins, between his social duty and the threat of karma, he chooses to not fight and be killed
rather than have his conscience loaded with the killing of his relatives. At this moment Krishna reveals
himself to the distressed warrior and helps him understand the situation from a transcendental point of
view. He performs a spiritual exegesis of Arjuna's situation, stating: "Not by abstaining from work can
one achieve freedom from karma, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection" (3,4). "Abstaining
from work" is practically impossible according to Krishna, as "everyone is forced to act according to the
tendencies (gunas) he has acquired from the modes of material nature (prakriti)" (3,5). As a warrior,
Arjuna must always follow his caste duties, in other words, his dharma. On this basis the Gita founds a
new element in Hindu philosophy: Spiritual perfection is not attained by asceticism or abandoning
http://www.comparativereligion.com/Gita.html (1 of 6) [10/27/2000 9:47:20 AM]
action, but by giving a new meaning to action - that of detachment from its fruits, an attitude that does
not feed karma and reincarnation. Krishna formulates the famous principle:
Be focused on action and not on the fruits of action. Do not become confused in attachment to the
fruit of your actions and do not become confused in the desire for inaction (2,47).
Therefore one should not withdraw from the world of social involvement but live in it detached from the
fruits of actions, as "action is better than inaction" and "renunciation of all action is impossible" (3,8). As
a result, Krishna's command to Arjuna is: "Always act with detachment to the fruits of actions. The one
who is acting without attachment attains God" (3,19). This is Karma Yoga, the path of attaining
liberation through accomplishing one's normal duties with a totally detached attitude toward personal
benefit. In his given context, Arjuna has to fight no matter who is going to die on the battlefield.
There is also a new meaning for sacrifice and Bhakti Yoga. Written at the time when the authority of the
Vedas has heavily decreased, the Gita states a hierarchy in the value of different kinds of sacrifice, with
the lowest being the Vedic sacrifice, brought to a god in order to get personal favors, the next being the
inner sacrifice of Raja Yoga (that of breathing - 4,29; of the mind and senses - 4,27; and that of empirical
knowledge 4,33) and the best being that of detached action. Acting like this, one brings his actions as
sacrifices to Krishna and therefore they do not generate karmic seeds anymore:
Consider all your acts as acts of devotion to me, whether eating, offering, giving away, performing
austerities. Perform them as an offering to me. In this way you will be free from karma, you will be
liberated and you will come to me (9,27).
According to this new understanding of Bhakti Yoga, there is no need for any kind of material sacrifices,
rituals or other kind of performances, but only to act in a worshipping attitude toward Krishna, as if all
acts are dedicated to him. This particular mindset in judging particular situations in life is called Buddhi
Yoga. Following it, one should attain liberation.
Krishna, karma and grace
A first inconsistency of the Gita concerns the relation between the law of karma and the grace granted by
Krishna in helping his followers attain liberation. On the one hand it seems that Krishna is sovereign over
the law of karma, using it as an instrument for punishment or reward. He says: "Those who are envious
and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into transmigration, into various
demoniac species of life" (16,19). And also: "Those who worship me and surrender all their activities
unto me, being devoted to me without hesitation, engaged in devotional service and meditating unto me,
I deliver them quickly from the ocean of birth and death" (12,6-7).
On the other hand, karma seems to be a self-functioning rule that produces effects by its own power. One
has to struggle alone against its drive and attain better incarnations from one existence to the next:
"When the Yogi engages himself in making further progress, being washed of all karma, he achieves
liberation after many, many births" (6,45). In the meanwhile, Krishna holds a detached position toward
all humans: "I see all creatures equally disposed and I am not partial to anyone" (9,29).
These two positions can hardly be reconciled. In trying to explain the relation between karma and the
grace of Krishna, the Hindu analysts of the Gita had to choose between holding to the supremacy of
Krishna and the ultimate power of karma in ruling the world. Consequently, we have theistic and
pantheistic interpretations (and even translations) of the Gita, indebted to one or the other alternative.
The first see Krishna as a super-personal god using karma as an instrument for awakening humans from
ignorance, and the second see him as a mere form of Brahman's manifestation, with no real power in
controlling karma. As the two positions contradict each other and the Gita leaves enough room for both,
we wonder which could actually be the relation between karma and grace.
In order to attain liberation, Arjuna is advised to strive hard to realize a detached attitude of mind, called
Buddhi Yoga (2,49):
To those who are constantly devoted to serve me, I give them the Buddhi Yoga by which they can
come to me. I show my mercy to them by destroying their ignorance with the lamp of knowledge
(10,10-11).
Here it looks like Krishna burns karma by his grace only if one strives hard to deserve it. Therefore the
major role in salvation belongs to the individual who performs Buddhi Yoga. The grace granted by
Krishna is far away from the meaning it got later in the prapatti devotional trend. Therefore, Krishna
must be understood rather as a kind of meditation object than a personal god who gets himself involved
in one's reincarnation journey. He resembles Ishvara of the Yoga darshana of Patanjali from this point of
view (i.e. one has to concentrate on Krishna and imitate his way of being in order to advance toward
liberation). The only grace one benefits from Hrishna is receiving his advice. The rest depends on the
disciple.
Dharma and karma
In anyone's life the conditioning couple of dharma and karma is at work. The "duty" that forces Arjuna
to fight (2,33) is his dharma, i.e. his caste-duty as warrior. In turn, Arjuna's dharma is generated by his
karma. Therefore the real impetus of Arjuna's actions is his karma, which pushes him into action
independently of his present intentions. Krishna states: "When you become confused in your false ego
you say to yourself, 'I will not fight' you are misled. By your nature you must fight" (18,59). This
"nature" is prakriti or, more specifically, the way the three gunas influence one's mind under the
influence of past karma. Therefore, Arjuna is not free to fulfill his dharma, but is compelled by his karma
to act according to it. The action that "is better than inaction" (3,8) is not a free decision of man, it does
not follow the understanding of one's social duty, but is the way of accepting a pre-ordained scenario.
Such an action is devoid of any sense of freedom, being a mere resignation to fate. The only freedom left
to Arjuna is to give a certain meaning to his predetermined actions, that of sacrifices to Krishna:
"Consider all your acts as acts of devotion to me, whether eating, offering, giving away, performing
austerities. Perform them as an offering to me. In this way you will be free from karma, you will be
liberated and you will come to me" (9,27).
Krishna as avatar and the periodical creation of the world
Another inconsistency of the Gita is regarding the character of Krishna. According to classic
Vaishnavism, Krishna is only an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu (which according to Vedanta is
only a form of Brahman's manifestation). In the Gita Krishna becomes the Supreme Lord of the Universe
(5,29), eternal (4,6) and the source of all existence: "I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.
Everything emanates from me" (10,8). Contrary to Vedanta, Krishna becomes the source of Brahman
(14,27) and contrary to Vaishnavism he is the instrument of attaining fusion with Brahman (14,26).
Although the intention of the Gita is to present Krishna as super-personal, he is rather a heterogeneous
mixture of theistic, dualistic and pantheistic kinds of Ultimate Reality. He is not only the creator but also
the substance of the universe (9,16-19; 8,4; 10,20-42). The cycle of permanent transformation between
the manifested state and the unmanifested one is characteristic for Krishna too, as it was with Brahman:
At the end of an era (kalpa) all creatures disintegrate into my nature and at the beginning of
another era I manifest them again. Such it is my nature (prakriti) to follow again and again the
pattern of the Infinite manifestations and disintegrations (9,7-8).
Krishna has to "follow the pattern of the Infinite manifestations and disintegrations" (avasham prakriteh
vashat, lit. "automatically, under the obligation of prakriti"), which implies that the process is a necessity
that surpasses him as personal god. He is just a detached (but also helpless) spectator to it. Therefore it is
hard to accept his dominion over creation along with the periodic manifestation of nature (prakriti).
Rather, we should conclude that the creation of the world is not an option for him, but a periodic duty at
the end of each cosmic cycle, as was the case with the manifestations of Brahman. S. Dasgupta
comments on the contradictory personal character of Krishna:
The Gita combines together different conceptions of God without feeling the necessity of
reconciling the oppositions or contradictions involved in them. It does not seem to be aware of the
philosophical difficulty of combining the concept of God as unmanifested, differenceless entity
with the notion of Him as the super-person Who incarnates Himself on earth in the human form
and behaves in the human manner. It is not aware of the difficulty that, if all good and evil should
have emanated from God, and if there be ultimately no moral responsibility, and if everything in
the world should have the same place in God, there is no reason why God should trouble to
incarnate Himself as man, when there is a disturbance of the Vedic dharma. If God is impartial to
all, and if He is absolutely unperturbed, why should He favour the man who clings to Him, and
why, for his sake, overrule the world-order of events and in his favour suspend the law of karma?
(S. Dasgupta, Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, 1991, vol.2, p. 533).
Acting without attachment to the fruit of actions
The very demand to act in the world without attachment to the fruits of action seems itself contradictory.
Could it actually be possible to act like this? How could one really perform his social duties without
being attached to them? Otherwise what motivation remains for acting in the world? That of a robot,
devoid of any personal input to his acts? The philosophy of the Gita itself aims at fulfilling a very
personal fruit - liberation from reincarnation, which is useful for nobody else than oneself. Should this
fruit be treated with detachment too? Could one act detached regarding his eternal destiny? If the
philosophy of detached acting cannot be valid for the major aspect of existence, how can we know it
works in other respects?
On the other hand, how much could one know about his dharma, especially in a Western society, where
the caste system doesn't exist? At what extent can one be sure he is fulfilling his dharma and not a
personal attachment to a certain egoistic motivation? Where is the limit between my dharma and my
neighbor's? Therefore, under the cover of religiosity, anyone can masquerade, pretending he follows his
dharma, but having no altruistic motivations at all in what he does.
The Gita and morality
When Arjuna found himself in the process of choosing between his duty as warrior and the killing of his
relatives (a severe violation of Vedic morality), Krishna explained to him that he must give another
meaning to traditional morality. Traditional ethical values should not be a hindrance to acting detached to
the fruits of action. He argued: "The wise men who reached true knowledge see with as equally a
brahman (priest), a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater" (5,18).
As only the soul (atman) is immortal, Krishna argues that it is actually impossible to kill anyone: "Those
who think that they can kill or those that think they can be killed are confused in the manifestations of
ignorance. The infinite, immortal soul can neither kill or be killed" (2,19). Therefore Arjuna is free to kill
his relatives, considering them only temporary abiding forms for the eternal self, mere mortal frames. S.
Dasgupta states in his commentary:
The theory of the Gita that, if actions are performed with an unattached mind, then their defects
cannot touch the performer, distinctly implies that the goodness or badness of an action does not
depend upon external effects of the action, but upon the inner motive of action. If there is no
motive of pleasure or self-gain, then the action performed cannot bind the performer; for it is only
the bond of desires and self-love that really makes an action one's own and makes one reap its
good or bad fruits. Morality from this point of view becomes wholly subjective, and the special
feature of the Gita is that it tends to make all actions non-moral by cutting away the bonds that
connect an action with its performer (Ibid, p. 507).
The contrast with traditional morality is obvious. Its representative is another important character in the
battle of Kurukshetra, Yudishthira, Arjuna's brother. He tried to expiate his sin of killing his relatives in
battle through repentance, gifts, asceticism and pilgrimages (Mahabharata 12,7). For him a bad
conscience could not be cleansed by a right attitude of mind, but by compensatory acts.
On the other hand, the same mindset that Arjuna should have had in securing a clear conscience (Gita
2,19) was used by the demon Kamsa in the Bhagavata Purana (10,4,22) in order to comfort Krishna's
parents and justify the killing of their other sons by him:
In the bodily conception of life one remains in darkness without self-realization, thinking "I am
being killed" or "I have killed my enemies". As long as a foolish person thus considers the self to
be the killer or the killed, he continues to be responsible for material obligations, and
consequently he suffers the reactions of happiness and distress.
If the same "detached" perspective on moral values can be used both by the demon Kamsa, who caused
the corruption of the dharma, and the divine avatar who came to save it (Gita 4,6-7) and kill the demon,
it is hard to accept that such an approach could represent a true basis for morality.
Conclusion
Rather than a consistent philosophy, S. Dasgupta considers the Gita only a manual of conduct:
The Gita was probably written at a time when philosophical views had not definitely crystallized
into hard-and-fast systems of thought, and when the distinguishing philosophical niceties,
scholarly disputations, the dictates of argument, had not come into fashion. The Gita, therefore, is
not to be looked upon as a properly schemed system of philosophy, but a s a manual of right
conduct and right perspective of things in the light of a mystical approach to God in
self-resignation, devotion, friendship and humility. (p.534)
The Gita falls short of coherence and viability. A god that rules the world by the "help" of karma cannot
be the super-personal embodiment of perfection. One's (mostly unknown) dharma fed by past lives'
deeds cannot provide any real meaning for freedom. Acting without attachment to its results cannot be a
valid solution for fulfilling one's social duty. And a morality that considers people temporary frames of
the eternal self cannot grant social harmony. Therefore, it as hard to accept the message of the Gita as a
proper teaching of conduct, especially in the Western world.
Man's salvation and eternal destiny in world religions
MAN’S SALVATION
AND ETERNAL DESTINY
IN WORLD RELIGIONS
As we have seen in the previous file on the human condition, one of the few elements that world
religions share is the fact that man doesn’t live in harmony with the Ultimate Reality. In other words,
man doesn’t manifest his purpose of existence. Life is far away from pursuing the ideal claimed by
religion, so that man needs salvation from his present condition.
However, following how Ultimate Reality and human nature are stated, the meaning of salvation and
eternal destiny differ to a great extent from one religion to another. Three important aspects must be
analyzed here: The nature of the resources needed for attaining salvation, the actual way of getting saved
and the meaning of salvation from an eternal perspective. Concerning the first two aspects, some
religions claim that salvation can be attained by using only inner human resources. They demand the use
of meditation, accumulation of wisdom, asceticism, performing rituals, good deeds, etc. Other religions
state man can be saved only through the grace granted by an external personal agent. This can be God, a
bodhisattva, an avatar, etc. Man’s duty is to recognize his impossibility to get saved by his own effort,
and therefore accept grace unconditionally. There are also combinations of the two cases.
As concerning the meaning of salvation from an eternal perspective, there are also important distinctions
to mention. As emphasized in the previous file, the monotheistic religions state that the barrier between
man and God is sin. Salvation means removing this moral barrier and restoring a personal communion
with God, which will endure forever. Pantheist religions consider the human self a part of the impersonal
Ultimate Reality, and therefore man’s problem is epistemological. Salvation means liberation from
ignorance and corresponds to the fusion of the impersonal self with the Absolute, meaning dissolution of
subject and object, knower and known. Other Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Taoism, take
salvation as an illumination, meaning a discovery of and conformity of oneself with an eternal law that
governs existence. Dualistic religions see man’s salvation as a return to an initial angelic state, from
which he has fallen in a physical body. In this file we will analyze closer these alternatives, trying to
understand to what extent they can still be compatible with each other.
http://www.comparativereligion.com/salvation.html (1 of 24) [10/27/2000 9:47:42 AM]
Salvation and eternal destiny in Hinduism
The Upanishads and Vedanta philosophy
As we have seen in the file on the human condition, the Upanishads view the problem man has to face as
belonging to the domain of knowledge. The self is one with Brahman, but illusion prevents man from
grasping it. The liberation of atman from the chain of reincarnation can be attained only during a human
existence, so we are in a privileged stage of spiritual evolution. We have a better position even than gods
do. They are in a stage of reaping one’s positive merits during a lifetime, as animals are the opposite, the
stage of reaping bad merits. That is why devotion to a god is not a valid way toward liberation, as it
perpetuates the illusion of personal existence. The following text indicates that the gods like to encourage
man’s ignorance:
Now, if a man worships another deity, thinking, “He is one and I am another,” he does not know.
He is like an animal to the gods. As many animals serve a man, so does each man serve the gods.
Even if one animal is taken away, it causes anguish to the owner; how much more so when many
are taken away! Therefore it is not pleasing to the gods that men should know the truth.
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1,4,10)
Atman’s liberation from samsara is called moksha and represents its return to Brahman. This kind of
liberation is actually an impersonal fusion of atman with Brahman, resembling the fusion of a drop of
rain with the ocean, thus becoming one with it: “As rivers flow into the sea and in so doing lose name
and form, so even the wise man, freed from name and form, attains the Supreme Being, the
Self-luminous, the Infinite. He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman” (Mundaka Upanishad 3,2,8-9).
At this point any element of personhood is annihilated and the process of reincarnation ceases.
First mentioned in the Brahmanas as necessary for knowing the laws of sacrifice, intuitive knowledge
(jnana, vidya) here receives its full spiritual meaning. Vedic sacrifice (according to Mundaka Up. 1,2,7)
and the knowledge of the Vedas (Chandogya Up. 7,1,3) have no value in attaining liberation. The cycle
avidya-karma-samsara can be broken only by knowing and destroying its primary cause, which is desire.
(This trend gets special attention in the Bhagavad Gita and also in Buddhism.) According to the
Upanishads, the process of attaining intuitive knowledge of atman and liberation from desires requires
passing through three states of consciousness, categorized as the wakeful state, the state of sleep with
dreams and the dreamless sleep (Brihadaranyaka Up. 4,3,9-19). The first state of consciousness, the
wakeful state (jagrat), represents the normal human state, in which the phenomenal world is completely
involved in one’s psycho-mental activity. In the stage corresponding to sleep with dreams (svapna) the
psycho-mental is detached from the objective world and engaged in a virtual world, a mere projection of
the real one. Participation in the phenomenal world stops only in the dreamless state (susupti), when the
world’s illusion ceases to manifest itself (Brihadaranyaka Up. 4,3,32). Some later developments
concluded that in this stage atman is only temporarily united with Brahman, and for this reason a fourth
state (turiya) was defined, when the unity of atman-Brahman is perfectly attained.
There is no need to mention here actual methods for attaining liberation, since they are not yet fully
developed in the Upanishads. Two important meditation formulas (mantras) are Aham Brahma asmi (“I
am Brahman” - in the Brihadaranyaka Up. 1,4,10) and Tat tvam asi (“You are that” - in the Chandogya
Up. 6,8-15). There is also to be noticed the importance of the sacred syllable OM (AUM), which is said to
exert a powerful influence on the one who knows to use it and understands its metaphysical importance.
The Mandukya Upanishad establishes a correspondence between the three letters that compound it (A, U,
and M) and the three states of conscience mentioned above. The Mundaka Upanishad (2,2,4) states: “The
syllable aum is the bow; one’s self, indeed, is the arrow. Brahman is spoken of as the target of that. It is
to be hit without making a mistake. Thus one becomes united with it as the arrow [becomes one with the
target].”
The same finality is stated in Shankara’s Vedanta. The liberation of atman is attained through intuitive
knowledge. There are four qualifications prescribed for the one who follows this path: 1) discrimination
of the eternal from the non-eternal; 2) no attachment to the things belonging to this or any other world; 3)
possession of six virtues: calmness, equanimity, turning away from sense-objects, forbearance,
concentration and faith in the doctrine; and 4) longing for release. The method that has to be pursued has
three parts: study of the doctrine, reflection and contemplation.
For a critique of pantheism, the way it states liberation and its significance click here and see our special
file on this topic.
The Samkhya and Yoga darshanas
Liberation in the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas represents detaching purusha from any manifestation of
prakriti, out of the domain of psycho-mental experience. The way of attaining it, in Samkhya, is
metaphysical knowledge, i.e. analyzing and understanding the external and internal structures of nature
and psycho-mental activity. It is stated that neither through sacrifices (Samkhya Sutra 1,84), nor by doing
good deeds (1,56) nor by the help of Vedas (3,25-26), but only through getting spiritual knowledge can
liberation be attained. It involves abandoning all common values that are created by our mind and thus do
not belong to purusha. By knowing the absolute state of purusha, the confusion generated by the
physical and mental world ceases, they are absorbed into prakriti and the self finds liberation (Samkhya
Sutra 3,69). This is the way humans understand the liberation of the self, but as thinking itself belongs to
prakriti, Samkhya holds that liberation is a mere acquaintance with purusha’s eternal freedom, unable to
be normally perceived because of ignorance.
The moment when discrimination (viveka) between the two categories has been fully realized, prakriti
with all its manifestations departs from purusha, “like a dancer who leaves after satisfying her master’s
wish” (Samkhya Karika 59). The self escapes from the illusory relation with prakriti and has nothing to
do with it anymore. From that moment on the liberated purusha contemplates only itself and has no
concern about the relation of other purushas with prakriti. The finality in this darshana is a world of free
and totally isolated purushas, between which no relation can exist.
In the Yoga darshana of Patanjali there are two elements added: 1) Ishvara, an entity improperly called
God; and 2) the fact that liberation cannot be attained by spiritual knowledge only, but that a specific
ascetic technique is needed. Ishvara is not a personal god, but rather a macro-purusha that has never been
involved with psycho-mental activity or with karma. Having no personal status, Ishvara cannot have a
personal relationship with man. It is rather a metaphysical sympathy, resembling that existing between a
compass and the magnetic field of the Earth. Ishvara can help the Yogi towards liberation only as he is
chosen as the object of meditation. The instinctual relationship between purusha and Ishvara is possible
only because of the similarity of their structures, so that in the Yoga darshana of Patanjali, Ishvara is
considered to be a “God” just of the Yogis.
The liberation of purusha has the same meaning as in Samkhya. He remains isolated forever,
contemplating himself and without any relation with other purusha or with Ishvara. For more
information on the Yoga technique as described by Patanjali see our special file on this topic. There is
also available a special file aimed at analyzing some difficulties of the Samkhya and Yoga metaphysics.
Tantrism and Hatha Yoga
Both schools are pantheistic, viewing liberation as the return of the self to the impersonal Ultimate
Reality represented by Shiva. It is a process similar to the fusion of atman with Brahman, as stated in the
Upanishads and Vedanta. In order to get a brief description of the actual techniques used by these two
schools, and also an evaluation of the experiences they produce, see our special file on this topic. Here
we summarize just a few key elements in order to get a global understanding of them.
The self, represented in the form of kundalini energy, has to be awakened through complicated physical
exercises (in Hatha Yoga) and also sexual practices (in Tantrism), joined with respiratory techniques.
Then kundalini traverses a spiritual channel of the subtle body, which corresponds physically to the
spine, and the moment it reaches the top of the head it unites with Shiva, the Ultimate Reality of the
universe. This goal cannot be attained just by spiritual knowledge, as in other Hindu schools (Vedanta or
Samkhya). The help of a teacher (guru) in assisting the practitioner is absolutely necessary, as the
awakening and rising of kundalini is full of potential dangers for the Yogi.
Although both schools are pantheistic, they hold a different view than Vedanta philosophy concerning
the role of the human body. While the Upanishads and Vedanta despise the body, considering it the
primary source of illusion that holds atman captive in the reincarnation cycle, Tantrism and Hatha Yoga
take the body as the main instrument in attaining liberation. However, the attention granted to the body
has a single purpose: to make it fit for getting control over the mind and thus liberating the self. Despite
the fact that it is sometimes believed that Hatha Yoga is only a kind of harmless physical training, the
most important writing of this school, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, clearly states that Hatha Yoga has to be
taught only in order to reach the Raja Yoga level (1,2), which means “the integration of mind in a state
where the subject-object duality does not exist” (4,77), or in other words, merging with the impersonal
Ultimate Reality.
Hindu theism
The liberation of self (atman or purusha) through metaphysical knowledge (jnana, vidya) or asceticism
(tapas), as was the case in the previous schools of Hinduism, cannot be a valid solution for the average
Hindu. This is the reason why most people adopt a certain devotional practice (called bhakti) in order to
transcend the world of suffering. The most important gods worshipped today are Vishnu and his avatars
(especially Rama and Krishna), Shiva and the goddess Shakti (called also Kali or Durga). Consequently,
Hindu theism has three main branches: Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism. They have the following
defining characteristics: acceptance of a personal god as Ultimate Reality, performance of a certain ritual
in order to worship him, invocation of his help to attain salvation and understanding salvation as uniting
with god or attaining a perfect and eternal relation with him.
We will not discuss here salvation according to the most famous piece of Hindu theism, the Bhagavad
Gita. There is available a special file on this topic. Out of the many schools of theistic Hinduism existing
today, we will limit ourselves to a brief presentation of the Vaishnava schools grounded by the great
thinkers Ramanuja and Madhva, and mention a few elements of their understanding about man’s
salvation and eternal destiny. They stated the most coherent forms of Hindu theism known today as
opposed to the traditional pantheistic schools, especially to the Advaita Vedanta of Shankara. (Similar
views have been developed in the Shaivite tradition, but they are less important and we will not refer to
them.)
According to Madhva (1238 - 1317 AD), liberation can be attained only by the grace of Vishnu. Man has
to realize that his independence from God is illusory and that material cravings distance him from God.
Vishnu uses reincarnation to help the soul discover his true spiritual nature. The way of attaining
liberation requires devotion, moral perfection and knowledge of God. The more God is known, the more
he is loved, the more he is loved, he is known; these are two inseparable aspects. The moment the soul
attains liberation, he does not lose his individuality in order to become one with God (as in Vedanta), but
becomes perfect and shares an eternal communion and harmony with God.
Although Madhva’s theism is genuine, there are some weak points in the way it defines free will and the
role of karma. He stated that nothing can happen in the world or to souls without God’s will and
initiative. Man can attain liberation only by God’s grace. On the other hand, souls are subject to karma,
and God reveals himself only to the ones who deserve it. However, if all souls are entirely dependent on
God for their functioning and he is the one who causes the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the
world (and consequently of physical bodies), this implies that any spiritual progress of the soul is nothing
but God’s work. If God’s will is responsible for both bondage by karma and liberation, how is it possible
that some souls deserve liberation, while others do not? In other words, how can a just balance be set up
in this system, between God’s grace and karma? The solution offered by Madhva to this dilemma is the
idea that souls have a certain inner inclination, according to an innate nature. There are three kinds of
souls according to these inner inclinations: those of noble inclination (sattvika), those of mixed
inclination (rajasa) and those with base inclination (tamasa). Only those of the first category will reach
liberation by God’s grace, the others being left to themselves. To avoid total predestination, Madhva
stated that they are granted a small amount of free will (dattasvatantrya) and therefore can perform a
small improvement of their nature from one existence to another. But by giving this solution, God is no
longer the one who determines the souls’ actions, and his total control over them is abrogated. This
contradiction arises out of the impossibility to reconcile the role of karma with the grace of an
omnipotent god.
According to Ramanuja (1017 - 1137 AD), man is responsible for his acts and capable of choosing
between good and evil. What we experience now as evil in the world is the result of people’s past
ignorant deeds against God. Liberation from the bondage of ignorance can be attained only by devotion.
Once liberated, the soul is not dissolved in the Ultimate Reality, but becomes perfect through his
integration into the functionality of God. Using a proper illustration, liberation is not the union of the
raindrop with the ocean (as in Vedanta), but the adding of a new cell to a living body, without losing its
individuality and conscious existence. Through this kind of liberation neither the transcendental
supremacy of God is lost, nor the identity of the soul.
There are basically two classical viewpoints on grace in theistic Hinduism, well-illustrated by two
famous analogies, that of the monkey and that of the cat. The first view (the markata school) states that
man has to cling to God like a monkey clings to its mother, thus having an important contribution in
attaining salvation. The following elements are included: discrimination of food, freedom from passions,
longing for God and continuous meditation on him, doing good to others, having good intentions and
truthfulness, integrity, cheerfulness and hope. So it is not only about stimulating positive feelings, but
also using the intellect and will in order to love God with both heart and mind.
Starting from this point, where man plays a certain role in his liberation (through the rituals and moral
obligations he has to fulfill), Ramanuja grounded an even more radical way towards liberation, called
prapatti, where there is no more room left for personal merit. This is the second view on grace (the
marjara school), stating that the devotee must be like a young kitten, totally dependent on its mother’s
will, picked up by her and carried here and there. Therefore man has to give up the control of his life to
Vishnu and leave to him all responsibility for salvation. Two important notions here are the transferring
of merits (bhara-samarpana) from God to man and taking refuge under God’s feet (sharanagati). The
one engaged in prapatti acknowledges that he is not good enough to deserve liberation by performing
rituals and moral obligations. He asks God to undertake the control of his life and use him as instrument
in the world, so that the whole merit for attaining liberation pertains to God. There is no doubt that from
the laborious techniques of other Hindu schools, that stressed the attainment of liberation through
personal effort, to the prapatti alternative, where man is humble and helpless before God, Hindu
spirituality went through radical transformations. In a few words, the whole prapatti philosophy can be
summarized in a single verse, written by Vedanta Deshika, a 14th century follower of Ramanuja:
Lord, I, who am nothing, conform to your will and desist being contrary to it, and with faith and
prayer, submit to you the burden of saving my soul (Nyasadashaka 2).
Man’s salvation and eternal destiny in Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism
Salvation, according to Gotama Buddha, is possible only for the one who accepts and follows the four
noble truths:
1) The nature of life is suffering.
2) Suffering is caused by desire, or thirst (tanha) to experience existence.
3) The complete cessation of desires leads to the cessation of suffering.
4) In order to escape suffering and attain enlightenment, one has to follow the Noble Eightfold Path,
consisting of the eight practices of self-training.
Before discussing the eightfold path towards liberation (nirvana), it is important to mention that the one
who engages in it has to rely exclusively on his own inner strength. The Buddha taught:
So, Ananda, you must be lamps unto yourselves. Rely on yourselves, and do not rely on external
help. Hold firm to the truth as a lamp and a refuge, and do not look for refuge to anything beside
yourselves. A brother becomes his own lamp and refuge by continually looking on his body,
feelings, perceptions, moods, and ideas in such a manner that he conquers the cravings and
depressions of ordinary men and is always strenuous, self-possessed, and collected in mind.
Whoever among my disciples does this, either now or when I am dead, if he is anxious to learn,
will reach the summit....
(Digha Nikaya 2,99-100)
There is no grace available from a personal god, because any personal existence belongs to the domain of
illusion:
Oneself, indeed, is one’s savior, for what other savior could there be?
With oneself well-controlled one obtains a savior difficult to find.
(Dhammapada 160)
The point where the “chain of conditioned generation” can be broken is the ninth link, desire, which once
eliminated prevents man from entering a new existence. The eight practices of self-training, which make
the way out of suffering, can be classified in three categories: morality (sila), concentration (samadhi)
and full knowledge (panna).
Morality means right speech, action and livelihood. It has to generate a perfect state of self-control and
contentment. Concentration requires perfection in efforts (right attitude of the mind in all deeds),
mindfulness (awareness of mental and physical processes) and concentration (introversion and cessation
of empirical consciousness). Full knowledge represents attaining perfection in all views (through
understanding the impermanent nature of each phenomenon) and thoughts (renouncing all that is
temporary and attaining equanimity in thought, speech and deeds). The techniques used in the
concentration of mind are meditation and contemplation. Meditation is aimed at attaining tranquillity of
mind and inner calm. By the use of contemplation, one seeks to destroy all attachments produced by the
physical body, feelings, states of mind and objects of mind.
Once man has attained nirvana, he becomes an arhat (“living enlightened one”). His karma is burned and
at the time of his death he will cease to exist. Nirvana is neither a re-absorption in an eternal Ultimate
Reality, because such a thing doesn’t exist, nor an annihilation of a self, because there is no self to
annihilate. It is rather an annihilation of the illusion of an existing self. The proper image to describe it is
the flame of the candle that is blown out. This represents the end of suffering but at the same time the end
of any aspect that may define existence. (For some critical comments on the way Theravada Buddhism
defines its fundamental doctrines, including nirvana, see our special file on this topic.)
Salvation in Mahayana Buddhism. The devotional way.
The first significant difference between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism is a new goal to be pursued
in life. Instead of seeking nirvana just for himself in order to become an arhat, the disciple of Mahayana
Buddhism aims to become a bodhisattva, a celestial being that postpones his own entrance into
parinirvana (final extinction) in order to help other humans also attain it. The bodhisattva even swears
not to enter nirvana until he fulfills this noble mission. Here is a part of a bodhisattva’s vow:
I should accept all sufferings for the sake of sentient beings, and enable them to escape from the
abyss of immeasurable woes of birth and death. I should accept all suffering for the sake of all
sentient beings in all worlds, in all states of misery, for ever and ever, and still always cultivate
foundations of goodness for the sake of all beings. Why?
I would rather take all this suffering on myself than to allow sentient beings to fall into hell. I
should be a hostage to those perilous places - hells, animal realms, the nether world - as a ransom
to rescue all sentient beings in states of woe and enable them to gain liberation.
“I vow to protect all sentient beings and never abandon them. What I say is sincerely true, without
falsehood. Why? Because I have set my mind on enlightenment in order to liberate all sentient
beings; I do not seek the unexcelled Way for my own sake.
(Garland Sutra 23)
For its selfish way of seeking nirvana, the Theravada school was considered an inferior spiritual path,
valid only for those who cannot accept the idea of becoming a bodhisattva (Saddharmapundarika, 2).
From here derives the name given to the two branches of Buddhism: Mahayana means “the
larger/superior path” (that of becoming a bodhisattva), while Hinayana is the “narrow/inferior path”, that
reduces its goal in becoming an arhat. As stated in Theravada, nirvana is considered only an
intermediary step of becoming, a kind of incentive toward a higher becoming. The true enlightenment is
the becoming of a bodhisattva being (Saddharmapundarika, 3). Thanks to the help granted by the
bodhisattvas, it is said that all beings will attain perfection:
The Dharma of the Buddhas by the constant use of a single flavor
Causes the several worlds universally to attain perfection,
By gradual practice all obtain the Fruit of the Way.
(Saddharmapundarika Sutra 5)
As was the case with the Hindu avatars of Vishnu, the bodhisattva beings are mediators between man
and Ultimate Reality. Man has to earn their favors through devotion and thus attains liberation. This new
development was interpreted as a penetration of the Hindu bhakti tradition in Buddhism. The pattern of
devotion, which seems to be a natural tendency of the human soul, works here the same way as in
Hinduism. This trend will become the religious path for lay Buddhists, for whom liberation through
intuitive knowledge is not at hand.
The most famous bodhisattva of Tibet is Avalokiteshvara, who is said to be able to help anybody, even if
one only hears his name and memorizes it. In his great compassion he assumes as many forms as
necessary in order to save all beings (including people and demons in hell), if they simply accept the
doctrine he preaches to them. Today it is considered that the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan
Buddhists, is a reincarnation of this bodhisattva. The mantra used for his invocation is Om manipadme
hum.
Other important bodhisattvas are Amithabha (Amida in Japanese), who became very important after the
8th century AD; Manjushri; Vajrapani; and Kuan Yin (the last one important mostly for the Chinese
women). Taking Amida as the most important bodhisattva, a very influential form of devotional
Buddhism known as Pure Land Buddhism was founded in Japan. According to its doctrine, Amida (the
Buddha of Infinite Light) is able to save even the most despised sinner by his grace (tariki). In his vow,
he promised to save all sentient beings that would only repeat his name ten times:
Let him utter the name, Buddha Amida. Let him do so serenely with his voice uninterrupted; let
him be continually thinking of Buddha until he has completed ten times the thought, repeating,
“Adoration to Buddha Amida.” On the strength of [his merit of] uttering the Buddha’s name he
will, during every repetition, expiate the sins which involve him in births and deaths during eighty
million kalpas.
(Meditation on Buddha Amitayus 3,30)
The reward for invoking Amida with sincere devotion is rebirth in his Western Paradise, Sukhavati
(known also as Pure Land or Pure Realm). It is not possible to get there using other means as meditation
or good deeds, but only by his grace.
In Tibetan Buddhism it is stated that the help of the bodhisattvas is available even after death. According
to the Tibetan Book of the Dead (8th century AD) the five bodhisattvas of Tibetan Buddhism (the
Dhyani-Buddhas, or mental Buddhas) help the dead to avoid a bad reincarnation, trying to lead them
toward happier lives in which they will be able to attain nirvana easier.
Concerning the form in which the dead person survives in the transitory world and is punished in the
temporary hells, Tibetan Buddhism (as the Yogachara Buddhist school too) accepts a self that
reincarnates (a kind of atman), which represents an important distinction from classical Buddhism.
However, this impersonal entity cannot really suffer, which means that the torments one has to suffer
(because of his ignorance during lifetime) are in fact all hallucinations generated by his bad karma.
According to the text, the dead is advised:
When it happens that such a vision arises, do not be afraid! Do not feel terror! You have a mental
body made of instincts; even if it is killed or dismembered, it cannot die! Since in fact you are a
natural form of voidness, anger at being injured is unnecessary! The Yama Lords of Death are but
arisen from the natural energy of your own awareness and really lack all substantiality. Voidness
cannot injure voidness!
(Tibetan Book of the Dead, 12)
Although the bodhisattvas offer their help to the dead person, he is unable to accept it because of the
projection of his bad karma and the attraction of “samsaric impurities”, which make him fall deeper and
deeper into the intermediary state (bardo). For this reason it is wrong to pretend that the bodhisattvas
save the dead through their grace, as only the merits he accumulated during lifetime make him able to
accept the “rays of grace”. As was the case in theistic Hinduism, we are again faced with the
incompatibility of grace, granted by an external agent (a bodhisattva), and the law of karma.
In conclusion, we can see that Mahayana has brought significant changes to classic (Theravada)
Buddhism. As Dr. Stcherbatsky writes: “When we see an atheistic, soul-denying, philosophic teaching of
a path to personal final deliverance, consisting in an absolute extinction of life and a simple worship of
the memory of its human founder - when we see it superseded by a magnificent High Church with a
supreme God, surrounded by numerous pantheon and a host of saints, a religion highly devotional, highly
ceremonious and clerical, with an ideal of universal salvation of all living creatures, a salvation by the
divine grace of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, a salvation not in annihilation but in eternal life - we are fully
justified in maintaining that the history of religions has scarcely witnessed such a break between new and
old within the pale of what nevertheless continues to claim common descent from the same religious
founder” (The Conception of Buddhist Nirvana, p. 36).
Salvation in Mahayana Buddhism. The way of intuitive knowledge.
Liberation through knowledge is the other important trend in Mahayana Buddhism. New doctrinal
developments on the theme of non-existence of a self were the basis for founding a new doctrine, known
as the doctrine of the void (shunyata). It was first stated in the Prajnaparamita Sutra(1st century BC) and
then developed by Nagarjuna (2nd century AD). According to this doctrine, the true nature of the world
is the void (shunya), which is not non-existence, but an Ultimate Reality free of any determinations,
duality and limitations. Like Brahman, the void can be characterized only by using negations. Although
Mahayana Buddhism rejects the major Vedantic notions, the void is nothing but an acceptance of
Brahman in a new form. The world is considered to be the manifestation of shunya, which is altogether
the fundamental nature of any being. This true nature (called also Buddha Nature) has to be discovered
by man through mystical introspection and liberation from the illusion of duality. It is nothing but an
actualization in Mahayanic context of the atman-Brahman identity, as can be observed in the following
text:
Every being has the Buddha Nature. This is the self. Such a self is, since the very beginning, under
cover of innumerable illusions. That is why a man cannot see it.
O good man! There was a poor woman who had gold hidden somewhere in her house, but no one
knew where it was. But there was a stranger who, by expediency, speaks to the poor woman, “I
shall employ you to weed the lawn.” The woman answered, “I cannot do it now, but if you show
my son where the gold is hidden, I will work for you.” The man says, “I know the way; I will show
it to your son.” The woman replies, “No one in my house, big or small, knows where the gold is
hidden. How can you know?” The man then digs out the hidden gold and shows it to the woman.
She is glad, and begins to respect him. O good man! The same is the case with a man’s Buddha
Nature. No one can see it. It is like the gold which the poor woman possessed and yet could not
locate. I now let people see the Buddha Nature which they possess, but which was hidden by
illusions. The Tathagata shows all beings the storehouse of enlightenment, which is the cask of
true gold - their Buddha Nature.
(Mahaparinirvana Sutra 214-15)
Reality has three levels of perception, known also as the three bodies (trikaya) of Buddha. The first is
nirmanakaya, the physical body, subject to change. The second is sambhogakaya, the body that appears
in visions and, at the same time, the body of the boddhisattvas. The real body of Buddha is dharmakaya,
which represents the ultimate nature and unity of all things. Those who surpass the duality of the world
attain the perfection of wisdom and become identical with this absolute nature of the Buddha. It is no
doubt an annihilation of personhood, identical to the one stated in Hindu pantheism.
Man’s liberation and eternal destiny in Taoism
Given the human condition in Taoism, the solution for attaining perfection is not holding Confucian
morality or rituals, but controlling the inner universe by practicing the principle of non-acting (wu-wei), a
similar concept to the demand of Krishna presented in the Bhagavad Gita (3,19). Wu-wei does not
literally mean to do nothing, but to follow the natural order of things, to be spontaneous in all actions,
understand them and not strive against nature:
The sage desires no-desire,
Values no-value,
Learns no-learning,
And returns to the places that people have forgotten (childhood);
(Tao-te Ching 64)
In order to attain harmony with Tao a combination of the following different methods can be used,
according to the different Taoist schools: a special form of physical and spiritual exercises (Thai Chi),
alimentary diet, breath control (tai-yin), sexual techniques (fang-shong shu) similar to the Tantric ones,
psychedelic drugs, meditation, etc. These methods are considered to revitalize the vital fluid of the body
and assure long life. However, Lao Tse taught neither physical immortality nor personal survival after
death. There are no clues in the Tao-te Ching indicating such things, so they have to be later additions to
Taoism.
The seeking of physical immortality seems to have been added to Taoism at the time when it became
mixed with alchemy (the search for an “elixir of life”) and religious rituals. It is foreign to the initial
spirit of Taoism, which taught indifference to life and death as a condition for one’s integration in the
flow of nature. Wang Ch’ung, an important Taoist thinker of the 1st century AD, had to correct the
superstitions that invaded his religion, stating clearly that there is no involvement of deities in peoples’
lives and man does not become a ghost at death.
The only true spiritual knowledge is the mystical one, attained when any duality is surpassed, when the
disciple understands that life and death are only two aspects of the same Ultimate Reality. A famous
parable of Chuang Tzu says:
Once I, Chuang Tzu, dreamed I was a butterfly, and was happy as a butterfly. I was conscious only
of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Tzu. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably
myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether
I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a
distinction. The transition is called the transformation of things.
Therefore, empirical and mystical knowledge are interchangeable. One does not know what reality is: the
state as man or as butterfly. The great awakening is a return in the primordial state of non-being, where
all transformations cease and personal existence is annihilated:
By cultivating one’s nature one will return to virtue. When virtue is perfect, one will be one with
the Beginning. Being one with the Beginning, one becomes vacuous, and being vacuous, one
becomes great. One will then be united with the sound and breath of things. When one is united
with the sound and breath of things, one is then united with the universe. This unity is intimate and
seems to be stupid and foolish. This is called profound and secret virtue, this is complete harmony.
(Chuang Tzu 12)
Man’s salvation in the monotheistic religions
Unlike the pantheistic religions of the East, the three monotheistic religions of the world - Judaism,
Christianity and Islam - do not regard salvation as an impersonal merging with the Absolute, but as
liberation from the bondage of sin and re-establishing a personal communion with the Creator. However,
there are some basic differences between them on how sin is to be overcome by man, on the identity of
Jesus Christ, the role He plays in salvation and what our attitude should be towards Him.
Man’s salvation in Christianity
According to Christianity, sin did not mark an irreconcilable end of God’s relation with man. After
stating that all mankind is sinful, the next and final doctrine of the Bible is not the judgment and eternal
damnation of man. Although the triune God is perfect in His justice and holiness, implying that sin
should have kept man eternally separated from His presence, His love for us is also perfect. Out of this
balance of God’s character and attributes, Christianity states a unique doctrine of salvation, completely
foreign to any other religion.
The remission of sins in the Old Testament vs. religious patterns of other nations
The account of man’s restoration from his fallen state begins in the first book of the Old Testament. God
called Abraham to leave his country and his father's household and follow Him to an unknown land,
promising that he would become the ancestor of a blessed nation. Abraham trusted God against all odds,
and this attitude, called faith, determined that God would declare him righteous and the beneficiary of an
overwhelming promise:
He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-- if indeed you can
count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abraham believed the Lord, and he
credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15,5-6).
The nation born out of Abraham is Israel, God’s chosen people to make Himself known in the midst of
nations and correct their wrong patterns in understanding Him. This was meant in a time when mankind
turned its back to the real God and sin became man’s “true inner nature”. Although all nations had
priests, offerings and temples - showing that communion with God was always man’s greatest need - all
ritualism was wrong oriented and needed correction.
In the book of Exodus is recorded how God redeemed Israel from the Egyptian bondage through His
grace (1-19), presented the law according to which they should live (20-24) and then indicated the way to
solve any trespassing of the law, through the tabernacle (25-40), which was later replaced by the
Jerusalem temple. This given order redemption-law-temple was not randomly chosen. God instituted
the Mosaic Law as a covenant with His people after redeeming the nation. Israel had to obey God and to
live according to the demands of the law in order to have a right relation with Him (Exodus 19,5). The
tabernacle (and later the temple) was the place where sacrifices were brought in order to solve the
trespassing of the law and to keep in mind their total dependence on God. Obedience to the law was of
first importance and the sacrifices in the temple were second, prescribed only as solution for repairing the
failures in fulfilling God’s demands.
The other nations of that time had a different view of worship. They were attempting to satisfy their gods
and even fulfill their needs through the religious rituals performed in temples. Following this principle,
the nations that surrounded ancient Israel (and many more) had to bring more and more substantial
offerings in order to accumulate more and more influence on the gods. Soon they came to perform even
human sacrifices. In this way their priests reached a point where they were actually manipulating the
gods and considered themselves (through the rituals performed) the keepers of universal order, providers
of fertility, wealth, victory over enemies, etc. The tendency to manipulate the gods is obvious in Vedic
ritualism and was the cause for its decline. The priests held the ropes of heaven and soon became more
important than the gods. After all, it was their sacrifices that kept the universe properly functioning. No
wonder that asceticism appeared as a revolt against this order.
The temple and the sacrifices in the Old Testament have different meanings from the other religions of
that time. In the Old Testament, the condition for maintaining a proper relation with God was obeying
and conforming to His revealed standards, not the performance of religious rituals that could empower
Him to fulfill His divine attributes. Sacrifices are not necessary for Him, but for the sake of sinful people,
as the solution for their trespassing of the law. If not absolved, the sins of the people would have brought
God’s punishment on the nation. Therefore, the sacrifice had to perform its work in man, not in God.
This is why the tabernacle and the sacrificial system is added to the covenant with Israel (Exodus 20-24),
as a further grace. Although Israel also had, as the other nations, a temple, priests and sacrifices, their
role was different. This perverted way of relating to God had to be corrected through Israel. God
commanded:
The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But
when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before
you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations
serve their gods? We will do the same." You must not worship the Lord your God in their way,
because in worshipping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even
burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command
you; do not add to it or take away from it (Deuteronomy 12,29-32).
Out of the many sacrifices and religious feasts mentioned in the Old Testament, we will emphasize the
significance of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), described in Leviticus chapter 16. It was performed
once a year, only by the high priest and for the benefit of all God’s people. Its purpose was to remove all
the sins committed during the year and mark the rededication of the nation to God. The high priest had to
offer first a bull as an atoning sacrifice for his own sins. Only in this way was he cleansed of his sins and
therefore capable of performing the atonement ritual for the nation. Then he took two goats and
established one for the Lord and the other as scapegoat. The goat for the Lord was slaughtered and the
blood sprinkled on the atonement cover, located in the Most Holy Place of the temple. Under the
atonement cover were kept the Ten Commandments carved on stone. As they represented the witness of
the high standards of God that were transgressed by the people, the act of the priest symbolized the
covering of the transgressions with blood, as ransom price paid for their remission. Then the high priest
had to “lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of
the Israelites - all their sins - and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert
in the care of a man appointed for the task” (v. 21). This symbolically represented the fact that the sins
were carried away from the people, so that their relation with the Holy God could continue.
The Israelites thus learned that any trespassing of the Mosaic Law is a sin and any sin demands a specific
sacrifice, in order that God, the giver of the law, could forgive the sinner. The principle pointed to the
fact that the punishment for sin had to be borne by an innocent animal, as substitute for the sinner.
Through the ritual performed by the priest, it was clearly shaped in the mind of any Israelite the fact that
his sins are forgiven due to the animal sacrifice, or more specifically, through its blood. The animal
became man’s substitute in order to fulfill God’s justice.
However, as the Old Testament indicates, the Israelites did transgress the Mosaic Law very often and
seriously, especially by worshipping other gods, an act forbidden by the very first command. At the time
the prophet Jeremiah lived (627-580 BC), the function of the Temple itself was perverted, and those who
came to worship there were condemned for performing empty rituals aimed at gaining God’s goodwill,
according to the idolatrous patterns of other religions, without any desire to obey God’s Law (see
Jeremiah 7,1-11; 22-23). As a result of this attitude they were punished by the Babylonian captivity. It
seemed that all the sacrifices failed to produce a change of attitude in the people’s hearts. A better
sacrifice was required to solve the problem of sin once for all, one that should be perfect and unique, and
also available for all nations. This is what the New Testament speaks about.
Jesus Christ, the perfect solution for our sins
The Apostle Paul expresses God’s attitude toward sin in very straightforward terms:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness
of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1,18).
Although God is omnipotent, He could not simply erase all people’s sins by a decree, as some people
suggest. He could have thrown us all into hell instead, as He is holy and just and we are all sinners.
However, God is perfect not only in power and justice, but also in His love for us. This is why the
solution for the problem of sin could not be a simplistic one. His love would not be perfect if not united
with His justice, wisdom and power. His wrath toward sin, on the one side, and His love for man and
desire to bring him back into communion with Him, on the other side, could have been reconciled only
by His initiative, by His power and wisdom. It is important to remember here that Satan is not the one
that had to receive satisfaction, as if he became the one in charge of man’s destiny and therefore should
have received a reasonable price in order to set him free again, but God Himself. The Apostle Paul makes
this point clear in the first chapter of his Letter to the Romans, where he doesn’t even mention Satan.
Man came under the dominion of Satan because he deliberately rejected God, but this doesn’t mean that
Satan has any rights over man at the moment he wants to return to his rightful master.
The New Testament reveals how God took the initiative to solve the problem of sin by using the most
dramatic solution ever stated in the world religions: God the Son willingly left His divine glory, took a
human body and descended into our world through the virgin birth, limiting Himself into space and time
in order to be the perfect and unique sacrifice for us. The Apostle Paul states:
Christ Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness (Philippians 2,6-7).
This “making Himself nothing” performed by God the Son is called in theology “the kenosis of Christ”
(lit. = “emptying”). It does not mean a subtraction of deity, but the addition of humanity with its
consequent limitations. Although taking a human nature was a real humbling for God the Son, it did not
involve the giving up of any divine attributes. The doctrine of the kenosis involves the veiling of His
preincarnate glory (John 17,5), taking on Himself the likeness of human sinful flesh (Romans 8,3) and
the temporary nonuse of divine attributes during His earthly ministry.
The kenosis of Christ was His free will initiative and not a necessity imposed by His nature, as is the case
with the periodical incarnations of Vishnu. According to Christianity, Jesus Christ is the only incarnation
of God, descended into our world with a unique and non-repeatable mission in history. He is not a mere
avatar, a periodical incarnation of a Hindu god, but the unique incarnation of God the Son, become God
the Man, perfect in both His divine and human nature. This double nature of Jesus Christ is the key for
understanding His mission of reconciling man with God. In Vaishnava Hinduism none of the avatars has
a perfect union of the two natures. As they have no historical basis, it is very difficult to speculate on
how their divine nature combined with the physical one (animal or human). Due to considering the
physical body a mere garment that is put on and off (according to Bhagavad Gita 2,22), there cannot be
any real association of god with a physical body. Christ came to redeem the physical body as well,
therefore His association with it was real. For the same reason there is so much accent laid on His
physical resurrection, which for a Hindu avatar would be completely absurd. Therefore the avatar fits
best in the Docetic understanding of Christ (the appearance of a physical body, with no intrinsic value to
it), which is considered a classic heresy in Christianity. (For more information on classic Christian
heresies click here). The double nature of the incarnated Christ, divine and human, is of fundamental
importance for His mission. Here is a fragment of the definition of Chalcedon on this topic:
Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to confess the one and only Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one is perfect both in deity and in humanness; this selfsame one
is also actually God and actually man, with a rational soul <meaning human soul> and a body.
He is of the same reality as God as far as his deity is concerned and of the same reality as we
ourselves as far as his humanness is concerned; thus like us in all respects, sin only excepted.
Before time began he was begotten of the Father, in respect of his deity, and now in these "last
days," for us and behalf of our salvation, this selfsame one was born of Mary the virgin, who is
God-bearer in respect of his humanness.
We also teach that we apprehend this one and only Christ-Son, Lord, only-begotten -- in two
natures; and we do this without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the
other, without dividing them into two separate categories, without contrasting them according to
area or function. The distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union. Instead, the
"properties" of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one "person" and in one
reality <hypostasis>. They are not divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and
only and only-begotten Word <Logos> of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus have the prophets of
old testified; thus the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us; thus the Symbol of Fathers has handed
down to us.
We do not intend to analyze here some important historical issues of Christianity. Historical and
archaeological research have proved that the New Testament is a reliable information source on the life
and teachings of Jesus Christ. There are enough reasons to accept that it was not written later than the
first century AD. You can use the following links for getting information on this:
Dating the Oldest New Testament Manuscripts, by Peter van Minnen;
Textual Criticism and Manuscript Interpretation;
The Gospels As Historical Sources For Jesus, The Founder Of Christianity, by Prof. R. T. France
Now let us turn to the significance of the life and death of Jesus Christ. He always claimed to be divine,
having the same nature with the Father. For an analysis of Jesus' sayings concerning His divinity, see the
following articles:
Jesus' Claims to be God, by Sue Bohlin;
Beyond Blind Faith; by Paul Little;
The Uniqueness of Jesus, Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?, by Pat Zukeran;
The Deity of Christ, by Don Closson;
A Response to "From Jesus to Christ", by Rick Wade.
The are also other resources available for evaluating the claims that Jesus was a remarkable man who
only became a deity in the minds of his followers.
The sayings of Jesus concerning His divinity must not be interpreted from a pantheistic point of view, as
being valid for anyone. He didn’t preach in India to some pantheist gurus, who believe that everything is
a manifestation of Brahman and the spiritual masters are special incarnations of the divine. If He had
preached there, surely He would not have been sentenced to death. Therefore, when interpreting His
sayings, we have to remember that Jesus Christ came to Israel, to the only monotheistic culture of that
time, not to the Far East. Unlike other religions of the world, Judaism clearly stated the notion of a
personal and unique God. Anyone daring to claim divine attributes was guilty of blasphemy and had to
be sentenced to death. This means that the formula "Aham Brahma Asmi" ("I am Brahman") and Jesus’
words "I and the Father are one" (John 10,30) have a totally different meaning, because they are
addressed to a totally different context. Jesus could not give pantheistic teachings in a strictly
monotheistic culture such as the Judaic one. Such a schizophrenic attitude would be the last thing of
which He could be accused. On the contrary, He was always extremely explicit, using common language,
so that anyone could understand Him. As a result, the claims about His divinity were interpreted as
blasphemy by those who refused to see in Him the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s messianic
prophecies.
Another attempt to find Eastern connotations in the New Testament uses the prologue of John’s Gospel,
where it is stated that “the Word was God” (v. 1) and “through Him all things were made” (v. 3).
However, this “Word” was neither the sacred syllable AUM, nor the manifestation of Brahman as Ishvara
(the Hindu Logos), but the Person of Jesus Christ, who took the initiative to descend into His own
creation: “The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1,14). Jesus Christ was not
the manifestation of an impersonal Ultimate Reality, but the Person of God the Son. This and all other
speculations that try to prove the equivalence of His sayings with those of the East ignore the cultural and
religious context in which they were taught. The same is true of the hypothesis that He lived in India
from the age of 12 until 30. (Click here for more information on this topic.) He never did teach as a
Hindu guru, exhorting people to find their “forgotten divine nature”. Because of this, Gnosticism and its
writings present a false portrait of Jesus, totally out of His real context.
Jesus Christ cannot merely be placed in an equal position with other spiritual leaders of the world
because He is God the Son, who came into our world to reconcile us with the Creator. According to the
syncretistic trend of our days, Jesus Christ should be considered as one of the great spiritual masters of
the world, but not the only Son of God; one to be followed, but not to be worshipped. Gandhi, the great
Indian leader, put it like this: "I cannot ascribe exclusive divinity to Jesus. He is as divine as Krishna or
Rama or Mohammad or Zoroaster" (M. Gandhi, Christian Missions, Ahmadabad, 1941, p. 113).
However, given His identity, Jesus is more than a great teacher; He is the Master of masters and has no
equal among them. Even if there are attempts to find some similarities between His life and that of other
important religious leaders, they cover only a few aspects of His life. The most striking differences
concern His death. Here we reach the turning point of His incarnation: Jesus had to die on the cross for
our redemption from sin and reconciliation with God. The Apostle Peter states in his epistle:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2,24; see also 1,18-21; 3,18).
Jesus Christ as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1,29), is the cornerstone
of Christianity and its non-paralleled element. Toward this fulfillment pointed the sacrifices of the Old
Testament (see Hebrews 9,12-14) and the highlights of prophecies. If man had the slightest chance to
rehabilitate himself through his own power or wisdom, such an extreme solution would have been
absurd. The tragedy of the cross proves the reality and gravity of human sin, the spiritual misery in which
we are all stuck and the impossibility of saving ourselves. Mocked and spit upon by the human race,
nailed on a cross and forsaken by the Father, Jesus Christ took our place in punishment. The prophet
Isaiah wrote about this event about seven centuries before it happened:
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed
(Isaiah 53,4-5).
Although man did his best, he couldn’t destroy Him. On the contrary, the most horrible crime ever
committed by mankind - the crucifixion of the incarnated God - was reversed to become the very source
of our salvation. While dying on the cross, Jesus shouted, “It is finished” (John 19,30). In Greek, the
expression used was “Tetelestai”, which means, “the debt was paid in full”. What was meant here is the
debt that man deserved to pay for his sins in hell, through eternal torment. By His death, Jesus paid in
full the price required for the salvation of mankind from sin.
Was the suffering of Christ on the cross a mere illusion? Obviously not! His torment and death were so
real that none of those who saw it could expect a future victory over death. This proves the full
incarnation of God the Son. He did not die only in physical appearance, as the Docetist heresy suggests,
but as a poor miserable man, experiencing suffering in its fullest sense. His death proves both the
seriousness of our sin and the unfathomable love of God, as Jesus once proclaimed:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life (John 3,16).
His death on the cross put an end to the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is the
perfect fulfillment of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). He fulfilled both the role of the goat for the
Lord, by the fact that He shed His blood for us, and of the scapegoat, as He took our sins away from the
presence of God. However, death and hell had no power over Christ and couldn’t hold Him captive,
because He had no sin. The Gospel (“The Good News”) does not end with the crucifixion. If so,
Christianity would have been a hopeless religion, bound by the impossibility of conquering suffering and
injustice. But Christianity holds a unique element: the morning of the Resurrection. Of what use would
have been a special spiritual master if he too, as all others, could not defeat death? What meaning would
His teachings and His example have for us? Without His resurrection, the best way to confront suffering
would have been Eastern pessimism. Escape from suffering by the destruction of personhood, by the
negation of life, would have been the natural result of man’s failure in his combat against evil and
suffering. Christianity is not a pessimistic religion, demanding the abolition of life, but an optimistic one,
full of affirmation of life, according to the model represented by Jesus Christ. This is emphasized by the
fact that the Resurrection was a physical one, in the body, not only in the spirit.
According to the Eastern view, the resurrection of the body is absurd, as the liberation of the self cannot
be a return to the physical wrapping. A physical resurrection does not solve anything from an Eastern
point of view; it only brings man back to his initial unsolved problem. For this reason the resurrection of
Jesus is usually understood as a physical resuscitation of His body (as some Yogis can do today), or as a
purely spiritual resurrection, a view which holds that the physically resurrected body was only an
illusion. Given the cruelty of the crucifixion method, the first possibility is out of the question.
Concerning the second, although the resurrected body was a transformed one, it was not an ethereal
form, as those produced in spiritualistic manifestations, but one completely liberated from any terrestrial
limitation. (Click here for an examination of the Gnostic interpretation of Jesus' mere spiritual and
mystical resurrection.) During the 40 days He spent with His disciples after the Resurrection, Jesus
appeared to “more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time” (1 Corinthians 15,6), so that
people could accept the reality of His bodily resurrection. Despite the fact that there are legends in the
mythology of other nations telling stories of other “resurrected saviors” - as Osiris, Attis, Mithra, Adonis,
Tammuz, etc. - in comparison with the resurrection of Jesus, they are nothing but non-historical legends.
You can use the following links for getting more information about the proofs of Jesus’ resurrection:
Contemporary Scholarship and the Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, The Bodily
Resurrection of Jesus, The Historicity of the Empty Tomb of Jesus, The Disciples' Inspection of the
Empty Tomb, by Prof. William Lane Craig
Evidence for the Resurrection, by Josh McDowell
Not only did Jesus keep His physical body after the Resurrection, but He also ascended “at the right hand
of the Father” in this body. The reality of the resurrected body overthrows misconceptions about the
illusory state of the physical world and emphasizes the value of life here and now. Only if we are
convinced that this earthly life is important can we engage in solving its problems. If the only victory of
Jesus over death had been the survival of his spirit, the value of this present physical life would have
remained unclear and our interest placed only on the other side of the grave. But Christianity proclaims
the victory over death to be won here and now, and this embodied victory gives us hope and strength in
our struggle with suffering and sin.
It is true that Eastern religions also claim the possibility of attaining liberation during the physical life.
There exists the concept of jivan-mukta in Hinduism (the “liberated from rebirth while living in a human
body”) and that of arhat in Buddhism. They are said to have pierced the veil of cosmic illusion and
realized their true spiritual nature. The difference to be emphasized here is that jivan-mukta despises his
body and awaits to get rid of it at physical death, when he will survive in his true spiritual essence - of
atman or purusha. True liberation (moksha) is defined against any personal existence and must break any
bondage of the physical body. The jivan-mukta has to act in the world completely detached, taking care
not to involve himself in any association with the physical world. The resurrection of Jesus contradicts
such a perspective, indicating that the created matter has nothing wrong or illusory in itself. The true
problem of man is not his involvement in the physical world, rather it is a moral problem called sin,
which is a personal attitude toward the Creator. According to Christianity, liberation (salvation) is not
deliverance from personal existence, but redemption out of slavery to sin and Satan, into a transformed
life of eternal communion with God.
By His atoning death, Jesus Christ crushed the power of Satan over us (1 John 3,8) and liberated us from
the curse of sin. Another crucial element of Christianity is the fact that Jesus Christ is not one of the
many ways to God, but the only way to God, as He claimed Himself:
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14,6).
This statement is very bold, clear and embarrassing for those who try to find other ways to God, ignoring
the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. However, this does not mean that those who never heard about
Christ are damned to spend all their eternity in hell, simply because they had no opportunity to hear
about Him. (On this topic see our special file How can those who never heard about Christ be saved?)
The Eastern religions are not so exclusive regarding liberation because they are not grounded on such a
dramatic solution for our salvation as the one Jesus Christ offers. These religions emphasize the role of
one's own efforts in order to reach the Ultimate Reality, by rituals, sacrifices, morality, asceticism,
meditation, etc. As most of them cultivate trust only in the efficiency of one's own resources, they reject
any possibility of accepting a Savior. The doctrine of karma has a strong contribution to this attitude. The
idea of finding liberation through the merits of an external savior cannot be reconciled by any means
with karma without contradicting its basic demands. There can be no escape from the consequences of
karma by grace, because the personal forms of manifestation of the impersonal Ultimate Reality cannot
be above this law. Sins have to be paid for, not forgiven. (See our file on the Parable of the Prodigal Son
in Christianity and Buddhism.)
In Christianity, the situation is completely different: Man has no chance to save himself. He cannot
ascend by himself from the misery of sin, therefore God the Son had to descend to man’s state and lift
him up. Unlike the founders of other religions, Jesus Christ didn’t bring us only wisdom and parables,
but also His flesh and blood. This is the major difference, which cannot simply be ignored.
The meaning of salvation in Christianity
According to the Bible, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is our only chance for returning to a communion
relation with our Creator. This solution is the gift of God to mankind, an undeserved gift, called grace in
Christian theology. Without God’s grace, no one can deserve salvation on the basis of his own resources.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God - not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2,8-9).
Most Eastern religions refuse this possibility, as they consider that all resources to attain liberation are
inherent to human nature. The major spiritual paths for attaining liberation in Hinduism are karma yoga
(the way of good deeds and fulfillment of social duties), bhakti yoga (the way of devotion toward a
personal deity in order to accumulate merits), raja yoga (the way of controlling the mind, as the ascetic
technique of Patanjali requires) and jnana yoga (the way of getting spiritual knowledge). Excepting some
developments in bhakti yoga, all are based on human effort and capacity for attaining liberation. In most
Eastern religions, man doesn’t need forgiveness, because there is no personal God as Ultimate Reality
against whom one could sin. Consequently, sin is mere ignorance, so that the “sinner” needs only help to
reason the right way and realize that he is responsible for his actions, for which he must pay the
consequences in samsara. If there is no need for forgiveness, the need for grace cannot exist either.
Although Mahayana Buddhism accepts the help of the bodhisattva beings, it has no equivalent to the
Christian idea of grace. The bodhisattvas help people by bringing them to heavenly realms where they
have the privilege to hear the proper doctrine. Only by perseverance on this doctrine can liberation be
attained.
However, there are also trends that invoke the necessity of grace from a personal god. Remember the
theistic schools grounded by Ramanuja and Madhva in India. They stated that grace is an absolute
necessity to attain liberation, which represents a remarkable similarity to the Christian view of grace. A
similar situation is to be found in Pure Land Buddhism. Although remarkable, these theistic trends have
only secondary importance in Eastern religions.
The Christian perspective on salvation is that no one can deserve the grace of God by performing rituals,
good deeds, asceticism or meditation, because grace is the result of His initiative. However, this does not
mean that man has no responsibility and is saved whatever his attitude toward the Savior might be. In
order to be forgiven and brought back into a personal relation with God, it is not enough that the grace of
God exists, as potential solution. It must be accepted personally by the sinful man. Only then can the
atoning death of Christ become an actual solution for one’s sins.
The recognition of one’s sinful state, followed by personal acceptance of the atoning sacrifice of Christ
as the God-given solution for salvation, is called repentance. The Apostle Peter used this term in his
preaching on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2,38). In that given context, repentance had a wider meaning
than simply regretting the mistakes of the past. We are all sorry for the mistakes we do, but this is not
repentance as required in the Bible. When the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, repentance meant to be
sorry for rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior (see Acts 2,22-37), accompanied by a subsequent change of
mentality: If until that moment the Jews considered Jesus to be only a strange guy that pretended to be
equal with God, the Scripture describes a total change of that mentality, toward considering him God the
Son, incarnated for their salvation. The same change of attitude toward Jesus is required today. He was
not a mere man, prophet, guru or something similar, but the Savior of the world, the only “name under
heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4,12).
The “effort” man has to do in order to be saved is to open his heart and receive the free gift of God,
through faith. Saving faith means more than to know that God exists and what He says is true. This is a
knowledge that even demons believe “and shudder” (James 2,19). Faith requires total trust in God's
promises. In the Epistle to the Hebrews faith is defined as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of
what we do not see” (11,1). It is the proper human response to God’s initiative, not a mere form of
positive thinking. Faith has as object the Person of God, while positive thinking requires trust in oneself.
The initiative of God to make Himself known to us, without which we couldn’t know anything about
Him by our initiative, is called in theology revelation. It was progressive in the Old Testament and
reached its climax in the incarnation of Christ, an undeniable historical event. God’s revelation touched
human history, which is why the Christian faith requires trust in a certain line of historical events that
culminate with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This historical element confers to the Christian
faith enough relevance to be set apart from both positive thinking and the parallel concept in Hinduism,
that of shraddha. Hindu “faith” has its origin in Vedic ritualism and meant trust in the efficiency of the
ritual, being in fact just a form of positive thinking. (Only in the bhakti movements it came to be oriented
toward a god or a guru, but then also mostly as an instrument to accumulate merits.)
Christianity is often criticized because its solution to man’s present condition is too simple. “How could
it be possible to attain salvation only by the merits of Christ?”; “How could one receive it without hard
perseverance, through asceticism and meditation?”; etc. Although man’s desire to do something for his
salvation seems to be justified, under this attitude stays hidden an offended pride. In order to accept
God’s free gift in Christ, man has to constantly admit his failure to attain salvation by himself. This
situation conflicts sharply with his tendency toward self-justification, with his pride. On the other hand,
pride is a bad product of personhood, and we therefore meet another paradox: The follower of Eastern
spirituality refuses the grace of God as a result of his pride, an attitude he should have eradicated from
his life, according to his own Eastern religious teaching. Paradoxically, he seeks to destroy his
personhood, rather than a bad attachment of it (pride). This raises important questions about the Eastern
religion’s consistency within itself.
As man finds it so hard to give up his pride, preferring to attain salvation by his own efforts, even if it
would take several lives, we could ask: Which of the two alternatives is harder to follow: the one which
requires abandonment of self-justifying pride or the one of personal hard striving? If Christianity is such
a simple way, why is it refused by so many? Is it not really harder to constantly defeat your pride and
consider yourself powerless before God, than to continue your asceticism? Looking for an answer in
human nature, corrupted by sin and full of rebellion against God, the answer is obviously positive. This
means that Christianity isn’t at all a “simple” alternative, as it demands us to abandon the very thing we
love most: our pride, the tendency to prove our independence from God.
God wishes that all people should accept His gift of salvation (see 1 Timothy 2,4; 2 Peter 3,9), but
without forcing anybody to do it. Jesus Christ says:
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat
with him, and he with me (Revelation 3,20).
The responsibility for “opening the door” belongs to each of us, without exception. However, the one
who continues to ignore Christ in this life will after death spend the rest of his eternal existence behind
the closed door. Christianity does not proclaim universalism, the doctrine of universal salvation of all
souls, regardless of their spiritual option during this earthly life. Universalism is rather a characteristic of
Eastern religions, but not as a result of divine love, but rather of the necessity imposed by the cyclic
manifestations of the Ultimate Reality.
Nor does Christianity support the idea of some people being predestined to hell while others to paradise.
Being chosen in the Bible has to do with God's sovereign will in choosing some people for a special
ministry, for instance the prophets in the Old Testament and Jesus’ apostles in the New Testament. But
this has nothing to do with others being rejected from attaining salvation. In other words, one's salvation
does not depend on if he is chosen or not for a certain ministry appointed by God. It is possible that even
chosen people may end in eternal damnation. For instance, Balaam among the prophets (Numbers 22-24)
and Judas among the apostles were both chosen for a special ministry, but because of their disobedience
were rejected from salvation. Therefore it depends solely on humans, on how they respond to God's
grace, to be saved. It is hard to imagine a loving God who chooses to enter our world and die on a cross,
who could randomly choose some people and reject others.
Christianity proclaims man’s free will and responsibility toward God. Spiritual freedom is the real
possibility offered to man to choose one out of two eternal destinations, heaven or hell. A third option,
that of absolute independence, is impossible, as Jesus Christ himself stated: “He who is not with me is
against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12,30). On the other hand, in the
Eastern religions, karma discredits any notion of individual freedom. The only “freedom” left to man is
the possibility to give a detached sense to his predetermined actions (see Bhagavad Gita 18,59-60). In
other words, the only freedom left is that of “choosing” the predetermined destiny stated by karma,
which means resignation to fate. Not having available (at least) two possible destinations to express a
real choice (God or Satan), but only one (the unique impersonal Ultimate Reality), a real freedom of will
cannot be defined. Whatever man chooses, finally he has to return to the impersonal origin of all
existence.
Refusing karma and reincarnation, the Christian point of view states that we live only once in this
physical world, and then follows the judgment of God (Hebrews 9,27). (For more information on
reincarnation and its relation to Christian theology click here.) After death man either enters into a close
and eternal communion with God, or into a state of total isolation from Him, according to the option
chosen during this earthly existence. Although the second possibility is frightening (and because of this
some people accuse God of being cruel), He doesn’t allow it without first offering us as solution the free
gift of salvation through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Nothing can save us from this unwanted
destiny except Him. Instead of calling Him cruel, we should remember that God the Son was so deeply
concerned with mankind that He entered space and time, took a human body and died on a cross as our
substitute. What more do we expect from God as proof of His love and concern for us? In order to accept
His sacrifice, one life is enough. The Christian solution is much better than those of the East, which leave
man alone in his endless struggle with karma.
On the other hand, if God would not isolate evil, if He would accept in His eternal presence those who do
not want it, He wouldn’t be just. If someone persists in his rebellion toward Him, manifested through
indifference or desire for independence, God does not force him to enter into the kingdom of heaven,
where this man should worship Him against his will. This would be an abuse against man’s freedom.
Hell is the result of man's choice to be independent from God and reject His offer. There is nothing unfair
or cruel in God’s withdrawing any intervention from this alternative existence. The fact that hell is an
eternal torment (according to Matthew 25,41,46) cannot be called a cruelty on God’s part. Those who
will be there will know why, without questioning divine justice (see the parable of Lazarus in Luke
16,19-31). (Click here for some comments of the Early Church Fathers on hell and eternal punishment.)
In conclusion, it has to be remembered that according to Christianity, the eternal destiny of man is not the
annihilation of soul and personhood, but a state of perfect and eternal communion with God. Belief in the
survival of personhood after death is not an illusion but is grounded on the creation of man as a person,
on the promises of the Bible and the resurrection of Christ. God does not intend to annihilate our
personhood in order that we might discover an impersonal hidden nature, but to annihilate sin and its
products which compromise His image in us. Therefore, the highest experience human beings could have
is not merging with an impersonal Ultimate Reality but entering into a perfect communion of reciprocal
love with God our Creator.
Man’s salvation in Islam
Unlike Christianity, Islam teaches salvation by works, not by faith. Although all people are sinners
(Quran 16,61), salvation can be attained through observing the Five Pillars of Islamic practice:
1) the belief that Allah is the only god and Muhammad his messenger;
2) performing the five daily prayers;
3) fasting throughout the month of Ramadan;
4) charity, giving to the poor;
5) the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, if one can afford it.
By performing these works, the Muslim hopes that at the judgment day his good deeds will exceed the
bad ones, and so he will reach the paradise of material and sensual delights (56,16-41). Yet, despite all
deeds, Allah reserves the absolute right to send the deceased to wherever he pleases, paradise or hell.
Those who do not conform their lives to the demands of Islam will surely be thrown into hell, a place of
extreme physical pain (56,42-45; 94-95).
Christianity is not the only religion that claims to be the only valid way to God. Islam states the same:
“Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him and in the hereafter he
will be one of the losers” (3,85). Jews and Christians are all said to be misled by their religions (9,30-31),
because they reject Muhammad as the most important prophet of God.
Jesus Christ has a totally different character in the Quran than in the Bible. It is said that he was created
out of clay, like Adam (3,60), that he was not God (5,17-72), not crucified (4,157-158) and that he
announced the coming of Muhammad (61,6).
There are some useful sites we invite you to visit in order to get more information on a comparison
between Islam and Christianity:
The Person of Christ in the Gospel and the Quran, by Abd al-Fadi
Sin and Atonement in Islam and Christianity, by Iskander Jadeed
The Cross in the Gospel and the Qur’an, by Iskander Jadeed
Christ in Islam and Christianity, by John Gilchrist
A Question that Demands an Answer, by Abd al-Masih
The Textual History of the Qur’an and the Bible, by John Gilchrist
Six Muslim Beliefs and a Christian Response, by Jay Smith
The Bible and the Qur’an, An Historical Comparison
Conclusion
Considering all these views on salvation and man’s eternal destiny, it is hard to believe that they could
ever be reconciled. The world’s religions hold rather irreconcilable positions in all of the three aspects
mentioned in the beginning of this file: the nature of the resources needed for attaining salvation, the
actual way of getting saved and the meaning of salvation from an eternal perspective.
The resources for attaining salvation belong strictly to our human nature according to most of the Eastern
religions, excepting some schools of devotional Hinduism and Buddhism. Man needs only to know the
right things in order to be saved, having the ability to pursue the religious path by his own strength.
Christianity holds the opposite view, stating that our “true inner nature” is sin and therefore all our efforts
aimed to earn God’s favor are useless.
Based on the resources human nature has, the actual way of getting saved will take two divergent
possibilities. Religions that claim we have all the resources in ourselves for attaining salvation naturally
stress personal effort, materialized as good deeds, devotional rituals, meditation techniques, physical
asceticism, accumulating wisdom, etc. This is the case with most religions in the world. While
pantheistic religions stress certain meditation and ascetic techniques aimed at discovering man’s inner
nature, most theistic religions demand good deeds and devotional rituals in order to earn God’s grace and
therefore deserve heaven.
The situation in Christianity is again opposite, stating that we cannot do anything to deserve salvation
and eternal communion with God, but only to accept His grace revealed in Jesus Christ. By no means can
man have God indebted to him. Only God can save man, at His initiative. Therefore the course of action
in salvation has an opposite sense in Christianity vs. most other religions. It is God who takes the
initiative and descends into His own creation in order to save man, not man accumulating merits and
working out his way toward God, by his own strength.
Concerning the meaning of salvation from an eternal perspective, the views are again irreconcilable. In
the pantheistic religions salvation means liberation from ignorance and corresponds to the fusion of the
impersonal self with the Absolute, implying dissolution of subject and object, knower and known.
Others, such as Buddhism and Taoism, take salvation as an illumination, meaning a discovery of and
conformity of oneself with an eternal law that governs existence. For most Eastern religions liberation
leads to extinction of any personal existence, whether the self remains eternally isolated (according to the
Samkhya and Yoga darshanas), merges with the Ultimate Reality (in pantheism), or is itself an illusion
that ceases to exist (in Buddhism). Dualistic religions see man’s salvation as a return to an initial angelic
state, from which he has fallen into a physical body.
The monotheistic religions define salvation as entering a state of eternal communion with God, which
means that personhood will not be abrogated but perfected. However, they differ greatly on the way man
can be saved and on the role Jesus Christ has in it. According to Judaism and Islam, salvation is attained
by performing good deeds and following the moral law. According to Christianity this is not enough and
the role of Jesus Christ as Savior is essential.
Given these facts, it is impossible that the world’s religions could be only aspects of the same true
spirituality, as present day syncretism suggests. The contradictions between them are so significant that
there can be no way to reconcile them.
Next article:
The nature of evil
Critical considerations regarding pantheist religions and philosophies
Critical considerations regarding
pantheist religions and philosophies
We will now proceed to evaluate how the first three criteria mentioned in the previous file are fulfilled by
a pantheistic view of life. The classic example of pantheist philosophy was stated by the Upanishads (7th
to 5th century BC) and then developed by the Hindu philosopher Shankara to become the well-known
Advaita Vedanta philosophy.
1) Internal consistency of Hindu pantheism
As mentioned in a previous file on the Vedantic view on liberation, it is claimed that the unity
atman-Brahman is perfectly attained during the last level of meditation, called turiya. The Mandukya
Upanishad (12), considered by Shankara to express the quintessence of Vedanta philosophy, ends with
the following verse:
The fourth state has cognizance of neither what is inside nor what is outside, nor of both together:
it is not a mass of wisdom, it is not wise nor yet unwise. It is unseen; there can be no commerce
with it; it is impalpable, has no characteristics, unthinkable; it cannot be designated. Its essence is
its firm conviction of the oneness of itself; it causes the phenomenal world to cease; it is tranquil
and mild, devoid of duality. Such do they consider this fourth to be. He is the Self; he it is who
should be known. (Translated by R.C. Zaehner, in Mysticism - Sacred and Profane, p. 154)
This passage emphasizes the necessity for transcending any duality in order to know Brahman (the Self).
However, there is a logical contradiction between these two elements. When transcending any duality,
nothing can be known anymore, because the elementary duality between knower (subject) and known
(object) is obliterated. Duality is essential for any type of epistemological process. When the subject is
atman and the object Brahman, no normal knowledge can be involved, because atman and Brahman are
one.
The point here is that Ultimate Reality cannot be known in a pantheist religion. Man cannot know
something with which he has to impersonally merge. Although the Hindu Vedanta claims that Brahman
is known at the moment of liberation, this has no logical basis. (The laws of logic are the result of our
dual thinking, which makes differences and operates with them, so logic itself does not work in a system
where any duality is excluded.) S. Radhakrishnan defines liberation as “the highest experience where all
intellectual activity is transcended and even self-consciousness is obliterated” (Indian Philosophy, vol. II,
http://www.comparativereligion.com/pantheism.html (1 of 6) [10/27/2000 9:47:49 AM]
p. 640). But who actually has this experience? Who can confirm that liberation is the highest point of
one’s existence, if personhood ceases to exist? An impersonal atman, that is beyond any duality? If any
personal attribute is lost, there is nothing left to describe the liberation experience.
As a result, the "knowledge of atman-Brahman identity" cannot be considered a real epistemological
process. S. Radhakrishnan states: “As the distinction between the highest self and the individual is one of
false knowledge, we get rid of it by true knowledge.” (Ibid., p. 622). This “true knowledge” corresponds
to experiencing a pantheistic perspective on reality. Therefore, a better term that replaces the concept of
knowing, is that of experiencing unity with Ultimate Reality, through certain meditation techniques.
Meditation is a way of transcending duality through entering altered states of consciousness, or, in other
words, a way of deliberately perverting one’s natural cognitive faculties (senses and mind). It doesn’t
represent an actual process of knowing, but rather a way of imposing a non-dual reality to one’s
consciousness. Terms such as “direct knowledge of truth” represent the actual experiences one has in
meditation. In order to find out more about the veracity of these experiences, click here.
On the other hand, in this given context, when there are no real distinctions between atman and Brahman,
it is not the individual knower who has the cognitive experience, but only Brahman. If the cognitive
experience belongs not to man but to Brahman, not even one’s own experience (called “true knowledge”)
can really be a valid way of knowing Brahman, because Brahman can only know himself. We reached
this strange conclusion as a result of both denying the importance of man’s personal status distinct from
Ultimate Reality, and considering real only that which is one with Brahman. In conclusion, the
pantheistic premise of oneness generates internal inconsistencies in the system (or at least an incoherent
epistemology).
2) The requirement for harmony between empirical and absolute
knowledge in Hindu pantheism
Not only knowing Ultimate Reality is impossible in a pantheist system, but also balancing empirical and
absolute knowledge. This consequent difficulty results from the doctrine of world-illusion (maya),
according to which the phenomenal world is ultimately illusory. Therefore, the senses, through which we
interact with the phenomenal world, as well as mind, which operates with this data, are considered to
provide illusory and confusing information when trying to grasp spiritual reality. They perpetuate man’s
ignorance (avidya) of the true reality, which is Brahman, and therefore feed karma.
The problem with this way of interpreting empirical knowledge is that we can consider it illusory only by
using an objective standard as reference. As long as the knower is inside the system, bound to its illusion,
he cannot know what is wrong with his empirical way of knowing. In other words, in a closed system
where illusion works as a rule, we can prove that empirical knowledge is true or false only by comparing
it to an absolute standard, which must not belong to the same system. Without this epistemological basis
we cannot make objective judgments on reality. What could be the standard for establishing the illusory
value of empirical knowledge? If it is a god, a being external to our system and able to communicate with
humans, we arrive at what is called revelation in a theistic system. In this situation, which represents a
totally different religious perspective, we should accept duality and intelligible communication inside a
dualistic system, but this obviously cannot be the case. If the required standard were an internal one, such
as experience (the effect of living out “reality” in one’s personal life, or experiencing life as suffering),
we arrive at another contradiction of an epistemological nature: If we knew from experience that
phenomenological knowledge is false, then no room would be left for reaching “absolute knowledge”
because it is always introduced and mediated by empirical, or first hand, experience. In other words, as
long as all information we get about spiritual reality is mediated by our senses (sight and hearing) and
mind, and these have ultimately illusory value, how can we know that the pantheist perspective itself is
not a deceptive illusion? (We learn about it primarily by using the same empirical knowledge, which is
false, so it should be rejected.)
Because of the impossibility of harmonizing absolute and empirical knowledge, a supplementary
difficulty arises in discerning between what is real and what is not. A pantheist can reach the same
existential doubt as Chuang Tzu, and say “I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a
butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man”. Although this may seem to be too
speculative, there are enough people practicing Eastern meditation who have real problems in discerning
between what belongs to real life and what (really) is illusion. From an ontological point of view, it is
impossible to state a logical balance between absolute reality and worldly illusion. In Advaita Vedanta
the option was to consider the world either an illusion (maya), or a result of ignorance (avidya). But as
illusion and ignorance belong themselves to the phenomenal reality, one cannot explain its existence in
regard to absolute truth.
3) The viability of Hindu pantheism
Let us now examine the meaning of human life in a pantheist view of reality, and understand to what
extent it can work at personal and social level.
As long as atman, the core entity that defines human existence, has an impersonal nature, personhood is a
hindrance to attaining liberation and, consequently, has to be abolished. This is a logical necessity given
by the fact that all forms of Brahman’s manifestation (including man) have to return to the primordial
state of non-manifestation at the end of each cosmic cycle. The oblivion of personhood does not refer
only to some of its products, such as egoism, but to the very existence of the psycho-mental faculties
which define it - intellect, will, emotions, consciousness, communion, etc. All these are said to belong to
the inferior ego, totally distinct from the self (atman). Between them no possible relation can exist.
However, it is only personhood that makes us distinct humans and confers personal identity, not the
impersonal atman devoid of any attributes. Therefore, it is hard to accept that liberation from personhood
and merging with an impersonal Absolute (according to the model of the raindrop that falls into the
ocean and becomes one with it) could represent any form of spiritual fulfillment or progression. The
extinction of self-consciousness and entering a state of “absolute silence” is rather a terrible perspective
on human destiny. Such a frightening end should raise serious doubts to those who become adherents of
pantheist religions. Therefore it is not surprising that discussing the meaning and consequences of
liberation is constantly avoided by turning the adherents’ attention to the practice of meditation and the
experiences which accompany it. But no matter how convincing such experiences could be, they end in a
tragic kind of liberation, which does not correspond to our personal status. As personal beings, we tend to
attain personal fulfillment in the afterlife.
The result of rejecting personhood is that some important human values are thoroughly affected. We will
briefly examine some aspects concerning freedom, morality, social involvement and compassion, trying
to understand their actual meaning in pantheism.
The first of them, freedom, is discredited by the doctrine of karma. As the self is forced to enter a new
material existence until all karmic debt is paid, man’s present life is shaped according to the dictates of
karma. Whatever man chooses to do, finally he has to return to the impersonal origin of all existence.
Therefore, for the one searching for liberation, the only freedom left is that of avoiding being trapped in
new attachments (by the use of his free will) and submitting to fate.
According to the pantheist view, real freedom is experienced only at liberation. But this means liberation
out of personhood, not becoming a free person. Pantheism does not view freedom as being free to make
your own choices but as liberation from karma, and, as a result, from personal existence. However, the
kind of freedom one experiences at the moment of liberation cannot be called real freedom, because
when the self gets merged with Brahman, there is no conscious agent left to experience it.
Second, consequent pantheist teaching does not offer a solid ground for morality. As emphasized in a
previous file reincarnation is not a good stimulant for moral living. From an ontological point of view, if
all things are manifestations of the same unique essence, good and evil are relative and therefore a real
distinction between them cannot be stated, nor a sound motivation for ethical action. (It would be useful
here to review our file on The nature of evil in Eastern religions.) S. Radhakrishnan states:
The moral world, which assumes the isolation and independence of its members, belongs to the
world of appearances. <...> So long as we occupy the standpoint of individualistic moralism, we
are in the world of samsara, with its hazards and hardships. <...> The end of morality is to lift
oneself up above one’s individuality and become one with the impersonal spirit of the universe
(Indian Philosophy, vol. II, p. 625-26).
But who could live consistently with the conviction that moral values are ultimately illusory? In fact, it is
that old-fashioned “individualistic moralism” that holds our society in balance. Actually, pantheism does
not demand immorality, but amorality, which represents indifference to well-established moral values.
However, in everyday life the adherents of pantheism do not reject morality, but consider it important
only for the inferior stages of one’s quest toward liberation. In other words, morality is necessary at first,
but then becomes a hindrance in attaining liberation by the attachments it produces. But this is nothing
but another inconsistency of pantheism. How could one pursue a moral conduct if convinced that all
good or bad things ultimately belong to the world of illusion?
Third, social involvement of the individual person is not encouraged by a pantheist view of life. In order
to attain liberation, one should abandon social life because its basis is the illusory world of duality, which
produces attachments. This is a hindrance toward realizing the truth of non-duality and should be
avoided. One possible solution would be that only those who have already attained liberation (jivan
mukta) can participate in social life, as they have gone beyond dualism and therefore cannot accumulate
karma anymore. A second possible solution is suggested in the Bhagavad Gita (selfless action as karma
yoga), and will be discussed in another file. A third possible solution for social involvement is proposed
by the Upanishadic tradition of the four ashramas, which holds that withdrawing from social life should
occur only at a certain age. According to it, a man should first be a young disciple, then have a family,
and only when his children are big enough to support themselves is he allowed to leave them and society.
However, this solution is not followed today. (Which guru asks his disciples to first establish a family,
raise their children until they become independent, and only then dedicate their life to the quest for
liberation?) Even if it were followed, it is doubtful that one could truly get himself involved in family
affairs, knowing that all attachments are illusory and produce bad karma.
Fourth, there is a strange way of understanding compassion in pantheism. Compassion is not
recommended as being intrinsically good for the sake of the other persons in need, as in theistic
religions, but as an efficient instrument for liberating one’s own mind of the erroneous idea of individual
personality. Man cannot be helped as an individual, because it is individuality (non-integration into
oneness) which is the source of his problems. Compassion is therapeutically good for the one who
performs it, and does not primarily aim to improve the condition of the person in need. In other words,
compassion (as well as morality) may be considered useful only as an aid for oneself’s journey towards
knowledge and union with the impersonal Absolute. Otherwise it may conflict with the manifestation of
karma in the life of the one who is suffering (and needs compassionate help), which would be bad for
him and bad for the “compassionate” helper.
Similar criticism is valid for other pantheist religious schools
The same comments can be addressed to other pantheist religious schools such as Tantrism, Hatha Yoga
and Tibetan Buddhism. In Tantrism and Hatha Yoga, instead of the Brahman-atman impersonal fusion,
we have that of Shiva-Shakti (Shakti being represented in man as the kundalini spiritual energy). In
Tibetan Buddhism it is consciousness that merges with the impersonal essence of the world (shunya).
The epistemological inconsistencies (see the first two criteria) are the same as in Vedanta.
The viability of these schools face similar problems. Difficulties concerning morality arise especially in
Tantrism of the left-hand school, where liberation is experienced through sexual union. In order to
symbolize and overcome the duality Shiva-Shakti, man assumes the role of Shiva and the woman that of
Shakti. The preliminary ritual requirements break many traditional taboos, by consuming fish, meat and
wine. Although all elements need to be interpreted at a purely spiritual level, there are many cases
(especially in the West) in which so-called Tantric procedures become pretexts for abandoning oneself to
lustful instincts and embracing the less spiritual path of today’s “total sexual freedom”.
Scientific pantheism
Attempts are made today to ground a so-called scientific pantheist view of life, which should get rid of
all the embarrassing religious stuff and be accepted by the scientific community. Developments toward
this new ideology were encouraged by the latest discoveries in science, especially in the field of quantum
physics. Research on elementary particles revealed that an equivalence between matter and energy can be
stated, according to Einstein’s principle, E=mc2. Therefore it can be considered that any aspect of our
material universe is a manifestation of energy. This was believed to confirm the fact that there is a unique
reality at the basis of our universe corresponding to Brahman, the impersonal Ultimate Reality of Hindu
Vedanta. In other words, as religious pantheism holds that our world is a manifestation of Brahman, in a
similar way the so-called scientific pantheism states that energy is the source of any given aspect of the
universe. Consequently, “scientific pantheism” replaces Brahman with energy.
This new "religion" claims to reconcile traditional religion and science. It is stated that “it requires no
faith other than common sense, no guru other than yourself” and also that it accepts “all evidence that is
either a matter of common experience, or that is scientifically validated”. Because of its “scientific”
orientation, it rejects even the basic tenets of traditional pantheism, such as reincarnation and any form of
afterlife. According to the new way of understanding afterlife, “mind is an aspect of the body, and at
death dissolves with the body to merge into the elements from which it was formed”. Instead of
worshipping any god, scientific pantheism worships nature, which is not at all considered to be illusory.
However, the problem with “scientific pantheism” is that being so “scientifically” oriented, it isn’t at all a
religion, but only a new form of atheism. It is a new form of rejecting anything that passes human
understanding, a trend that isn’t new at all in mankind’s history. “Scientific pantheism” and scientific
atheism are synonyms, nothing but forms of rejecting traditional religions, and therefore have nothing to
do with the goal of this site.
Conclusion
Pantheism states that Ultimate Reality has an impersonal nature. It can be known only by merging with it
and thus by abolishing personhood. However, this can have no cognitive meaning. It is also impossible to
state a logical balance between absolute reality and empirical experience. From a pragmatic point of
view, as long as we cannot live consistently with rejecting the reality of the phenomenal world and
aiming toward the annihilation of personhood, as long as we cannot live amorally and reject social
involvement, pantheism cannot provide a viable way of living. It is contrary to reason, personhood,
common sense and society. Anything we do in this world is based on the premise that distinctions are
real, and therefore knowledge is possible, moral values are necessary, as well as social involvement.
Abandoning these values would not lead us to a direct experience of Ultimate Reality, but rather toward
spiritual schizophrenia.
Critical considerations regarding Yoga as spiritual path towards transcendence
Yoga as spiritual path towards
transcendence
In the previous files we dealt with the metaphysical basis of some important Eastern religions, the way
they define Ultimate Reality, man’s conditions and the meaning of liberation. As it is usually taught that
one cannot grasp the meaning of these important issues without getting involved in practicing the actual
path toward liberation, we will now analyze the famous discipline of Yoga and understand to what extent
it could be the answer to one's quest toward transcendence.
The origin of Yoga as ascetic discipline is probably found in the ascetic practices of a religious group
called the Vratyas in the Atharva Veda (XV). They are the first mentioned to practice the control of
breathing and some sexual rituals, with the goal of attaining ecstatic trance states. The term “yoga” has
its root in the Sanskrit word yuj, which means “to yoke”. In its present meaning, this term was first used
in the Taittirya and Katha Upanishads (around the 5th century B.C). In the second, the god of death
(Yama) explains to a young disciple how to attain the perfect knowledge of Brahman and thus merge
with it, through restraining the senses and concentration. The parable of the chariot states:
Know the self (atman) as the lord of the chariot and the body as, verily, the chariot, know the
intellect as the charioteer and the mind as, verily, the reins. The senses are the horses; the objects
of sense the paths; the self associated with the body, the senses and the mind - wise men declare is the enjoyer. He who has no understanding, whose mind is always unrestrained, his senses are
out of control, as wicked horses are for a charioteer. He, however, who has understanding, whose
mind is always restrained, his senses are under control, as good horses are for a charioteer
(Katha Up. 1,3,3-6).
The lord of the chariot (the self) is silently enduring the foolishness of the charioteer (the mind) and the
madness of the horses (the senses). Yoga is here defined as the method through which the mind (the
charioteer) can bridle the wicked senses, in order that the self may get off the body and be united with
Brahman: “This, they consider to be Yoga, the steady control of the senses” (Katha Up. 2,3,11).
There are two major meanings for Yoga in Hindu spirituality. The first designates the specific darshana
organized by Patanjali, while the second has a broader sense, implying any effort undertaken in order to
attain liberation, independent of its meaning. Therefore, any spiritual discipline aimed at liberating the
self can be called Yoga. As a result, the term is used with various meanings, having more or less in
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common with the Yoga darshana of Patanjali. For instance, Mantra Yoga is the method that consists of
using mantras in order to attain liberation (as in Transcendental Meditation). Kundalini Yoga follows a
Tantric view, stressing the awakening of kundalini and its final reunion with Shiva. The same goal is to
be pursued in Hatha Yoga, but following a strict physical discipline. Jnana Yoga follows a Vedantic
ideology, aiming to find liberation mostly by one's effort to achieve a monistic view of reality, laying less
emphasis on physical effort. Karma Yoga refers to a specific mindset that has to be followed in social
life, i.e. the demand to act completely detached from personal interests and desires, which may
complicate one’s karma. This trend was best stated in the Bhagavad Gita and will be analyzed in another
file. Bhakti Yoga is the name given to the large variety of devotional practices of Hindu theism, aimed at
pleasing a god and earning eternal abode in his realm.
In this file we will refer to the Yoga technique as organized by Patanjali, usually called Raja Yoga (“the
royal Yoga”), and also to the Hatha Yoga school. Few elements will be mentioned about the
metaphysical differences between them, as this topic was already discussed in previous files.
Brief description of the Raja Yoga path toward liberation
In the period of the late Upanishads (Yogatattva, Dhyanabindu, Nadabindu and some other 15 composed
after the 5th century BC), the tendency appeared to consider that spiritual liberation cannot be attained
exclusively by the means of contemplation but has to be accomplished experimentally, by following a
certain ascetic technique. The Shvetashvatara Up. (2,8-15) had already described some instructions for
body postures, breathing control and focusing the mind exercises for being able to perceive Brahman. In
grounding the new Yoga darshana, Patanjali used the technical elements brought by these Upanishads
and used them as a tool for achieving the goal of the Samkhya metaphysics, the liberation of purusha
from the bondage of prakriti.
The Raja Yoga of Patanjali is properly described in his treatise called Yoga Sutra. The purpose of Yoga
is clearly stated from its very beginning (1,2): “the inhibition of the modifications of the mind” (citta
vritti nirodhah). The normal states of consciousness are the product of ignorance (avidya), which
generates the sense duality and separatedness from others (asmita) and the will to live (abhinivesha). The
continuous flux of thoughts and mental representations induced by such a mindset is called a sum of
"modifications of the mind”. They perpetuate ignorance and the captivity of purusha in the world of
prakriti’s manifestations. In order that liberation may be attained it is necessary that empirical
consciousness be extinguished and replaced by a different state of consciousness, in which the
experience gained through senses and mind (produced by prakriti) is replaced by extra-sensory and
extra-rational experience.
The above mentioned “modifications of the mind” are produced not only through interacting with the
phenomenal world, but also by a category of latent tendencies present in our subconscious mind called
vasanas. They are considered to be conglomerate results of subconscious impressions (samskaras)
created in previous lives through ignorant experience. During the present life they tend to manifest in the
mental realm, being a further obstacle in attaining liberation.
Therefore, the control of the mental states as required in Yoga has a double focus: Both the external
illusion (the false identification of purusha with the psycho-mental fluctuations) and the internal source
of illusion produced by the vasanas have to be conquered and burned. The Yoga technique shows the
practical way in which the entire human potential, both physical and psycho-mental, is brought under
control (“yoked”) in order to attain the liberation of purusha. According to Patanjali (Y.S. 2,29), there are
eight steps to be followed, a reason for which the method is also called Ashtanga Yoga (the Yoga of the
eight limbs):
1. Restraints (yama)
2. Observances (niyama)
3. Postures (asanas)
4. Breath control (pranayama)
5. Withdrawal of the senses (pratyahara)
6. Concentration (dharana)
7. Contemplation (dhyana)
8. Enstasis (samadhi)
Here is a brief description of what each of them involves:
1) The restraints (Y.S. 2,30) are five important moral rules that the Yogi has to observe:
● non-violence (ahimsa) - abstinence from harming any living creature;
● truthfulness (satya) - concordance between speech, deeds and thoughts;
● honesty (asteya) - nonstealing;
● continence (brahmacarya) - controlling lustful desires;
● non-acceptance of gifts (aparigraha) - refusing attachments to any material goods.
2) The observances (Y.S. 2,32) are also five physical and psychical disciplines:
● purity (shaucha) - avoiding impurity in body and mind;
● contentment (samtosha) - seeking joy and serenity, independent of life’s sorrows;
● austerity (tapas) - accepting any extreme condition in life;
● scriptural study (svadhyaya);
● concentration on Ishvara (Ishvara-pranidhana) - imitating Ishvara's way of being. This is not
devotion toward Ishvara, because he is nothing more than an impersonal macro-purusha (Y.S.
1,24), and there cannot exist any personal relation between him and man.
3) Practicing the postures (Y.S. 2,46) is the first stage of physical asceticism. Its aim is to immobilize the
body, bring it under control and refuse movement, with the only goal of helping concentration.
Therefore, the purpose of performing asanas is not (as often believed in the West) to confer harmony and
health to the body, provide relaxation, etc, but to be a physical support for concentration.
4) Breath control (Y.S. 2, 49-51) means the refusal of breath, following the refusal of movement by
performing the asanas. It is believed that just as psycho-mental tension affects the rhythm of breath,
likewise the action of stilling the breath can contribute to stilling the “modification of the mind”.
Therefore, pranayama is an important instrument in attaining a perfect state of concentration.
However, pranayama has a deeper meaning than just controlling breath. It rather represents the control
of prana flow through the human body, which is the energy that controls any possible process or
movement. Vivekananda defined it as following:
It is the Prana that is manifesting as motion; it is the Prana that is manifesting as gravitation, as
magnetism. It is the Prana that is manifesting as the actions of the body, as the nerve currents, as
thought force. From thought down to the lowest force, everything is but the manifestation of
Prana. The sum total of all forces in the universe, mental or physical, when resolved back to their
original state, is called Prana (Vivekananda, The Complete Works, 1931, p. 148).
As psycho-mental activity is itself generated by prana, and breathing is the main channel for prana’s
influx into the body, it has to be strictly controlled in order to attain control over the mind. In the Hatha
Yoga practice, which has strict observances for controlling breath, the reducing of prana influx is
realized by progressively retarding the rhythm of breathing. One begins with an inhalation/exhalation
ratio of 1/2, then a retention of the inhaled air is introduced in between, attaining a ratio
inhalation/retention/exhalation (puraka/kumbhaka/rechaka) of 1/2/2, which in the advanced practitioners
becomes 1/4/2. The total amount of time for a breathing cycle can therefore attain several minutes. Theos
Bernard, the author of a famous book on Hatha Yoga (Hatha Yoga, Rider & Co., London, 1982),
mentions that “until the breath suspension (kumbhaka) had been developed to at least three minutes
nothing of any significance could be done” (p. 89).
5) The withdrawal of the senses (Y.S. 2,54-55) is the result one achieves through the previous stages of
physical asceticism. At this stage the senses do not disturb the mind anymore, so it becomes shut down
against all impressions from outside. Therefore the battle for stilling the mind is easier to win.
6) Concentration is defined by Patanjali as “confining the mind within a limited mental area” (Y.S. 3,1).
It is not a simple exercise of attention control, but a way of slowing down mental activity by focusing it
on a particular spot, i.e. on a particular object of meditation.
7) Contemplation is an “uninterrupted flow of the mind towards the object of meditation” (Y.S. 3,2). In
this stage meditation is undisturbed and the object of meditation assimilated and penetrated to its utmost
level.
8) Enstasis (Y.S. 3,3) is attained when the sense of self-identity is lost, and all products of prakriti’s
manifestation fade away. Purusha is liberated from involvement with prakriti and remains eternally
isolated.
Through the continuous practice of concentration, contemplation and enstasis (together called samyama)
some practical results for the Yogi are said to appear, the so-called psychic powers (siddhi). In the 3rd
chapter of the Yoga Sutra the following such phenomena are mentioned: knowledge of the past and
future (16), comprehension of the meaning of sounds uttered by any living being (17), knowledge of the
previous birth (18), knowledge of the mind of others (19), invisibility of the body (20), knowledge of the
time of death (23), strength of an elephant (25), knowledge of the solar system (27), knowledge of the
arrangement of stars and their movements (28-29), knowledge of the organization of the body (30),
cessation of hunger and thirst (31), entering another’s body (39), levitation (40), superphysical hearing
(42) and passage through space (43).
Once he attains this spiritual level, the Yogi is tempted by gods and other spiritual beings to use his
powers for selfish desires, or to participate in their divine condition (Y.S. 3,52). However, following such
temptations would lead the Yogi to interrupt his spiritual journey toward final liberation. Although he
could reach the spiritual level of becoming a god, this would be a spiritual failure. Therefore, such
temptations have to be rejected. When, finally, liberation is attained, purusha becomes free of karma and
independent. Its state is called one of total isolation (kaivalya).
Liberation techniques in Hatha Yoga
As the pantheistic metaphysics of the Hatha Yoga school was analyzed in previous files, the emphasis
will be laid here on the actual way it prescribes in order to attain the final reunion of Shakti with Shiva.
Shakti, the self, is located at the base of the spine as the dormant spiritual energy called kundalini. The
ascetic practice demanded for awakening kundalini consists in certain physical exercises joined with
respiratory techniques. After kundalini awakens, it travels through a spiritual channel (sushumna) of the
subtle body, which corresponds physically to the spine, crossing seven important points called chakras.
Each chakra corresponds to a Hindu guardian deity and is associated with its mantra and governing
cosmogonical element. This is a supplementary reason for acknowledging the religious character of the
Hatha Yoga practice.
Chakra
Guardian
deity
Mantra
Cosmogonic
element
1.
muladhara
Brahma
lam
Earth
2.
svadhishtana
Vishnu
vam
Water
3. manipura
Maharudra
ram
Fire
4. anahata
Ishvara
yam
Air
5. vishuddha
Sadashiva
ham
Ether
6. ajna
Shiva
AUM
7. sahasrara
Once kundalini reaches the last chakra, it returns to its primordial union with the impersonal Ultimate
Reality, represented by Shiva. The awakening and rise of kundalini through the sushumna channel is
achieved by following a precise ascetic technique in which the body plays an important role. Given its
religious background, Hatha Yoga must not be understood as a mere harmless physical training, as it is
sometimes claimed. The most important writing of this school, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, clearly states
that Hatha Yoga has to be taught only in order to reach the Raja Yoga level (1,2), which means “the
integration of mind in a state where the subject-object duality does not exist” (4,77), or in other words,
only for merging the self with the impersonal Ultimate Reality. Therefore, the attention granted to the
body has a single purpose: to make it fit for getting control over the mind and thus liberating the self.
The steps to be followed in order to attain liberation are similar to the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali. The
Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes them as following:
1. cleansing practices (dhauti), needed for both physical and mental health;
2. body postures (asana) (H.Y.P. 1,17);
3. breath control (pranayama) (H.Y.P. 2);
4. locks (bandha, which temporarily restrict local flows of prana) and hand gestures (mudra),
which regulate the flow of prana (H.Y.P. 3). They combine body postures, breath control and
concentration;
5. samadhi (H.Y.P. 4), which combines the withdrawal of the senses (pratyahara), concentration
(dharana), contemplation (dhyana) and enstasis (samadhi) of the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali
(H.Y.P. 4,87-97).
The help of a teacher (guru) in assisting the practitioner is absolutely necessary, as the awakening and
rising of kundalini is full of potential dangers for the Yogi. This and other aspects of the Yoga practice
will be analyzed in the following section.
Critical evaluation of the Yoga practice
The moral demands
Although the moral demands Yama and Niyama (also called "The 10 Commandments of the Yogi") have
nothing intrinsically bad, in the larger context of the Yoga metaphysics they demonstrate some inherent
contradictions. One is regarding the very precept of non-injury (ahimsa). The demand for a strict
vegetarian diet has its root in the religious precept that meat and other animal food are related to the
slaying of animals, which are living beings endowed with spiritual essence (atman), as well as us
humans. But why should this principle be limited only to the animal kingdom? Plants are considered
living beings too. For instance, while explaining reincarnation, the Katha Upanishad (2,2,7) states:
"Some souls enter into a womb for embodiment; others enter stationary objects according to their deeds
and according to their thoughts" (see also The Laws of Manu 12,6). As the term "stationary objects"
(sthanum) is mostly translated as "plants" (see, for instance, Swami Sharvananda, Kathopanishad,
Mylapore, 1968), the ahimsa principle should apply to them as well. Another, even more convincing,
paragraph that questions vegetarianism is the following in the Chandogya Upanishad, which explains the
mechanism of the self returning to the physical world in the reincarnation cycle:
After having become mist they become cloud, after having become cloud they rain down.
They are born here as rice and barley, herbs and trees, as sesamum plants and beans. From
thence the release becomes extremely difficult for whoever eats the food and sows the seed
he becomes like unto him (Chandogya Up. 5,10,6).
So why are plants “killed” for preparing food? Even more, bacteria should also be spared by not boiling
water when preparing food. Although such requirements are practically absurd, they should be respected
in order to be consistent with the ahimsa principle.
A second aspect concerns the fact that the moral demands in Yoga do not have the purpose of achieving
social harmony, but only to feed the Yogi's own spiritual progress. One should not have in mind what is
good for his neighbor, but only his personal quest toward liberation. Considering the meaning of
liberation (detaching purusha from its psycho-mental attachments), one has to surpass moral values,
attain a state of total detachment toward them, and not become attached to them. Only in this way can
one act without accumulating new karmic debt. As long as morality makes sense only in communion
with other people, and Yoga demands detaching oneself from the illusory status of such involvement, the
Yama and Niyama morality is different from what we commonly understand by morality, i.e. following
positive demands in order to seek what is good for our neighbor.
Another paradoxical aspect is that, while advancing in practice, many Yogis (especially in the West)
forget the basic moral requirements and become arrogant, acquiring a feeling of superiority toward the
profane world. Instead of being humble and pure (shaucha), they often behave like they feel pity for the
inferior fellow-humans. Although they claim that the ego has to disappear, as it is a primitive character
feature, their pride and contempt grows. This reveals a lack of truthfulness (satya), self-control and purity
(shaucha) of mind. Far from detaching from any egoistic attachments, the result a Yogi often reaches is
weakening or even breaking his relations with "ignorant people" (usually the family) and establishing an
idolatrous relation toward the guru, the one in charge of interpreting his experiences and keep him
moving along the right path. The relation with the guru usually becomes very subservient, with the
disciples surrendering their entire life to him and even worshiping him as a god. Therefore, the
requirement of abandoning personal attachments seems to be valid only toward the profane world, while
the strongest personal relation (attachment) becomes that with the guru. The scriptures seem to
encourage this attitude:
When the sleeping kundalini awakens by favor of a guru, then all the chakras are pierced through
(H.Y.P. 3,2).
There is no doubt that the Guru is father, mother, and even god. He has to be served with all
thoughts, words and deeds. By the favor of the guru, everything that is bound to the self can be
attained. Therefore, the guru has to be served day and night; else nothing of great value can be
attained (Shiva Samhita 3,13-14).
The postures
It is usually taught today that Yoga is nothing more than a method of maintaining body fitness, physical
vigor and mental health, etc., having nothing in common with religion. This way of defining Yoga
regards primarily the practice of asanas, well known today as an effective way for inducing relaxation.
However, as mentioned above, the purpose of the asanas is to immobilize the body, bring it under
control and refuse movement, in order to help concentration. If the asanas are performed without
following the 10 moral precepts and not as a step on one's spiritual path toward liberation, they have
nothing in common with true Yoga. Through the symbol each posture represents (the locust, the fish, the
candle, etc.), it involves a change of personality and is prescribed by the guru according to the spiritual
needs of his disciple, so that he may easier surpass his ignorant condition.
Therefore, Yoga cannot be reduced to a mere form of psychophysical therapy. It has always been
considered a path toward transcendence, a way of surpassing our world of illusion and reaching the
Ultimate Reality. It was and will always be religious. This aspect has never been doubted in the East.
Only after it was brought in the Western world, the terms in which it was described were changed.
However, its goal has not changed. It still aims to annihilate man's psycho-mental life and anything that
can define personhood.
Breath control
Just as the asanas are not aimed at enhancing physical fitness, but the immobilization of the body,
neither is the purpose of breath control (pranayama) to enhance the respiratory flow, but rather its refusal
in order to attain a perfect state of concentration. The reason is the "metabolism" of prana, that form of
subtle energy in which any form of physical and mental activity originates. As Yoga practice aims at
“inhibiting the modifications of the mind” (Yoga Sutra 1,2), and these modifications are sustained by the
prana flow through the organism, it is believed that psycho-mental activity can be slowed down and even
stopped by reducing the respiratory inflow of prana.
Theos Bernard, the author of a famous book on Hatha Yoga (Hatha Yoga, Rider & Co., London, 1982),
mentions that “until the breath suspension (kumbhaka) had been developed to at least three minutes
nothing of any significance could be done” (p. 89). In the Shiva Samhita treatise it is mentioned that one
has to reach 90 minutes in the retention of the inhaled air (kumbhaka) in order to attain the psychic
powers (3,53), 180 minutes in order to attain the withdrawal of senses (pratyahara) (3,57) and 150
minutes for each chakra in order that dharanamay be attained (3,64-65). The Hatha Yoga Pradipika
treatise (2,11) recommends the practice of 320 breathing suspensions (kumbhaka) daily. The mudras are
important aids in attaining such performances. (For instance the khecari mudra requests a progressive
sectioning of the tongue fraenum, until the tongue is fit to get down the throat and lock breathing.)
One possible effect of dramatically reducing the rhythm of respiration is hypoxia (the decrease of the
oxygen concentration in blood below a certain limit of safety for one's health). The pathologic
manifestations of hypoxia mentioned in medical literature are convulsions, body shaking beyond control,
itching sensations, muscles contracting unexpectedly, headaches, and perspiration. Curiously, such
manifestations appear during the practice of pranayama. Even the sacred texts acknowledge them:
In the beginning there is perspiration, in the middle stage there is quivering, and in the last or the
third stage one obtains steadiness; and then the breath should be made steady or motionless
(Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2,12).
In the first stage of Pranayama the body of the Yogi begins to perspire. [. . .] In the second stage
there takes place the trembling of the body; in the third, the jumping about like a frog; and when
practice becomes greater, the adept walks in the air. (Shiva Samhita 3,40-41).
Far from being considered dangerous, they are considered normal and transient. Interesting to mention
are also the known mental experiences provoked by the increase of carbon dioxide concentration in
blood as a result of hypoxia: "sensations of light and brightness, a sense of bodily detachment, the revival
of past memories, a sense of communicating telepathically with a religious or spiritual presence, and
feelings of great spiritual ecstasy and significance" (E. Hillstrom, Testing the Spirits, IVP, 1995, p. 94).
Could it be a simple coincidence between the appearance of such manifestations and the practice of
pranayama, so that hypoxia could not be involved?
Stilling the mind through meditation and mystical experiences that
accompany it
Meditation and its experiences are considered key elements in any Eastern path toward liberation. The
last three of the eight steps prescribed by Patanjali, called together samyama, aim at attaining the perfect
control of the mind, which results in annihilating any influence generated by prakriti. Consequently, the
final liberation of purusha must follow. It is therefore wrong to consider the practice of samyama as mere
"relaxing techniques" for eradicating one's daily stress. Relaxation may be a result of meditation
exercises, but it is only a by-product on the way toward liberating the impersonal self from reincarnation.
A paradoxical aspect to be mentioned here is the appearance of the psychic powers (the siddhis) through
the practice of samyama. From a naturalistic viewpoint, it seems that they are nothing more than illusions
induced by the practice of meditation. For instance, although the Yoga Sutra mentions the attainment of
powers such as the profound knowledge of the solar system (3,27) and that of the organization of the
body (3,30), all the knowledge we have in this area was produced by classic scientific research, and
never as a result of meditation insights. But if such knowledge is truly available through the practice of
samyama, and as the demands for such knowledge are not egoistic at all, why has nothing been revealed
until now? Although the purpose of Yoga is not to provide such information, there is no other way to
prove that the so-called psychic abilities are real. Therefore, the experience of having such powers must
be subjective, useful only for the spiritual advance of the Yogi but with no relation to the external world
of empirical experience.
The most intriguing aspect of these "psychic powers" is the fact that they can be attained by using other
means as well. The Yoga Sutra (4,1) mentions "drugs (aushadi), mantras and severe austerities (tapas)".
What could be the connection between them? Let us first analyze what meditation could have in common
with the use of drugs.
The Hindu tradition knows the use of hallucinogenic drugs from ancient times. The oldest reference is to
the use of the soma drink by the Vedic priest during the sacrificial ceremony (Rig Veda 9). Similar
ecstatic potions were used in other ancient religions (for instance in shamanism, in its worldwide forms
of manifestation). Although the way of attaining mystical experience through Yoga and drugs is
different, the actual experiences are similar. The psychedelic drug users also claim to attain a
superrational, superconscious level of liberation from profane existence, a sense of fulfillment and
finding a deeper meaning of existence, etc. For instance, it is a known fact that Aldous Huxley
experienced mystical states induced by the use of mescaline and concluded this must be a valid path
toward experiencing unity with Brahman:
The beatific vision, Sat Chit Ananda, Being-Awareness-Bliss, for the first time I understood, not on
the verbal level, not by inchoate hints or at a distance, but precisely and completely what those
prodigious syllables referred to (The Doors of Perception, 1963, p. 18).
Although the use of drugs in the practice of Yoga is forbidden, the meditation experiences are amazingly
close to those obtained by the use of hallucinogenic drugs. For more information on this topic, see the
article: Do Psychedelic Drugs Mimic Awakened Kundalini? Hallucinogen Survey Results, by Donald J.
DeGracia. It tests the hypothesis that the effects of psychedelic drugs (e.g. LSD, mescaline, peyote, etc.)
are similar to the effects of the awakening of kundalini, or, in other words, the phenomenology of both
states overlaps to a considerable degree. This data suggests that the awakening of kundalini and the
"psychic powers" which accompany it have a physiological basis.
In order to understand their effect on consciousness, we must analyze deeper the meaning and goal of
meditation exercises. They play a major role in detaching oneself from the world of illusion. As
empirical experience (that produces false attachments) is mediated by the mind, ignorance (avidya)
cannot manifest itself apart from mindful experience and therefore can be annihilated by stopping the
natural way of the mind's functioning. This means that the normal state of consciousness has to be
abolished and replaced with a new one, which does not perpetuate illusion. On the way toward attaining
such a state, the sensorial input of the senses has to be shut down (pratyahara) and the mind forced to
ignore any normal psycho-mental experience, by performing concentration on a single point (an exercise
called ekagrata). However, by forcing the mind to work in totally opposed conditions to what is natural,
it will naturally get distorted perceptions of reality. The practice of samyama breaks the normal sensorial
input from its normal functioning in serving consciousness. As a result, the senses come to a point where
they do not process a continuous flux of information from the outer world that varies much from one
moment to the next. Instead they stay immobilized on the same stimulus. As a result, one gets a totally
distorted view of surrounding reality and one's own body. The very sensation of unity with the outer
world can be a result of distorting the sense of perception, as Elizabeth Hillstrom points out in her book
Testing the Spirits (IVP, 1995):
In addition to the enhancement of boundaries in our visual systems, we have a built-in, highly
developed tactile sense of the boundaries of our own body. This sense is apparently maintained by
the continual flow of sensory information from the surface of our skin (feelings of touch, pressure,
stretching of skin and muscles, and the like). If experiencers' awareness of the flow is significantly
reduced, as it is during sensory deprivation and other altered states, they could easily conclude
that their body boundaries were suddenly dissolving or that they were expanding or merging with
other objects, even with God or the entire universe. Other features of the unity experience may be
due to the fact that experiencers are in an altered state and realize that they have just reached a
highly prized and hard-won goal. Acting together, these factors could produce profound feelings
of reality, sacredness, ultimate meaning, bliss and ecstatic sensations throughout the body (p.
126).
Scientists have been studying the psycho-physiological results of sensory deprivation for many years.
Many reports indicate that as sensory deprivation deepens, the hallucinations experienced by the subjects
of such induced experiments become more significant, consisting in visual, auditory, tactile
hallucinations, out-of-body experiences, visions of other worlds, and even encounters with spirits
(Hillstrom, p. 60-63). Similar distortions of perception can be the result of other extreme austerities
(mentioned in the Yoga Sutra 4,1 as tapas), known long before Patanjali. These experiences seem to the
one involved as very real because of the psycho-physiological conditions in which they appear, and also
because of his expectations (usually induced by the guru). However, despite the fact that much of what
one is experiencing in the Yoga practice can be explained on a physiological basis, a mere naturalistic
theory isn't adequate to cover all its aspects. As E. Hillstrom points out:
Unusual effects, like automatically assuming difficult yoga postures, the inability to control or stop
the kundalini process, speaking in unlearned languages, temporary manifestations of clairvoyant
abilities and the like, certainly suggest that something supernatural is afoot. There are parallels
between kundalini symptoms and symptoms that are currently associated with demonized states,
including deranged thinking, emotional extremes (deep melancholy, ecstasy), trancelike states or
periods of unconsciousness, apparent seizure activity, and unusual pain unrelated to illness and
injury (p. 128).
This leads us to consider another way of producing the psychic powers mentioned in the Yoga Sutra
(4,1), namely the repeating of mantras. More than a simple formula used as a tool for concentrating the
mind, the mantra is a name of a Hindu god and a tool for invoking him and his powers. If the siddhis are
attained as a result of invoking a god, they are likely to originate in him, and not out of developing one's
own inner potential. This leads us to search for explanations for the psychic powers in a realm that does
not belong to physical existence.
The common element in meditation, the repeating of mantras and, to some extent, the use of psychedelic
drugs is the annihilation of critical thought and normal state of consciousness. This is considered of
primary importance for entering the appropriate state of consciousness for liberating the self. However,
shutting down the mind in order to grasp irrational higher realities and giving up critical discernment
opens the way for the phenomenon of spiritual possession, i.e. the taking of control of one's life by an
external personal being. As during meditation such openness toward external spirit guides exists, the
experience of meeting certain spiritual beings occurs pretty often. Could they be harmless, or even
trustable? The answer depends on the authority we use in order to judge them.
Taking a Christian standpoint, such external spirits may be demons, treacherous beings that present
themselves as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11,14). A weird fact is that the same psychic powers attained
by the Yogis while practicing samyama are available to some people involved in black magic. The
knowledge of the past and future, reading one's thoughts, dematerialization, acquiring supernatural
physical powers, telekinesis, clairvoyance, entering another person's body, levitation, etc., are abilities
that such people also claim, but acknowledging the fact that their source is the world of demons. Could
this be a simple coincidence? The Apostle Peter warns:
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour (1 Peter 5,8).
Knowing the fact that demons use any given opportunity to take over one's body and use it as an
instrument, why should they not use the proper mindset offered by a Yogi while practicing meditation?
Despite the fact that the mantra is associated with a Hindu protector god, why should we reject the
possibility that by calling his name, instead of a god being the one who awakens dormant energies inside
us, a demon may come instead, take over consciousness and then manifest psychic powers which
actually belong to him? Could the intensity of the experience be a sufficient reason to be assured that
there is no evil entity involved in producing it? Why should we reject the possibility that a demon is wise
enough to avoid violent manifestations (which normally describe demonic possession) in order to delude
us?
As examples of how so-called deities are invited to enter one's body, we can look at most forms of
Eastern initiation. For instance, in Tantrism are prescribed specific rituals in order to omologate the
deities with different parts of the body. The maithuna ritual even represents a sexual union with a woman
in which Hindu spirits are residing. While performing the mandala ritual the disciple has to locate the
gods in his heart, with the climax being the descent of the god essence into him and fusion with his
consciousness. Possession-like states are reported very often during the initiation ritual, sometimes
perceived as the entering of the guru into the disciple's body (Shakti-diksha), or the uniting of the
disciple's being with that of the guru (Anavi-yaugi-diksha). Far from being considered dangerous, such
experiences are considered useful, necessary for one's spiritual growth.
Therefore Yoga practice can lead to a quite different end from that much-advertised peace of mind and
inner balance. The experiences it produces may be very dangerous because they are either the premise or
the actual experience of demonic possession. If this interpretation seems absurd for some, in what other
way could we explain the experience of Eastern initiation, especially when trying to be consistent with
Christian theology?
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Critical considerations regarding the dualistic Samkhya-Yoga metaphysics
the dualistic Samkhya-Yoga metaphysics
In order to emphasize some basic difficulties of the dualistic Samkhya and Yoga darshanas, we will use
the same criteria of internal consistency, harmony between empirical and absolute knowledge, and
viability. (Remember that it is the specific Yoga darshana of Patanjali endorsed here, and not other of the
many modern Yoga schools that exist today.) As their metaphysical basis is mostly common, in the
absence of any supplementary explanation, what will be mentioned here is valid for both schools.
1) The internal consistency of the Samkhya-Yoga metaphysics is affected by the way it states the
plurality of souls (purushas). As purusha is devoid of any attributes that could individualize it (which
was also the case with atman), there no difference can be made between one purusha and another, and
therefore we cannot admit their plurality. S. Radhakrishnan makes the following comment from a
Vedantic point of view:
The self is without attributes or qualities, without parts, imperishable, motionless, absolutely
inactive and impassive, unaffected by pleasure or pain or any other emotion. All change, all
character belong to prakriti. There does not seem to be any basis for the attribution of distinctness
to purushas. If each purusha has the same features of consciousness, all-pervadingness, if there is
not the slightest difference between one purusha and another, since they are free from all variety,
then there is nothing to lead us to assume a plurality of purushas. Multiplicity without distinction
is impossible (Indian Philosophy, vol. II, p. 322).
2) As a result of the way it states the relation existing between purusha and prakriti (nature), the
Samkhya-Yoga metaphysics also lacks harmony between empirical and absolute knowledge. Here is
how S. Radhakrishnan appreciates the contradictory relation between the two elements:
When the Samkhya breaks up the concrete unity of experience into the two elements of subject and
object and makes them fictitiously absolute, it cannot account for the fact of experience. When
purusha is viewed as pure consciousness, the permanent light which illuminates all objects of
knowledge, and prakriti as something opposed to consciousness and utterly foreign to it, the latter
can never become the object of the former. The Samkhya cannot get across the ditch which it has
dug between the subject and the object. [...] Unless the subject and object are akin to each other,
how can the one reflect the other? How can buddhi, which is non-intelligent, reflect purusha? How
can the formless purusha which is the constant seer be reflected in buddhi which is changing? The
two cannot, therefore, be absolutely opposed in nature (Indian Philosophy, vol. II, p. 303-4).
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In other words, the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas dissociate knowledge into two distinct realms
(absolute and empirical) between which stands an insurmountable gap. Because they belong to different
worlds, purusha cannot know prakriti, and on the other hand, prakriti and all its forms of manifestation
cannot do anything to help liberation. Between the domain of empirical knowledge produced by prakriti
and the absolute knowledge of purusha, no possible relationship can exist.
An attempt to solve this epistemological difficulty was done by postulating the fact that prakriti operates
instinctively for purusha’s liberation. The Samkhya-Sutra (3,47) states that “creation (prakriti) works for
the sake of purusha, so that it may attain supreme knowledge”. The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali (2,21) also
mentions that prakriti exists only for the sake of serving purusha's liberation. But in the absence of a
personal creator god who could “inspire” a teleological instinct to prakriti, such a postulate is absurd.
The Samkhya darshana rejects the existence of a creator god, since he could be conceived only as a
liberated self, or a self bound to karma (Samkhya-Sutra 1,93). However, neither a self enslaved by karma
can be the creator, nor a free purusha, because, being totally detached from matter (prakriti), it could not
have perception, desire for action or any means to influence matter. To this second category belongs
Ishvara of the Yoga darshana. He is not a personal god, but rather a macro-purusha that was never
involved with the psycho-mental activity and the law of karma (Yoga-Sutra 1,24), being devoid of any
creative abilities.
The teleological instinct of prakriti was explained the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas by using the image
of a horse that pulls a wagon out of his instinct, an act to which the wagon driver is a simple spectator. In
the same way, prakriti would conduct purusha toward liberation without any external directive. It is
omitted, however, in this example, that the horse was first trained by the driver before he knew the way
home. Samkhya metaphysics does not allow such an external “coach” for prakriti to learn how to liberate
purusha. Another poor illustration used by the Samkhya followers is that of a blind man and a lame man
helping each other on their journey. Neither can this be a valid illustration to symbolize the teleological
instinct of prakriti, because both the blind man and the lame man possess intelligence and language, and
therefore can cooperate in realizing a common purpose. Such cooperation between purusha and prakriti
cannot exist, because they have nothing in common. Therefore, the epistemological problem generated
by the impossible communication between purusha and man’s psycho-mental abilities cannot be
properly solved. How could intellect help to distance purusha from prakriti, if intellect itself is a
category of prakriti?
Another solution suggested to explain the purusha-prakriti relation was that a certain similarity could
exist between buddhi (pure intellect) and purusha, a similarity given by the guna sattva. According to
this opinion, when the guna sattva is dominating one’s psycho-mental life, the intellect can become as
pure as purusha, and therefore capable of perfectly reflecting it, a moment which precedes their
separation and, consequently, purusha’s liberation. However, there are two major problems arising from
such a hypothesis: 1) How could the intellect possibly attain the purity of purusha? By its very essence,
intellect is a category of prakriti, different from purusha’s immutability. 2) If such purity of intellect
could be attained only at the moment of liberation, how can buddhi and purusha cooperate all the way
prior to reaching this stage? In other words, how can intellect, a category of prakriti, be purified in order
to reflect purusha while it is still dominated by the gunas rajas and tamas?
Not even “knowing the knowledge” of buddhi by purusha, through purusha’s reflection in the intellect,
can be a solution. In order that communication might be possible between two totally different entities
(one being purusha and the other one the psycho-mental abilities, which belong to prakriti), one's data
have to be “translated” to the other one, a requirement which is impossible to fulfill according to the
Samkhya and Yoga. Although this translator (or mediator) role was attributed to purusha’s reflection in
the intellect, it was not stated to which category this reflection belongs. If it belongs to prakriti, it brings
nothing new in solving the dilemma. It also cannot belong to purusha (as its product or attribute),
because it would institute a new category, intermediary and different to both purusha and prakriti, which
is absurd.
The epistemological dilemma we face here is similar to that encountered in pantheism. The same illusory
status of empirical knowledge makes communication impossible between the self and the world.
Therefore, empirical knowledge is of no use in attaining liberation. The gap that exists between empirical
knowledge (psycho-mental data) and absolute knowledge (purusha’s self-knowledge) is impossible to
cross.
3) As a result of the illusory status granted to personhood, the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas face similar
problems to those of pantheism concerning their viability. Personhood is considered to be a product of
prakriti’s manifestation, a sum of psycho-mental experiences that cease to exist at the moment of
liberation. Instead of the pantheist view of liberation, consisting of an impersonal merging of the self
with the Absolute, the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas state that the liberated self (purusha) remains
eternally isolated, devoid of any relation with other purushas (or Ishvara, in Yoga) and having as the
only possibility that of knowing itself. But given the fact that purusha is devoid of any attributes, it is
hard to grasp what could that self-contemplation possibly consist of.
Due to the same attitude toward personhood, the problems faced in defining freedom, morality,
compassion and social involvement are similar to those mentioned in analyzing pantheism, and therefore
will not be repeated. The solution for passing over all the above-mentioned inconsistencies is considered
to be practice, or, in other words, having a direct experience of Ultimate Reality. This is why we dedicate
the next file to examining the Yoga practice and appreciating to what extent it could provide the answer
for man’s spiritual quest for transcendence.
Critical considerations regarding Buddhism
Buddhism
Although it was meant to bring a whole new perspective on what Hinduism had to say on Ultimate
Reality, man and liberation, Theravada Buddhism could not escape some basic inconsistencies. Let us
summarize the most debated:
Reincarnation without a self
One of the key elements in Theravada Buddhism is the denial of a self (atman). The illusion of personal
existence (puggala) is considered to be the product of five aggregates (skandha), which are in a
cause-effect relationship and suffer from constant becoming. Therefore, human existence is nothing but
impermanence (anitya), a constant process of transformation devoid of any abiding principle. The
rejection of a self is considered important mostly for practical reasons. One should not engage in
philosophical debates concerning the existence of a self (as well as the character of the universe and the
existence of an Ultimate Reality), because this will only generate suffering and lead one astray from
seeking liberation (Majjhima-nikaya 1,426).
But if there is no self, what reincarnates from one existence to another? Buddha stated that only karma
passes from one life to another, determining a new configuration of the five aggregates in the next
existence. Therefore samsara works without implying a self, relying only on a causal chain of
determination. Such a strange definition of reincarnation has naturally raised strong objections from the
opponents of Buddhism. Not only they contradict it, but even the Buddhist scriptures contain passages
that are inconsistent with the lack of a self. Some of them seem to confirm the continuity of personal
existence, or at least of an impersonal self along the reincarnation process. For instance, although the five
aggregates are supposed to break apart after death and personhood to vanish, it is stated that the dead will
be judged by Yama, the god of death, and afterwards sent into hell and tormented for his sins
(Khuddaka-nikaya 10,1,59). However, hell is not eternal, so the soul will eventually return as an animal
and then continue to reincarnate until he reaches again the human state. There is no doubt that this Vedic
reminiscence is totally inconsistent with the Buddhist doctrine of no-self.
On the other hand, if there is no self, on what basis could the Buddha have said, "This is my last birth, I
will have no further existence" (Majjhima-nikaya 3)? Whose last birth is it, if there is no self to rebirth?
There are also the texts in Khuddaka-nikaya 10, referring to the previous lives of Buddha and his friends,
in which each one's identity is always perfectly known. Such passages suggest that the doctrine of no-self
was hard to accept even for the one who proposed it.
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The liberation of no self
The Buddhist term for liberation (nirvana) derives from the verbal root va (lit. "to blow") and the
negation nir, from which its significance corresponds to the blowing out of a candle. Once man attains
nirvana, the five aggregates are scattered forever without entering a new combination again. This
corresponds to a total extinction of any ontological element that could define human existence. The
scriptures state:
When a man is free from all sense pleasures and depends on nothingness he is free in the supreme
freedom from perception. He will stay there and not return again. It is like a flame struck by a
sudden gust of wind. In a flash it has gone out and nothing more can be known about it. It is the
same with a wise man freed from mental existence: in a flash he has gone out and nothing more
can be known about him. When a person has gone out, then there is nothing by which you can
measure him. That by which he can be talked about is no longer there for him; you cannot say that
he does not exist. When all ways of being, all phenomena are removed, then all ways of
description have also been removed.
(Sutta Nipata 1072-76)
Once the adherent of Theravada Buddhism has attained nirvana, he becomes an arhat (“living
enlightened one”). His karma is considered extinct and at the time of his death he will cease to exist.
However, from a Buddhist point of view, this perspective isn't horrifying at all, because it represents the
cessation of an illusion. When human existence is blown out, nothing real disappears because life itself is
an illusion. Nirvana is neither a re-absorption in an eternal Ultimate Reality, because such a thing doesn’t
exist, nor the annihilation of a self, because there is no self to annihilate. It is rather an annihilation of the
illusion of an existing self.
Unlike in Hindu pantheism, which defines liberation as the fusion of atman with Brahman, no one and
nothing is attaining liberation. This means that nirvana is a state of supreme bliss and freedom without
any subject to experience it. Paradoxically, Buddhism confers reality to this ultimate stage of moving
toward nothingness, and the only proof of it, as expected, is the mystical experiences one has on the way
toward it. As the one engaged on the way to nirvana experiences gradual liberation from illusory
attachments, by extrapolation it is speculated that there will follow a moment of reaching total freedom
from the present conditioned state. However, this reasoning is false, because the domain of definition
(the substratum of existence) ends before reaching the desired result. Nirvana is a state beyond any
description, knowledge and experience, with nobody and nothing left to reach it. Therefore, this
liberation of no-self, or in other words, the liberation of an illusory combination of impermanent
elements, seems to be nothing more than sheer nonsense.
The meaning of morality
Following other impersonal Eastern religions, Buddhism values morality only as an instrument for
transcending personal existence, which is seen as the major hindrance in attaining liberation. Morality
has no ultimate importance, but is only an instrument used for developing a detached status toward
personal attachments and interests in life. Moral perfection (sila), i.e. right speech, action and livelihood,
aims at annihilating one's false attachments to the world of illusion, by no way encouraging one's social
involvement. As long as man is not an everlasting entity (a personal soul in theistic religions, or an
impersonal atman in pantheism), but a mere mechanism which appears and disappears according to its
karma, compassion toward one's neighbor is absurd. According to Buddhist teaching, bad habits such as
envy, anger, gossip and pride must be abandoned, but not because other people may be hurt by them, but
because they feed one's false ego and the thirst (trishna) for experiencing personal existence.
Because of its radical way of defining human existence, Theravada Buddhism cannot be a valid way of
living for modern man. How could one become socially involved in a world that is considered nothing
but an illusion shaped by his own mind? Buddhism can be followed best by monks, in retreat, away from
any kind of social involvement. As a result, contrary to its claims, Buddhism cannot solve the problem of
human suffering but only to ignore it by redefining its meaning; it cannot help one have a positive role in
society but only a passive one; and it cannot give strength for overcoming life's stress and tensions but
only to teach withdrawal from its harsh realities. No wonder then that Buddhism is criticized for
developing a fatalist view of life.
Buddhist meditation and its experiences
The actual techniques used for attaining liberation belong to three categories: meditations (jhana),
contemplations (samapatti) and concentrations (samadhi). The most important are those belonging to the
second category, the contemplations, revealed by the Buddha in the famous Satipatthana-sutta
(Majjhima-nikaya 10, Digha-nikaya 22). The four contemplation exercises focus on the physical body
(kaya), the feelings (vedana), the mental states (citta) and the mental objects (dhamma). The false
attachments they produce must be destroyed so that one can understand their impermanent nature.
As was the case in Yoga, psychologist Elizabeth Hillstrom points out in her book Testing the Spirits that
instead of being glimpses of the impermanent nature of things, the experiences that accompany Buddhist
contemplation can be explained as misperceptions of the surrounding reality due to imposing on the
senses and mind an abnormal way of functioning:
As meditators passively watch their own mental states come and go without trying to control them,
these begin to fluctuate more and more rapidly and unpredictably. After a while this chaotic
activity creates the strong impression that the mental events are springing into life on their own,
from some separate source, rather than the observer's own mind. As meditators persist with this
practice, they also notice that there is a definite separation between the mental events being
observed and the mind that is doing the observing. As meditation progresses still further, both the
mental events and the observing mind begin to seem alien and impersonal, as if they do not really
belong to the observer. At about this point the meditator's sense of "self" becomes confused and
weakened, and finally it disappears entirely for brief periods of time. This experience of
dissolution strongly reinforces the Buddhist notion that there actually is no such thing as an "I" or
"myself" - that such concepts are actually false constructions of the mind.
At still deeper levels, meditators eventually reach a stage in which their awareness of events and
the events themselves seem inextricably bound together and the whole scene churns in a wild state
of flux. Ideas, images and thoughts seem to appear and then dissolve into nothingness with great
rapidity. At this point every aspect of mental life (and the physical world itself) seems
impermanent, transitory and alien, and disturbed meditators desperately want it all to stop. Relief
finally comes when meditators break through Nirvana, a state in which all awareness of physical
and mental phenomena ceases, at least for a short time. Reaching this stage ostensibly produces
permanent changes in consciousness. Inner processes are set in motion which fill the meditator
with equanimity and bliss. These presumably destroy defiling mental states like self-interest,
ambition, greed and hatred, and ensure advanced placement in the next life. When interpreted
through Eastern lenses, these experiences strongly reinforce the Buddhist belief that the physical
universe, our concepts of self and even our inner mental life are only illusions.
(E. Hillstrom, Testing the Spirits, IVP, 1995, p. 114-15)
The meditator's prior expectations, as induced by the guru, as well as the refusal of any conscious control
over the process, probably contribute to a great extent to one's accepting the truthfulness of these
experiences. However, as long as they depend heavily upon forcing the mind to work in improper
conditions, it is more likely that they rather represent perceptions of defective cognitive phenomena than
true perceptions of an Ultimate Reality. Therefore they cannot be trusted.
Mahayana Buddhism and Hindu pantheism
According to the doctrine of momentariness (kshanikavada), not only the self is to be considered
illusory, but also the five aggregates and all other aspects of the world. All things are impermanent and
follow a continuous process of becoming. Therefore from an ontological point of view, everything is but
a succession of transitory moments. The true nature of the world is the void (shunya), which is not
non-existence or nothingness, but an Ultimate Reality free of any limitation, duality or determination.
Like the Hindu Brahman, the void can be characterized only by refusing any positive attributes.
Although Mahayana Buddhism rejects the major Vedantic notions, the void is nothing but an acceptance
of Brahman in disguise.
Following the pattern of Hindu pantheism, the world is considered to be the manifestation of shunya,
which is altogether the fundamental nature (also called Buddha Nature) of any being that has to be
discovered through mystical introspection. This is nothing but an actualization in the Mahayanic context
of the atman-Brahman identity, and therefore much of the criticism addressed to pantheism is valid here
as well.
The boddhisattvas and grace
Instead of seeking nirvana just for himself and become an arhat, as Theravada Buddhism demands, the
disciple of Mahayana Buddhism aims to become a bodhisattva, a celestial being that postpones his own
entrance into parinirvana (final extinction) in order to help other humans also attain it. As was the case
with the Hindu avatars of Vishnu, the bodhisattvas are mediators between man and Ultimate Reality.
Through devotion and proper moral conduct humans receive their grace and attain liberation. This new
development has been interpreted as a penetration of the Hindu bhakti tradition into Buddhism.
However, we meet here the same contradiction between karma and grace as in theistic Hinduism. For
instance, according to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, although the bodhisattvas offer their help to the
dead person in order that he may attain a better new birth or even final liberation, he is unable to accept it
because of the projection of his bad karma and the attraction of “samsaric impurities”, which make him
fall deeper and deeper into the intermediary state (bardo). For this reason it is wrong to pretend that the
bodhisattvas save the dead through their grace, as only the merits he has accumulated during lifetime
make him able to accept the “rays of grace”. Therefore, it is either karma that rules one's existence and
journey toward liberation, or the grace of the bodhisattvas. The two elements are hard to reconcile.
On the other hand, due to the rejection of any abiding principle that could define human existence, the
idea of grace becomes absurd. Who is suffering and who needs the boddhisattvas' grace in order to be
liberated, if all existence is nothing but illusion? S. Dasgupta comments on this absurd situation:
The saint (bodhisattva) is firmly determined that he will help an infinite number of souls to attain
nirvana. In reality, however, there are no beings, there is no bondage, no salvation; and the saint
knows it but too well, yet he is not afraid of this high truth, but proceeds on his career of attaining
for all illusory beings illusory emancipation from illusory bondage. The saint is actuated with that
feeling and proceeds in his work on the strength of his paramitas, though in reality there is no one
who is to attain salvation in reality and no one who is to help him attain it (S. Dasgupta, Indian
Philosophy, vol. 1, p. 127).
The equivalence of samsara and nirvana
A further consequence of the doctrine of the void in Mahayana Buddhism is the equivalence of samsara
and nirvana. If voidness is to be projected not only on personal existence, but on any concept and
experience, it means that all major Buddhist terms such as aggregates, karma, samsara, nirvana and the
four noble truths, must also be void. Therefore they are nothing but conventional truths, products of
momentariness which are operational only in language use. If samsara is impermanent and has no
abiding subject, it cannot have a true nature. The same is true about nirvana. If samsara and nirvana are
both void, they must be identical, and any difference empirically experienced between them must also be
illusory from the absolute point of view. Therefore the two pillars of early Buddhism are abolished in
Mahayana.
What then remains of the whole Buddhist philosophy? Once we arrive here we have to face the same
objection as in pantheism: Empirical knowledge cannot be correlated with absolute knowledge because
ultimate truth cannot be expressed through language. However, there is an inconsistent attitude to this
conclusion because there has been a huge amount of literature produced trying to express "the
inexpressible". The very statement of Mahayana Buddhism that "any conventional term is void" is
self-contradictory, as it itself must be void in order to be true. Otherwise it cannot communicate anything
and the best way of transmitting Buddhist doctrine would be silence.
See also on this topic:
Comparing Christianity & Buddhism, by Peter Kreeft
The divine incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity
The divine incarnation
in Hinduism and Christianity
The only religions that admit a true incarnation of Ultimate Reality in human form and consider it very important in their theology are
Vaishnava Hinduism and Christianity. They both assume that God descended into the world and dwelt among humans in order to save them.
Vaishnava Hinduism ascribes ten incarnations (avatars) to the god Vishnu, while Christianity proclaims the sole incarnation of God the Son in
Jesus Christ. Could they be equivalent? In other words, could Jesus Christ be considered a mere Western avatar, come into our world
according to the Hindu pattern? On the other hand, could the avatars of Vishnu have fulfilled the same goal as Jesus? Or are there
irreconcilable differences between them? As we witness today many claims that they express a similar theology, a proper investigation is
necessary for unveiling the mystery that surrounds this topic.
The following analysis will investigate why the incarnation of God was necessary, how the problem arose that he came for, what the form of
the divine embodiment is and how it actually solves the problem.
The periodical manifestation and dissolution of the world
Vaishnava Hinduism states in its major writings, the Puranas, that the god Vishnu causes a cyclic manifestation and dissolution of the world.
Each cosmic cycle (mahayuga) has four ages (Krita Yuga - 1.728.000 years, Treta Yuga - 1.296.000 years, Dvapara Yuga - 864.000 years and
Kali Yuga - 432.000 years) followed by the dissolution (pralaya) of the physical world. The whole cycle is repeated 994 times, which is a
period called kalpa, and then a dissolution (pralaya) of both the physical and subtle world follows. 36.000 kalpas and pralayas make the
lifespan of Brahma, the creator god, which is followed by a total dissolution (mahapralaya) of the physical, subtle and causal world. Then all
worlds, time and space return into Brahman, and the whole cycle starts again in an endless process of manifestation and dissolution.
In Christianity, on the other hand, the world was created only once, and not as a necessity (as the cyclic manifestation of Vishnu implies) but
out of God's superabundant love. Although the world became corrupted by sin, this situation doesn't belong to a normally repeated scenario
(as in Hinduism) but is the result of a wrong human response to God's love. Despite the fact that our world is different from what God has
originally intended, it will not follow a repeated cycle of manifestation and dissolution. The "new heaven and new earth" presented at the end
of the Revelation account (21,1) is not a new creation similar to the one presented in Genesis. Otherwise it would indeed confirm a cyclic
manifestation of the world according to the Hindu pattern. The Bible doesn't confirm such a mechanism. The "new heaven and new earth" is
rather an everlasting world where sin is eradicated and there will be "no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21,4). It will
belong to those who accepted His grace through Jesus Christ (21,27) and will never have a pralaya to end it.
The ten avatars of Vishnu
The god Vishnu is said to descend ten times into our world during each cosmic cycle (mahayuga) in order to restore the balance between good
and evil. His incarnations (avatars) vary depending on the Hindu writing that describes them. The Mahabharata gives three lists of Vishnu's
avatars: First there are mentioned four, then six, and finally there is a list of ten, in the form of: (1) swan, (2) tortoise, (3) fish, (4) boar, (5)
man-lion, (6) dwarf, (7) Bhargava Rama, (8) Dasaratha Rama, (9) Krishna, and (10) Kalki. The Garuda Purana lists 19 avatars of Vishnu,
while the Bhagavata Purana lists 22 in one place and 23 in another. Since the time of the Bhagavata Purana the number of avatars has been
uniformly recognized as ten. Therefore we will use the following list in the present analysis: (1) fish, (2) tortoise, (3) boar, (4) man-lion, (5)
dwarf, (6) Parasurama, (7) Rama, (8) Krishna, (9) Buddha and (10) Kalki. The first nine have occurred already and the last one is still to
come. Let us give a brief description of each avatar and see what its goal was and the method used for fulfilling it.
(1) The fish (Matsya). The Vedas were stolen from Brahma by a demon, so the gods sent a flood on the earth to drown him and thus recover
the holy scriptures. Vishnu took the form of a fish, predicted the coming deluge to the saint Manu and saved him together with his family by
leading his ship to safety.
(2) The tortoise (Kurma). During the deluge that destroyed the world the cream of the milk ocean (amrita), by which the gods renewed their
youthfulness and avoided death, was lost. Both gods and demons together set about producing amrita by churning the ocean of milk, using a
mountain as churning stick and the incarnation of Vishnu as a pivot on which to rest it. Their action was successful and the amrita recovered.
http://www.comparativereligion.com/avatars.html (1 of 5) [10/27/2000 9:48:24 AM]
(3) The boar (Varaha). Brahma had been forced to grant the boon of immortality to a demon that had performed austerities. Under the cover
of this boon, the demon persecuted both men and gods and even stole the Vedas from Brahma and dragged the earth under the ocean, down to
his dark abode. However, he forgot to mention the boar when reciting the name of gods, men and animals from which to be immune, so
Vishnu took the form of a huge boar, descended into the ocean, killed the demon with his tusks, recovered the Vedas and released the earth.
(4) The man-lion (Narasinha). A demon had obtained the boon of immunity through asceticism from the attacks of men, beasts and gods. He
had the assurance from Brahma that he could not be killed either day or night, inside or outside his house. This demon grew very powerful and
forbade the worship of all gods and substituted it with worship for himself. Vishnu took the form of half-man, half-lion (neither man nor
beast) and tore the demon into pieces in the evening (neither in the day nor in the night) in the doorway of his palace (neither inside nor
outside it).
(5) The dwarf (Vamana). The king Bali had gained too much power by his sacrifices, so the gods were endangered of losing their heavenly
position to him. Therefore Vishnu was incarnated as a dwarf and asked the king the gift of three paces of land. Once accepted, the dwarf
suddenly grew to an enormous size and covered all the earth and the heavens by his paces and Bali was left with only the nether regions.
(6) Parasurama (Rama with the ax). The warrior caste (kshatriya) was exercising tyranny over all men, especially over the Brahmins, so the
priestly caste was endangered. Vishnu came to earth as Parasurama and exterminated the whole kshatriya caste with his ax.
While he was still on earth, the next avatar (Ramachandra) came and the two had to struggle. Ramachandra defeated him in a trial of strength
and broke his bow. (Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata recollect this episode. In the Mahabharata Parasurama is knocked senseless by
Ramachandra.)
(7) Ramachandra (Rama), the hero of the Ramayana epic. The demon Ravana had practiced austerities in order to propitiate Brahma, who
had granted him immunity from being killed by gods, gandharvas and demons. Under this cover, Ravana persecuted gods and men. Vishnu
took the human form of prince Rama, for Ravana was too proud to ask immunity from men. Many adventures followed in his trip to save his
wife Sita, who was kidnapped by the demon and taken to the Lanka Island. Rama raised an army of monkeys and bears led by the
monkey-god Hanuman and a great battle was fought in front of the gates of the city. Rama used a magic weapon infused by the power of
many gods, killed Ravana and rescued his wife.
(8) Krishna. The objective of Vishnu's incarnation as Krishna was to kill the demon Kamsa, who had become a tyrannical king, killing
children and banning the worship of Vishnu. Krishna's mission had three phases: childhood, youth and middle age. During childhood he
performed many feats of strength, killing all demons sent against him by Kamsa. In his youth, Krishna had many amorous adventures with
married cowgirls. At last, in his middle-age, he killed Kamsa and took part in the Bharata war (with the most famous episode being the one
recollected in the Bhagavad Gita). His mission accomplished, Krishna retreated into the forest in meditation. A hunter mistook his foot for a
deer and shot it, thus piercing Krishna's one vulnerable spot and mortally wounding him.
(9) Buddha. The demons had stolen the sacrificial potions of the gods and performed asceticism, so the gods could not conquer them. Vishnu
incarnated as a man of delusion in order to propagate false ideas and lead them astray from their old faith. Buddha preached that there is no
creator, that the three major gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) were just ordinary mortals, that there is no dharma, that death is total
annihilation, that there is no heaven and hell and that the sacrifices are of no value. Obviously, Buddha as avatar of Vishnu has no historical
background. He was a kind of devil's advocate who managed to weaken the opponents of the gods. The demons became Buddhists, abandoned
the Vedas and consequently were killed by the gods. This story was first presented in the Vishnu Purana (5th century AD) and is obviously an
attempt to subordinate Buddhism to Hinduism.
(10) Kalki. The last avatar, who is still to come, puts an end to the degenerated earth, accomplishing the final destruction of the wicked and
preparing the way for the renewal of creation and the resurgence of virtue in the next mahayuga.
The following table summarizes the meaning of Vishnu's past 9 avatars:
Topic
Which avatar's case fits into this scenario
A demon performed austerities and gained too much power over
the gods
3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
The avatar came to save the gods
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
The avatar came to save humans
1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
The avatar kills a demon
3, 4, 7, 8
The avatar's form of embodiment
Animal (1, 2, 3), half-beast, half-human (4), human (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
according to how the demon had to be deceived.
Now let us turn to the nature of the divine incarnation in Christianity by presenting an excerpt from a previous file on the nature of salvation
in Christianity.
God the Son incarnated as Jesus Christ
The Christian account of divine incarnation presents God the Son willingly leaving His divine glory, taking a human body and descending
into our world through the virgin birth. The Apostle Paul states:
Christ Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking
the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2,6-7).
This “making Himself nothing” performed by God the Son is called in theology “the kenosis of Christ” (lit. = “emptying”). It does not mean a
subtraction of deity, but the addition of humanity with its consequent limitations. Although taking a human nature was a real humbling for
God the Son, it did not involve the giving up of any divine attributes. The doctrine of the kenosis involves the veiling of His preincarnate
glory (John 17,5), taking on Himself the likeness of human sinful flesh (Romans 8,3) and the temporary nonuse of divine attributes during His
earthly ministry.
The kenosis of Christ was His free will initiative and not a necessity imposed by His nature, as is the case with the periodical incarnations of
Vishnu. According to Christianity, Jesus Christ is the only incarnation of God, descended into our world with a unique and non-repeatable
mission in history. He is not a mere avatar, a periodical incarnation of a Hindu god, but the unique incarnation of God the Son, become God
the Man, perfect in both His divine and human nature. This double nature of Jesus Christ is the key for understanding His mission of
reconciling man with God.
In Vaishnava Hinduism none of the avatars has a perfect union of the two natures. As they have no historical basis, it is very difficult to
speculate on how their divine nature combined with the physical one (animal or human). Due to considering the physical body a mere garment
that is put on and off (according to Bhagavad Gita 2,22), there cannot be any real association of god with a physical body. Christ came to
redeem the physical body as well, therefore His association with it was real. For the same reason there is so much accent laid on His physical
resurrection, which for a Hindu avatar would be completely absurd. Therefore the avatar fits best in the Docetic understanding of Christ (the
appearance of a physical body, with no intrinsic value to it), which is considered a classic heresy in Christianity.
The most striking difference from Hindu avatars regards Christ's death. This was the crux of His incarnation: He had to die on the cross for
our redemption from sin and reconciliation with God. The Apostle Peter states in his epistle:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been
healed (1 Peter 2,24; see also 1,18-21; 3,18).
Jesus Christ as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1,29) is the cornerstone of Christianity and its non-paralleled
element. Mocked and spit upon by the human race, nailed on a cross and forsaken by the Father, Jesus Christ took our place in punishment.
While dying on the cross, Jesus shouted, “It is finished” (John 19,30). In Greek, the expression used was Tetelestai, which means, “the debt
was paid in full”. What was meant here is the debt that man deserved to pay for his sins in hell, through eternal torment. By His death, Jesus
paid in full the price required for the salvation of mankind from sin.
Was the suffering of Christ on the cross a mere illusion, as some esoteric interpretations suggest? Obviously not! His torment and death were
so real that none of those who saw it could expect a future victory over death. This proves the full incarnation of God the Son. He did not die
only in physical appearance, as the Docetist heresy suggests, but as a poor miserable man, experiencing suffering in its fullest sense. His death
proves both the seriousness of our sin and the unfathomable love of God, as Jesus once proclaimed:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John
3,16).
Parallels between the Hindu avatars and Jesus Christ
What are demons?
According to Hinduism, demons are either beings that appeared through the primordial act of manifestation, or humans that didn't follow their
duty (dharma) or performed bad deeds during their lifetime. Consequently they reincarnate as evil beings which cause much suffering in the
world. However, the evil they do is not arbitrary, as the law of karma makes sure that the humans afflicted by demons are justly punished for
their own bad deeds performed in previous lives. Therefore, from a global point of view the demons' bad deeds must be seen as necessary in
balancing karma. On the other hand, the demon stage of existence is limited, and eventually there is reincarnation back into human form and
henceforth a new chance given to attain liberation.
Keeping this in mind, it becomes absurd that Vishnu has to intervene in the world by descending as an avatar to save it. Save it from what?
From the consequences of karma, a spiritual law that can never be abolished? As long as karma operates in the world, the killing of a demon
has a very limited effect. It doesn't guarantee that the demon will not create problems in his next existence. According to the reincarnation
doctrine, only one's physical frame can be "killed" (see Bhagavad Gita 2,19), not the "infinite, immortal soul". For this reason, demons never
stop creating problems, so there are necessary periodical incarnations of the divine, at least 10 in each mahayuga. As the periodical
manifestation of the world created by Vishnu never ends, so does the affliction of it by the demons. Therefore, the solution of killing the
demons by the avatars is only a short-term solution to the problem of evil in the world.
On the other hand, in Christianity, demons have a different nature and destiny. They are fallen angels who will never reincarnate, return to
their initial status or attain salvation. As the present world has a limited time span and there is no re-manifestation of it, the demons will be
eternally separated from the Kingdom of God at the judgment day. (For more information on the nature of demons in Christianity click here.)
How did the demons attain power over the gods?
A very interesting fact in Hinduism is that anyone - god, human or demon - can attain the same magical power through performing austerities
(tapas). Once this power is attained, nobody can break it. In fact, the 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th avatars of Vishnu all came because a demon
performed so many austerities that the god Brahma was forced to grant him the boon of immortality as a reward. The mechanism of attaining
such power is beyond the control of the gods, which proves their weakness in ruling the world. As a result, the avatar has to find a way of
killing the demon without breaking the promises made to him by Brahma. The solutions are sometimes very funny (see for instance the 3rd
and the 4th avatar).
On the other hand, in Christianity demons have no possible way of blackmailing God. They cannot attain more power than they were left with
at the fall. Neither angels nor demons could ever represent a threat for God. According to Christianity, such a power as that attained by the
Hindu demons cannot be attained by any creature in our world, by any possible way of asceticism. Power can only be given by God, in a
limited measure, and only in order to recognize the true source of power, who is God himself.
Who did the divine incarnation came to save, gods or humans?
In Hinduism not only can demons force the gods to admit their merits, but the descent of the divine into human form is more concerned with
saving the world of the gods than that of humans. For instance, there are 8 avatars (no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9) involved in saving the world of
gods from the power attained by demons, while only 6 (no. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8) are concerned with saving humans. This proves that the gods
have a very fragile position and are more concerned about themselves than the problems of humankind.
In Christianity the idea of God becoming incarnate to save Himself is absurd. God is not affected at all by anything demons could do. From
this point of view, the coming of Christ could never have occurred as necessary. The only purpose of God's incarnation in Jesus Christ is the
salvation of humans from the effect of sin. The problem in Christianity is not that demons are a threat to God, but that man has chosen to
disobey God. Through the act of the divine incarnation man can gain a chance to return to personal communion with his Creator.
How does the divine incarnation save?
Usually the Hindu avatar kills the demon (no. 3, 4, 7, 8, only the demon-king Bali is spared and sent to hell by no. 5). The killing is performed
with much caution, so that the promises made by the god Brahma should not be broken. However, due to reincarnation this "killing" is not of
much effect, being only a limited solution to the problem of evil.
On the other hand, in Christianity, Jesus Christ didn't literally kill Satan. In accordance with the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, Jesus
let Himself be crucified for our sake. This was the "gift of God" (Romans 6,23) as ransom for our sins, a chance offered to us to be set free
from the power of Satan and sin. According to the Bible, the final destruction of demons' power will only occur at the judgment day
(Revelation 20,10).
Contradictory aspects of the Hindu avatars
A weird fact to mention here is the conflicts between two contemporary avatars of the Treta Yuga (Parasurama and Ramachandra). How can
this be? How could two incarnations of the same god wrestle with one another? Isn't each avatar under divine control? Why didn't the first
Rama leave in time? Or why couldn't he solve the problem for which the next avatar came, if he was present anyway in the world?
On the other hand, how could the gods cooperate with demons at the time of the second avatar's (Kurma) coming? How is it possible to
become allies and to be both threatened by the absence of amrita? This leads us to believe that both gods and demons are of the same nature
and use the same source of power.
Could Jesus Christ be assimilated with a Hindu avatar?
Christianity is a religion that breaks into history, presenting Jesus Christ as a historical God-man who was born, lived and died nearly 2.000
years ago. If his life were not a unique historical event, His whole teaching would be absurd. His claims, miracles, passion and resurrection, if
taken out of history, leave nothing to Christianity. On the other hand, Hinduism is not concerned with historicism, so it can accept any tales of
the repeated divine incarnation. The spiritual message of the avatars is the only element that matters, not their historical presence. Having this
mindset, Hindus accept Jesus Christ as an avatar (of the Western world) with a powerful message, but being nothing more than any other
avatar.
On the one hand, Hinduism is very syncretistic, including even Buddha among the avatars, the one who rejected the basic tenets of Hinduism.
On the other hand, Christianity is very exclusivistic when it comes to characterizing the descent of the divine into human form. Jesus Christ
cannot be just another avatar, a mere variant of an eternal myth. This would deprive Him of His true identity. His passion, death on the cross
and resurrection give Him a totally different portrait than the Hindu avatars. Rabindranath Maharaj summarized it in his book Death of a Guru
in the following words:
Jesus said he is the way, not a way; so that eliminates Krishna and everyone else. He did not come to destroy sinners - like Krishna
said of himself - but to save them. And no one else could. Jesus is not just one of many gods. He is the only true God, and he came to
this earth as a man, not just to show us how to live but to die for our sins. Krishna never did that. And Jesus was resurrected, which
never happened to Krishna or Rama or Shiva - in fact, they never existed.
(R. Maharaj Death of a Guru, Philadelphia, A.J. Holman Co., 1977, p. 148)
Jesus Christ and other Saviors and religious founders
Suggested links:
On Jesus and Mahomed:
The Person of Christ in the Gospel and the Quran, by Abd al-Fadi
Christ in Islam and Christianity, by John Gilchrist
On Jesus and Gotama Buddha:
Buddha and Christ, by Prof. Johannes Aagaard
On Jesus as a Gnostic teacher of wisdom:
Gnosticism and the Gnostic Jesus, by Douglas Groothuis
Easter: Myth, Hallucination, or History?, by Edwin Yamauchi. It examines the evidences for claiming that the Resurrection of Christ is a myth
patterned after the prototypes of dying and rising fertility gods.
How can those who never heard about Christ be saved?
How can those who never heard about
Christ be saved?
This question is a natural result when Christians state that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is the only
possibility for man’s salvation. From the very beginning, we have to emphasize an important aspect
when dealing with this issue: Such a question can be raised only by those who have heard about Jesus
Christ, but in most cases do not accept Him as Savior. Consequently, they use it as an excuse for ignoring
their responsibility toward Christ and for adhering either to atheism or to other religions.
It is obvious that none of the readers of this site belongs to the category of those who never heard about
Christ, as the entire Western history and culture has a Christian background. However, finding a proper
answer to this question is important for many people today. It may help them understand better the fact
that Christ’s sacrifice is indeed the solution for any human in this world, including those who lived prior
to his incarnation, or after this event, in geographical areas not reached by Christian missionaries.
Two extremes should be avoided when addressing the salvation of those who have never heard about
Christ. First, if humans could be saved only by hearing about Him, the multitudes which never had this
chance during their lifetime would necessarily be damned to eternal suffering in hell. It is obvious that
this cruel kind of God cannot be the God who died for them on the cross as absolute proof of His love. If
He is all-loving, all-knowing and all-powerful, He must have a solution for those who have never heard
about His final revelation in Jesus Christ.
Second, if all other religions were valid ways to God, the Christian claim of Christ’s sacrifice on the
cross being the only possibility for man’s salvation should be rejected. If any human could have worked
out his salvation by performing righteous deeds, rituals, meditations, etc., as his native religion requires,
God shouldn’t have adopted such a dramatic and absurd solution for our sins as the crucifixion. The rise
of Christianity as a new world religion would have been useless, and Jesus only one savior among many.
However, Jesus Himself claimed to be the only possibility for any human’s salvation and reconciliation
with God. He said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me” (John 14,6). He commanded his disciples to go and proclaim this truth in the entire world (Matthew
28,18-20; Mark 16,15-16) and they did it (Acts 4,12). If other religions were as good as Christianity in
attaining salvation, the effort of Christian missionaries would be absurd. Why would so many have
sacrificed their lives, only to proclaim one of the many alternatives man has to reach God?
Therefore we cannot sacrifice the importance of Jesus’ atonement on the altar of modern syncretism.
According to Christianity, salvation is provided only as a result of the specific historical acts performed
by Jesus Christ in His life, death on the cross, resurrection and ascension. What He did is absolutely
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essential for the salvation of any human being who has ever lived, whether thousands of years BC or
nowadays. Without Christ, no human could ever share eternal life with God.
As a result of the above considerations, we have to face a dilemma: Jesus Christ is the only way to God,
but it cannot be possible that only those who have heard about Him can be saved. Salvation must be
available also for those who haven't heard about Christ. The element which solves this dilemma is the
criteria according to which God will judge those who never heard about Christ and grant them salvation.
The Bible states that God is holy and will judge humans with justice (Acts 17,31), according to the
available measure of revelation they had and their response to it, expressed through their deeds (Romans
2,6), words (Matthew 12,36-37) and thoughts (Hebrews 4,12). The amount of revelation one has
determines a consequent measure of responsibility on his part (Luke 12,47-48). In the Western world,
anyone has elementary knowledge about Christianity, and therefore the terms of one's salvation are clear.
As to those who never had the chance to hear the Christian message, it is obvious that their judgment will
require other criteria than responding to the historical Jesus Christ.
God’s desire for all humans to be saved cannot be questioned. The Apostle Paul states: “God wants all
men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2,4). The same is stated by the
Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3,9). The important thing to clarify, then, is how does God show His grace to
those who die without ever having heard about Jesus Christ?
General revelation
There is no doubt that any human has been presented God’s general revelation, which is through nature,
conscience and culture. According to how they respond to it, the Apostle Paul proves (in the first three
chapters of his Epistle to the Romans) that all humans are sinful and deserve condemnation, even in the
absence of any coherent Christian message. This is the result of consciously rejecting general revelation;
both the external one, that of creation, and the internal one, that of conscience. Creation is by itself a
testimony about the Creator available to any human, as a kind of symbolic preaching that anyone can
understand:
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without
excuse (Romans 1,20).
Out of all things that have been made by Him, man is the highest of all. Man was created in God's image
and likeness, as a personal agent that is now in search of meaning and fulfillment. If the external
revelation of nature is not enough, then the internal one, that of conscience, is even more significant.
Man’s conscience knows intuitively God’s moral standards and warns when they are trespassed:
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are
a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements
of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts
now accusing, now even defending them (Romans 2,14-15).
Anyone who performs evil is consciously acting contrary to the demands of his conscience. (However,
conscience can become perverted itself, but only after a process of constantly rejecting its natural right
demands.) The true problem of man is not the lack of revelation, but a wrong way of responding to it
(Romans 1,21-23). Therefore, God could find enough reasons to judge and condemn those who never
heard about Christ. Due to the fact that He could condemn them on the basis of their response to general
revelation, the next point is to see how they could still be saved.
Grace attributed retroactively
If those who never heard about Christ could be saved only as a result of their response to general
revelation, we should also accept that salvation can be attained as a reward for one’s good deeds. But the
Bible states clearly that nobody can earn his salvation through morality or good deeds (Ephesians 2,8-9).
However, the Bible also speaks about people who never heard about Christ but still are saved (Hebrews
11). Before analyzing these cases, it should be emphasized that if salvation depended exclusively on how
much information one had about Christ, we would fall into the trap of Gnosticism (salvation through
attaining right knowledge). Knowledge doesn't save us, but only God, as we respond in faith to His
revelation, no matter how limited it might be. God does not limit His grace to those who have enough
information of Him. As the examples mentioned in The Letter to the Hebrews (chapter 11) prove, the
salvation of those who never heard about Christ depends on two basic requirements: 1) their response to
the amount of revelation they had, which is their responsibility; 2) the retroactive conferring of Christ’s
sacrifice, on the basis of the faith they manifested through properly responding to general revelation,
which is God’s responsibility. Let us analyze how this works.
The 11th chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews gives many examples of people who lived in the Old
Testament time and were saved without hearing about Jesus Christ. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, David and others, are all considered heroes of faith, despite the fact that
none of them heard about Christ. Jacob (Genesis 49,10), Moses (Deuteronomy 18,15) and David (Psalm
22) prophesied about His coming, but didn’t understand too much about its soteriological value. Others
like Rahab (Joshua 2,1-21; Hebrews 11,31), Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5,1-19; Luke 4,27),
Melchizedek (Genesis 14,17-20; 7,2,15-17) and Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses (Exodus 18), were
saved although they didn’t even belong to the people of Israel. They accepted the small amount of
revelation they got, responded in faith and as a result God conferred on them the atoning sacrifice of
Christ. Faith is the key element here. It means trusting in the promises of God and responding through
effective action to His initiative (Hebrews 11,1-3). Faith is not limited to understanding the doctrine of
atonement, but rather engaging in a trusting relationship with God.
While analyzing these famous examples of the Old Testament, we can observe the various kinds of
revelation they had from God: Noah was warned about the imminent coming of the flood; his response
proved his faith in God’s promise to save him together with his family (Genesis 6-9). Abraham trusted
God’s promise that he would be blessed with a son and become the ancestor of a big nation (Genesis
12-22; Hebrews 11,8-19). God proclaimed him righteous because of his faith: “Abram believed the Lord,
and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15,6). Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, the descendants of
Abraham, trusted in God and were blessed. Moses trusted that God would free the Jewish nation from
Egyptian bondage and lead them into the Promised Land (Hebrews 11,20-22).
Not only people belonging to the chosen people of Israel were saved in the Old Testament time, but also
Gentiles. Melchizedek was called “priest of the God Most High” (Genesis 14,18) without having any
blood relation to Abraham. He worshipped the same God, and Abraham even paid tithes to him. Jethro,
the father-in-law of Moses, finding out what God has done through the Jewish nation, accepted by faith
that the God of Moses is the true god. Rahab, the prostitute (!), hearing about the approaching of Israel,
risked her life in order to hide the Jewish scouts (Joshua 2,1-21; Hebrews 11,31). This was the effective
way she expressed her faith in the true God and therefore was counted among the heroes of faith.
Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5,1-19; Luke 4,27) banished his pride when he understood who the true
God is, showing his faith by his decision to abandon idolatry.
All these people of the Old Testament, heroes of faith, have not been saved through their merits, but
through the grace of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, retroactively attributed to them. Their faith was the
instrument through which God granted them salvation, the same instrument He uses today for all people
who accept the sacrifice of Christ as the atoning solution for their sins (Hebrews 11,39-40). Although the
type of revelation differs (today we have available the final revelation of God, through Christ), the object
of faith remains the same - God, and the basis of His forgiveness cannot be other than Christ’s sacrifice.
For both those who lived before and after Jesus’ crucifixion, God’s forgiveness was always granted
through grace and not by one’s own merits, and the proper way of accepting grace was and will always
be faith. The sacrifice of Christ is the element that validates the faith of humans who lived both before
and after His incarnation.
Neither those who lived prior to the incarnation of Christ, nor those living after His death but without
knowing anything about it, can be saved exclusively through their religion. A clear example is that of
Naaman the Syrian, who had leprosy. The prophet Elisha didn’t suggest that he should bring more
sacrifices to the Syrian god Rimmon, didn’t encourage him to be more honest and devoted to his native
religion, but sent him to the Jordan River. By his initial refusal, Naaman is a symbol of man’s opposition
toward God’s special revelation. The desire to earn salvation (in Naaman’s case through bathing in the
holy Syrian rivers, making offerings, etc.) is a natural product of a false religion. Very often the
adherents of Eastern religions fit into this category. They refuse God’s grace, claiming to be able to attain
salvation (liberation) by their own efforts. However, God cannot validate this effort, as it is a product of
pride, of man’s attitude of independence toward God. Following the ancient promise “you will be like
God” (Genesis 3,5), by using a great variety of teachings and techniques, more or less sophisticated,
while refusing grace, cannot be a valid way to God.
Salvation for those who never heard about Christ but accept the
importance of grace
The above considerations do not imply that all those who don’t know anything else than their native
religion are automatically condemned. There have been enough spiritual masters who recognized the
necessity of grace and the impossibility of reaching salvation by one’s own efforts. Ramanuja and
Madhva are brilliant examples in the Hindu tradition, as is Shantideva in Mahayana Buddhism. More
than that, the entire spiritual trend called prapatti in Hinduism, or the Pure Land school of Buddhism,
focuses on grace as the only solution for attaining liberation. According to them, the whole merit for
getting saved belongs to the god (in Hinduism) or bodhisattva (in Buddhism) they worship. There are
also many cases of tribal religions in which grace plays a key role in salvation.
The God who reveals Himself in the Bible knows man’s inner attitude and his motivation for performing
certain religious duties. All efforts which point toward self-justification are of no value, no matter how
impressive they could be. However, if man’s attitude is one of humility, recognizance of his own
weakness, and acceptance of grace, which God offers unconditionally, the situation in completely
different. We have observed this attitude in the prapatti devotional trend of Hinduism, which demands
giving up the control of one's personal life to the god Vishnu and leaving to him all responsibility for
attaining salvation. The adherent of this trend has to acknowledge that he is not good enough to deserve
liberation by performing rituals and moral obligations. As mentioned in a previous file, the whole
prapatti philosophy can be summarized in the following verse, written by Vedanta Deshika, a 14th
century follower of Ramanuja:
Lord, I, who am nothing, conform to your will and desist being contrary to it, and with faith and
prayer, submit to you the burden of saving my soul (Nyasadashaka 2).
The same is the case with the Pure Land School of Mahayana Buddhism, which flourished in Japan.
According to its doctrine, the bodhisattva Amida (the Buddha of Infinite Light) is able to save even the
most despised sinner by his grace (tariki). To reach his paradise by human efforts (performing meditation
or good deeds) is impossible. This can be attained only through Amida’s grace.
Such spiritual trends in other religions prove that the Holy Spirit is at work in the world, convincing
people of their sin and turning their hearts toward God. According to the character displayed by the God
of Christianity, He will save such people, by the grace available for all in Jesus Christ. They will be
saved not through their native religion, but despite of it, as a reward for their humility and recognition
of the need for grace. If there are many or few people in this category we cannot know.
A classic example of how people belonging to cultures completely foreign to the Judeo-Christian world
can still have a revelation of God and meet him is the Magi from the east mentioned in Matthew 2,1-12.
Despite the fact that they were astrologers and probably believed that human destiny is shaped by the
stars, which is contrary to biblical teaching, they still were granted a special revelation from God
regarding His major intervention on earth to save humankind from sin. They worshipped Jesus as King
of the Jews and brought Him gifts worthy of a king. Some theological speculations see the gifts as
pointing to His divine nature (gold), His divine priesthood (incense) and sacrifice (myrrh was used for
embalming). Their coming to Judea was obviously not customary. It was not a rule for the Magi to
worship the kings there at their birth. This episode was rather a surprise for all, and a serious reason for
Herod to feel his throne threatened. This example shows that God can use unorthodox methods to reveal
Himself to those who are completely foreign to His revelation in the Bible. He has sufficient means to do
it all over the earth. The most important factor, again, is human response to His revelation, as the Magi
could have ignored the Bethlehem star. However, their journey proves their faith and brings them to
worship the true God.
Man’s problem has never been the lack of revelation, but only pride and refusal to change his attitude
towards grace. People do not respond to the amount of revelation they already have; they know what to
do, but refuse to do it. Most of Jesus’ contemporaries rejected Him because they refused to believe,
despite all fulfilled prophecies, miracles, healings and even His resurrection. The Parable of the Rich
Man and Lazarus (Luke 16,19-31) is extremely relevant here. People are given everything they need in
order to be saved, but if they refuse the available revelation, they are fully responsible for it and cannot
be justified at God’s judgment. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ tells us that man lacks any chance to
please God by his own efforts, that God’s grace in Jesus was an absolute necessity and His love for us
was big enough to save us from the spiritual disaster to which our illusory independence would have
brought us.
One more aspect should be addressed here: If people can be saved without ever hearing about Christ,
does it mean that Christian missions are futile? There are two important reasons to reject this hypothesis.
Before mentioning them, it should be acknowledged that if the salvation of tribes living in remote areas
depended entirely on missionaries’ preaching, a lot of people will suffer eternal damnation in hell only
because Christian missionaries didn’t manage to reach their part of the world in time. More than that, in
many cases the disobedience of Christians to go into remote parts of the world would be responsible for
that. However, condemning people to hell because of the sin of some Christians isn’t at all consistent
with God’s perfect justice and love for the lost.
There are two important reasons for Christian mission in the world. First, Jesus himself commanded it
(Matthew 28,18-20). He is the final revelation of God and His message of salvation has to be proclaimed
“to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1,8). That people can be saved without hearing about Christ is only a
temporary solution, which operates only until His message will reach all humans. Second, all people
should share the fullness and blessings of the Christian life, not only in eternity, but also during this
present earthly life. The love of God in a personal relation with Him and also in the Christian community
can be experienced starting from now, as Jesus came to redeem our earthly life as well.
In conclusion, God didn’t leave the world without a proper testimony about Him (Acts 14,17) and doesn’t
condemn anybody without first revealing His grace. Although this article on the question “How can those
who never heard about Christ be saved?" may not satisfy some of you, remember that nobody’s salvation
depends on how convincing such an answer could be. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is and remains
the only ground for human salvation. Rejecting it (by those who heard about Him) cannot be justified by
the lack of intellectual satisfaction one gets from polemical debates foreign to our spiritual context.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Christianity and Buddhism
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
in Christianity and Buddhism
Most of you know the Parable of the Prodigal Son as it appears in Luke's gospel, but probably few are
aware that it has a Buddhist parallel in one of the major writings of Mahayana Buddhism. Although both
parables seem to convey a similar message regarding God's compassion for humans, a closer look will
reveal fundamental differences in their teaching and consequently between Christianity and Buddhism.
Let us quote both parables and then analyze them.
First, here is the text in the Gospel According to Luke:
There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my
share of the estate." So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the
younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his
wealth in wild living.
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he
began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent
him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were
eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of
my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and
go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I
am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." So he got
up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for
him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him,
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called
your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have
a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found." So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music
and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. "Your
brother has come," he replied, "and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has
him back safe and sound." The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his
father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, "Look! All these years
I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a
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young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has
squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!"
"My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we
had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he
was lost and is found."
(Luke 15:11-32)
The Buddhist parable is longer:
A young man left his father and ran away. For long he dwelt in other countries, for ten, or
twenty, or fifty years. The older he grew, the more needy he became. Wandering in all
directions to seek clothing and food, he unexpectedly approached his native country. The
father had searched for his son all those years in vain and meanwhile had settled in a certain
city. His home became very rich; his goods and treasures were fabulous.
At this time, the poor son, wandering through village after village and passing through
countries and cities, at last reached the city where his father had settled. The father had
always been thinking of his son, yet, although he had been parted from him over fifty years,
he had never spoken of the matter to anyone. He only pondered over it within himself and
cherished regret in his heart, saying, "Old and worn out I am. Although I own much wealth gold, silver, and jewels, granaries and treasuries overflowing - I have no son. Some day my
end will come and my wealth will be scattered and lost, for I have no heir. If I could only
get back my son and commit my wealth to him, how contented and happy would I be, with
no further anxiety!"
Meanwhile the poor son, hired for wages here and there, unexpectedly arrived at his
father's house. Standing by the gate, he saw from a distance his father seated on a
lion-couch, his feet on a jeweled footstool, and with expensive strings of pearls adorning his
body, revered and surrounded by priests, warriors, and citizens, attendants and young slaves
waiting upon him right and left. The poor son, seeing his father having such great power,
was seized with fear, regretting that he had come to this place. He reflected, "This must be a
king, or someone of royal rank, it is impossible for me to be hired here. I had better go to
some poor village in search of a job, where food and clothing are easier to get. If I stay here
long, I may suffer oppression." Reflecting thus, he rushed away.
Meanwhile the rich elder on his lion-seat had recognized his son at first glance, and with
great joy in his heart reflected, "Now I have someone to whom I may pass on my wealth. I
have always been thinking of my son, with no means of seeing him, but suddenly he himself
has come and my longing is satisfied. Though worn with years, I yearn for him."
Instantly he sent off his attendants to pursue the son quickly and fetch him back.
Immediately the messengers hasten forth to seize him. The poor son, surprised and scared,
loudly cried his complaint, "I have committed no offense against you, why should I be
arrested?" The messengers all the more hastened to lay hold of him and brought him back.
Following that, the poor son, thought that although he was innocent he would be
imprisoned, and that now he would surely die. He became all the more terrified, fainted
away and fell on the ground. The father, seeing this from a distance, sent word to the
messengers, "I have no need for this man. Do not bring him by force. Sprinkle cold water on
his face to restore him to consciousness and do not speak to him any further." Why? The
father, knowing that his son's disposition was inferior, knowing that his own lordly position
had caused distress to his son, yet convinced that he was his son, tactfully did not say to
others, "This is my son."
A messenger said to the son, "I set you free, go wherever you will." The poor son was
delighted, thus obtaining the unexpected release. He arose from the ground and went to a
poor village in search of food and clothing. Then the elder, desiring to attract his son, set up
a device. Secretly he sent two men, sorrowful and poor in appearance, saying, "Go and visit
that place and gently say to the poor man, 'There is a place for you to work here. We will
hire you for scavenging, and we both also will work along with you.'" Then the two
messengers went in search of the poor son and, having found him, presented him the above
proposal. The poor son, having received his wages in advance, joined them in removing a
refuse heap.
His father, beholding the son, was struck with compassion for him. One day he saw at a
distance, through the window, his son's figure, haggard and drawn, lean and sorrowful,
filthy with dirt and dust. He took off his strings of jewels, his soft attire, and put on a coarse,
torn and dirty garment, smeared his body with dust, took a basket in his right hand, and with
an appearance fear-inspiring said to the laborers, "Get on with your work, don't be lazy." By
such means he got near to his son, to whom he afterwards said, "Ay, my man, you stay and
work here, do not leave again. I will increase your wages, give whatever you need, bowls,
rice, wheat-flour, salt, vinegar, and so on. Have no hesitation; besides there is an old servant
whom you can get if you need him. Be at ease in your mind; I am, as it were, your father; do
not be worried again. Why? I am old and advanced in years, but you are young and
vigorous; all the time you have been working, you have never been deceitful, lazy, angry or
grumbling. I have never seen you, like the other laborers, with such vices as these. From this
time forth you will be as my own begotten son."
The elder gave him a new name and called him a son. But the poor son, although he
rejoiced at this happening, still thought of himself as a humble hireling. For this reason, for
twenty years he continued to be employed in scavenging. After this period, there grew
mutual confidence between the father and the son. He went in and out and at his ease,
though his abode was still in a small hut.
Then the father became ill and, knowing that he would die soon, said to the poor son,
"Now I possess an abundance of gold, silver, and precious things, and my granaries and
treasuries are full to overflowing. I want you to understand in detail the quantities of these
things, and the amounts that should be received and given. This is my wish, and you must
agree to it. Why? Because now we are of the same mind. Be increasingly careful so that
there be no waste." The poor son accepted his instruction and commands, and became
acquainted with all the goods. However, he still had no idea of expecting to inherit anything,
his abode was still the original place and he was still unable to abandon his sense of
inferiority.
After a short time had again passed, the father noticed that his son's ideas had gradually
been enlarged, his aspirations developed, and that he despised his previous state of mind.
Seeing that his own end was approaching, he commanded his son to come, and gathered all
his relatives, the kings, priests, warriors, and citizens. When they were all assembled, he
addressed them saying, "Now, gentlemen, this is my son, begotten by me. It is over fifty
years since, from a certain city, he left me and ran away to endure loneliness and misery.
His former name was so-and-so and my name was so-and-so. At that time in that city I
sought him sorrowfully. Suddenly I met him in this place and regained him. This is really
my son and I am really his father. Now all the wealth which I possess belongs entirely to my
son, and all my previous disbursements and receipts are known by this son." When the poor
son heard these words of his father, great was his joy at such unexpected news, and thus he
thought, "Without any mind for, or effort on my part, these treasures now come to me."
World-honored One! The very rich elder is the Tathagata, and we are all as the Buddha's
sons. The Buddha has always declared that we are his sons. But because of the three
sufferings, in the midst of births-and-deaths we have borne all kinds of torments, being
deluded and ignorant and enjoying our attachment to things of no value. Today the
World-honored One has caused us to ponder over and remove the dirt of all diverting
discussions of inferior things. In these we have hitherto been diligent to make progress and
have got, as it were, a day's pay for our effort to reach nirvana. Obtaining this, we greatly
rejoiced and were contented, saying to ourselves, "For our diligence and progress in the
Buddha-law what we have received is ample". The Buddha, knowing that our minds
delighted in inferior things, by his tactfulness taught according to our capacity, but still we
did not perceive that we are really Buddha's sons. Therefore we say that though we had no
mind to hope or expect it, yet now the Great Treasure of the King of the Law has of itself
come to us, and such things that Buddha-sons should obtain, we have all obtained.
(Saddharmapundarika Sutra 4)
The parable in its context
In Luke, the parable reveals the nature of God in Christianity, His expectation that all sinners may return
to a father-son relationship with Him. Jesus told this parable to a large public consisting of both
"religious experts" of the day, the Pharisees, and the people most despised by them, the tax collectors,
prostitutes and other outcasts (Luke 15,1-2). The Pharisees considered these "sinners" to be outside the
acceptable boundary of God's kingdom and accused Jesus for enjoying their company. In contrast to their
attitude, He told the previous two parables in the same chapter (The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin), in
order to emphasize His initiative in seeking and saving such sinners. In response, they acknowledged
their sinful life and came to Jesus for healing and forgiveness, while the Pharisees considered themselves
good enough according to God's standards (see the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector - Luke
18:9-14). Thus the Parable of the Prodigal Son reveals both God's love for those who were ready to
accept it (the prodigal son who returns to his father), and His rejection of the Pharisees' hypocrisy and
self-centered righteousness (the older son in the parable). Although the contrast between the two sons is
an important point in the parable, as the Buddhist parable speaks only of a prodigal son, the teaching
about the older son in Luke will be ignored in this comparison.
*
The Buddhist parable is part of the famous Saddharmapundarika Sutra (also called the Lotus Sutra,
composed at the end of the second century AD), which revealed the new teaching of Mahayana
Buddhism regarding the bodhisattva beings. The discourse of the Buddha is said to have taken place in
front of a very large public, consisting of arhats, nuns, bodhisattvas, gods and other beings. His teaching
was addressed to those who have reached the arhat stage of becoming and are supposed to advance
further by becoming a bodhisattva. As the son in the parable shouldn't be satisfied by his lower status,
the Buddhist disciples should also aspire to a higher position, that of becoming a bodhisattva. It will
eventually be attained step by step after a long instructing and testing process.
The characters
In the gospel the father represents God, the Ultimate Reality in Christianity, while the prodigal son is the
one living in sin who finally repents and returns to a fellowship relation with God. In the Sutra the father
is Buddha (or more specifically, the Buddha nature - Dharmakaya), while the son is the one struggling to
become an enlightened bodhisattva being.
The son's departure and miserable condition
The prodigal son in Luke declares he has had enough of staying home in obedience to his father and
wants to be on his own. Not only does he want to leave home, but he even dares to claim his inheritance,
the fortune he is supposed to get at his father's death. Such a demand is extremely outrageous, especially
in the Middle Eastern context. However, instead of rebuking or even denouncing his son, the father
grants his request.
Soon after this, the son left for a distant country and there he squandered his entire fortune in wild living.
This probably was a quite new and interesting experience for him, but it brought him to bankruptcy. Now
he had to find a job to make a living in that country, and the best offer he had was to feed someone's pigs.
In a Jewish context, the pigs are considered unclean animals; therefore being hired to feed them and even
being hungry enough to long for their food illustrates the worst possible situation one can reach.
The spiritual meaning of the prodigal son's leaving his home is assimilated in Christianity with man's
rebellion against God, his heavenly father. God does not oppose one's freedom of will in choosing how to
live. As the son in the parable claimed his inheritance and then squandered it, humans use all that God
has granted them (wealth, health, time and relationships) not for serving Him in obedience, but against
His will. This attitude is called sin, and brings humans to the lowest possible stage of decadence.
Although living in sin is first very attractive and pleasant, in the end it leads to destruction, both from an
existential and a spiritual point of view.
Another important observation here is that although the father in the parable gave a large fortune to his
son, he was still rich after the son's departure. However, the father's only concern proved to be his son's
personal safety and return to the family. His wealth plays no role for him. As the rich man in the parable
didn't become poor by his son's departure, God does not lose anything by our decision to live in rebellion
to Him. The only one who is losing everything is man.
*
The prodigal son of the Buddhist Sutra leaves home without any fortune from his father. His departure
looks more like running away in secrecy. He also becomes more and more needy but is still able to make
a living. The father doesn't seem to have been rich at the moment of his son's departure. He rather
became rich after this episode, in another city than the one in which he previously lived with his son.
Therefore the son had no wealthy position to remember from home and to eventually return to. Even if
he would have, the father had left it, so there was no place for him to return. Regarding the father's
concern in this story, he seems more worried about having an heir than about making his son happy
again.
The meaning of the son's wandering in the Buddhist tale is that there is no initial position to lose in one's
spiritual becoming. As the son leaves his home poor and remains poor, humans have no other inheritance
than karma, which makes them wander from one bad incarnation to another. The only truth that governs
human existence is suffering and karma, which leads to an endless wandering in the world, with no
original position to return to. The only spiritual fulfillment is a permanent growth toward an impersonal
liberation. This is the Buddhist treasure to be discovered by any cost.
The way back home
The prodigal son of the gospel finally "came to his senses" and acknowledged his dramatic condition.
Ashamed, he planned to return to his father, confess his sin and ask to be hired as a servant. This
position, no matter how humiliating it could be in front of his brother and the other servants, was a much
better choice than staying with the pigs.
The process of one's "coming to his senses" is called repentance in Christian theology. It involves
acknowledging the bad condition of living in sin and making the decision to leave it.
*
The Buddhist prodigal son made no decision to return to his father. He continuously wandered from town
to town until he unexpectedly arrived at his father's palace. The son didn't even recognize his father,
whose situation had changed a lot since his departure. More than this, the father's wealth inspired fear in
the son and made him try to run away again in order to not enter into more trouble. Eventually, at the
father's command, the attendants seized him and brought him to the palace against his will.
The son's wandering in the world can be interpreted as the effect of karma and reincarnation in one's life.
They constantly push man on the one-way of becoming. However long the process of being reincarnated
in different bodies may be, one has to finally reach liberation (that's why the attendants seize the son
against his will). One constantly experiences suffering until he has to accept that the best solution for his
life is nirvana. Although reaching the status of a bodhisattva (a being that helps other humans attain
liberation) seems to confer a personal afterlife destiny, the ultimate stage of becoming is shunya, the
void, where nothing personal can remain.
What happens back home?
According to Luke's parable, the father was waiting for his prodigal son. He probably knew that the son
couldn't find true satisfaction in what the world had to offer him. Instead of punishing him for his foolish
behavior, "while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him;
he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him" (v. 20). Instead of humiliating the son as a
repayment for the shame he cast on his father at departure, the father humiliates himself by running to
meet him. Such a behavior was totally indignified according to Jewish standards of the time. After the
son recited half of his prepared speech, acknowledging he was wrong, the father interrupted him and
commanded the servants to bring him the best robe, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. The
fattened calf was slaughtered and a feast ordered to celebrate his return. All these symbols prove a 100%
forgiveness and rehabilitation of the son to his prior status. The robe was a sign of great distinction, the
ring the sign of authority, the sandals a luxury (only slaves were bare-footed) and the slaughter of the
fattened calf the sign of a very important celebration in the family. Instead of becoming a hired servant as
he hoped, the son was fully restored to the position he had abandoned long before.
*
The Sutra presents in a whole different way the prodigal son's return home. The father unexpectedly
recognized him standing at his gate and sent his attendants to seize him and compel him to come to the
palace. The son didn't understand the situation and became terrified. The father initially treated him like a
stranger because of his "inferior disposition". A sudden restoration was out of the question.
Understanding his son's mindset, the father set him free and managed that he be hired as a scavenger.
Although filled with compassion, the father could not reveal his identity until the son deserved his proper
place in the family. He met his son in disguise and encouraged him to be honest in his work in order to
be promoted. He promised to increase his salary and provide for his basic needs. The son had first to
prove high qualities before being accepted back into the family. So he lived for 20 years in a small hut
while still being employed in scavenging.
The testing process would have probably continued if the father hadn't become ill, feeling his death to be
imminent. Even at this time the son was not fully accepted into the family but only promoted to a higher
position, that of accountant over all his father's riches. Without abandoning his sense of inferiority, the
son became acquainted with all the goods. Noticing that his son's ideas had gradually changed for the
good and that he despised his former status, only then did the father gather all his relatives and friends
and declare the former servant to be his son and heir.
The teaching of the parable in Christianity and Buddhism
The Christian meaning of the parable is clear. All humans need to return to God in repentance and faith.
He does not compel humans to do it, so it must be a personal decision. God's forgiveness is not
conditioned by attaining high spiritual performances but only by repentance. The price for our
reconciliation with God was paid by Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross and His resurrection.
There is nothing more to add and one life is enough to accept it.
The parable depicts the amazing availability of God to forgive and restore us, His unlimited grace to
bestow upon us, His great love to accept us independently of our status and past. This should give us
courage to come to Him in repentance and faith, without fear, and inherit His Kingdom, where personal
communion with Him will be everlasting.
*
The Buddhist parable has a different message. Both the process of being liberated (acknowledged as son)
and the meaning of liberation (inheriting the father's estate) have a different meaning. One cannot simply
attain liberation at once. The process is very long and demands a progressive accumulation of wisdom
until one deserves his place in the hierarchy. Escaping from ignorance and suffering, attaining nirvana
and the becoming of a bodhisattva is a hard-to-win prize that has to be attained gradually by a
day-by-day effort in training the mind and overcoming karma. Grace, in Buddhism, cannot be shown
directly, but only as the disciple deserves it, which in fact is no grace at all.
There is also a major difference from Christianity in defining the status of the liberated person.
Personhood has no room in the system. Although the bodhisattva is a personal being, he acts as a
temporary catalyst for the sake of other humans that they may also find nirvana. The true ultimate stage
of spiritual progress is shunya, the void, where no personal communion can ever exist. It is the final
blowing out of the candle. This means that an eternal communion with a Father in His Kingdom makes
no sense in traditional Buddhism. Ultimately, there is no Father to have communion with.
The following table summarizes the teaching of the two parables and also reveals some basic
contradictions between the two religions:
Topic in the parable
Meaning in Christianity
Meaning in Buddhism
The context
Jesus is teaching sinners,
emphasizing their need and
opportunity to be reconciled
with God.
Buddha is teaching spiritually
advanced disciples (arhats)
the need for attaining a higher
position, that of a bodhisattva.
The characters
God and the sinners
Buddha (the ultimate
impersonal Buddha nature)
and the ones struggling to
attain it
The meaning of the son's
departure from home
The human attitude of
rebellion against God, called
sin
Ignorance starts the wheel of
karma.
The son's miserable condition
The human condition under
the power of sin, away from
personal communion with
God
Karma and reincarnation force
one to wander from one
physical existence to the next
The decision to return home
A personal decision to leave
sin, called repentance
Karma and reincarnation lead
one to the proper level where
wisdom and spiritual progress
can be attained.
The father's attitude at the
son's arrival
Complete forgiveness of sin
and restoration to personal
fellowship with God
Buddha's "grace" makes one
progress little by little toward
liberation. One has to deserve
his position by a process of
spiritual development.
Who pays the damage for the
lost fortune
Jesus Christ paid the price for
our forgiveness through His
death and resurrection.
The disciple has to "pay
himself" the price for erasing
his ignorance, by constantly
accumulating wisdom.
The son's inheritance
Eternal communion with God
in His kingdom
Attaining an impersonal
Ultimate Reality (shunya),
where there is no room for
personal communion
Reincarnation, its meaning and consequences. Reincarnation and Christianity
REINCARNATION
Its meaning and consequences
A) Reincarnation in world religions; B) Past-life recall as proof for reincarnation; C) Reincarnation and
cosmic justice; D) Reincarnation and Christianity.
D) Reincarnation and Christianity
Today’s religious syncretism not only accepts reincarnation as one of its basic doctrines but also tries to
prove that it can be found in the Bible and in the history of the Church. We will therefore analyze the
basic texts in the Bible which are claimed to imply reincarnation, examine the position of some important
Church fathers who were suspected of having accepted it, emphasize the basic antagonism of this
doctrine with Christian teaching, and then find a proper explanation for the past life recall experiences
mentioned earlier, an explanation that should be compatible with Christian thought.
Reincarnation and the Bible
Biblical texts that seem to imply reincarnation
The most "convincing" texts of this kind are the following:
1) Matthew 11,14 and 17,12-13, concerning the identity of John the Baptist;
2) John 9,2, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?";
3) John 3,3, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again";
4) James 3,6, "the wheel of nature";
5) Galatians 6,7, "A man reaps what he sows".
6) Matthew 26,52, ”all who draw the sword will die by the sword”.
7) Revelation 13,10, ”If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed
with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.”
1. The first text concerns the identity of John the Baptist, supposed to be the reincarnation of the prophet
Elijah. In Matthew 11,14 Jesus says: "And if you are willing to accept it, he (John the Baptist) is the
Elijah who was to come." In the same Gospel, while answering the apostles about the coming of Elijah,
Jesus told them: "But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done
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to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." The
commentary adds: "Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist."
(Matthew 17,12-13; see also Mark 9,12-13)
At first sight, it may seem that these verses imply the reincarnation of the prophet Elijah as John the
Baptist. The prophecy of the return of Elijah was stated in the last verses of the Old Testament, in the
book of the prophet Malachi (3,1; 4,5-6): "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and
dreadful day of the Lord comes." Right before this prophecy was fulfilled, through the birth of John the
Baptist, an angel announced to his father Zechariah: "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and
power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1,17). What could be the meaning of the
words "in the spirit and power of Elijah"? According to other Biblical passages that refer to Elijah and
John the Baptist, they do not teach reincarnation.
At the time when John the Baptist began his public preaching, the priests in Jerusalem asked him about
his identity. They asked: "Are you Elijah?" (John 1,21) In such circumstances a true "guru" wouldn’t
have hesitated to state his position in the succession of spiritual masters (the guru parampara) of the
tradition he is representing. However, John the Baptist answered simply: "I am not." His negation
suggests another meaning to the words quoted from Matthew 11,14 and 17,12-13. John the Baptist was
rather a kind of Elijah, a prophet who had to repeat the mission of Elijah in a similar context. The same
as Elijah did, John the Baptist had to suffer persecution from the royal house of Israel and acted in the
context of the spiritual degeneration of the Jewish nation, with the mission of bringing the people back to
the right worship of God. John the Baptist had the same spiritual mission as the prophet Elijah, but not
the same soul or self. For this reason the expression "in the spirit and power of Elijah" should not be
interpreted as reincarnation of a person, but as a necessary repetition of a well-known episode in the
history of Israel. Another Biblical text that contradicts the reincarnation theory in this case is the story of
Elijah’s departure from this world. Elijah didn’t die in the proper sense of the word, but "went up to
heaven in a whirlwind" (2 Kings 2,11). According to the classic theory of reincarnation, a person has to
die physically first in order that his self may be reincarnated in another body. In the case of Elijah this
didn’t happen. So it must be considered an exception to both the natural process of death, and to the rule
of reincarnation. Finally, the experience of the three apostles at the Mount of Transfiguration has to be
remembered (Matthew 17,1-8, Mark 9,2-8; Luke 9,28-36), when Elijah was identified by the apostles
without being confused with John the Baptist.
2. The next disputed text is the introduction to the healing of the man born blind in John 9,2. Considering
the apostles' question: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?", it is obvious
that the first option (the man was born blind because of his sin) implies that he could sin only in a
previous life. According to the classic theory of reincarnation, he might have been a cruel dictator who
got the just reward for his bad deeds.
However, the apostles' question about the possibility of having sinned before birth should not necessarily
be judged as indicating an existing belief in reincarnation at that time in Israel. It rather confirms that
some religious factions believed that the fetus can sin in his mother womb. If Jesus had considered
reincarnation to be true, surely He would have used this opportunity - as was His custom - to explain to
them the law of karma and reincarnation, as an immediate application to that man’s situation. Jesus never
missed such occasions to instruct his disciples on spiritual matters, and reincarnation would have been a
crucial doctrine for them to understand.
Nevertheless, by the answer Jesus gave to them, He rejected both options suggested by the apostles. Both
the idea of sinning before birth and the punishment for the parents' sins were wrong. Jesus said: "Neither
this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life"
(John 9,3). "The work of God" is described in the next verses, when Jesus healed the blind man as a
proof of His divinity (v. 39).
3. In the Gospel According to John Jesus said to Nicodemus: "I tell you the truth, no one can see the
kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3,3). Out of its context, this verse seems to suggest that
reincarnation is the only possibility for attaining spiritual perfection and admission into the "kingdom of
God". Nicodemus’ following question indicates that he understood by these words a kind of physical
rebirth in this life, and not classic reincarnation: "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he
cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (v. 4). Jesus rejected the idea of physical
rebirth and explained man’s need for spiritual rebirth, during this life, in order to be admitted into
God’s kingdom in the afterlife.
Jesus further explained the meaning of His words by referring to a well-known episode in Israel’s
history: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up" (John
3,14). That episode occurred while the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness toward the Promised
Land under the command of Moses (see Numbers 21,4-9). They spoke against God and against Moses,
and then God punished them by sending poisonous snakes against them. Grasping the gravity of the
situation, they recognized their sin and asked for a saving solution. God’s solution was that Moses had to
make a bronze copy of such a snake and put it up on a pole. Those who had been bitten by a snake had to
look at this bronze snake, believing that this symbol represented their salvation, and were healed.
Coming back to the link Jesus made between that episode and His teaching, He said: "Just as Moses
lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life" (John 3,14-15). In other words, as Moses lifted up the bronze snake 1400 years
earlier, in the same way was He to be lifted up on the cross, in order to be the only solution, the only
antidote to the deadly bite of sin. As the Jews had to believe that the bronze snake was their salvation
from death, the same way had Nicodemus, his generation and the entire world to believe that Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross is the perfect solution provided by God for the sins of the world. Therefore the kind
of rebirth Jesus was teaching (as well as Paul – see Titus 3,5) is not the Eastern concept of reincarnation
but a spiritual rebirth that any human can experience in this life.
4. A fourth text interpreted as indicative for reincarnation is found in the Epistle of James 3,6, where
some translations (such as the American Standard Version) mention "the wheel of nature" which seems
to resemble the cycle of endless reincarnation stated by the Eastern religions. However, in this context
the reference is made to the control of speech in order not to sin. The ASV translation states: "And the
tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body,
and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell." The tongue out of control is compared
with a fire that affects all aspects of existence, thought and deed, in a vicious cycle. This means that
sinful speech is at the origin of many other sins, which are consequently generated, and conduct man to
hell. The NIV translation is clearer at this point: "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the
parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on
fire by hell."
5. A classic example of suggesting karma and samsara in the Bible is often claimed to be represented by
the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps
what he sows" (Galatians 6,7). This "sowing and reaping" process would allegedly represent someone’s
acts and their consequences as dictated by karma in further lives. However, the very next verse here
indicates that the point here is judging the effects of our deeds from the perspective of eternal life, as
stated in the Bible, without a further earthly existence being involved: "The one who sows to please his
sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit
will reap eternal life" (6,8; see also the entire chapter). "Reaping destruction" means eternal separation
from God in hell, while "eternal life" represents eternal communion with God in heaven. In their given
context, these verses cannot suggest the reincarnation of the soul after death. According to Christianity,
the supreme judge of our deeds is God, and not impersonal karma.
6. After Peter had cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant in his attempt to prevent Jesus’ arrest in
Gethsemane, Jesus rebuked him by saying: "All who draw the sword will die by the sword" (Matthew
26,52). Could this be the justice of karma in action?
All four gospels give account of Jesus’ rebuke to Peter’s initiative. Although heroic, it went against
God’s plan ("How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" – verse
54). Peter was in this case sinning and, according to the well-known Old Testament law of sin
retribution, the sinner must be punished consistently ("Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his
blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man" - Genesis 9,6; see also Exodus 21,23-25;
Leviticus 24,19-20; Deuteronomy 19,21). However, throughout the Old Testament this law was referring
solely to one’s present physical life, by no means to future lives. Otherwise Jesus’ words would lead to
an absurd implication. If He meant that killing someone in this life with a sword will require that the doer
will be killed at his turn with a sword in a future life, then His crucifixion (which followed soon after)
must have been a punishment for His sins done in previous lives and not a solution for other people’s
sins as He claimed.
7. "If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed" (Revelation 13,10). This verse belongs to a prophecy that speaks about
the end times, when Satan and his subjects will have temporary power on earth. Adherents of
reincarnation must be aware that it is a quotation from the Old Testament: "And if they ask you, 'Where
shall we go?' tell them, 'This is what the LORD says: "'Those destined for death, to death; those for the
sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity'" (Jeremiah 15,2).
This sentence was written by Jeremiah just before the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile (586
BC) and expresses God’s punishment of the sinful Jewish nation at that time, which had rejected Him. It
is not the impersonal law of karma here but the will of the personal creator God. He chooses how to
punish those who have rejected Him. (See also Jeremiah 43,11, which uses the same words for
announcing the punishment of Egypt for its sins.) The author of Revelation used this quotation for
assuring those involved in the events to come that God will do justice again, as He did in the ancient
times. Therefore they should act in "patient endurance and faithfulness" as Revelation 13,10 adds.
*
As it can be observed, in all situations where "Biblical proofs" for reincarnation are mentioned, the
context is always ignored. Other passages used as indications of reincarnation mean, in fact, the existence
of Christ prior to His human birth (John 8,58), the continuity of the souls' existence after death (John
5,28-29; Luke 16,22-23; 2 Corinthians 5,1), or the spiritual rebirth of believers in their present life (Titus
3,5; 1 Peter 1,23), without giving any plausible indication for reincarnation.
Did the clergy rewrite the Bible, so that the passages teaching
reincarnation were removed?
Some people hold that the Bible contained many passages teaching reincarnation in an alleged initial
form, but they were erased and forbidden by the clergy at the fifth ecumenical council, held in
Constantinople in the year 533 AD. The reason for this would have been the spiritual immaturity of the
Christians, who could not grasp the doctrine at that time, or the desire of the clergy to manipulate the
masses. However, there is no proof that such "purification" of the Biblical text has ever occurred. The
existing manuscripts, many of them older than AD 533, do not show differences from the text we use
today. There are enough reasons to accept that the New Testament was not written later than the first
century AD. In order to get more information on the accuracy of the present text of the Bible use the
following sites:
Dating the Oldest New Testament Manuscripts, by Peter van Minnen
Textual Criticism and Manuscript Interpretation
The Gospels As Historical Sources For Jesus, The Founder Of Christianity, by Prof. R. T. France
At the same time, if the clergy had, as alleged, decided to erase from the Bible the "compromising"
passages about reincarnation, why did they keep the ones mentioned above (concerning the identity of
John the Baptist, etc.)? On the other hand, it is obvious that there are many texts in the Bible that clearly
contradict the idea of reincarnation, explicitly or implicitly. (See for instance 2 Samuel 12,23; 14,14, Job
7,9-10, Psalm 78,39, Matthew 25,31-46, Luke 23,39-43, Acts 17,31, 2 Corinthians 5,1;4;8, Revelation
20,11-15.) Here is one verse in the New Testament which contradicts reincarnation as clearly as possible:
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once
to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to
bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9,27-28).
The Christian teaching that we live only once is a fact beyond doubt, being as true as the fact that Jesus
had to die only once for our sins. In other words, the unique historical act of Jesus’ crucifixion and the
fact that we live only once are equally true and cannot be separated. This text cannot possibly be
interpreted otherwise. The judgment that follows death is obviously not the judgment of the impersonal
karma, but that of the personal almighty God, after which man either enters an eternal personal relation
with Him in heaven, or an eternal separation from Him in hell.
Did the early Church fathers believe in reincarnation?
Early Christianity spread in a world dominated by Greek philosophy. Many important figures of the early
church had this spiritual background when they were converted. When addressing their world with the
Christian message, they had to do it without any syncretistic compromise to Greek philosophy.
To what extent could they have been influenced by the doctrine of reincarnation? In order to answer this,
we first have to understand what was actually taught about reincarnation at that time.
Reincarnation according to Platonism
The dominant form of reincarnation known by ancient Greek philosophy during the first three Christian
centuries belongs to Platonism. Unlike the Eastern spiritual masters, Plato taught that human souls
existed since eternity in a perfect celestial world as intelligent and personal beings. They were not
manifested out of a primordial impersonal essence (such as Brahman) or created by a personal god.
Although the souls lived there in a pure state, somehow the divine love grew cold in them and, as a
result, they fell in physical bodies to this earthly, imperfect world. Plato writes in Phaedrus about this:
But when she <the celestial soul is unable to follow, and fails to behold the truth, and through
some ill-hap sinks beneath the double load of forgetfulness and vice, and her wings fall from her
and she drops to the ground, then the law ordains that this soul shall at her first birth pass, not
into any other animal, but only into man; and the soul which has seen most of truth shall come to
the birth as a philosopher, or artist, or some musical and loving nature.
In the same work, Plato states that "ten thousand years must elapse before the soul of each one can return
to the place from whence she came". Only the soul of the philosopher or of the lover can get back to its
original state in less time (three thousand years). The souls that fail to aspire to perfection and live in
ignorance are judged after their earthly life and then punished in "the houses of correction, which are
under the earth". One lifetime is not enough to return to the original celestial state of purity. For this
reason "the soul of a man may pass into the life of a beast, or from the beast return again into the man".
This is the Platonist idea of reincarnation. It does not represent a voyage of an impersonal essence (as
atman) toward an impersonal merging with the Absolute (Brahman), but only a temporary punishment
on the way back towards a purified personal existence (the state of pure being). Between Platonism and
Eastern religions there is a big difference concerning man’s identity in general and reincarnation in
particular. Plato’s meaning of salvation is definitely personal, as can be understand from Phaedo:
Those also who are remarkable for having led holy lives are released from this earthly prison, and
go to their pure home which is above, and dwell in the purer earth; and those who have duly
purified themselves with philosophy live henceforth altogether without the body, in mansions fairer
far than these, which may not be described, and of which the time would fail me to tell.
How did these ideas affect the beliefs of the early church fathers? We will now proceed to examine the
most important cases of early church fathers accused of holding reincarnationist convictions.
Origen and Origenism
The most controversial early church father concerning his alleged beliefs on reincarnation is undoubtedly
Origen (185-254). Many adherents of reincarnation mention him today as a classic example proving the
alleged early Christian belief in reincarnation, which is supposed to have been condemned and forbidden
by the fifth ecumenical council (Constantinople, 533 AD). Although it is a fact that Origen was strongly
influenced by Platonism prior to his conversion to Christianity, the claim that he believed in
reincarnation is absurd.
Before using any quotes from his writings, we strongly advise you to read the file Origen and Origenism
in order to get a brief description of Origen’s life, writings and teachings. This article will give you a
sound perspective on what he actually taught and what was later condemned as Origenism. Then see the
act of refuting Origenism by the fifth ecumenical council, The 15 Anathemas Against Origen.
As it can easily be observed, there is no clear concept of reincarnation mentioned at this council of the
early church, but only the Platonist ideas concerning the pre-existence of souls, besides universalism and
a wrong form of Christology, as main heresies to be rejected. Origenism has incorporated these
Platonistic ideas and they were condemned at the council of Constantinople, certainly not some classic
form of reincarnation, as is claimed today. For instance, the fourth anathema states:
If anyone shall say that the reasonable creatures in whom the divine love had grown cold have
been hidden in gross bodies such as ours, and have been called men, while those who have
attained the lowest degree of wickedness have shared cold and obscure bodies and are become
and called demons and evil spirits: let him be anathema.
The condemned ideas are very close related to what Plato has stated in Phaedrus. Therefore it cannot be
stated that Origenism taught a classic form of reincarnation. In fact, Origen rejected plainly this doctrine
in his Commentary on Matthew (Book XIII,1), written in the last years of his life. He refutes the
speculation of considering John the Baptist the reincarnation of Elijah (Matthew 11,14; 17,12-13), a text
we mentioned earlier. Origen writes:
In this place it does not appear to me that by Elijah the soul is spoken of, lest I should fall into the
dogma of transmigration, which is foreign to the church of God, and not handed down by the
Apostles, nor anywhere set forth in the Scriptures; for it is also in opposition to the saying that
"things seen are temporal," and that "this age shall have a consummation," and also to the
fulfillment of the saying, "Heaven and earth shall pass away," and "the fashion of this world
passeth away," and "the heavens shall perish," and what follows.
In the same commentary, under the title "The spirit and power of Elijah" - not the soul - were in the
Baptist, Origen adds: "For, observe, he did not say in the ‘soul’ of Elijah, in which case the doctrine of
transmigration might have some ground, but ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah.’" Origen’s whole
commentary on this text is a refutation of the reincarnation theory. Therefore it is obvious that he cannot
be considered at all an "early Christian adherent of reincarnation".
Other early church fathers vs. Reincarnation
Here are some quotations from other early church fathers concerning their opinion on reincarnation,
which prove that it cannot have been one of their beliefs. Use the links in order to get a larger picture on
their writings.
Justin Martyr (100-165)
His opinion on reincarnation is plainly stated in the following fragment of his Dialogue with Trypho (155
AD), chapter 4, where he discusses Platonism with Trypho the Jew:
Trypho: "'What, then, is the advantage to those who have seen [God]? Or what has he who has
seen more than he who has not seen, unless he remember this fact, that he has seen?'
Justin: "'I cannot tell,' I answered.
Trypho: "'And what do those suffer who are judged to be unworthy of this spectacle?' said he.
Justin: "'They are imprisoned in the bodies of certain wild beasts, and this is their punishment.'
Trypho: "'Do they know, then, that it is for this reason they are in such forms, and that they have
committed some sin?'
Justin: "'I do not think so.'
Trypho: "'Then these reap no advantage from their punishment, as it seems: moreover, I would say
that they are not punished unless they are conscious of the punishment.'
Justin: "'No indeed.'
Trypho: "'Therefore souls neither see God nor transmigrate into other bodies; for they would
know that so they are punished, and they would be afraid to commit even the most trivial sin
afterwards. But that they can perceive that God exists, and that righteousness and piety are
honourable, I also quite agree with you,' said he.
Justin: "'You are right,' I replied.
Irenaeus (130-200)
In his well-known treatise Against Heresies (Book II), Irenaeus entitled the 33rd chapter "Absurdity of
the Doctrine of the Transmigration of Souls". The whole chapter criticizes this doctrine, emphasizing the
futility of an alleged reincarnation devoid of any memory of past lives:
They (the souls) must of necessity retain a remembrance of those things which have been
previously accomplished, that they might fill up those in which they were still deficient, and not by
always hovering, without intermission, round the same pursuits, spend their labour wretchedly in
vain.
Tertullian (145-220)
In his Treatise on the Soul (see ch. 28-33), Tertullian traces the origin of reincarnationist ideas down to
Pythagoras. He writes:
If, indeed, the sophist of Samos is Plato's authority for the eternally revolving migration of souls
out of a constant alternation of the dead and the living states, then no doubt did the famous
Pythagoras, however excellent in other respects, for the purpose of fabricating such an opinion as
this, rely on a falsehood, which was not only shameful, but also hazardous.
His conclusion is that "we must likewise contend against that monstrous presumption, that in the course
of the transmigration beasts pass from human beings, and human beings from beasts".
Gregory of Nyssa (335-395)
Finally, the master theologian of that time rejected in his turn any idea of predestination (as an
impersonal law like karma might impose) in his writing Against Fate, and also the concept of
reincarnation in the 28th chapter of his treatise On the Making of Man:
Those who assert that the state of souls is prior to their life in the flesh, do not seem to me to be
clear from the fabulous doctrines of the heathen which they hold on the subject of successive
incorporation: for if one should search carefully, he will find that their doctrine is of necessity
brought down to this. They tell us that one of their sages said that he, being one and the same
person, was born a man, and afterwards assumed the form of a woman, and flew about with the
birds, and grew as a bush, and obtained the life of an aquatic creature; - and he who said these
things of himself did not, so far as I can judge, go far from the truth: for such doctrines as this of
saying that one soul passed through so many changes are really fitting for the chatter of frogs or
jackdaws, or the stupidity of fishes, or the insensibility of trees.
(See also:
Reincarnation - A Catholic Viewpoint. This well-researched article refutes the notion that the early
church believed in reincarnation, using many references to support its argument;
What did early Christians believe about reincarnation)
All these early church fathers lived before the fifth ecumenical council (Constantinople, AD 533), so it
cannot be true that the doctrine of reincarnation was condemned and forbidden only as a result of that
council, as a brutal act of manipulating Christianity by the clergy. Although reincarnation was taught by
some non-Christian movements of that time, such as the Gnostics and the Neo-Platonists, it has nothing
in common with the teachings of the early church, being always rejected as heresy by the early church
fathers.
Why cannot Christianity accept reincarnation?
The idea of reincarnation was never accepted by Christianity because it undermines its basic tenets. First,
it renders futile God’s sovereignty over creation, transforming Him into a helpless spectator of the human
tragedy. Because He is sovereign and omnipotent over creation, God can punish evil and will do it
perfectly well at the end of history (see Matthew 25,31-46; Revelation 20,10-15). There is no need for
impersonal karma and reincarnation to play this role.
Second, believing in reincarnation may affect one’s understanding of morality and motivation for moral
living. An extreme application of reincarnationist convictions could lead to adopting a detached stand to
crime, theft, lying and other such social plagues. They could be considered nothing else but normal debts
to be paid by their victims, originated in their previous lives. Following this reasoning, social injustice
should not be punished at all in order to not complicate even more someone’s karmic debt. Therefore it is
hard to believe that accepting reincarnation would transform us into better people, pursuing moral values
with more conviction, as reincarnationists usually claim. The amorality proposed by Krishna in the
Bhagavad Gita, the demand to act totally detached from what results, is the highest moral status that can
be reached as the result of accepting karma and reincarnation.
Third, reincarnation represents a threat to the very essence of Christianity: the need for Christ’s
redemptive sacrifice for our sins. If we are to pay for the consequences of our sins ourselves in further
lives and attain salvation through our own efforts, the sacrifice of Christ becomes useless and absurd. It
wouldn’t be the only way back to God, but only a stupid accident of history. In this case Christianity
would be a mere form of Hindu Bhakti-Yoga.
As a result, no matter how many attempts are made today to find texts in the Bible or in the history of the
Church that would allegedly teach reincarnation, they are all doomed to remain pure speculations.
If reincarnation isn’t true, how can the experiences of past life recall
be explained?
An answer compatible with Christian theology can be found following the attempts of psychiatry to find
an equivalence between evoking "personalities from past lives", by the use of hypnosis, and the multiple
personality phenomenon. As was previously mentioned, there remains an unexplained element in the
attempt to understand both phenomena on a purely naturalistic basis: How are the personalities
distributed in their roles, or who decides which one is to act next in the show? It cannot be a random
process. Using the words of Ian Wilson, "the show must have a ‘director’".
Parapsychologists tend to attribute the "director’s" role to some personal external entities, which act
through the process of channeling. Hypnosis generates perfect conditions for contacting these entities as
a result of abolishing normal consciousness. Instead of presenting their true identity, they could introduce
themselves as personalities evoked from previous lives. Until now enough cases of external spirit
interference in producing reincarnation stories have been discovered. Most people are not aware of these
undesirable parasitic attachments while recollecting alleged past lives stories. Those who are aware of
them accept them as precious aids in the recollection process. The only reason for rejecting the
hypothesis that past life recall stories are pure fiction invented by these entities is the sheer belief in their
honesty.
Now if we pass from the realm of parapsychology to Christian teaching, it appears obvious that such
"external personal entities" exist, and have sufficient reason to lie us about spiritual reality. They are
called demons and have developed most ingenious techniques to fool mankind about spiritual reality.
The Apostle Paul states:
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his
servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (2
Corinthians 11,14-15).
If we accept Biblical revelation, admitting that demons exist and do their best to fool us about spiritual
reality, why not accept their possible involvement in producing reincarnation proofs, a concept that
blatantly contradicts the essence of Christianity but at the same time fits well with their purpose? If the
best conditions are created to express themselves through the person undergoing hypnosis (when
self-consciousness is abolished), why should they not act? Why should they not respond to the invitation
to fulfill their purpose in such a fascinating way for a credulous and ignorant public?
The experience of spirit possession represents full or partial takeover of a human by an external spiritual
entity (a demon). This phenomenon is known to most religions. The parasite spirit exerts control over the
behavior, mental functioning and emotions of the person involved, being capable of producing sensations
and symptoms in the physical body. This picture is obviously very close to what is happening during
hypnotic regression. Why then reject its explanation as spirit possession and believe in past life recall?
As to the information they produce from alleged previous lives in the form of historical accounts that
correspond to some extent with reality (but always are most suited to win people’s trust), if humans know
them, how much more are they available for demons? If humans are capable of creating historical
scenarios using the facts they know, how much more could demons prove equally creative?
In the case of "spontaneous past life recall" by children, the mechanism could be similar. At the age
when they recall the alleged past lives (generally between two and five years of age) their spiritual
discernment is not formed yet, which makes them vulnerable to demon manipulation. In a previous
section on this phenomenon we have seen that there are cases when the alleged soul’s reincarnation
overlaps with the personality of the child, presenting typical symptoms of demonic possession.
In conclusion, there is no possible way to reconcile Christianity and reincarnation. As Ian Stevenson, a
well-known researcher of past life recall experiences, concluded in his book Twenty Cases Suggestive of
Reincarnation that they are only "suggesting" reincarnation and not "proving" it. From a Christian
perspective however, they rather suggest demon possession and therefore should not be used as a method
of getting information on spiritual reality.
The problem of evil in the world's religions
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
IN WORLD RELIGIONS
The problem of evil is a touchstone of any religion. Evil is present everywhere: in our society, in the
environment, around us and even inside us. Out of our direct confrontation with evil results suffering,
and thus endless questions about the meaning of life. That is why all religions have to give a proper
answer regarding the origin, nature and end of evil.
There are three major religious alternatives in explaining evil, stated by the pantheistic, dualistic and
monotheistic religions. Pantheistic religions regard evil as ultimately unreal. Human suffering is a
product of spiritual ignorance gathered in previous lives and distributed in the present one according to
the dictates of karma. In the dualistic religions, good and evil are two eternal and rival principles. Neither
has created the other one and each acts according to its own nature. In the monotheistic religions, evil has
a personal identity. It is a being that has fallen from an initial good status as a result of misusing his
freedom of will. Let us analyze these perspectives and see to what extent they are compatible with one
another.
Evil in Eastern religions
Evil in Hinduism
As mentioned in a previous article, Hinduism is a complex mixture of religious trends. Concerning the
relation between Ultimate Reality and evil, there are at least three major perspectives, given by:
1) the Vedas;
2) the Upanishads and the whole corpus of pantheistic writings;
3) the Epics and Puranas.
Evil in the Vedas
The oldest Vedic hymns consider Varuna to be the sovereign god. As god of heaven, omnipresent,
omniscient and infallible, he has no comparable opponent in the Vedic pantheon. Evil is a matter of not
fulfilling his laws by humans or not performing the ritual properly. Very often it has a moral
significance, meaning that people are evil-minded or commit adultery (Rig Veda 4,5; 10,10). Those who
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commit evil deeds repent before Varuna (Rig Veda 5,85) and try to repair their faults through ritual
sacrifices.
The next generation of Vedic gods has Indra as sovereign god. However, he doesn’t have the same power
over creation as Varuna. He has to fight with the demon Vritra in order to save mankind. In this fight he
needs to be strengthened by the sacrifices performed by humans and also needs help from other gods.
Starting with the hymns addressed to Indra, the combat against personalized evil becomes a main feature
in Hindu mythology, which will develop in the Epics and Puranas.
Evil in the Upanishads
The Upanishads ground a pantheistic perspective on Ultimate Reality and introduce karma as explanation
of human suffering. The only true substance of the universe is Brahman, so that evil cannot be real.
Ignoring the one and only reality of Brahman launches karma into action and therefore brings suffering
to the soul in further lives. Although it is difficult to determine the very beginning of karma’s
manifestation, a text in Kausitaki Upanishad (3,8) indicates that Brahman himself causes the good and
evil done by humans, and so he must be the one responsible for the origin of karma:
He (Brahman) causes him whom he wishes to lead up from these worlds to perform good action.
This one, indeed, also causes him whom he wishes to lead downward, to perform bad action.
As the manifestations and dissolutions of the world are eternal, so is karma, meaning that suffering is a
part of the eternal cosmic cycle. Logically then, the ultimate origin of karma must be in Brahman,
because he is the source of any manifestation and the origin of souls. Man cannot be considered guilty
for the evil in the world, not even for his own bad deeds, because all of them originated in past lives, of
which he cannot be aware. Suffering in the present life is the natural consequence of past lives’ ignorance
and it has to be endured without questioning. (For more details on karma and reincarnation, the way they
act and solve the problem of evil, see our article on reincarnation)
The real problem of man is to get the impersonal self (atman) out of the cycle
ignorance-karma-reincarnation and find liberation. The belief in the real statute of evil is a major
hindrance in attaining liberation, as well as granting value to human personhood. As only a personal
witness can experience evil, the solution for escaping it is getting rid of our sense of personhood and
withdrawal from this world of illusions, by taking a right view on reality through meditation. (For more
information on the nature of Eastern meditation and its trustworthiness as source of knowing truth, click
here.)
Evil in Samkhya-Yoga
Although the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas are not pantheistic, they follow a close reasoning in defining
evil. As philosophies that grant no significance to human personhood, evil is a matter of how much one is
caught in the psycho-mental illusions generated by the primordial substance (prakriti). It contains the
three gunas, and two of them (rajas and tamas) are causing the manifestations of what we call evil in the
world, both in the physical aspect and the mental one. Evil is a part of nature and man has to get along
with it from one existence to another through his karma. The true problem is finding liberation from the
manifestations of prakriti through meditation and asceticism, and this means complete cessation of
suffering.
Evil in the Epics and Puranas
These writings adopt a middle way in explaining evil, between the dictates of karma and the
responsibility of the gods in producing it as sovereign agents in the universe. As these two elements are
irreconcilable and mutually exclusive, the solutions to the problem of evil are themselves contradictory.
The character of the gods becomes ambiguous in the Epics and Puranas. They are responsible for
producing both good and evil. Here are some examples:
Indra, the ex-hero of the Vedas, commits adultery in the Skanda Purana (2,7,23,8-40) and justifies
himself by the effect of his past karma. In the Mahabharata (12,258,42) he is excused for seducing
Gotama’s wife by being in a process of working out a result of karma. No wonder that in the Ramayana
(7,30,20-45) he is accused of having brought adultery into the world by his bad example. In a late
Upanishad he even encourages his followers to act immorally: “I killed the three-headed son of Tvashtri
and delivered the ascetics to the jackals; I broke a treaty and overcame the demon Prahlada and the
descendants of Puloman. Yet not a hair of my head was harmed. So he who understands me is not injured
by any deed, not even by stealing, killing an embryo, matricide or parricide. If he has committed any
evil, he does not become pale.” (Kausitaki Up. 3,1)
Although Krishna points to himself as the example for his followers in the Bhagavad Gita (3,23), when
committing adultery in the Puranas he justifies himself in reference to human behavior, saying: “Since
even the sages are uncontrolled and act as they please, how could one possibly restrain Vishnu when he
becomes voluntary incarnate?” (Bhagavata Purana 10,33,35).
Brahma, the creator god, is often accused of being creator of both good and evil. In one situation
described in the Mahabharata, he grew jealous of people and their heavenly destiny and planned to
delude them: “Formerly, all creatures were virtuous, and by themselves they obtained divinity. Therefore
the gods became worried, so Brahma created women in order to delude men. Then women, who had been
virtuous, became wicked witches, and Brahma filled them with wanton desires, which they in turn
inspired in men. He created anger, and henceforth all creatures were born in the power of desire and
anger (Mahabharata 13,40,5-12). According to the Vishnu Purana (1,5,1-18), evil precedes and
accompanies Brahma’s creation, this being the reason why mankind is evil: “His fourth creation
produced creatures in whom darkness and passion predominated, afflicted by misery; these were
mankind.” In the Markandeya Purana (45,40) it is said that he created both “cruel creatures and gentle
creatures, dharma and adharma, truth and falsehood”.
Not only is evil inevitable in creation, it is said to be a good thing, a necessary dynamic factor in the
universe. For instance, in the Devibhagavata (4,13), Brihaspati, the guru of the gods says: “All creatures,
even gods, are subject to passions. Otherwise the universe, composed as it is of good and evil, could not
continue to develop.” According to the Vishnu Purana (1,5,59-65), the evil in creation is both the will of
Brahma the creator and the result of karma’s obligation: “Brahma’s power is the will to create, and he is
impelled by the powers of things to be created.” In the same situation is Vishnu (Linga Purana 2,6,1-57),
who also creates both good and evil, “good people and bad people, those who follow the right path, but
also the heretics”.
These ambiguous solutions to the problem of evil in Hindu mythology are caused by the fact that the
gods cannot be at the same time sovereign, manifestations of an impersonal Ultimate Reality (Brahman)
and also in tune with karma. As an effect of the cyclical manifestations of Brahman, good and evil follow
one after another during the four ages (yuga) of each manifestation, so that nothing in the universe is
eternal and nothing dies, neither good nor evil. Man is not responsible for the evil in the world, but only
the impersonal karma or the gods of mythology. If the gods are responsible, they either create it willingly
(and are evil themselves) because the universe has to contain it, or are forced to create it by the higher
law of karma or fate (and then are consequently weak). There is no significant distinction between these
two variants. The universe must contain good and evil and so it is created by a certain god.
In conclusion, in Hinduism and the other pantheistic religions in general, there is no central concern to
understand and solve the problem of evil. Good and evil are often confused. The attempt to define them
is itself a false problem that gets the treatment false problems deserve. The major concern is spiritual
ignorance, in relation to which evil and morality have a secondary importance. Through knowledge, it is
said that man reaches above good and evil, attaining an impersonal domain that justifies this attitude.
Evil in Buddhism
Buddhism rejects the authority of the Vedas and the other writings of Hinduism, explaining the nature of
evil through the process of constant becoming. Evil is the perpetuation of illusion by the factors that
maintain the chain of dependent origination (paticca-samuppada). The Buddha proclaimed that the
whole of existence is suffering:
The Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha) is this: Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; sickness is
suffering; death is suffering; sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering;
association with the unpleasant is suffering; dissociation from the pleasant is suffering; not to get
what one wants is suffering - in brief, the five aggregates of attachment are suffering.
(Samyutta Nikaya 56,11)
The cause of suffering is desire to experience existence in a personal form, because personhood is
nothing but an illusory result of the temporary gathering of five aggregates (skandhas): body-form,
feeling, perception, mental activity, and consciousness. As the desire to perpetuate this illusion produces
suffering, its extreme solution is to abolish any personal existence. There is no suffering if there is no
person left to perceive it. Unfortunately, the cost of this solution is the abolition of life itself.
The paradox of evil and suffering in Eastern religions
The general pattern in Eastern religions is to consider evil illusory, derived from a wrong way of
understanding reality. Consequently, suffering emerges from not putting the right view into practice. For
this reason, the first noble truth proclaimed by Gotama Buddha states that the only reality of human
existence is the all-pervading reality of suffering. This perspective is valid for most of the Eastern
religious thinkers that followed the period of the Upanishads. The only possibility to escape suffering is
to know the true nature of things, or in other words, the impersonal Ultimate Reality. Proper spiritual
knowledge can be attained by the practice of meditation, which requires withdrawing oneself from the
world.
On the other hand, considering one's personal suffering to be real leads to bad attachments (kleshas),
which are hindrances on the way towards liberation. Therefore we reach a significant inconsistency in
understanding the relation between suffering and liberation, as two contradictory principles are stated:
● The all-pervading reality of suffering leads man to seek liberation.
● In order to attain liberation, man has to ignore evil and suffering, which do not belong to the realm
of true existence.
In other words, according to most Eastern religions, on the one hand suffering derives from ignoring
Ultimate Reality and prompts man to seek it, and on the other hand, the way of knowing Ultimate Reality
and escaping suffering demands ignoring suffering.
The question that arises naturally from here is: What has true ontological nature, suffering or the
impersonal Ultimate Reality? If suffering is real, man's personal status has to be real too, because
suffering can be perceived only at personal level. In this case the impersonal Ultimate Reality has to be
questioned. On the other hand, if impersonal Ultimate Reality has true ontological nature, human
personhood and suffering are illusory, so that suffering cannot be accepted as the true generator of man's
quest for liberation. Paradoxically, spiritual practice demands that suffering should be ignored in order to
find the "true reality" towards which it prompts us. Eastern religions promise to help man escape
suffering, but while on the way towards liberation they ask us to ignore human suffering. Not only is this
contradictory, but such denial of suffering can be accomplished only by denying life itself, a situation
that is the ground for the pessimistic view of Eastern religions on human existence. The ultimate cause of
this situation is the lack of a personal Creator, directly involved in man's condition by his grace.
Evil in Taoism
As long as any aspect of the world is a manifestation of Tao, corresponding to a different participation of
the Yin and Yang principles, nothing can be considered to be truly evil in the world. Even if Yin is
considered a negative principle, it never manifests itself alone. In the Tao-te Ching it is stated:
When beauty is abstracted
Then ugliness has been implied;
When good is abstracted
Then evil has been implied.
(Tao-te Ching 2)
Every positive factor involves its negative or opposing one. What is usually called evil, both the physical
and mental aspects, corresponds to a bigger participation of the Yin principle, the result of a lack of
balance between the two opposing principles. Evil belongs to the nature of the world, so man has to
subscribe to the universal harmony and respect the equilibrium of the two polarities. Tao is eternal and so
are the two principles Yang and Yin, so that good and evil must be eternal, as necessary elements of our
world.
Evil in dualistic religions
According to the dualistic religions there are two antagonist and (usually) coeternal deities involved in
creation and in governing the destiny of man. Zoroastrianism probably stated the first true religious
dualism. Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu (or, according to a later tradition, Ohrmazd and Ahriman) are
the two coeternal gods responsible for the existence of good and evil in the world. The Yasna (30,3)
states: “There are two fundamental spirits, twins which are renowned to be in conflict.In thought and in
word, in action, they are two: the good and the bad.” In the latter tradition of Zurvanism, Ohrmazd and
Ahriman are twin brothers, each one creating according to his own nature:
The first of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Paradise, by the
good river Araxes. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by
his witchcraft the serpent in the river and winter, a work of the devils.
The second of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the plains in
Samarkand. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his
witchcraft the fly Skaitya, which brings death to the cattle.
The third of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the strong, holy
Merv. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft
sinful lusts.... (Videvdad 1,3-5).
Man is in the center of this eternal conflict, having the duty to choose always the good and thus help it
defeat the evil.
Most dualistic religions that developed after the 1st century AD were influenced by the Genesis account
of creation but interpret it in a totally different manner. Their position is sharply anti-Judaic and
anti-Christian, being aimed at undermining their basic tenets. Marcionism, Gnosticism, Manicheism,
Bogomilism and Catharism (as well as other dualistic religions that swept through the medieval world)
all acknowledge the God of the Old Testament as creator but deny his goodness, and see the physical
world as the product of his ignorance of higher spiritual deities (the Aeons). His creation is therefore
hazardous and generates nothing but problems. Contrary to the Bible, man is superior to his creator due
to the fact that he was endowed with a spiritual essence by the Aeons. However, his physical body keeps
him bound to a miserable condition, which perpetuates through reincarnation. The only way out of this is
the attainment of true knowledge (gnosis).
In Gnosticism the creator god (Ialdabaot) ignores the higher deities whose descendent he is and creates a
world over which he claims to be the only god. However, man is superior to him due to the fact that he
received the spirit of life from a higher Aeon (Sophia, the mother of Ialdabaot). Satan and Jesus are the
enemies of Ialdabaot and teach humans how to attain true knowledge that may save them from
ignorance. (For a more detailed description of Gnostic doctrine see the article The Gnostics, by Maged S.
Mikhail.) A detailed study of Gnosticism and its contradictions and incompatibilities with Christianity
can be found in Irenaeus' treatise Against Heresies.
A similar stand was adopted by Manicheism, a new religion that appeared in Persia in the 3rd century
AD. Matter and the physical body are considered intrinsically evil as they derive from the bodies of the
dead forces of evil (the Archons). As a result of his captivity in the bodily prison, the soul is
overwhelmed by ignorance and forgets his true origin. Reincarnation occurs until the soul is released
from its earthly sufferings. Manicheism was confronted successfully by Augustine in many of his
writings in the 4th century AD. See On the Morals of the Manichaeans and Concerning the Nature of
Good, Against the Manichaeans.
In Catharism the god of the Old Testament is considered to be the ultimate representative of evil
himself. He created the physical bodies of humans and locked angels inside them. According to radical
Catharism, human souls are angels who served the good God but were tempted by Satan to experience
earthly pleasures and could not resist them. The original bodies and spirits of these angels remained in
heaven, but their souls fell into physical bodies. Reincarnation works until one recognizes his heavenly
origin and purifies himself in order to be accepted back where he belongs.
In conclusion, according to these dualistic religions, matter in general and the physical body in particular
are evil and produce suffering to the captive soul. This reality hinders man from knowing his true
spiritual identity, that of a spiritual being fallen or imprisoned in a physical body. Ignoring this reality
leads to suffering and reincarnation into various bodies (human or animal) until true knowledge (gnosis)
is attained.
Evil in Christianity
According to Christianity, God created all things, but this doesn’t make Him the creator of evil. The
Apostle John states: “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1,5). When God finished
His creation, He appreciated that “all that He had made was very good” (Genesis 1,31). However, anyone
can clearly see that evil exists in our world, in an awful measure. From here arises one of the major
accusations brought by the opponents of Christianity: If God is all-good, He should want to stop evil; if
He is omnipotent, He could stop it; but evil exists in the world, so God lacks either all-goodness (if He
can stop evil but does not want to) or omnipotence (if He wants to stop evil, but cannot), or both. As God
is declared to be all-good (1 John 4,8) and all-powerful (Revelation 19,6), how could this puzzle be
solved?
First we have to define what evil really is, an impersonal substance (as a part or a form of our world), a
personal being or a mere illusion. According to Christian theology, only God has in Himself and by
Himself Absolute being. Only He exists by Himself, according to the formula “I am who I am” of
Exodus 3,14. He is the only personal subject that is eternal and immutable (James 1,17; Malachi 3,6). In
other words, the Absolute is the Triune God, not an impersonal substance as in pantheism, and beside
Him there is nothing else with the same attributes. This means that evil is neither an inherent quality
pertaining to God or to His creation, nor an eternal personal being (as in polytheistic or dualistic
religions).
In this case could it be true that evil does not exist, that it is merely an illusion? If we use the terms that
characterize only God’s existence, yes, it is true that evil cannot exist by itself, claiming as God: “I am
who I am” (Exodus 3,14). This is what the Church Fathers mean in some of their writings by the fact that
evil is without substance, reality, being or existence. For instance, in his writing On the Incarnation of
the Word, Ch. 1, Athanasius says that "God alone exists, evil is non-being". This is not an affirmation of
the illusory status of evil, but an ontological perspective on the fallen state of God's creatures that lost
communion with God. The context of his words is as following:
For the transgression of the commandment was making them turn back again according to
their nature; and as they had at the beginning come into being out of non-existence, so were
they now on the way to returning, through corruption, to non-existence again. The presence
and love of the Word had called them into being; inevitably, therefore when they lost the
knowledge of God, they lost existence with it; for it is God alone Who exists, evil is
non-being, the negation and antithesis of good.
The same meaning is attached to the words of Gregory of Nyssa when mentioning that "there is no evil
other than wickedness" in his Great Catechism, Ch. 7. The context here is his address to the heretics that
claimed that man is the creation of an evil deity (in order to explain the fallen human nature). Gregory of
Nyssa states that God is not responsible for man's turning away from Him through sin. This act separates
man from His presence and consequently from real existence, as only God is the source for it. Here is
Gregory of Nyssa's commentary on the nature of evil:
Since, if their thoughts had taken a loftier view, and, withdrawing their minds from this
disposition to regard the gratifications of the senses, they had looked at the nature of
existing things dispassionately, they would have understood that there is no evil other than
wickedness. Now all wickedness has its form and character in the deprivation of the good; it
exists not by itself, and cannot be contemplated as a subsistence. For no evil of any kind lies
outside and independent of the will; but it is the non-existence of the good that is so
denominated. Now that which is not has no substantial existence, and the Maker of that
which has no substantial existence is not the Maker of things that have substantial existence.
Therefore the God of things that are is external to the causation of things that are evil, since
He is not the Maker of things that are non-existent. He Who formed the sight did not make
blindness.
Although evil has no ontological status with reference to the nature of God, one cannot say evil doesn't
exist. Evil existed even before the creation of man. Its origin is to be found in the world of angels. God
created them in time immemorial, as personal and immaterial beings endowed with free will, in order to
integrate themselves into the divine harmony through obedience and communion. They were created ex
nihilo, the same way as the material universe, and thus have a nature different from God’s. These beings
have mind (Acts 12,7-10; 1 Peter 1,12), feelings (Luke 15,10), will (Jude 6) and are not limited by a
physical body. Their number was very large and had a hierarchy among them (Hebrews 12,22). Evil
appeared in the world of angels when Lucifer, one of God’s archangels, rebelled against this order. In the
book of the prophet Ezekiel we can read the following metaphorical description of this incident:
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in
disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery
stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings
(Ezekiel 28,15-17).
This archangel, who became Satan (“adversary”) out of Lucifer (“angel of light”), was expelled from
heaven together with all the other angels who joined him in his act of rebellion. The cause of his fall was
pride, the desire to be independent from God, to refuse submission and inferiority to Him. Lucifer
wanted to be by himself more than his created status could permit him.
Satan’s fall couldn’t have occurred without a real freedom of choice. He had the ability to choose either
to obey God or a selfish way, aimed at considering himself the source of his existence. His choice for the
second alternative constitutes the origin of evil in the universe. Evil is not created by God, but is a
perversion of His creation, a result of using free will against the very purpose it was created for (against
free will obeisance to God in a communion relation based on love). Evil was not intended by God and is
not linked to the essence of God and creation.
Was the creation of beings endowed with free will a mistake of God (as it could be used against its very
purpose)? No, because this was the only possibility to have free communion with His creatures. Without
free will, angels and mankind would only have been a lifeless world of robots. In order to have perfect
communion with the Creator, a created being needs the possibility to choose it freely. This is why God
allows to exist starvation, disease, murder, war, etc, in our world. Although such facts constitute reasons
for atheism, they represent the cost of preserving our (misused) free will.
As mentioned before, evil is a parasite of good, a diminishing of existence, a loss of what really
constitutes the support of existence. That is why Satan and the demons (the fallen angels) do not keep in
themselves any remainder of good, nothing from the good categories with which they were created.
“Pure” evil became their new nature after the fall. Jesus Christ said to the Pharisees who didn’t believe in
Him:
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a
murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he
speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8,44).
Having this nature, Satan and the demons do their best to thwart God’s plan with mankind, knowing that
humans are created to succeed where they (the fallen angels) failed. According to God’s justice (and not
weakness), they will exist forever, but without the chance to return to the spring of real existence and
communion with God. Their eternity is that of spiritual death, of irrevocable departure and closing
toward the Source in which they should have found their fulfillment. This is hell, the place where Satan
and demons are granted the liberty to eternally renew their wish to exist “by themselves” and express
their hate toward God. It is conscious loneliness, because communion is a good thing that cannot exist
there. (For a very short, but excellent article about the origin of the term and the logic of hell see The
Eschatology of Hell, by R.J. Rushdoony.) The doctrine of hell, as horrifying as it looks to be, proves that
evil has an end, that is has no eternal existence in God’s creation.
The Eastern religions have no equivalent for Satan as evil personified. Although in Hinduism exist
devilish beings called asuras, which can cause problems in people’s lives, they are considered to be
immature souls caught temporarily in the abyss of deception. They do evolve and are not permanently in
this state. The same is the case with the “devil” Mara, who tempted the Buddha while on his way toward
nirvana. However, the temporary status of evil and hell in Eastern religions is not a result of divine love,
but rather a necessity imposed by the cyclic manifestations of Ultimate Reality.
According to Christianity, evil entered our world as a result of Satan’s fall, so it has a personal character.
Jesus Christ spoke directly with Satan at the moment of His temptation (Matthew 4,1-11; etc.). He cast
out demons (Mark 1,21-28; etc.), and the apostles did also (Acts 5,16; etc.), so they were not addressing
illusions. The Apostle Peter warned his fellow Christians that Satan is a real and dangerous presence:
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour” (1 Peter 5,8). Likewise, the Apostle Paul emphasizes that “Satan himself is
masquerading as an angel of light” in order to deceive humans (2 Corinthians 11,14). These passages and
many more cannot be ignored in order to suggest an illusory status of evil.
Although Satan is the initiator of evil, it is man that bears the responsibility for spreading it into our
world through sin. No matter how bad Satan can be, man cannot be affected by him as long he persists in
obedience to God. By submitting himself to Satan’s temptation and misusing the freedom of choice
granted by the Creator, man became the perpetuator of evil in our world through sin. The Apostle Paul
writes: “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all
men, because all sinned” (Romans 5,12). Sin affected thoroughly our nature, compromised our relation
with other people, and also the physical world in which we live. As a result of this situation, but also in
order to defend ourselves from the consequences of other people's sin, we need laws and police. This is
the way in which we try to limit the effects of sin in our society. However, the basic problem of sin
remains unsolved, no matter how much progress could be attained in perfecting the way democracy
works. It is not enough to try to limit the effects of sin, but we should address the problem of sin itself.
Satan is not the only one guilty for the evil in our world and we are not just victims lacking any
responsibility. God has put a limit to Satan’s power against us humans, so that he can never overwhelm
us (1 Corinthians 10,13). Therefore we have real freedom in refusing evil. Despite the fact that the devil
is doing his best to delude man, our free will can resist him; it could resist him in Eden and it can resist
him now, with the help of God. As man does not resist evil, he distances himself from God and also
closes himself toward his neighbors. Out of the selfish relations he develops in this state, evil expands in
our world.
According to Christianity, evil is neither created nor a natural or necessary element. It is a parasite state
that perpetuates itself by misusing God’s good resources and by following a wrong direction. It is the
illness of beings that are no longer in communion with God. But since evil exists, it has to submit to the
order over which God is sovereign. God has limited Satan’s power and He permits evil to manifest itself
only for the benefit of fallen man, in order to awaken him from the spiritual lethargy produced by sin. If
man can misuse God’s good creation, why wouldn’t God be able to use for good those who perform evil?
Augustine argued that the providence of God goes so far that even Judas' betrayal, although it is
undoubtedly an evil act, can be reversed to produce good: “Satan is evil, Judas is evil; as the doer, so his
instrument. But God used both for our sake. Both tried to destroy us, but God used their effort for our
salvation.” (Sermon CCCI, ch.4).
Two aspects should be added here in order to understand properly the relation between God and evil.
First, since evil is expanding in our world primarily through people, a major reason for not extinguishing
all evil in the world in an instant is that such an act would necessarily involve the damnation of all those
who perform it. This would cancel any possibility for them to repent and be reconciled with God. As He
takes no pleasure “in the death of the wicked”, but rather wants “that they turn from their ways and live”
(Ezekiel 33,11), a sudden extinction of all evil would contradict His love for mankind. Which one of us
would pass the test of God’s holiness after all, if such extinction of all evil would be performed apart
from His love?
God’s attitude in tolerating evil in our world was perfectly expressed by Jesus in the Parable of the
Weeds (Matthew 13,24-43):
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was
sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat
sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and
said, “Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” “An
enemy did this,” he replied. The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?”
“No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with
them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect
the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn”
(13,24-30).
The explanation to this parable, according to Jesus, is the following:
The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed
stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who
sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the
weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will
send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who
do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears,
let him hear (37-43).
God tolerates “weeds” among “wheat”, until a certain moment. His purpose in doing so is that “weeds”
could be properly differentiated from “wheat” and pulled up at the right moment. As the parable refers to
humans, the people who may be called “weeds” still have the chance of converting and becoming
“wheat”. This can happen only as long as they can benefit from God’s grace, that is during their earthly
lifetime. It is God’s grace that allows evildoers to live, not his lack of justice or power, in the hope that
they may still have the chance to meet Him, repent and return to a personal relationship with Him. The
problem of evil and suffering, often used by the opponents of Christianity to reject God’s grace, should
rather induce repentance and humble thankfulness for the prolonged chance granted in order to escape
the final extinction of all evil at God’s final judgment.
Second, God could stop any particular manifestation of evil, but this would annihilate the freedom of
personal creatures. The world in which God constantly intervened to stop any manifestation of evil
would become a world of robots. Keeping evil under control and using it for our sake serves two
purposes: it helps fulfill His plan with mankind (its return to communion with the Creator) and also
maintains the creature’s freedom. In this context, suffering is a good tool for destroying the
self-sufficient illusion of those who think they don’t need God and His forgiveness, who consider
themselves better and wiser than their neighbor. The Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Rome: “We
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8,28). At the same time,
God never permits that evil manifests itself overwhelmingly in our lives, as the same author mentions in
1 Corinthians 10,13:
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let
you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way
out so that you can stand up under it.
One of the fundamental aspects of suffering in Christian theology is its use as a tool for our salvation, in
order to awake those who are departed from God, and also for the sanctification of those who have
already restored their relation with God (see for this 1 Peter 1,6-9; 2,20-21; 3,14; 4,1-2; 4,12-19).
However, this does not mean that man can be saved through the endurance of sufferings only. Salvation
is granted only by God, through the most supreme expression of suffering that could ever be conceived,
which was at the same time its everlasting solution: the vicarious death of Jesus Christ on the cross (see 1
Peter 2,24).
As a result, man’s attitude toward evil should be neither one of resignation, as in the Eastern religions (in
order to stop the accumulation of karma), nor of rebellion against God, but one of a conscious and
responsible participation in the world. Evil has an end, as well as human suffering. What is requested
from us while waiting for it is to fight against evil and suffering, especially against our sinful nature,
which perpetuates both our suffering as well as that of our neighbor. As the God of Christianity does not
stand impassively toward the fallen man, but meets his needs and has already descended into his
problems and misery, He urges action in imitating His compassion in daily living. Although we are not
spared from troubles and many times we do not understand their meaning, we should always remember
that Jesus promised His help and power in order to conquer them. He said:
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16,33).
Returning to the questions raised at the beginning of this article, there is no doubt that God is omnipotent
and all-good. He did not create evil in the world. Evil is the result of misusing free will by his creatures.
Evil is not everlasting. God can stop it, and He will stop it one day forever (Revelation 20,10). But until
then He allows evil to exist in our world for our benefit, in order to preserve our freedom of will and to
use it as an instrument in our salvation. There is no contradiction in God's character; it is only sin that
prevents us from understanding what evil really is and from stopping to spread it around us.
Conclusion
Outside the Christian solution to the problem of evil there are possible only pantheistic or dualistic
solutions. According to the pantheistic religions, the origin of evil has its root in the manifestation of the
impersonal Ultimate Reality, which (at the immanent level of reality) launches karma into action.
Considering evil from a transcendental point of view, it is only an illusion that has to be scattered away
through the right (pantheist) understanding of reality, acquired through meditation. In the dualistic
religions, evil is coeternal with good. The absolute good cannot be an all-good and omnipotent person,
because there cannot be two Absolutes. This is the case with Gnosticism, Manicheism and the
polytheistic religions (see also the Hindu mythology).
From a Christian point of view, both solutions are not satisfactory in explaining evil, because they lack as
fundamental elements the creation ex nihilo, the doctrine of the fall, and redemption through God's grace.
Without these, evil cannot be understood and defeated.
Next article: Conclusion
REINCARNATION
C) Reincarnation and cosmic justice
The most important argument for reincarnation is of a moral nature. It says that karma and reincarnation
provide the perfect way to realize justice in our world, by rewarding all one’s deeds and thoughts in
further lives. They will manifest as good or bad happenings and circumstances, with mathematical
exactitude, so that everything one does will be justly punished or rewarded, at both a quantitative and a
qualitative level. This would explain all inequalities we see among people, comfort those who cannot
understand their present bad situation and also give hope for a further better life. According to karma,
there is no forgiveness for the "sins" of the past, but only accumulation of karmic debt, followed by
paying the consequences in further lives. Swami Shivananda states:
If the virtuous man who has not done any evil act in this birth suffers, this is due to some
wrong act that he may have committed in his previous birth. He will have his compensation
in his next birth. If the wicked man who daily does many evil actions apparently enjoys in
this birth, this is due to some good Karma he must have done in his previous birth. he will
have compensation in his next birth. He will suffer in the next birth. The law of
compensation is inexorable and relentless.
(Swami Shivananda, Practice of Karma Yoga, Divine Life Society, 1985, p. 102)
As the karmic debt man recorded in his past is considerably large, a single life is not enough to consume
it. Therefore, in order to attain liberation, many lives become a necessity. In pantheism, where a personal
god as Ultimate Reality is absent, man is alone in his struggle with his past. Even the theistic branches of
Eastern religions are incapable of solving man’s loneliness in this struggle, as karma and God’s grace
cannot be properly reconciled without totally compromising one of them. Grace, granted by a god or a
guru, contradicts the basic role of karma and would render useless its action. As a result, the claims of
some gurus to be able to erase the karma of their disciples are absurd. Through asceticism and
meditation, man has to work out his salvation alone, or rather to bear alone the dictates of karma.
Although it may seem that the mechanism of karma and reincarnation is the proper way to realize social
justice, there are two main objections which contradict it:
1) As long as suffering (or the reward for good deeds) can be experienced only at a personal level
(physical and psychical), and man ceases to exist as person at physical death, it implies that another
person, generated in another physical body, will actually bear the consequences dictated by the karma of
the deceased person. The impersonal self (atman or purusha) which reincarnates has nothing to do with
suffering; it is a simple observer of the ongoing psycho-mental life. If, at the moment of death, there is no
more karmic debt left, the separation of the self from the illusory involvement with the physical and
psycho-mental world is permanent, and this represents liberation. If not, the self is forced to enter a new
illusory association with personhood until all fruits of past lives are consumed. In order to realize this, a
new person is born each time the self enters a new human body. The new person will bear the karma
produced by the previous persons inhabited by the same self. This mechanism, of one person
accumulating karma and another bearing the consequences, is rather unfair, fundamentally contradicting
the idea of realizing perfect justice. This is why natural disasters, plagues and accidents that affect
innocent people cannot be explained away as being generated by karma.
For this reason, the saying "a man reaps what he sows" cannot be used as a way of expressing one’s
reincarnationist ideas. (Actually this saying is taken from the New Testament, Galatians 6,7, but there it
has a different meaning.) According to the reincarnation mechanism one person sows and another one
reaps, since no personal characteristics can be preserved from one incarnation of the impersonal self to
the next. In Buddhism, where the very idea of a self who transmigrates is rejected, the idea of sowing and
reaping is even more absurd. See for instance the following text:
If it be that good men and good women, who receive and retain this discourse, are downtrodden,
their evil destiny is the inevitable retributive result of sins committed in their past mortal lives. By
virtue of their present misfortunes the reacting effects of their past will be thereby worked out, and
they will be in a position to attain the Consummation of Incomparable Enlightenment (Diamond
Sutra 16).
Who will actually work out the effects of his past? A new distribution of the five aggregates? Or who
will actually attain enlightenment? A certain configuration of those impersonal five aggregates? How
could this process render perfect justice? Perfect justice for whom? For an illusory personhood that
disappears at physical death?
2) A second objection concerns the actual possibility of attaining liberation from karma and
reincarnation. Normally it is supposed that the person who is living out the consequences of his karma
should do it in a spirit of resignation and submission. But this ideal is far from reality. Instead of
adopting a passive attitude concerning the hardships that have to be endured, man almost always reacts
with indignation, and so accumulates a constantly growing karmic debt. Common human experience
proves that evil almost always generates evil and therefore a balance between good and evil cannot be
reached. As a result, a vicious cycle is generated in which karmic debt is constantly growing. This
happens with most people of our planet, as it is said that most of us live in ignorance (avidya). From one
generation to the next, the sum of karmic debt is always growing and this situation can never be solved.
What kind of a justice is that which starts more problems than it solves?
If it is most likely that one will always accumulate new karma instead of getting rid of it, probably the
best solution to attain liberation from reincarnation would be the Jain fasting to death, as stated by
Mahavira:
If this thought occurs to a monk, "I am sick and not able, at this time, to regularly mortify the
flesh," that monk should regularly reduce his food; regularly reducing his food and diminishing
his sins, he should take proper care of his body, being immovable like a beam; exerting himself he
dissolves his body....
This is the truth: speaking truth, free from passion, crossing the samsara, abating irresoluteness,
knowing all truth and not being known, leaving this frail body. Overcoming all sorts of pains and
troubles through trust in this, he accomplishes this fearful religious death. Even thus he will in due
time put an end to existence. This has been adopted by many who were free from delusion; it is
good, wholesome, proper, beatifying, meritorious. Thus I say.
(Acaranga Sutra 1,7,6)
This should be the logical solution for anyone trying to escape his karma. However, this radical solution
is far from being accepted by most adherents of reincarnation. But even if they would literally fast to
death, it still could not guarantee the decrease of mankind’s karmic debt, as one accumulates more karma
till the moment he adopts this kind of "holy" mortification than he could annihilate by using it.
Let’s take an example and see how the two objections actually work in the case of a real person. If we
take the case of Adolf Hitler, the results are astounding. (For a detailed study of this case and other
important aspects of reincarnation see Mark Albrecht’s book Reincarnation - InterVarsity Press, 1982.)
There is no doubt that all adherents of reincarnation agree that many lives are needed for consuming his
karmic debt. Hitler died in 1945 and had to reincarnate as a child in order to bear the harsh consequences
of his monstrous deeds. The two objections can be stated as following:
1) The person of Hitler ceased to exist at the moment of his physical death. Only the impersonal self will
reincarnate, accompanied by its karmic deposit. However, there is no continuity between the person of
Hitler and that of the individual who has to endure the hardships imposed by Hitler’s karma. The
newborn person doesn’t know that he has to work out Hitler’s karma. After the cruel life and death of
this person, other millions of reincarnations will succeed with the same tragic destiny. The most
disgusting fact is that the person of Hitler, the only one who should have endured at physical and
psychical level the results of his foolish deeds, was dissolved at his physical death, while other persons,
totally unaware of this situation and innocent, have to work out his bad karma.
2) As a result of the hardships that have to be endured by the new incarnations of Hitler, it is almost
certain that they will react with indignation instead of resignation to their situation, and thus will
accumulate a growing karmic debt. Each new reincarnation of Hitler becomes a source of newly acquired
karma, initiating a new chain of individuals who have to pay the consequences. The same happened in
the case of Hitler himself. Whoever he was in a previous life, he made his karma a lot worse during the
years of The Third Reich. Therefore, instead of solving the puzzle of global justice, the problem
worsened. Starting with a single individual such as Hitler, we reach a huge number of persons who pay
his karma and accumulate a new one. This is just one case of human history. Any attempt to imagine
what happens at a larger human scale would reveal a catastrophe impossible to ever be solved.
As a result, karma and reincarnation cannot provide any kind of justice. Reincarnation cannot solve the
problem of evil but only amplify it, leaving the original evil unpunished. If reincarnation were true,
Hitler will never be punished for his deeds because he ceased to exist, right before any human person or
circumstance of life could truly punish him.
Even if disagreement persists in accepting the growth of evil as an effect of karma and reincarnation, at
least its conservation should be admitted in human history. This results from analyzing the links that
exist between people and their karma from a global perspective. There are two points to be made here.
First, there is a moral issue involved. As suffering is the result of one’s bad deeds performed in previous
lives, a possible way of reacting consistently with the law of karma might lead to a total lack of
compassion toward people who suffer. One might think that the person who suffers deserves to be
equitably punished, and anyone who dares to help him interferes with the unrolling of his karma and
consequently is gathering bad karma for himself.
Second, the man who is the instrument of karma’s punishment records bad karma for himself and
therefore will have to be punished at his turn, in a next life. Then the next person who acts as the
instrument of karma will have to be punished in his turn, etc. A possible solution to this endless cycle
would be that the one who acts as the instrument of karma in another one’s life should do it in a
completely detached manner, without any interest in the results, according to the demand of Krishna in
the Bhagavad Gita (2,47; 3,19; etc.). In this case it is considered that he doesn’t acquire new karma.
However, such a solution would be limited, at best, to the few "detached" people that actually follow this
rule, and thus has no significance on the larger scale of human society. Most people are far from
considering themselves as detached executioners of karma in their neighbor’s life.
Let’s examine these two points in the case of the millions of Jews who were killed in gas chambers by
the Nazis during World War II. First, it would seem absurd to have any feeling of compassion towards
them, because they deserved to be killed like that, as a result of crimes done by them in previous lives.
One could conclude that, after all, the Nazis did the right thing against the Jews, according to the dictates
of karma. Using this reasoning any conceivable crime of the past or present could be justified, without
bothering about moral values. This opens a horrifying perspective on the past and future of mankind,
with implications difficult to grasp.
Second, the killing of millions of Jews requires that their executioners should be killed in their turn, in a
similar way, in further lives. But this implies that the executioners of the reincarnated Nazis will be killed
in their turn, etc., etc. The cycle would never end. The same reasoning could be used also back in time,
which would require finding in each generation those millions of people executed and their executioners.
An objection to this could be that killers may be punished (killed) in turn by other means, not necessarily
by involving other new acquirers of karma. Natural calamities such as earthquakes could be the
instrument of karma. However, this option doesn’t work because karma is generated not only by the
actions themselves, but also by the desires that lead to the actions. The desire to kill has to be rewarded
as well, not only the killing. Therefore, if reincarnation were a logical concept, it would imply that it has
neither a beginning nor an end. This cannot be a solution for justice, but only a kind of eternal circus.
A further analysis of karmic justice proves that the basic principle of Hindu morality, that of non-killing
(ahimsa), is absurd. According to this principle we should not participate in the killing of any living
being, otherwise we will reincarnate in order to pay the consequences. (This is the basis of eastern
religious vegetarianism.) For instance, the butcher who slaughters a pig will have to reincarnate as a pig
in order to be slaughtered in his turn. However, the very principle of reincarnation contradicts the
meaning of ahimsa and proves it to be futile. The pig had to be slaughtered, because he probably was the
reincarnation of another butcher, who had to be punished that way. Neither in this case can the vicious
cycle be stopped by natural means (i.e. the pig dying of a disease) because the butcher’s desire to kill the
animal (for food or to earn his salary) also generates karma. Therefore the infringement of the
non-violence principle becomes a necessity in order to fulfill karmic justice. The butcher was at the same
time the instrument of working out one’s karmic debt and the generator of a new one for himself. In a
strange and contradictory way, the fulfilling of karmic debt requires the punishment of its executioners.
In other words, karma paradoxically acts through condemning the executioners of its "justice".
In conclusion, the concept of reincarnation stands in contradiction with logic, social justice, morality and
even common sense. Looking beyond the apparent comfort it provides to this life by promising further
lives in which perfection may be attained, belief in reincarnation cannot bring any beneficial result, but
only resignation and despair in facing fate. Why then accept it as a major spiritual belief?
Next:
Reincarnation and Christianity
REINCARNATION
The concept of reincarnation seems to offer one of the most attractive explanations of man’s origin and
destiny. There is an increasing interest in this topic today, sustained especially by books and magazines,
TV broadcasts, movies and conferences. Most of them are related to the world of esoterical wisdom and
occult phenomena. Reincarnation is a hot topic also on the Internet, as you may have already noticed.
Not only adherents of Eastern religions or New Age spirituality accept it currently, but also many who
don’t share such esoteric interests and convictions.
Reincarnation seems to give hope for continuing one’s existence in further lives and thus having a better
chance to attain liberation. This is a source of great comfort, especially for those who seek liberation on
the exclusive basis of their inner resources. On the other hand, reincarnation is a way of rejecting the
Christian teaching of the soul’s final judgment by a holy God, with the possible result of being eternally
condemned to suffer in hell. Another major reason for accepting reincarnation by so many people today
is the fact that it allegedly explains the differences that exist between people. Some are healthy, others
are tormented their whole life by physical handicaps. Some are rich, others at the brink of starvation.
Some have success without being religious; others are constant losers, despite their religious dedication.
Eastern religions explain these differences as a result of previous lives, good or bad, which bear their
fruits into the present one through the action of karma. Therefore reincarnation seems to be a perfect way
of punishing or rewarding one’s deeds, without the need of accepting a personal God as Ultimate Reality.
Given the overwhelming impact this ideology can have in the life and beliefs of any person, let us
analyze the following major topics:
A) Reincarnation in world religions;
B) Past-life recall as proof for reincarnation;
C) Reincarnation and cosmic justice;
D) Reincarnation and Christianity.
http://www.comparativereligion.com/reincarnation.html (1 of 7) [10/27/2000 9:49:14 AM]
A) Reincarnation in world religions
The reincarnation of an entity defined as the core of human existence (atman or purusha) following a
cycle that implies many lives and bodies, is not such an old concept as it is pretended today. It is neither
a common element for most of the oldest known religions, nor does its origin belong to an immemorial
past.
The classic form of the reincarnation doctrine was formulated in India, but certainly not earlier than the
9th century BC, when the Brahmana writings were composed. After the Upanishads (7th to 5th century
BC) clearly defined the concept, it was adopted by the other important Eastern religions which originated
in India, Buddhism and Jainism. Due to the spreading of Buddhism, reincarnation was later adapted in
Chinese Taoism, but not earlier than the 3rd century BC.
The ancient religions of the Mediterranean world developed quite different kinds of reincarnationist
beliefs. For instance, Greek Platonism stated the pre-existence of the soul in a celestial world and its fall
into a human body due to sin. In order to be liberated from its bondage and return to a state of pure being,
the soul needs to be purified through reincarnation. In stating these beliefs Plato was strongly influenced
by the earlier philosophical schools of Orphism and Pythagoreanism. The first important Greek
philosophical system that adopted a similar view on reincarnation to Hinduism was Neo-Platonism, born
in the 3rd century AD, under certain Eastern influences.
In the case of ancient Egypt, The Egyptian Book of the Dead describes the travel of the soul into a next
world without coming back to earth. As it is well known, the ancient Egyptians embalmed the dead in
order that the body might be preserved and accompany the soul into that world. This rather suggests their
belief in resurrection than in reincarnation. Likewise, in many cases of ancient tribal religions that are
credited today with holding to reincarnation, it is rather a belief in the pre-existence of the soul before
birth or its independent survival after death that is taught. This has no connection with the classic idea of
transmigration from one physical body to another, according to the demands of an impersonal law such
as karma.
Reincarnation in Hinduism
The origin of samsara has to be searched for in Hinduism and its classic writings. It cannot have
appeared earlier than the 9th century BC because the Vedic hymns, the most ancient writings of
Hinduism, do not mention it, proving that reincarnation wasn’t stated yet at the time of their recording
(13th to 10th century BC). Let us therefore analyze the development of the concept of immortality in the
major Hindu writings, beginning with the Vedas and the Brahmanas.
Immortality in the Vedic hymns and the Brahmanas
At the time the Vedic hymns were written, the belief was that man continues to exist after death as a
whole person. Between man and gods was stated an absolute distinction, as in all other polytheistic
religions of the world. The concept of an impersonal fusion with the source of all existence, as later
stated in the Upanishads, was far away. Here are some arguments for this thesis that result from the
exegesis of the funeral ritual:
1. As was the case in other ancient religions (for instance those of Egypt and Mesopotamia), the deceased
was buried with food and clothing necessary in the afterlife. More than that, the belief of ancient Aryans
in the preservation of personal identity after death led them to incinerate the dead husband together with
his (living) wife and bow so that they could accompany him in the afterlife. In some parts of India this
ritual was performed until the British colonization.
2. Similar to the tradition of ancient Chinese religion, the departed relatives constituted a holy hierarchy.
The last one deceased was commemorated individually for a year after his departure and then included in
the mortuary offerings of the monthly shraddha ritual (Rig Veda 10,15,1-11). This ritual was necessary
because the dead could influence negatively or positively the life of the living (Rig Veda 10,15,6).
3. According to Vedic anthropology, the components of human nature are the physical body, ashu and
manas. Ashu represents the vital principle (different from personal attributes), and manas the sum of
psycho-mental faculties (mind, feeling and will). The belief in the preservation of the three components
after death is proved by the fact that the family addressed the departed relative in the burial ritual as a
unitary person: "May nothing of your manas, nothing of the ashu, nothing of the limbs, nothing of your
vital fluid, nothing of your body here by any means be lost" (Atharva Veda 18,2,24).
Yama, the god of death (mentioned in old Buddhist and Taoist scriptures too) was sovereign over the
souls of the dead and also the one who received the offerings of the family for the benefit of the departed.
In the Rig Veda it is said about him: "Yama was the first to find us our abode, a place that can never be
taken away, where our ancient Fathers have departed; all who are born go there by that path, treading
their own" (Rig Veda 10,14,2). Divine justice was provided by the gods Yama, Soma and Indra, not by
an impersonal law such as karma. One of their attributes was to cast the wicked into an eternal dark
prison out of which they can never escape (Rig Veda 7,104,3-17).
The premise for reaping the reward of one’s life in a new earthly existence (instead of the heavenly
afterlife) appeared in the Brahmana writings (9th century BC). They stated a limited heavenly
immortality, depending on the deeds and the quality of the sacrifices performed during life. After reaping
the reward for them, man has to face a second death in the heavenly realm (punarmrityu) and therefore
return to an earthly existence. The proper antidote against this situation came to be considered esoteric
knowledge, attainable only during one’s earthly existence.
Reincarnation in the Upanishads
The Upanishads were the first writings to move the place of one’s "second death" from the heavenly
realm to this earthly world, considering its proper solution the knowledge of the atman-Brahman identity.
Ignorance of one’s true self (atman or purusha) launches karma into action, the law of cause and effect in
Eastern spirituality. Its first clear formulation can be found in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4,4,5):
"According as one acts, according as one behaves, so does he become.The doer of good becomes good.
The doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action."
Reincarnation (samsara) is the practical way in which one reaps the fruits of his deeds. Therefore, the
self is forced to enter a new material existence until all karmic debt is paid: "By means of thought, touch,
sight and passions and by the abundance of food and drink there are birth and development of the
(embodied) self. According to his deeds, the embodied self assumes successively various forms in
various conditions" (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 5,11).
There can be observed a fundamental mutation in the meaning of afterlife in comparison with the Vedic
perspective. Abandoning the desire to have communion with the gods (Agni, Indra, etc.), attained as a
result of bringing good sacrifices, the Upanishads came to consider man’s final destiny to be the
impersonal fusion atman-Brahman, attained exclusively by esoteric knowledge. In this new context,
karma and reincarnation are key elements that will mark from now on all particular developments in
Hinduism.
Reincarnation in the Epics and Puranas
In the Bhagavad Gita, which is a part of the Mahabharata, reincarnation is clearly stated as a natural
process of life that has to be followed by any mortal. Krishna says:
Just as the self advances through childhood, youth and old age in its physical body, so it advances
to another body after death. The wise person is not confused by this change called death (2,13).
Just as the body casts off worn out clothes and puts on new ones, so the infinite, immortal self
casts off worn out bodies and enters into new ones (2,22).
In the Puranas the speculation on this subject is more substantial and therefore specific destinies are
figured for each kind of "sin" one performs:
The murderer of a brahmin becomes consumptive, the killer of a cow becomes hump-backed and
imbecile, the murderer of a virgin becomes leprous - all three born as outcastes. The slayer of a
woman and the destroyer of embryos becomes a savage full of diseases; who commits illicit
intercourse, a eunuch; who goes with his teacher’s wife, disease-skinned. The eater of flesh
becomes very red; the drinker of intoxicants, one with discolored teeth.... Who steals food becomes
a rat; who steals grain becomes a locust... perfumes, a muskrat; honey, a gadfly; flesh, a vulture;
and salt, an ant.... Who commits unnatural vice becomes a village pig; who consorts with a Sudra
woman becomes a bull; who is passionate becomes a lustful horse.... These and other signs and
births are seen to be the karma of the embodied, made by themselves in this world. Thus the
makers of bad karma, having experienced the tortures of hell, are reborn with the residues of their
sins, in these stated forms (Garuda Purana 5).
Similar specific punishments are figured by The Laws of Manu (12, 54-69).
Who or what reincarnates in Hinduism?
According to the Upanishads and Vedanta philosophy, the entity that reincarnates is the impersonal self
(atman). Atman lacks any personal element, reason for which the use of the reflexive pronoun "self" is
not quite right. Atman can be defined only through negating any personal attributes. Although it
constitutes the existential substrata of man’s existence, atman cannot be the carrier of one’s "spiritual
progress", because it cannot record any data produced in the illusory domain of psycho-mental existence.
The spiritual progress one accumulates toward realizing the atman-Brahman identity is recorded by
karma, or rather by a minimal quantity of karmic debt. According to one’s karma, at (re)birth the whole
physical and mental complex man consists of is reconstructed, all that pertains to the world of illusions.
At this level, the newly shaped person experiences the fruits of "his" actions from previous lives and has
to do his best to stop the vicious cycle avidya-karma-samsara.
As a necessary aid in explaining the reincarnation mechanism, Vedanta adopted the concept of a subtle
body (sukshma-sharira), attached to atman as long as its bondage lasts, which actually records the
karmic debts and transmits them from one life to another. However, this "subtle body" cannot be a form
of preserving one’s personal attributes, as it does not offer any actual data belonging to previous lives to
the present conscious psycho-mental life. All this kind of data is erased, so that the facts recorded by the
subtle body are a sum of hidden tendencies or impressions (samskara) imprinted by karma. They will
materialize unconsciously in the life of the individual, without giving him any hint for understanding his
actual condition. There is no possible form of transmitting conscious memory from one life to another,
because its domain belongs to the world of illusions and dissolves at death.
In the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas, the entity that reincarnates is purusha, an equivalent of atman.
Given the absolute duality stated between purusha and prakriti (substance), nothing that belongs to the
psycho-mental life can pass from one life to the other because it belongs to prakriti, which has a mere
illusory relation with purusha. However, in the Yoga Sutra (2,12) is defined a similar mechanism of
transmitting the effects of karma from one life to another, as was the case in Vedanta. The reservoir of
karmas is called karmashaya. It accompanies purusha from one life to another, representing the sum of
impressions (samskara) that could not manifest themselves during the limits of a certain life. In no way
can it be a kind of conscious memory, a sum of information that the person could consciously use or a
nucleus of personhood, because karmashaya has nothing in common with psycho-mental abilities. This
deposit of karma merely serves as a mechanism for adjusting the effects of karma in one’s life. It dictates
in an impersonal and mechanical manner the new birth (jati), the length of life (ayu) and the experiences
that must accompany it (bhoga).
Reincarnation in Buddhism
Buddhism denies the reality of a permanent self, together with all things pertaining to the phenomenal
world. The appearance of human existence is generated by a mere heap of five aggregates (skandha),
which suffer from constant becoming and have a functional cause-effect relation: 1) the body (material
form and senses), 2) sensation (product of the senses), 3) perception (built on sensation), 4) mental
activity and 5) consciousness. All five elements, as well as the whole assembly they construct, are
impermanent (anitya), undergo constant transformation and have no abiding principle or self. Man
usually thinks that he has a self because of consciousness. But being itself in a constant process of
becoming and change, consciousness cannot be identified with a self that is supposed to be permanent.
Beyond the five aggregates nothing else can be found in man.
However, something has to reincarnate, following the dictates of karma. When asked about the
differences between people in the matters of life span, illnesses, wealth, etc., the Buddha taught:
Men have, O young man, deeds as their very own, they are inheritors of deeds, deeds are their
matrix, deeds are their kith and kin, and deeds are their support. It is deeds that classify men into
high or low status (Majjhima Nikaya 3,202).
If there is no real self, who inherits the deeds and reincarnates? Buddha answered that only karma is
passing from one life to another, using the illustration of the light of a candle, which is derived from
other candle without having a substance of its own. In the same manner there is rebirth without the
transfer of a self from one body to another. The only link from one life to the next is of a causal nature.
This is without doubt the weirdest definition of reincarnation ever stated. In the Garland Sutra (10) we
read:
According to what deeds are done
Do their resulting consequences come to be;
Yet the doer has no existence:
This is the Buddha’s teaching.
The Yogachara and Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism) schools of Mahayana Buddhism consider that there
actually is an entity that reincarnates, namely consciousness (one of the five aggregates), thus having the
same function as the atman of Vedanta. The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes in detail the alleged
experiences one has in the intermediary state between two incarnations, suggesting that the deceased
keeps some personal attributes. Although it is not clear what actually survives after death in this case,
there is mentioned a mental body that cannot be injured by the visions experienced by the deceased:
When it happens that such a vision arises, do not be afraid! Do not feel terror! You have a mental
body made of instincts; even if it is killed or dismembered, it cannot die! Since in fact you are a
natural form of voidness, anger at being injured is unnecessary! The Yama Lords of Death are but
arisen from the natural energy of your own awareness and really lack all substantiality. Voidness
cannot injure voidness! (Tibetan Book of the Dead, 12)
Whatever the condition of the deceased after death might be, any hypothetical personal nucleus vanishes
right before birth, so there can be no psycho-mental element transmitted from one life to another. The
newborn person doesn’t remember anything from previous lives or trips into the realm of intermediary
state (bardo).
Reincarnation in Taoism
Reincarnation is a teaching hard to find in the aphorisms of the Tao-te Ching (6th century BC), so it must
have appeared later in Taoism. Although it is not specified what reincarnates, something has to pass from
one life to another. An important scripture of Taoism, the Chuang Tzu (4th century BC), states:
Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is
continuity without a starting point.
Existence without limitation is space. Continuity without a starting point is time. There is birth,
there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. That through which one passes in and out
without seeing its form, that is the Portal of God (Chuang Tzu 23).
Reincarnation in modern thinking
Once the Eastern concept of reincarnation arrived in Europe, its meaning changed. During the Middle
Ages it was a doctrine reserved for the initiates of some occult traditions (Hermetism, Catharism, etc.),
who have taken it over from Neo-Platonism. A larger acceptance of reincarnation was promoted in the
Western world only beginning with the last century, by the efforts of Theosophy, and later
Anthroposophy. Their intense ministry, combined with that of many Eastern gurus, and especially the
efforts of the New Age movement, determined a wide acceptance of reincarnation in our society today,
so that this concept became one of the most fascinating doctrines in explaining the origin and meaning of
life.
However, its modern version is substantially different from what Eastern religions stated. Far from being
a torment out of which man has to escape by any price through abolishing personhood, New Age
thinking considers reincarnation as an eternal progression of the soul toward higher levels of spiritual
existence. Influenced by the Christian cultural context but totally opposing Eastern classic ideology,
many consider today that the entity that reincarnates is our soul, which preserves the attributes of
personhood from one life to another. This compromise obviously emerged from the desire to adopt the
reincarnation doctrine to Western thought. The concept of an impersonal atman reincarnating was too
abstract to be easily accepted, so Westerners needed a milder version of this doctrine. Although this
tendency proves the soul’s yearning for a personal destiny, it doesn’t bear too much resemblance to
classical Eastern spirituality, which rejects it as totally perverted.
The above information about the meaning of reincarnation in the Eastern religions and the nature of the
entity which is reincarnating will be helpful in examining the modern proofs for it, which are so popular
today. While analyzing them, we need to remember that according to the Eastern concept of
reincarnation there cannot be any personal element that could wander from one life to the next.
Next:
Past-life recall as proof for reincarnation
Reincarnation and cosmic justice
REINCARNATION
B) Past-life recall as modern proof for reincarnation
Many people who accept reincarnation in the West today claim that it can be scientifically proven. They
usually ground their belief on so-called past life recall experiences, which represent the ability of certain
persons to recall facts of alleged previous lives. There are two categories of this phenomenon. One is
observed under hypnosis, while regressing certain persons beyond the date of birth. The other is
produced by some children who spontaneously remember a previous life identity, amazing their
neighbors with specific details that match with the life of a deceased person. Could these experiences
really be proofs for reincarnation?
Hypnotic regression as proof for reincarnation
Hypnosis can be defined as a method of inducing an altered state of consciousness, which causes a
person to become very receptive to the hypnotist’s suggestions. The method has been used in
psychoanalysis for treating psychic diseases by evoking the painful events which caused them in the past
(especially during childhood) and then transmitting suggestions meant to heal these wounds which still
affect one’s present. Although there are some encouraging results in using it as a psychiatric healing
therapy, it is a fact that hypnosis can mix fantasy with real memories or even create entirely fictitious
episodes. In deep states of hypnosis, some subjects have had out-of-body experiences and claimed to
have traveled in mysterious spiritual realms. Others have had a mystical experience of oneness with the
universe.
Hypnotic regression started to be used as a "past lives recall" method in 1952, when Ruth Simmons from
Colorado, USA, was regressed "back in time" beyond the date of her birth. Suddenly she started to talk
using a specific Irish accent, claiming that her name was Bridey Murphy and she lived in Ireland in the
year 1890. Her brief descriptions seemed to describe properly the Irish society of the late 19th century. It
was therefore believed that a scientific proof for reincarnation had been found. As a result, the method
was used by a growing number of hypnotists in order to get information about alleged previous lives of
their patients. Recently the method has gained a scientific aura, being used as therapy for releasing
current fears and explaining certain personality tendencies as results of past lives experiences. By simply
being asked to go back in time beyond the date of their birth and describe their impressions, some
patients tell impressive stories in which some characteristics match with past and distant cultures of
human history. They usually adopt a totally different personality, with a changed voice, behavior and
facial expression. All the information they produce is the result of a dialog between the hypnotist and his
patient, in which the questions have to be easy and clear in order to get a proper answer. As long as the
information they produce couldn’t have been normally learned during their life span, it is supposed that
they really recall past lives. However, this conclusion raises some difficulties, as there are other
possibilities to explain how the "novelties" are produced, without accepting the past-life recall
hypothesis.
One possible explanation, valid in a few cases, is cryptoamnesia. As hypnosis can be used in refreshing
forgotten memories of one’s past, facts that are not available anymore in the conscious memory, in the
same way can it be used for evoking information heard from other people, read in books, or seen in
movies, in which the subject of hypnosis is involving himself as participant. His subconscious memory
has kept this information stored and hypnosis determines its use in a completely fictitious scenario.
Detailed studies of the alleged recalled lives prove that in most cases there is only general information
produced, or details that cannot be historically confirmed.
An intriguing aspect of the testimonies recorded under hypnosis is the fact that they always depend on
the already existing data in current historic knowledge. In many cases, although the information
corresponds to generally acknowledged historical data, further archaeological discoveries contradict
them, casting serious doubts on the veracity of "past lives". Ian Wilson, one of the important researchers
of this phenomenon, describes several such cases in his book Reincarnation (p. 88-90). One of them
refers to a "person" who lived during the reign of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses III. Instead of indicating
the name No for the capital city, he used the name Thebes, given by the Greeks much later. On the other
hand, a true ancient Egyptian could not have known the pharaoh’s name by a number, as the numbering
of pharaohs was adopted by Victorian Egyptologists during the 19th century. Another fault was
mentioning the use of the sestertius coin, which was introduced by the Romans a thousand years later.
Another case reported Vikings making a landfall in North America during the 11th century. According to
the description, they were wearing helmets with horns, which cannot be historically true. In recent years
scholars have proved that this idea is false, as Vikings wore in fact conic, close-fitting caps. Horned
helmets were worn only in religious ceremonies by individuals of high rank. This and other cases prove
that the "past life recall" experiences depend heavily on the historical knowledge mankind had at the time
when the hypnotic regression was performed, but which are often contradicted by later discoveries.
How could it be possible that the present personality could influence the knowledge of its "previous
lives", some predating it with hundreds or thousands of years? How could people who lived four
thousand years ago use the BC (before Christ) year numeration system? How can it be that some
hypnotists can even "recall" future lives of their patients (which are obviously influenced by current
science fiction literature)? These facts indicate that the alleged previous lives are culturally and
religiously conditioned, casting serious doubts on their veracity. This is why the writers who are
favorable to rebirth stories usually avoid mentioning specific data which might challenge their beliefs.
Another possible explanation that could overrule the veracity of past life recall is the influence of the
hypnotist, whose suggestion ability is a sine qua non condition for the efficiency of hypnosis. The other
necessary factor is the receptivity of the patient to the hypnotist’s suggestions. Although the two
conditions determine the efficiency of hypnosis when used as psychiatric treatment, when expecting to
get information from alleged past lives, the suggestion ability of the hypnotist becomes an important
hindrance in obtaining true information, because it can contaminate the patient’s story. Under hypnosis,
the subject is ready to accept all kinds of distortions, having his reality shaped according to what the
hypnotist dictates. As in most cases the hypnotist expects a confirmation of the reincarnation theory, or at
least expects it subconsciously, together with the verbal suggestions concerning relaxation and different
phases of regression, he can transmit his own convictions concerning past lives and custom scenarios of
this kind. In many cases it is easy to discern the religious convictions of the hypnotist in the stories told
by his patients, his understanding of life as eternal return into a different body.
The risk of inventing completely fictitious scenarios through hypnosis cannot be ignored. It actually has
happened many times. Remember the many cases of women who came for hypnotic treatment for their
common problems, and over the course of therapy discovered incidents of sexual abuse by parents during
childhood, which proved to be false. Even Freud abandoned hypnosis as a treatment method when he
discovered so many cases of fake memories. More than that, it was observed that the memories
"discovered" under hypnosis can replace the true memories after the hypnotic session is over and distort
completely one’s personal life. This is called false memory syndrome. Courts of law know these dangers
and most do not accept testimonies produced under hypnosis or from witnesses that have been previously
hypnotized. The same way as alleged sexual abuses in childhood discovered through hypnosis have been
proved to be false, past lives can be also fake scenarios.
Another compromising factor in getting true "past life stories" is the preparation the patient undergoes
before hypnosis. He is informed about its purpose, which induces in him a high expectancy state. The
conscious desire to know "his previous lives" undoubtedly influences his response under hypnosis.
A third possibility to explain testimonies from alleged previous lives belongs to psychiatry. This medical
branch suggests that past lives testimonies are nothing but the result of inducing the phenomenon of
multiple personality through hypnosis, as there are many behavioral similarities between this
phenomenon and past life regression cases. Multiple personality is a common feature of schizophrenia,
which causes somebody to exchange in a short period of time up to 20 distinct personalities, as if playing
successive roles. These contradicting personalities have different mentalities, behaviors, voices and even
sexes than the real person. Usually it happens that one of them knows and observes the acts and thoughts
of the others, and is even able to speak in the name of all.
Inducing new personalities by the use of hypnosis has actually happened in several cases of
schizophrenia. Used to uncover covert personalities and reintegrate them with the main personality, most
cases of hypnosis have produced new personalities that didn’t manifest previously in one’s normal state.
They first appeared during hypnotic treatment, and then remained active after the session was over. So
there really is possible to create new personalities or "past life recalls" through hypnosis.
However, there still remains an enigma to which the above naturalist-scientific interpretation doesn’t
have a satisfactory answer: How are the "past live" personalities distributed in their roles, or who decides
which one will be next in the show? It cannot be a random process. Ian Wilson writes in his book:
"Somewhere, somehow, the show must have a ‘director’. It is like watching a puppet show; we can see
the puppets, see some of the strings by which they are made to work, but cannot see the puppet master."
Who could be this hidden director of the multiple personality show? The naturalistic explanation says
that it must be in the person’s mind, where consciousness is divided into separate entities, one of them
taking the role of the director. The data supporting it is that sometimes, under hypnosis, a certain part of
the mind stays conscious, continuing to receive data from the real surrounding area. The unsolved
problem with this explanation is the motivation of such an entity (remained conscious in the person’s
mind) to act like that. Why should it fool the people around about past lives?
Thus we come to another possible explanation of past life recall. In parapsychology it is called
channeling, representing the phenomena of transmitting information generated by spiritual entities which
are external to our world. They act through certain persons called mediums while being in altered states
of consciousness. In channeling there are always external personal beings (spirits) involved in providing
information through mediums. The annihilation of normal consciousness through hypnosis creates
optimal conditions for contacting such external teachers, who can present themselves as personalities of
one’s past lives. The only reason for rejecting this hypothesis is the presumption that the entity which is
communicating through the medium has no reason to lie when it claims to be a reincarnated personality
and not an external spirit. Although there have been many cases when such entities were caught lying,
we will analyze in a later section their possible identity from a Christian point of view, and also their
motivation for doing so.
In conclusion, the only criteria in establishing the veracity of "past life recall" is our trust in the hypnotist
and his "past life recall" interpretation. There is no other way of relating the scenario of an alleged past
life to one’s actual person. This is why we will now examine the other "strong evidence" for
reincarnation through past life recall.
Spontaneous past life recall by children as proof for reincarnation
Another category of experiences credited as proofs for reincarnation are the cases when certain people,
almost all children under the age of 10, spontaneously recall events of alleged past lives, insisting to be
someone else who lived in the past. The details they mention concerning places, persons and happenings
of the past, about which they could not normally know anything, prove to be true when investigations are
performed in the indicated area. Although the cases of spontaneous past life recall by children are much
fewer than testimonies produced under hypnosis, they seem to be more convincing. However, there are
other possibilities to interpret them, overruling the reincarnation explanation.
One alternative explanation is the possibility of these children's contacting external spirits, through
channeling. In this case the medium would be the child, without necessarily being conscious of it.
However, this explanation is not too convincing, especially because the children do not seem to be
skilled in communicating with spirits.
A better explanation would be the possession of these children by external spiritual entities. This
phenomenon is related to channeling, but this time the human person is forced to transmit the messages
of a spirit without having any conscious contribution to the whole process. In other words, possession
implies that the invading spirit enters the body and takes over entirely the control of human
consciousness, acting as if a past life personality would be manifesting itself. This explanation is more
likely to be valid for the following reason: Almost all cases of spontaneous past life recall experiences
are produced by children who manifest them between the age of two and five, when their spiritual
discernment is almost nonexistent, especially concerning spirits. This situation makes them easier to be
manipulated by external spirits. As the child grows up, the entities lose their power of influence upon
him, which could explain why the past life memories are lost after the age of 10. Again, one argument
against this explanation is the presupposition that such external spirits have no reason to lie about their
true identity. Another argument is the fact that the child does not manifest the classic symptoms of
violent possession. However, acting violent is not the only possible form of manifesting spiritual
possession.
A confirmation of the possession hypothesis is the cases when the possessing spirit enters the child’s
body a long time after he was born, and then produces the past life recall experience interfering with the
actual personality of the child. There are enough such cases described in literature. Here is a brief
description of two mentioned by Ian Stevenson, a famous researcher of this phenomenon, in his book
Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation:
First, there is the case of an Indian boy named Jasbir, aged three and a half, who was very ill and lapsed
into a coma which his family temporarily mistook for death. He revived a few hours later, and after
several weeks displayed a completely transformed behavior, claiming to be a Brahmin named Sobha
Ram, who died in an accident while he (Jasbir) was sick. As Sobha Ram died when Jasbir was already
three and a half years old, his "past life recall" obviously cannot be a proof of reincarnation. More than
that, it is likely that the "reincarnation" of Ram’s soul took place even before he had physically died,
according to the timing of his accident and the illness of Jasbir. For the previous 3.5 years both persons
lived physically in nearby villages. While speaking through Jasbir, the "reincarnated Mr. Ram" said that
he was advised by a saint to take cover in Jasbir’s body. So at a certain moment there were present two
personalities in Jasbir’s body: the one of the child and the one of Mr. Ram. This suggests that it cannot be
a case of reincarnation here, but rather a possession of Jasbir’s body by the so-called spirit of Mr. Ram.
Second, there is the case of Lurancy Vennum, a one-year-old girl who began to display the personality of
Mary Roff when she (Mary Roff) died. This situation lasted several months, while Mary Roff claimed to
have occupied the vacated body of the little girl. After this period Mary Roff departed and Lurancy
Vennum resumed control. The overlapping of personalities and messages displayed during that period
are strong indications of possession, excluding any possibility for reincarnation. Ian Stevenson admits in
his book that "other cases of the present group of 20 cases may be instances of similar ‘possessing
influences’ in which the previous personality just happened to die well before the birth of the present
personality’ body" (p. 381).
A further indication for understanding spontaneous past life recall experiences by children is the fact that
they are culturally dependent. Most cases are reported in India and other Eastern countries, where
reincarnation is fully accepted. The Asian cases are always richer in details than the Western ones.
Western children who have such experiences give only poor details that could permit verification. When
checking some verifiable details is possible, they usually turn out to be past experiences of other
members of the family. Cultural conditioning certainly plays an important role in these phenomena.
For this reason Ian Stevenson, the well known researcher of this phenomena, was forced to admit in his
book Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation that the cases he studied, as the very title of his book
indicates, are only suggesting reincarnation and cannot be considered proofs for it. If this is the case,
they could be also suggestive of spirit possession.
Metaphysical reasons for rejecting past life recall experiences as
proofs for reincarnation
Even if hypnotic regression and spontaneous recall of past life by children were free of any contradiction,
there still would be another major argument against their veracity: According to the classic doctrine of
reincarnation, the entity which reincarnates is the impersonal self (atman or purusha), accompanied by
karmic debt. Any psycho-mental element that defines personhood does not belong to the self or to the
subtle body, and therefore ceases to exist at physical death. Memory is such an element. It acts only
inside the limits of a physical life and vanishes at death. If things were different, if memory could pass to
further lives through reincarnation, it would have the same ontological nature as the self, which is absurd,
because memory belongs to the psycho-mental realm of personhood.
Usually it is said that the vehicle that carries the psychic impressions from one life to another is the
subtle body (sukshma sharira in Vedanta) or the karmic deposit (karmashaya in Samkhya-Yoga).
Although some say that these two elements act as a kind of unconscious memory of previous lives, they
cannot represent a third ontological nature (different to both the self and the psycho-mental realm), which
could play the role of a transmissible personal memory from one life to another. Karmashaya and
sukshma sharira are a mere expression of the way karma records the debts of the past. As karma
represents an impersonal and mechanical law which functions with mathematical precision, karma itself
cannot justify one’s state at a certain moment. In other words, man cannot communicate with his karma.
Karma is simply pushing the self into a foreordained scenario, without communicating which debts are to
be paid from previous lives.
Even though some special meditative techniques are mentioned, which could render some limited
information about past lives (for instance Yoga-Sutra 3.18 mentions the possibility to know the previous
birth through practicing samyama), they are available only for the advanced Yogi. Even so, the veracity
of the information gotten in altered states of consciousness is doubtful. (Click here for more
information.)
One’s karmic debts could at best be imagined intuitively. For instance, it is supposed that a man who was
murdered took his just reward for a murder he did himself in a previous life. Not even the past life recall
experiences give any information about the "sins" one did in his previous life, but only figure out cases
when he was a victim or a simple observer of life around him. These kinds of experiences do not attempt
to prove the justice of karma, but only that past lives are real. In other words, the "recalled" scenarios do
not indicate which facts of the previous life produced the present incarnation, but only try to prove that
we lived previous lives, that reincarnation is true and has to be accepted in our belief.
Because of the metaphysical considerations mentioned above, most Eastern gurus do not consider
experiences of past life recall as valid proofs for reincarnation. These experiences are appreciated mostly
by Westerners, probably as a result of misunderstanding the original doctrine of reincarnation and also
because of their pseudo-scientific outlook. The main argument for reincarnation in the East has another
nature and will be analyzed next.
Next:
Reincarnation and cosmic justice
Are all religions heading toward the same goal?
SUMMARY
Are all religions heading
toward the same goal?
The following table summarizes a comparison of the major topics analyzed in the previous files on world
religions. Please do not jump in here without first reading the previous articles. Otherwise this short
abstract may seem confusing.
Topic
In the Eastern religions
In Christianity
1. Ultimate
Reality
In most cases impersonal.
God is triune and
personal (the Holy
Trinity), distinct from
His creation.
Hindu pantheism proclaims the impersonal Brahman
as the source of any existence. The gods are mere
products of its manifestation. In Tantrism and Hatha
Yoga, Shiva and Shakti are the two aspects (static and
dynamic) corresponding to Brahman.
In the Yoga-darshana of Patanjali, Ishvara is an
impersonal macro-purusha, with a symbolic role in the
system. Theistic Hinduism accepts personal gods as
Ultimate Reality, but karma and the periodical
dissolution of the universe limit them.
Theravada Buddhism is agnostic about it; no Ultimate
Reality is stated. Mahayana Buddhism states the
impersonal void (shunya) as Ultimate Reality.
In Taoism there is the Tao as impersonal principle
that rules the universe.
http://www.comparativereligion.com/conclusion.html (1 of 8) [10/27/2000 9:49:30 AM]
(In Judaism and Islam,
God is also personal, but
not triune.)
2. The
physical
world
Manifestation of the impersonal Ultimate Reality (in
Hindu pantheism, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism), and
generator of illusion from which man has to detach
himself.
God’s creation out of
nothing (ex nihilo).
Matter is not illusory and
is not bad in itself.
Manifestation of the primordial substance (prakriti) in
the dualistic Samkhya-Yoga.
Transformation of a primordial substance by the gods
of Hindu theism.
(In Gnosticism and other dualistic philosophies matter
is the creation of an evil god.)
3. Man
Manifestation of the Ultimate Reality, according to
the pantheistic schools, which has in itself a divine
essence (atman, purusha) of an impersonal nature.
Product of the five aggregates, according to Theravada
Buddhism, which generate the illusion of personal
existence. Personhood is always illusory and a
hindrance in attaining liberation.
Creation of God with a
personal status.
Personhood has nothing
bad or illusory in itself.
However, man does not
have the divine nature of
God.
(In Gnosticism man is a spiritual being imprisoned in a
material body.)
4. Man’s
present
condition
Ignorance in getting to know his true divine nature.
Ignorance and karma are closely linked and force man
into the reincarnation cycle.
Fallen into a state of
alienation from God,
called sin.
5. The
meaning of
salvation
According to the pantheistic religions, detachment
from the illusion of personal existence and merging of
the divine self with the impersonal Ultimate
Reality. In the Samkhya-Yoga darshanaspurusha
remains forever isolated from prakriti.
Return to a personal
relation with God,
which will endure
forever.
In Theravada Buddhism, annihilation of any
existence.
(In Gnosticism salvation means souls' return to the
original angelic state.)
6. The way of
attaining
salvation
Man has all resources in himself for attaining
liberation. He can choose the way of devotion (bhakti
marga), the way of selfless living (karma marga), or
the way of knowing his divine nature (or the illusion
of any permanent existence - in Buddhism) by
meditation and asceticism (jnana marga).
In most cases of theistic Hinduism and devotional
Buddhism, the gods (or bodhisattvas) can help man
only if he deserves it, as a result of his own efforts.
Grace plays a minor role, except in a few particular
cases (prapatti in Hinduism and Pure Land
Buddhism).
Man cannot attain
salvation by his own
efforts. God took the
initiative and gave the
only solution for man’s
salvation through the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ
on the cross. Man has to
accept this grace.
(In Islam and Judaism
man is not saved by
grace, but by the good
deeds he has to perform.)
7. The
moment of
attaining
salvation
Only spiritually evolved masters can attain liberation
during one life. Most people need many lives to live
out the consequences of karma and overcome illusion
and ignorance.
This is our only life
(Hebrews 9:27) and is
enough in order to accept
God’s grace.
8. The
meaning of
man’s
freedom
The present life is shaped entirely according to the
dictates of one’s karma. There cannot be real
freedom in this condition, so man has to accept his
preordained destiny.
Man didn’t live previous
lives and is free to
choose his eternal
destiny. Although man
inherits a fallen nature,
he can always accept
God’s grace.
9. The
identity of
Jesus Christ
Guru, avatar, enlightened master, saint, etc. He is a
perfect example of what any of us can become.
God the Son incarnated,
one of the hypostases of
The Holy Trinity. (In
Islam just a prophet, in
Judaism a blasphemer
against God.)
10. The
meaning of
Jesus’ death
on the cross
Irrelevant. Man can escape from his karma and find
liberation only by his own efforts.
The only solution for
our salvation, sufficient
for all mankind (John
14,6).
(In Islam it is not
accepted as true. In
Judaism it is the right
punishment Jesus got for
blasphemy.)
(According to Gnosticism it was either an illusion or a
historical hoax.)
11. The view
on Jesus’
physical
resurrection
Absurd. Spiritual progress cannot mean a return to the
physical body.
12. The
nature of evil
Illusory, as all existence is a manifestation of the
Ultimate Reality. Suffering is a result of karma and
man’s ignorance of his true nature.
Evil is real, although not
of the same ontological
nature as that of God. Its
origin is a being, Satan,
who once rebelled
against God and now
acts against Him and
man. Man’s sin is
perpetuating evil and
suffering in our world.
13. The
relation
between the
Ultimate
Reality and
evil
Evil (as illusion) is generated by the manifestation of
the impersonal Ultimate Reality. Without its
manifestation there would be no subject to experience
evil.
Satan is opposed to God,
acts against Him, but
will be isolated forever
in hell at the judgment
day.
14. God’s
solution for
the problem
of evil
None, as evil is illusory. Man has to work out his
own karma and do his best to escape suffering by
transcending personhood. The Hindu avatars are just
reminders of the right spiritual path. Buddhist
bodhisattvas help people to attain a spiritual realm
where they can hear the proper doctrine and attain
liberation easier.
God solved the problem
of evil through the
atoning sacrifice of
Jesus Christ. At the end
of history He will judge
and punish all evildoers.
15. Man’s
attitude
toward
suffering
Ignoring the problem, withdrawal from its reality. He
can only accept the misfortunes of his life and that of
others as dictates of karma. Any opposition would
only worsen his future condition.
Man has to oppose
suffering, according to
the principle of loving
your neighbor (Matthew
22,39).
16. The role
of compassion
and charity
Mere instruments for one’s cleansing oneself of
egoistic attachments. They do not seek the welfare of
the one that is suffering, but are only means for
escaping the world of illusion by the one who
performs them.
Means of expressing
one's new identity in
Christ, following His
example, for the benefit
of others (John 13,34).
(According to Gnosticism a ghostly appearance.)
The proof of His divinity
and efficient atonement
for our salvation.
(In Islam and Judaism
not accepted as true.)
17. Man’s
social
involvement
Absurd, it would be an obstacle in attaining
liberation because of the attachments it produces.
Only detached social involvement is possible, devoid
of any personal motivation (as the Bhagavad Gita
requires).
The Christian has to be
an example of social
involvement in the
society (Matthew 5,16).
18. The
meaning of
moral values
Morality has no value in itself, as it produces false
attachments. It can be used in attaining liberation as
an instrument for defeating egoism.
There are positive and
negative moral values,
between which one has
to exercise discernment
(Galatians 5,17-23).
19. The view
of history
Cyclical. Periodical dissolution of the universe
determines an endless repetition of world’s history.
Linear. Human history
has a beginning and an
end.
20. The way
the two
perspectives
consider each
other
Christianity is, at best, a mere inferior way (a bhakti
type) of attaining liberation.
As man cannot attain
salvation by himself, and
Jesus said He is the only
way to God (John 14,6),
other religions cannot
play the same role.
Conclusion
The obvious conclusion is that the meanings of the major topics in world religions are fundamentally
opposed, especially in the case of Eastern religions towards Christianity. Out of this result two important
implications:
● The teaching of the Hindu tale of the blind men (who tried to describe the elephant) is valid only
for the multitude of pantheistic religions. They are all heading toward the same impersonal
Ultimate Reality, using similar means. However, Christianity definitely rejects this view and
therefore cannot be included in it, by any means.
● Christianity cannot be used as an ingredient in order to produce a “homogenous mixture” with
other religions, according to the demands of today’s world syncretism, or else it would be totally
compromised.
Despite these implications, there are a lot of attempts to “reconcile” Christianity with “the big family” of
world religions. At the beginning of the 2nd century AD Gnosticism appeared and then Neoplatonism
(3rd century AD) as the first syncretistic products of pantheism and Christianity. During the Middle
Ages, Gnosticism flourished and generated several subsequent movements such as Manicheism,
Catharism, Bogomilism, Albigensianism, the Knight Templars, Hermeticism, etc. The apogee of this
trend began last century, in 1875, when Theosophy was grounded by Helena Blavatsky, and later
Anthroposophy by Rudolf Steiner. The fact that these movements are closer to Eastern spirituality than to
Christianity is obvious when examining their main tenets: Ultimate Reality is not a personal God, but the
all-pervading oneness; the world is a manifestation of the impersonal Ultimate Reality; man has a divine
inner nature which is the higher self; karma and samsara are fully accepted; one’s true spiritual nature is
to be found by engaging in the three steps of Vedanta meditation; the chakras have to be activated by
spiritual exercises, etc. In fact, these movements are not attempts to find a middle way between
Christianity and Eastern religions, but rather to adopt Christianity in the big family of pantheist
ideologies.
Apart from Theosophy and Anthroposophy, there are many Eastern masters today who travel all over the
world in order to present their teachings in a “suitable” manner to the Western world. As a result, we can
see many worldwide cults promoting Eastern teachings in a most attractive way for their adherents. The
ultimate product of adapting pantheist teachings in the Western culture is called New Age spirituality.
The element that makes it so attractive is the virtuosity it proves in combining the essence of Eastern
pantheism with the occult traditions and the individualistic mentality of the West. It tries to get rid of
Eastern pessimism, of its understanding of life as suffering, and replace it with an optimistic view of
eternal progression of the self towards superior levels of existence. All occult traditions are accepted
under its umbrella as various perspectives on the same ultimate truth: The divine nature of man has to be
discovered inside oneself. The "unpopular" demands of Christianity, such as accepting we are all sinners
and need repentance, God’s grace through Jesus Christ, etc, are all rejected.
One of the major claims of the New Age syncretism is that Christianity cannot give all the answers to our
spiritual quest, so that it is necessary to accept also the teachings of Eastern spirituality in order to get a
comprehensive picture of the meaning of life. But does Christianity really need such “completion” or
“crutches”? Does it have gaps that can be filled only by the help of Eastern spirituality? The Apostle
Paul’s answer is negative. Reading his Epistle to the Colossians, we can figure out that his readers were
struggling with the same issue, religious syncretism. He writes about the option of Christians’ finding
spiritual help in the Hellenistic philosophy of that time:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on
human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the
fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the
head over every power and authority (Colossians 2,8-10).
If we can have “fullness in Christ”, what other completion can the Eastern religions bring us? Any
element added to this “fullness” would only compromise its essence and efficiency. Therefore, it is
absurd to combine Christianity with the “highlights” of Eastern spirituality. Any Eastern contribution that
should “help” us better understand the Bible, can only alter its message. In fact, Jesus Christ warned us
against such attempts:
Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Christ”,
and will deceive many (Matthew 24,4-5).
The Apostle Paul states that this deception is organized by Satan, who “masquerades as an angel of light”
(2 Corinthians 11,14), and by the demons, who “masquerade as servants of righteousness” (11,15).
These things are happening today and we should stay alert in order to avoid deception. Present day
syncretism cannot bring spiritual progress and peace, as is claimed by the New Age Movement, but only
confusion and spiritual delusion.
The God of the Bible is totally opposed to spiritual syncretism, as the very first command of the Mosaic
Law requires no compromise in this area (Exodus 20,3-5). The people of Israel met disaster precisely
because they didn’t obey it and worshipped the gods of other nations. The climax of this situation was
reached during the reign of king Manasseh, when God stated through the prophet Jeremiah: “I will make
them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah
did in Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 15,4). What Manasseh did was the following:
Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the
Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had
demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the
starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had
said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever." In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he
built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,
practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much
evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger. He took the carved image he had made and
put it in God's temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this temple and
in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. I will
not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only they
will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and
ordinances given through Moses." But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so
that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. The Lord
spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention (2 Chronicles 33,2-10).
The worst thing Manasseh could do, that no other king did before him, was to bring the idols inside the
temple, generating a double worship system in God’s temple, which perverted the only possibility for
reconciling the nation with God. Even if his deeds might have been politically justified (in order to have
peace and be accepted by the other nations), spiritually it was against the clear command of God.
Although Manasseh later repented, religious syncretism entered people’s hearts. They reached a point
where repentance was impossible and spiritual confusion became so great that God had to punish them
according to the Mosaic covenant (see Leviticus 18,24-30). So there is no sign of encouraging spiritual
syncretism in the Old Testament.
The same situation is presented in the New Testament. Jesus Christ did not claim to be one of the many
ways to God, but the only one:
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14,6).
This statement doesn’t need too many comments. It should be very embarrassing for those who try to
find alternative ways to God, or maybe even a middle way through religious syncretism. If all religions
would have been valid alternatives to God, what use would Jesus' dramatic death on the cross have had?
Why such an extreme solution for our sins, if each of us could reach God by diligently following the
already existent religious traditions at hand? Although it is sometimes claimed that this solution for
salvation was valid only for the Israelites of his time, Jesus himself dismissed this hypothesis by
commanding his disciples:
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28,19-20).
Why would Jesus have commanded this, if the religions of all nations had been valid ways to God? Why
would so many Christian martyrs die in order to proclaim one of the many alternative ways to God? It
seems obvious that Christianity does not accept religious syncretism. As the conclusion of our quest, we
can state that spiritual truth is not a matter of both-and (both Christianity and other religions are true),
but one of either-or. World religions cannot be all equally true. The choice for one or another belongs to
you.
5th Ecumenical Council (2nd Constaninople) - Anathemas against Origen
THE FIFTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
THE SECOND COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE
A.D. 553
THE ANATHEMAS AGAINST ORIGEN.
I
IF anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which
follows from it: let him be anathema.
II.
IF anyone shall say that the creation (<greek>thu</greek> <greek>paragwghn</greek>) of all reasonable
things includes only intelligences (<greek>noas</greek>) without bodies and altogether immaterial,
having neither number nor name, so that there is unity between them all by identity of substance, force
and energy, and by their union with and knowledge of God the Word; but that no longer desiring the
sight of God, they gave themselves over to worse things, each one following his own inclinations, and
that they have taken bodies more or less subtile, and have received names, for among the heavenly
Powers there is a difference of names as there is also a difference of bodies; and thence some became and
are called Cherubims, others Seraphims, and Principalities, and Powers, and Dominations, and Thrones,
and Angels, and as many other heavenly orders as there may be: let him be anathema.
III.
IF anyone shall say that the sun, the moon and the stars are also reasonable beings, and that they have
only become what they are because they turned towards evil: let him be anathema.
IV.
IF anyone shall say that the reasonable creatures in whom the divine love had grown cold have been
hidden in gross bodies such as ours, and have been called men, while those who have attained the lowest
degree of wickedness have shared cold and obscure bodies and are become and called demons and evil
spirits: let him be anathema,.
V.
IF anyone shall say that a psychic (<greek>yukikhn</greek>) condition has come from an angelic or
archangelic state, and moreover that a demoniac and a human condition has come from a psychic
condition, and that from a human state they may become again angels and demons, and that each order of
heavenly virtues is either all from those below or from those above, or from those above and below: let
him be anathema.
VI.
IF anyone shall say that there is a twofold race of demons, of which the one includes the souls of men
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and the other the superior spirits who fell to this, and that of all the number of reasonable beings there is
but one which has remained unshaken in the love and contemplation of God, and that that spirit is
become Christ and the king of all reasonable beings, and that he has created(1) all the bodies which exist
in heaven, on earth, and between heaven and earth; and that the world which has in itself elements more
ancient than itself, and which exists by themselves, viz.: dryness, damp, heat and cold, and the image
(<greek>idean</greek>) to which it was formed, was so formed, and that the most holy and
consubstantial Trinity did not create the world, but that it was created by the working intelligence
(N<greek>ous</greek> <greek>dhmiourgos</greek>) which is more ancient than the world, and which
communicates to it its being: let him be anathema.
VII.
IF anyone shah say that Christ, of whom it is said that he appeared in the form of God, and that he was
united before all time with God the Word, and humbled himself in these last days even to humanity, had
(according to their expression) pity upon the divers falls which had appeared in the spirits united in the
same unity (of which he himself is part), and that to restore them he passed through divers classes, had
different bodies and different names, became all to all, an Angel among Angels, a Power among Powers,
has clothed I himself in the different classes of reasonable beings with a form corresponding to that class,
and finally has taken flesh and blood like ours and is become man for men; [if anyone says all this] and
does not profess that God the Word humbled himself and became man: let him be anathema.
VIII.
IF anyone shall not acknowledge that God the Word, of the same substance with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, and who was made flesh and became man, one of the Trinity, is Christ in every sense of the word,
but [shall affirm] that he is so only in an inaccurate manner, and because of the abasement
(<greek>kenwsanta</greek>), as they call it, of the intelligence (<greek>nous</greek>); if anyone shall
affirm that this intelligence united (<greek>sunhmmenon</greek>) to God the Word, is the Christ in the
true sense of the word, while the Logos is only called Christ because of this union with the intelligence,
and e converse that the intelligence is only called God because of the Logos: let him be anathema.
IX.
IF anyone shall say that it was not the Divine Loges made man by taking an animated body with a
<greek>yukh</greek> <greek>logikh</greek> and <greek>noera</greek>, that he descended into hell
and ascended into heaven, but shall pretend that it is the N<greek>ous</greek> which has done this, that
N<greek>ous</greek> of which they say (in an impious fashion) he is Christ properly so called, and that
he is become so by the knowledge of the Monad: let him be anathema.
X
IF anyone shall say that after the resurrection the body of the Lord was ethereal, having the form of a
sphere, and that such shall be the bodies of all after the resurrection; and that after the Lord himself shall
have rejected his true body and after the others who rise shall have rejected theirs, the nature of their
bodies shall be annihilated: let him be anathema.
XI.
IF anyone shall say that the future judgment signifies the destruction of the body and that the end of the
story will be an immaterial <greek>yusis</greek>, and that thereafter there will no longer be any matter,
but only spirit <greek>nous</greek>): let him be anathema.
XII.
IF anyone shall say that the heavenly Powers and all men and the Devil and evil spirits are united with
the Word of God in all respects, as the N<greek>ous</greek> which is by them called Christ and which
is in the form of God, and which humbled itself as they say; and [if anyone shall say] that the Kingdom
of Christ shall have an end: let him be anathema.
XIII.
IF anyone shall say that Christ [i.e., the N<greek>ous</greek> is in no wise different from other
reasonable beings, neither substantially nor by wisdom nor by his power and might over all things but
that all will be placed at the right hand of God, as well as he that is called by them Christ [the
N<greek>ous</greek>, as also they were in the reigned pre-existence of all things: let him be anathema.
XIV.
IF anyone shall say that all reasonable beings will one day be united in one, when the hypostases as well
as the numbers and the bodies shall have disappeared, and that the knowledge of the world to come will
carry with it the ruin of the worlds, and the rejection of bodies as also the abolition of [all] names, and
that there shall be finally an identity of the <greek>gnpsis</greek> and of the hypostasis; moreover, that
in this pretended apocatastasis, spirits only will continue to exist, as it was in the reigned pre-existence:
let him be anathema.
XV.
IF anyone shall say that the life of the spirits (<greek>nopn</greek>) shall be like to the life which was
in the beginning while as yet the spirits had not come down or fallen, so that the end and the beginning
shall be alike, and that the end shall be the true measure of the beginning: let him be anathema.
The human condition in world religions
THE HUMAN CONDITION
IN WORLD RELIGIONS
Ever since he existed, man has been attracted by life's mystery: its origin, meaning, and finality. The
author of Shvetashvatara Upanishad asks: “Whence are we born? Whereby do we live, and whither do
we go?” (1,1). Consequently, not only Hinduism, but all religions need to give an answer to the
fundamental questions concerning creation, life, and death.
What is man? According to pantheist religions, a small part of the Ultimate Reality locked up by the
illusion of physical experience. According to monotheistic religions, a person created in the image and
likeness of God. According to others, like Theravada Buddhism, nothing but an illusion, a temporary
combination of five aggregates, none of which is ultimately real. Dualistic religions, like Gnosticism and
Manicheism, state that man is a spiritual being originated in another world, a kind of angel fallen in his
present miserable condition.
What is man's present condition? Are we departed from the created status as a result of sin, defined as a
moral barrier against our Creator? Or are we rather a product of the periodical manifestation of the
Ultimate Reality, and thus ignoring our true spiritual nature? Do we have a soul that predated our birth or
not? Is our personal character illusory, or do we keep it for a further existence? Is our destiny limited to
this present existence or do we inherit an eternal one, and if eternal, is it personal or impersonal,
conformed with the character of the Creator or absorbed into the impersonal nature out of which all
things emanated? These are some of the aspects that define human condition in the world’s religions.
Closely related to how human nature is defined are the values we pursue in life and the kind of relation
we have with our neighbors.
In the previous file, we have seen that the world religions do not agree on what they hold as Ultimate
Reality. Could it then still be possible that humans share the same condition? The same destiny?
Following the pattern used in the previous file, we will analyze the way man is defined in relation to
Ultimate Reality, his origin and present condition. Beginning with Hinduism, we will continue with the
other Eastern religions and finish with the perspective of monotheistic religions, especially Christianity.
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Man’s condition in Hinduism
The Vedas
According to the Vedic cosmogony of the golden egg (Hiranyagarbha), both gods and men have their
origin in an impersonal primordial entity (Rig Veda 10,129). The Brahmana texts add the appearance of a
Creator (Prajapati) from the golden egg (Shatapatha Br. 11,1,6), who created the world and humans out
of his own body, by the power of his ardor (tapas). The Purushasukta hymn (Rig Veda 10,90) states that
the product of the golden egg is the giant Purusha, and through his sacrifice by the gods the physical
world was built, the four caste system, the animals and the duality of sexes.
Although the Vedic hymns do not clearly state what role the most worshipped gods played in the creation
of man, man is responsible to them for how he lives his life. The prayers people address to Varuna, Indra,
Agni or other gods denote a sinful human nature. Man constantly asks for forgiveness for the sins he
does, which are either errors in performing the right religious ritual, or faults against one’s neighbor:
If we have sinned against the man who loves us,
Have wronged a brother, a dear friend, or a comrade,
The neighbor of long standing or a stranger,
Remove from us this stain, O King Varuna.
(Rig Veda 5,85,7)
To the fire god Agni, who burns away sins through the fire ritual, people ask for forgiveness, but also for
material welfare:
Shining brightly, Agni, drive away
our sin, and shine wealth on us.
Shining bright, drive away our sin.
For good fields, for good homes, for wealth,
we made our offerings to you.
Shining bright, drive away our sin.
(Rig Veda 1,97,1-2)
According to the hymns of the Rig Veda, man is a personal being dependent on the gods, and his destiny
is eternal life in a celestial world. Here is how the worshippers of Indra express their longing for personal
immortality:
Make me immortal in the realm
where the son of Vivasvat (Yama) reigns,
Where lies heaven’s secret shrine, where
are those waters that are ever young.
For Indra, flow you on, Indu!
Make me immortal in that realm
where movement is accordant to wish,
In the third region, the third heaven of heavens,
where the worlds are resplendent.
For Indra, flow you on, Indu!
(Rig Veda 9,113,8-9)
Yama, the god of death (mentioned in old Buddhist and Taoist scriptures too), is sovereign over the souls
of the dead and also the one who receives the offerings of the family for the benefit of the departed.
Divine justice was assured by the gods Yama, Soma and Indra, not by an impersonal law such as karma.
One of their functions was to cast the wicked into an eternal dark prison from which they can never
escape (Rig Veda 7,104,3; 17). It is important to keep in mind that the Vedas do not consider man as a
part of an impersonal Absolute, with whom he should fuse after death.
According to Vedic anthropology, the components of human nature are the physical body, asu and
manas. Asu is the vital principle (different from personal attributes), and manas is the sum of
psycho-mental faculties (mind, feeling and will). The belief in the preservation of the three components
after death is proved by the fact that the family addressed the departed relative in the burial ritual as a
unitary person:
May nothing of thy manas, nothing of the asu, nothing of the limbs, nothing of thy vital fluid,
nothing of thy body here by any means be lost (Atharva Veda 18,2,24).
As was the case in ancient Chinese religion too, the departed relatives constituted a holy hierarchy. The
last one deceased was commemorated individually for a year after his departure and then included in the
mortuary offerings of the monthly shraddha ritual (Rig Veda 10,15,1-11). This ritual was necessary
because the dead could influence toward good or bad the life of the living (Rig Veda 10,15,6). Beginning
only with the Brahmana writings (after the 9th century BC), which are the first to mention a primitive
idea of karma and reincarnation, did the tendency appear to abandon the idea of preservation of
personhood after death. However, this was not the spirit of early Hinduism.
The unity atman-Brahman in the Upanishads and Vedanta
At a macrocosmic level, the Upanishads state that there is an ultimate unity of the world in Brahman, the
impersonal matrix equivalent to the One of the Rig Veda (10,129). In their search for a fundamental
entity of human nature, something that should be the unifying principle of all psycho-mental faculties,
but above their temporal fluctuations, the Hindu rishis defined the concept of atman. In the Chandogya
Upanishad (5,1,1) it is stated that breath (prana) is the “oldest and the best” principle that assures the
functioning of all other psycho-mental capacities (sight, speech, hearing, thought). That is why from the
notion of breath (Sanskrit “an” = “breathing”) derived the notion atman (reflexive pronoun), which came
to designate the self, man’s spiritual being. Therefore atman is not the seat of personhood, or man’s soul,
as it is sometimes mistakenly translated, but a spiritual entity distinct to personhood and to the physical
body.
Unlike all other manifestations of Brahman, atman is of the same ontological quality with Brahman; it
does not fluctuate, it is expressionless, irreducible, eternal and pure:
The self is not this, not this. He is incomprehensible for he is never comprehended. He is
indestructible for he cannot be destroyed. He is unattached for he does not attach himself. He is
unfettered, he does not suffer, he is not injured (Brihadaranyaka Up. 4,2,4).
Given his condition as a product of Brahman’s manifestation, man's purpose in life is to join the
returning process of all manifestations to the initial state of non-manifestation. This is possible only
through dissociating the self (atman) from the corporeal and psycho-mental experience (that has an
illusory value, as we’ll see later), and realizing the identity between his self and Brahman. However,
there is an important aspect to emphasize here: Man’s return to Brahman is a concept that could raise
confusion. In fact, Brahman is already present in man, both at a transcendent and an immanent level, that
is, both as the absolute atman and the relative (gross) manifestations (body and psycho-mental faculties).
Discerning between the two conditions is possible by gaining a deep mystical knowledge of atman: “The
self is to be meditated upon for in it all these become one. This self is the foot-trace of all this, for by it
one knows all this, just as one can find again by footprints (what was lost)” (Brihadaranyaka Up. 1,4,7).
“Meditating on the self” means getting the knowledge of his essential identity with Brahman, and this
knowledge is equivalent with attaining effectively the atman-Brahman identity, as the Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad states:
This is the great unborn self who is undecaying, undying, immortal, fearless, Brahman. Verily,
Brahman is fearless. He who knows this becomes the fearless Brahman (4,4,25).
However, there is the obstacle of illusion (maya) against getting this intuitive knowledge. Maya deceives
man about the true nature of existence, channeling his wishes toward the phenomenal world that is ever
changing. At the same time, maya strengthens the confusion of atman with the psycho-mental activity
and the physical body. As a result of illusion, man grants true spiritual value to what is unstable and
changing instead of knowing his eternal immutable self. This ignorance (avidya) is the cause of atman’s
captivity in the world of material experience:
Just as those who do not know the field walk again and again over the hidden treasure of gold and
do not find it, even so all creatures here go day after day into the Brahma-world and yet do not
find it, for they are carried away by untruth (Chandogya Up. 8,3,2).
As a result of ignorance, in the spiritual world a process develops similar to the law of action and
reaction that works in the physical world. This is karma, the law of action and retribution according to
one’s deeds. Its origin is found in the exegesis of the benefits of sacrifice. It was thought that the same
way sacrifices bring good results to the one who performs them, all his other acts need a reward too. This
prevents him from entering the celestial world after death or limits his stay there, forcing him to come
back in this life and reap the fruits of his deeds. (For more information on the subject of reincarnation,
see our special file on this topic. As a result of karma, any action performed by man has an effect on its
performer. The practical way one reaps the fruits of his deeds is reincarnation (samsara). It teaches that
we live further lives as humans or, according to how badly we acted and how gross our ignorance was in
detaching from the material world, as animals or plants.
The first clear mention of samsara is in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3,2,13), where it is mentioned
that “one becomes good by good action, bad by bad action”. It is also stated that the reincarnation cycle
is started by desire: “As is man’s desire so is his will; as is his will, so is the deed he does, whatever he
does, that he attains” (4,4,5). The “desire” is that of experiencing the physical world, and consequently
illusion, and “that he attains” is the fruit reaped in a further life, as a result of karma’s retribution. Karma
is the direct link between desire and reincarnation, which builds a total inter-conditioning mechanism
between the previous, the present and the next lives. As a result of karma’s retribution, any thought, word
or deed of this life will find its reward in the next life, at the same level. In the Katha Upanishad (2,2,7)
it is stated: “Some souls enter into a womb for embodiment; others enter stationary objects according to
their deeds and according to their thoughts.”
An important aspect to emphasize here is the fact that reincarnation should not be understood only as
solution for punishing bad deeds. Reincarnation functions independently of how good or bad actions are.
It follows only the necessity imposed by karma, an impersonal and amoral law. Between atman and
moral values there is no possible connection: “He (atman) does not become greater by good works nor
smaller by evil works. (. . .) What he has done or what he has not done does not burn him”
(Brihadaranyaka Up. 4,4,22). Good deeds only provide a short reward in heaven, but then the soul has to
return to earth and continue its struggle. In the Mundaka Upanishad (1,2,10) is stated:
These deluded men, regarding sacrifices and works of merits as most important, do not know any
other good. Having enjoyed in the high place of heaven won by good deeds, they enter again this
world or a still lower one.
The Upanishads mark a transition from the point where man's condition is determined by divine personal
agents (such as the Vedic gods), to the situation of being totally controlled by the impersonal law of
karma. As we anticipated before, from the polytheistic perspective of the Vedas, of a universe governed
by a sovereign god (such as Varuna) through a law that was subordinated to him (rita), we arrived at the
pantheistic view of the Upanishads, where the impersonal law of karma is ruling the world. In this
situation man is alone facing his destiny, having the duty to escape by his own efforts from the vicious
cycle avidya-karma-samsara, an objective that will be foundational to all Hindu religious systems.
Man’s condition in the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas
As we have seen in the previous file, these two darshanas are dualistic, accepting the real status of
primordial substance (prakriti) beside purusha (the equivalent of atman). None is the manifestation of
the other. Purusha and prakriti have different natures and do not aim to reconstruct a unique essence, as
was the case in pantheism.
Purusha, the self, is the spiritual entity that defines human existence from a transcendental point of view.
It is the eternal substrata of the individual being, devoid of any attributes and relations, without beginning
or end, indifferent, autonomous, immutable and perfect, above senses, intellect, time and space. All these
categories belong to prakriti. Purusha can have relations only with itself. It can know only itself and
contemplate itself. On the other hand, prakriti, the primordial substance, is capable of manifestation and
produces all the physical and mental aspects of the world.
Not only the physical world is a product of prakriti’s manifestation, through the loss of balance of the
three gunas, but also the world of psycho-mental phenomena. Sattva produces virtue, wisdom and
goodness; rajas produces passion, contradiction, agitation and wickedness; and tamas is responsible for
generating ignorance, confusion, indifference and depression. The psychological human states are
combinations of effects produced by the three gunas. For instance, when the sattva dominates, the soul is
calm and tranquil; when rajas dominates there is passion and nervousness; and with tamas in control
man is inert, lazy, and ignorant.
Although there is not much known about how the initial balance between the three gunas was affected
and how purusha got involved with the manifestations of prakriti, this situation is the source of all
problems, the cause of purusha’s captivity in the illusion of psycho-mental activity. The confusion of the
two opposite realities, the eternal purusha and the sum of psycho-mental activities, is maya, illusion.
Persistence in this state is a result of ignorance (Yoga Sutra 2,24) and starts the process of karma and
reincarnation. Purusha will reincarnate as many times as needed, according to the deeds performed by
the individual in ignorance toward his true identity. All actions demand a fulfillment, or consummation,
in the present or further lives. Samsara works the same way as in pantheism, until true knowledge about
the nature of purusha is attained.
Man’s condition in Hindu Tantrism and Hatha Yoga
As both Hindu Tantrism and Hatha Yoga describe in a similar way man’s condition in the world, we will
analyze them together, emphasizing the differences just where it is needed.
The world and mankind appeared through the dissociation of the primordial unity of Shiva and Shakti. In
the Shiva Samhita (1,92), a text that is common to both religious schools, is stated:
Out of the combination of spirit, which is Shiva, with matter, which is Shakti, and through the
interaction of one with the other, all creatures were born.
The self (atman) is considered to be Shakti, who lives in the human body as a spiritual energy called
kundalini. Following the pattern of other pantheist schools, the goal to be pursued is the return of self
(Shakti, corresponding to atman) in the Ultimate Reality represented by Shiva (the equivalent of
Brahman). Illusion (maya), ignorance (avidya), karma and reincarnation are described in a similar way
with other Hindu schools. Personhood and empirical knowledge are two main categories that produce
false attachments and have to be surpassed.
Man’s condition in theistic Hinduism
The main Hindu theistic schools are those who worship Vishnu (including his avatars such as Rama and
Krishna), Shiva and Shakti (called also Durga or Kali). Out of the many forms of theistic Hinduism that
exist in the present, we will analyze briefly only some aspects of Vaishnavism as it was stated by the
great theistic Hindu thinkers Ramanuja and Madhva. (There is also available a special file aimed to
analyze the theism of the well-known poem Bhagavad Gita. The works of Ramanuja and Madhva
represent an extraordinary contribution to Hindu spirituality, by the special way they understood the
relation between man and divinity and the significance of salvation. According to them, man has a totally
different nature from Vishnu, the personal god who is accepted as Ultimate Reality, and there is no
impersonal atman-Brahman fusion that has to be attained.
According to Ramanuja, God’s relation to the world is similar to that existing between soul and body. As
the body cannot exist separately from the soul, the existence of the universe and of individual beings
depends totally on God. He conducts the souls, they cannot exist without him, but have also energies and
activities of their own. The individuality of each soul (jiva) is not an illusion that has to be discarded
through knowledge, but a metaphysical fact. Although they depend entirely on God, individual souls are
real, unique, eternal, and possess intelligence and conscience. The main causes of their present state are
ignorance (defined as the illusory idea of independence from God) and the desire for seeking material
goods. The souls enter into connection with material bodies according to the karma they acquired in
previous forms of existence. Karma is an instrument used by God to remind humans their true status and
what they should actually seek in life. But the question of how souls first came under the power of karma
is unanswered, because the cosmic process has no beginning.
For Madhva too, matter and mankind depend totally on God. The ontological differences between God,
humans and matter are fundamental and eternal. There are three phases in the existence of a soul: 1) the
dormant state; 2) the transmigration process; 3) the liberated state. God is the one who introduces the
soul into the stream of transmigration so that he might discover his spiritual nature. In the incarnated
state, the physical and subtle bodies produce the illusion of independence toward God and also
attachment to the physical world, perpetuating in this way the chain of samsara.
Man’s condition in Buddhism
Following the ascetic tradition of his time, Buddha described the human condition in very harsh terms:
Behold this painted body, a body full of wounds, put together, diseased, and full of many thoughts
in which there is neither permanence nor stability. This body is worn out, a nest of diseases and
very frail. This heap of corruption breaks in pieces, life indeed ends in death. What delight is there
for him who sees these white bones like gourds cast away in the autumn? Of the bones a citadel is
made, plastered over with flesh and blood, and in it dwell old age and death, pride and deceit.
(Dhammapada 147-150)
The all-pervading reality of suffering as motivation for seeking liberation is not a new element in Hindu
spirituality. The Upanishads exploited this topic long before Buddhism appeared. Following the existent
branches of Hinduism, Buddhism adopted a similar attitude towards the futility of empirical knowledge
(provided by senses and psycho-mental activity). This kind of information is considered to be illusory,
feeding the sense of individuality and the bondage of karma. From this point Buddha went further than
the ideologies of his time, including in the domain of illusion even the fundamental concepts of
Upanishadic philosophy: atman and Brahman. His new doctrine was centered on two other fundamental
pillars: suffering (dukkha) and nirvana, its radical solution. In a famous text he stated:
There is grief but none suffering,
There is no doer though there is action.
There is quietude but none tranquil.
There is the path but none walks upon the path.
(Majjhima Nikaya,1)
This means that Buddhism denies the reality of atman, together with all things pertaining to the
phenomenal world. The appearance of human existence is generated by a mere heap of five aggregates
(skandha), which suffer from constant becoming and have a functional cause-effect relation: 1) the body
(that consists of material form and senses), 2) sensation (product of the senses), 3) perception (built on
sensation), 4) mental activity and 5) consciousness. The heap of aggregates generates the illusion of
personal existence, the false notions of person (puggala), vital principle (jiva) and atman. All the five
elements, as well as human existence itself, are impermanent (anitya), undergo constant transformation,
and have no abiding principle or self. Man usually thinks that he has a self because of consciousness. But
being itself in a constant process of becoming and change, consciousness cannot be identified with a self,
which is supposed to be permanent. Therefore, beyond the five aggregates nothing else can be found in
man.
The rejection of a self has most of all a practical significance. All discussions and philosophical debates
on the existence and definition of atman have as the only result persistence in suffering, and are
hindrances in attaining liberation. The Buddha argued that the answers we would like to know about the
character of the universe, the existence of a soul or a transcendent Ultimate Reality, start debates that
lead us astray from our real problem, which is escaping from suffering (Majjhima Nikaya 1,426). He
discouraged speculative thinking on these issues in order to concentrate all one's efforts in reaching
nirvana, a state where they all lose any importance, not because the answers are found, but because in
nirvana there is no one left to get them.
Some immediate problems raised against Buddhism came from the way it described man as having no
abiding principle or self. If there is no self, who is actually suffering the pain of which Buddha was
speaking so much? The question didn’t receive a proper answer. Other problems arise concerning the
significance of reincarnation. If there is no self, what is reincarnated from one existence to another?
Buddha answered that only karma is passing from one life to another, using the illustration of the light of
a candle, which is derived from other candle without having a substance of its own. In the same manner,
there is rebirth without the transfer of a self from one body to another. The only link from one life to the
next one has a causal nature. This is without doubt the weirdest definition of reincarnation ever stated.
(For some critical comments concerning the way Theravada Buddhism defines its fundamental doctrines,
see our special file on this topic.)
Man’s condition in other Eastern religions
Confucianism
Confucius did not establish a new religion, and not even a new philosophical system. All his efforts were
channeled into finding an ethical system that could solve the chaos of the Chinese society of his time (6th
century BC). His main concern was man, his social life, and the principles that should govern it in order
to assure social balance and peace in the society, family, and personal life. Although Confucius respected
the existent Chinese religious traditions, he gave them a mere ethical interpretation.
Human perfection, according to him, cannot be attained by religious rituals or meditations, but only by
using proper education and respecting moral values. Therefore, religious traditions have value only as
means of moral living. The most important ethical principles emphasized by Confucius were reciprocity
(shu) (“what you do not want others do to you, don’t do to them”), doing good for the benefit of others
(jen) and loving and respecting your parents.
Following the moral principles means implicitly to conform oneself to the will of Heaven, but
metaphysical speculations on this topic and on life after death are futile (Analects 7,20). The same is true
with regard to worshipping gods or spirits. Confucius denied their importance saying: “If you cannot
serve people, how could you serve the spirits?” (Analects 11,11). In conclusion, early Confucianism had
no religious beliefs; it pursued only the perfection of human character by fulfilling one’s social and
familial duties, according to what is true and morally right.
Taoism
Unlike Confucianism, which understands man as a rational and moral being, with certain moral duties
toward society, Taoism states that man is a being that has to align his life to the pulse of nature. All
instincts, feelings and imagination have to be allowed to manifest freely, imitating nature. The
Confucianist morality is criticized because it is considered to be an illusory and dangerous way of
departing from the essence of Tao:
When the Tao is forgotten
Duty and justice appear;
Then knowledge and wisdom are born
Along with hypocrisy.
When harmonious relationships dissolve
Then respect and devotion arise;
When a nation falls to chaos
Then loyalty and patriotism are born. [. . .]
If we could abolish duty and justice
Then harmonious relationships would form;
(Tao-te Ching 18-19)
Man is a reflection of the universe. He is a small universe permeated by the Tao, with which he has to be
in resonance (gan ying). Like the universe itself, man has an ascending life and a descending one, which
ends in death. The ascending life is considered to be the intrauterine one, which leads him to the climax
of his existence, birth. For this reason it is said in the Tao-te Ching that the one ”who is filled with
harmony is like a newborn” (55). Physical life, unlike the intrauterine one, is chaotic because man does
not know how to keep up his vital force. He dies as a result of his ignorance, before yin and yang can
naturally separate and his being return into the Tao. Progression and regression are constant
developments in the universe and also in the human body. Because of his ignorance, man cannot
understand this dynamic and subscribe to it. The natural result is reincarnation, repeating physical
existence until liberation is attained. (However, reincarnation is a topic developed only later in Taoism,
probably two centuries after Lao Tse.)
Man’s condition in the monotheistic religions
Man’s creation and condition in Christianity
As the triune God of Christianity is completely different from the Ultimate Reality of the other world
religions, the same is the situation with the nature of man and his present condition.
According to the Christian teaching, God creates the universe out of nothing (ex nihilo) and not out of his
own substance (ex Deo). This "nothing" has no ontological statute, it is not a primordial substance,
because prior to creation, nothing existed except God. Creation ex nihilo is not an artifice of Christian
philosophy, but the only possibility compatible with the existence of a personal God as Ultimate Reality.
The creation of man follows the act of creating the physical universe, as is mentioned in the Genesis
account:
The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2,7).
There is no ontological continuity between the nature of God and that of man, as between Brahman and
atman, but a fundamental difference that excludes any pantheistic resemblance. Unlike the physical
world, man has a physical dimension (the body) and a spiritual one (the soul). Both are created by God at
the same time, so that man is not a pre-existent celestial soul fallen into a material body as Platonism,
Origenism or some dualistic philosophies tried to speculate. The two dimensions generate the unity of
human being according to the Creator's design.
Another important aspect to be emphasized here is the fact that the creation of man was not a necessity
for God. He would not have been incomplete without man, because the communion among the
hypostasis of the Holy Trinity was sufficient and perfect. God's only motivation for creating mankind
was the over-abundance of His love. According to the Genesis account, man was created to have
communion with God and to rule “over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1,27).
Although man was created to be a witness of God’s glory and to enjoy it, this is not a necessity for God’s
being, but the only condition in which man can be in harmony with his Creator. In other words, God
created man not for His sake, but for man's sake, so that man may have eternal communion with the
Ruler of the universe. (The Vedic ritual suggests a different situation. Here the sacrifices performed by
the priests are necessary in order to sustain the universe and the gods.)
Image and likeness
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the
fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image
of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1,26-27).
The fact that man was created in the image (eikon) and likeness (omoiosis) of God does not imply that
God has a physical nature, but suggests that man received by creation an existence resembling that of the
Persons (hypostases) of the Holy Trinity. According to the Church fathers of the first centuries, the
“image” conferred to man represents the personal character of God, as ontological fact of creation. In the
same way in which God exists only as Person, human nature, too, exists only as person. Man’s personal
character is defined by self-consciousness, ability to think, feel and will, and especially by his ability to
have communion with his Creator and other people. As the hypostases of the Holy Trinity are defined
only in relation with each other, in the same way the human hypostasis is defined only in relation with
God and other humans. This relation is a reciprocal fellowship, accomplished by a personal unfolding of
each toward the other. It is by no means a subject - innate object relation.
If God's image is imprinted on man and remains in him as his personal character, the “likeness” is
defined as a way of being. It corresponds to a free will relation of obedience to the Creator. While the
image is an ontological fact of human nature, the likeness is an attribute that has to be built up through
exercising the relation with God. This position is held by most Church fathers of the first centuries,
Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus of Lyon, the Cappadocians, etc.
Man does not have the nature of God, but only qualities resembling His. Therefore, “the breath of life”
(Genesis 2,7), which God has transmitted to man, is not a small part of God’s essence (a kind of atman),
but the act of life giving, which marked the beginning of experiencing self-consciousness or personal
identity. According to Christianity, human personhood has real and unique value. It has nothing in
common with the Eastern doctrine of illusion (maya). Both body and soul define human personhood and
neither of them is intrinsically bad or illusory. Christian soteriology does not state any need for detaching
the soul from an illusory association with the body, as was the case with purusha and prakriti in the
Samkhya and Yoga darshanas. The command says: ”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as
yourself" (Luke 10,27). Nor do the elements of psycho-mental life have anything bad in themselves,
reason for which Christianity demands the renewal of mind (Romans 12,2), discernment between good
and bad feelings (Galatians 5,16-23) and using the will for good purposes (Tit 3,8). Nowhere in the Holy
Scripture is it taught that they should be annihilated in order to grasp a higher impersonal Ultimate
Reality.
On the other hand, pantheist religions all agree concerning the illusory status of the personal character of
man and the hindrance it represents in attaining liberation. The annihilation of personhood is a necessity
in most Eastern religions. Ahamkara, the principle of individuation (the sense of the "I", of duality and
separatedness from others) is considered to be one of the most important causes of illusion and suffering
in the world, as well as abhinivesha - the will to live. Unfortunately, in Hinduism there is not stated a
clear differentiation between personhood and egoism, both terms being translated as ahamkara. In
Christianity, on the other hand, not the sense of the “I” itself is the cause of problems (as it belongs to our
created status), but the wrong usage of it generates bad products, such as egoism. Without personhood
and self-consciousness, in other words without the quality that makes one person different from another
(which should not be understood as individualism), the idea of personal communion with God, the very
reason man was created, is absurd.
Because in the pantheistic religions Ultimate Reality is impersonal, all that belongs to personhood has no
room in the system and therefore personal communion with God cannot be the purpose of man's
existence. Except the impersonal self (atman or purusha), any other element that may define human
existence belongs to the domain of illusion (maya), is a source of karma and by consequence has to be
annihilated. (In Buddhism there is a similar situation. Personhood is only a result of the coming together
of the five skandhas, a source of illusion and karma. In order to reject any element that may lead to
attachments, Buddhism rejects even the notion of atman in defining human nature.)
Another consequence of our personal status is that desire does not have an evil nature in itself, as does
the Hindu trishna (the desire to experience existence). It belongs to the nature of man, with the role of
being used in order to attain likeness with God. This is of fundamental importance to man’s condition.
The spiritual gifts that God has put in human nature must awake in us the desire to live in his likeness.
Desires are a product of our free will and have to be channeled to function in obedience to God, not to be
annihilated. There is no room in Christianity for a Buddhist “no-mind” attitude or practice.
In conclusion, Christianity brings a major difference in defining human nature. Man is created as a
personal being by a personal God, but without having the same essence with Him. Personhood holds
nothing wrong in itself, but is the premise for grounding a personal relation with the Creator. In
pantheism man is a manifestation of the impersonal Absolute and therefore his self (atman or purusha)
has an impersonal nature too. All elements that define personhood have an illusory value and have to be
annihilated. Some other contrasts will be emphasized in defining man's present condition. Before this, we
should examine some aspects that define the nature of evil in Christianity.
The origin and essence of evil in Christianity
Evil exists since before the creation of man. Its origin is to be found in the world of angels. God created
them in time immemorial, as personal and immaterial beings endowed with free will, in order to integrate
themselves in the divine harmony through obedience and communion. They were created ex nihilo, like
the material universe, and thus have a nature different from that of God. These beings have mind (Acts
12,7-10; 1 Peter 1,12), feelings (Luke 15,10), will (Jude 6) and are not limited by a physical body. Their
number was very large and had a hierarchy among them (Hebrews 12,22). Evil appeared in the world of
angels when Lucifer, one of God’s archangels, rebelled against this order. In the book of the prophet
Isaiah we can read the following metaphorical description of this incident:
You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I
will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will
ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Isaiah 14,13-14)
This archangel, who is now called Satan (“adversary”), was expelled from heaven together with all the
angels who joined him in his act of rebellion. The cause of his fall was pride, the desire to be independent
of God, not submitted or inferior to Him. Lucifer wanted to be by himself more than his created status
could permit him.
As mentioned in our file on the nature of evil in Christianity, evil is not created by God, but is a
perversion of His creation, a result of using free will against the very purpose for which it was created
(obedience to God in a communion relation based on love). Evil was not intended to exist in God's
creation and is not linked to the essence of God. It is a parasite of good, a rebelled existence against God.
Having this nature, Satan and the demons do their best to thwart God’s plan with mankind, knowing that
humans are created to succeed where they (the fallen angels) failed.
The nature of sin
By creating a new kind of beings endowed with freedom of will, God assumed again “the risk” that they
may rebel against Him. This element of risk is not a proof of God’s incapacity to create infallible beings,
because freedom of will is the most important element that defines personhood and makes us different
from robots. It also makes possible real communion among personal beings, including communion with
God, the very purpose of man’s creation. However, freedom of will could be wrongly used and turned
against the very purpose of its creation, as happened in the realm of angels. God’s command to man was:
You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2,16-17).
Here must be emphasized the following important aspect: The knowledge (gnosis) of good and evil does
not have the meaning of getting some new information. It is neither a kind of a science (episteme), nor
abstract information. It is not a matter of conceptual elaboration, a science of good and evil that would
explain rationally two opposite concepts without judging them morally. In this Biblical text, knowledge
(gnosis) means experiencing and getting mixed with another reality. It is an ontological process rather
than an epistemological one. Rather than to know (as we understand it), gnosis means to be in
communion with something and live according to it. The same way as knowing God is not just a mental
operation, but a participation and subscribing to His will, the knowledge of good and evil is an existential
experience, an accommodation to a state that is not indifferent to human nature. In this context, God’s
command is not a hindering from getting necessary knowledge or an artificial limitation of man’s
freedom, but a warning concerning the possibility of getting involved with the nature of evil, of
participating in another reality than that intended by God. This other reality was the world of Satan and
the fallen angels.
As man's source for meaning cannot be found in himself but only in his Creator, his status in the spiritual
world can better be described as a river bed rather than a spring. We are not meant to find an inner "true
spiritual nature" or a "higher self" inside us, but to adjust to the character of God, to attain likeness with
Him. Therefore we are a river bed that chooses what spring will flow through it. This is the ultimate
ability we have in attaining "a higher spirituality". As a river bed is clean or dirty according to the water
that flows through it, man's identity (and obviously his morality) is fashioned by the spiritual source he
chooses to obey - God or the devil. As a result, neutrality is not a possible option.
Being envious of man's destiny and seeking to perpetuate his own fallen nature, Satan tempted him,
casting doubt on the justice of God’s demands:
“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?"
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say,
‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it,
or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3,1-5)
An analysis of this text reveals that Satan suggested that any interdiction should be excluded, that God’s
command is not just and that rebellion against Him would bring total freedom. His temptation can be
summed up as “to be like God”, that is, to find all resources in oneself and follow the same path of
rebellion he had followed earlier, in order to find (an illusory) auto-determination. His temptation was
more effective by the fact that it presented a mixture of evil and an appearance of good. Only an
appearance of good, because the Absolute Good is God himself and there cannot be anything good in
separation from Him. What good thing could man get to know from one who was totally and eternally
separated from God? Unfortunately, as it can be seen in the Genesis account and in all human history,
man has chosen rebellion against his Creator. This attitude is called sin in the Bible.
The fall into sin is the breaking point in man’s relation with God, with other people, with himself and
even with the physical world. The “good” thing that Adam and Eve came to know was the fact that they
were naked (3,7), which already was a barrier between them. They found out that they were separated
from God and also from the perfect environment where they lived (3,24). Creation itself suffered (3,17)
and continues to suffer because of sin (Romans 8,22). The biblical meaning of sin does not correspond to
some pantheist interpretations, which consider it to be the loss of a pantheist view of reality (“the
perception of the ONE”) and the subsequent appearance of duality and illusion. The human fall is a
consequence of man’s wrong decision toward independence from God; it is an act of perverting the
relation established by God in His creation.
The Bible states that mankind has fallen into a rebellious position against God and his demands. The
Apostle Paul draws a remarkable description of this situation in the Epistle to the Romans, mentioning
deeds consciously done against the standards revealed by God (see 1,18 - 3,20). In order to define sin,
one of the most used terms in the New Testament is the Greek word hamartia, literally translated “to
miss the mark”. It suggests that man has missed the mark that God has intended for him. Calling us
sinners, God blames us for what we know is wrong but still do, not for unknown mistakes done against
some unknown laws of God (see Romans 2,1-15). In his conclusion, the Apostle Paul states that “all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3,23).
Instead of finding total freedom, as the devil promised, man became slave to sin (Romans 6,17) and to
Satan (John 8,44). In the spiritual world there is no possible option for independence, but only for
obeying or disobeying God. Jesus Christ said, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does
not gather with me, scatters” (Luke 11,23). According to God’s justice, the consequence of this situation
would have been that God should respect man’s desire to live a separate existence from Him (as a
guarantee of his free will), and to abandon man in a world where God withdraws His presence and any
intervention, where the separation from Him and any good thing He created is eternal. This world is hell,
a place where Satan and all demons will be isolated for all eternity (see Matthew 25,41). (For a very
short, but excellent article about the origin of the term and the logic of hell see The Eschatology of Hell,
by R.J. Rushdoony. See also some comments of the Early Church Fathers on hell, death and life after
death.)
The Eastern concept of hell is different from the Christian one. In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism hell
is analogous to the Catholic concept of Purgatory. It is not an eternal damnation, but only a place to
expiate bad karma, in order that the purified soul can continue his advance toward liberation (see
Markandeya Purana 13-15, Sutta Nipata 672-76, The Tibetan Book of the Dead). The punishments man
has to bear in hell are according to his karma, and Yama, the lord of hell, acts in accordance to the
demands of karma. He cannot forgive, but only be the instrument of this impersonal law. However, the
temporary statute of hell in Eastern religions is not a result of divine love, but rather a necessity imposed
by the cyclic manifestations of Ultimate Reality.
According to Christianity, hell was not intended for humans, but for demons. However, since man rejects
God and follows the devil during his life, he will reach the same destination as his leader. Living in that
world, in total isolation and privation of any good aspect of existence, accompanied only with the attitude
of rebellion against God, is a suffering that surpasses any imagination. It is often questioned: How can a
loving God condemn man to such a horrifying punishment? First, it has to be remembered that the
decision for independence from God belongs to man, hell being only a real chance offered to him to
spend all eternity outside His presence. Would not God be unjust if He would force humans to live in His
presence against their will? Second, God has prepared a solution for those who want to return to
communion with Him. (See our next file on salvation in Christianity.)
Sin has thoroughly affected human nature, conferring to it a hereditary perverted status. This is called
“the sinful nature” or “original sin” (see Romans 7-8), which we all inherit. It represents a natural
tendency toward evil and manifests itself through the conscious sins we do with our thought, speech and
deeds. It is important to notice here that we neither inherit the particular sins of our ancestors, nor sins we
have done in alleged previous lives, but the sinful nature of mankind. In other words, what we inherit is
not karma. Man does not “pay” for sins committed out of ignorance in previous lives, but for individual
and conscious sins committed here and now. In Christianity there is no room for the impersonal law of
karma and reincarnation. (There is available a special file on this topic.) Karma is a concept that does not
fit in Christianity, where the Absolute judge is God, the Creator. Man will certainly be judged for the
way he lived, but by God and not by karma, and also not by being sent into another body, but by being
sent to hell, the place deserved by those who reject his love. Therefore the attempt to reconcile God and
karma is absurd, somehow trying to affirm that karma is the will of God. The two are mutually exclusive.
Another aspect that must be emphasized here is the fact that we are all equal before God through our
“merits”. What we all deserve is the same prize: death. The biblical meaning of this term is not passing
into nothingness, but separation. (For instance, physical death means separation of soul and body). In the
expression used by the Apostle Paul “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2,1;
Colossians 2,13), “death” means a state of separation between man and God, determined by sin. The
“death” Adam and Eve received at the moment of their sinning was separation from God, by getting out
of the communion with Him. This is why the banishment from Eden was not a revenge of God, but a
necessity after sin has been committed. According to the Church Fathers, the new condition of man’s
being mortal is suggested by the expression “garments of skin”, with which God clothed Adam and his
wife after the fall (Genesis 3,21). Therefore, these “garments of skin” are not the physical body, in which
man was allegedly trapped after being a purely spiritual being, according to some Gnostic interpretations.
Man didn’t get his physical body after the fall, but at the moment of creation.
Mortality was added after the fall, and therefore does not represent a constitutive element of man, but a
cure for sin. In his Great Catechism, chapter 8, Gregory of Nyssa explains:
He who is the healer of our sinfulness, of His foresight invested man subsequently with that
capacity of dying which had been the special attribute of the brute creation. Not that it was to last
for ever; for a coat is something external put on us, lending itself to the body for a time, but not
indigenous to its nature. This liability to death, then, taken from the brute creation, was,
provisionally, made to envelope the nature created for immortality.
Physical death is a result of the fall but at the same time an instrument to stop the effects of sin. What
would our world become if there would be no death to sinners? Death is added to our fallen condition in
order that we could still inherit spiritual immortality, by returning to God, the giver of life, and be cured
of sin. Although it looks more like a punishment, physical death is the gate toward spiritual life, if man
accepts God's terms for receiving it.
The notion of sin, as stated in Christianity, has no correspondent in the Eastern religions. Although there
are some Hindu terms translated as "sin" (papa - any form of wrongdoing; adharma - acting against one's
own dharma; aparadha - mistake), they do not represent a crime against God, but an act against dharma
(the moral order) and against one's own self (leading to accumulation of karma). The origin of "sinful"
conduct is spiritual ignorance (avidya). Therefore, a “sinner” needs only instruction and not
condemnation. He needs help to reason the right way and realize that he is responsible for his actions, for
which he must pay the consequences in samsara. Being a manifestation of the Absolute, man has in
himself the divine nature (atman, purusha) and all resources to overtake his state of ignorance.
According to Christianity, this attitude is a result of spiritual pride, the very cause of man’s (and Satan’s)
fall. The Bible teaches that man does not possess an intrinsic divine nature, and thus is incapable of
saving himself from his fallen state. The situation is like this because man has a sinful nature. This is the
only “true inner nature” of man. Jesus Christ stated:
For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come
from inside and make a man 'unclean.' (Mark 7,21-23)
According to the Judaic understanding of man, which was the context of Jesus’ saying, the “heart” is the
core of man’s being, the headquarters of mental, emotional and volitional life. Consequently, in the New
Testament, the heart is depicted as something that can think and understand (Matthew 9,4; 13,15), be
troubled (John 14,1; Romans 9,2), rejoice (Ephesians 5,19), make decisions (2 Corinthians 9,7) and also
participate in salvation by expressing faith (Romans 10,9-10). There is no deeper level of man’s nature
that could hide a superior spiritual self.
From a Christian point of view, the central problem of mankind is sin, which is not an illusion or a lack
of perfection, but a moral barrier between man and his Creator. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed: “Your
iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not
hear” (59,2). Sin has produced the perversion of our mind (2 Corinthians 4,4; Romans 1,28), will
(Romans 1,28), heart (Ephesians 4,18), and our being as totality (Romans 1,18 - 3,20). No matter how
many efforts are made today by psychoanalysis to redefine sin as imperfection (an idea developed by
C.G. Jung from Eastern religions), man continues to be accused by his conscience for the failures of his
moral living (see Romans 2,14-15). He does not live in harmony with a moral system that he did not
create and that surpasses him. To deny the reality of sin means to deny not only the truth of the Bible, but
also the entire human experience.
Man’s condition in Judaism
As the Old Testament belongs equally to Judaism and Christianity, the Judaic view of man’s creation and
present sinful condition is similar to the Christian one. However, late commentaries on the Old
Testament, such as the Talmud, present some deviations from Orthodox Judaism. For instance, it is
stated that God created man with an evil inclination and gave him the Mosaic Law as antidote:
The words of the Torah are like a perfect remedy. This may be compared to a man who inflicted a
big wound upon his son, and then put a plaster on his wound, saying, “My son! As long as this
plaster is on your wound you can eat and drink what you like, and bathe in cold or warm water,
and you will suffer no harm. But if you remove it, it will break out into sores.” Even so did God
say to the Israelites, “My children! I created within you the Evil Inclination, but I created the Law
as its antidote. As long as you occupy yourselves with the Torah, the Evil Inclination will not rule
over you. But if you do not occupy yourselves with the Torah, then you will be delivered into its
power, and all its activity will be against you.”
(Kiddushin 30b)
According to the mystical tradition of the Kabbalah, man is perfect from the Creator’s point of view, but
still needs improvement in order to discover his spiritual identity and feel the spiritual worlds above him.
This demand is very similar to the Eastern idea of surpassing ignorance (avidya) in order to know his true
spiritual nature (atman). Other elements that suggest the relation with Eastern philosophy are the belief in
reincarnation and the need for mystical experiences, as necessary elements in order to reach the highest
level of spiritual development. This is why the mystical view of the Kabbalah is closer to Eastern
religions than to Orthodox Judaism in defining man and his relation with God.
Man’s condition in Islam
The Quran describes the creation and fall of man in a way similar to the Judeo-Christian tradition. In fact,
the doctrine of the fall is a logical teaching only in the monotheistic religions, which state that God is the
only Creator, creation was good in itself and evil has a personal existence, being contrary to the purpose
of creation.
Islam teaches that man and angels were created to worship Allah (Quran 51,56). However, the creation
of man, as described in the Quran, has a major difference from the Biblical account. The Quran states
that evil was not yet present in the world at the moment of man's creation. God created man and
commanded all angels to worship him. Satan (Iblis) opposed this command and only then was banished
from heaven:
And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a
human being), then We told the angels, “Prostrate to Adam”;, and they prostrated, except Iblis
(Satan), he refused to be of those who prostrate. Allah said: “What prevented you Iblis, that you
did not prostrate, when I commanded you?” Iblis said: “I am better than him (Adam), You created
me from fire, and him You created from clay. Allah said: “O, Iblis, get down from this (Paradise),
it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced.”
(Quran 7,11-13)
After this episode Iblis planned to deceive man and make him disobedient to God, which he
accomplished in a similar way to that described in the Biblical account (see Quran 7,20-21). However, in
Islam there is no such thing as original sin. Although Adam and Eve sinned, they repented and were
forgiven, so that their sin had no repercussions for the rest of human race. In his present condition, man is
exhorted not to repeat the mistake of Adam, and also warned that the devil attempts to cheat him by all
means (Quran 7,27). However, all people sin because of the passion to which they are subjected by Satan
and because they are careless about the demands of the Quran. All sins and good deeds a man is
performing are noted by two angels, that will present the records at the final judgment:
Behold, two guardian angels appointed to learn [man’s doings] learn and note them, one sitting
on the right and one on the left. Not a word does he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready to
note it. And the stupor of death will bring truth before his eyes, “This was the thing which you
were trying to escape!”
(Quran 50,17-19)
(In order to understand other basic differences between Christianity and Islam see the article Six Muslim
Beliefs and a Christian Response, by Jay Smith.
Conclusion
The way world religions state what Ultimate Reality is inherently determines their teaching on human
condition. The two elements are inseparable. An impersonal Ultimate Reality determines that the essence
of man, or his innermost nature, is also impersonal. This is the case in the pantheistic religions.
Beginning with the Upanishads, Hinduism (excepting some theistic trends) stated that the core of human
nature is the impersonal self (atman), of the same essence with Ultimate Reality (Brahman in Vedanta, or
Shiva in Tantrism). Man's present condition is governed by karma, an impersonal law started by spiritual
ignorance that forces the self to reincarnate until true knowledge is attained.
Buddhism denies the reality of any permanent self residing in man, defining human condition as a mere
process of becoming in which are involved the five aggregates, of an impermanent nature too. The only
reality of human existence is that of suffering. Although reincarnation is fully accepted, it deals only with
the passing of karma from one life to another, without any permanent self being involved.
The monotheistic religions state man's personal created status as a fundamental element of their theology.
Personhood has nothing bad or illusory in itself, being the major condition for having personal
communion with God. Karma and reincarnation are excluded. They have no room in Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, because the role of Supreme Judge belongs only to God. The major problem that
defines human existence is sin, understood not as ignorance for one's "true inner nature", but as crime
against the Creator. The barrier between man and God has a moral nature, not an epistemological one, as
in the Eastern religions. The result of sin is hell, a state of definitive separation from God, according to
man's decision during this single earthly life.
In conclusion, there is no harmony among the world's religions concerning the status of man and his
present condition. Their position is too divergent for a possible reconciliation to be stated. Therefore, the
attempt to formulate a common doctrine on man would surely contradict their major tenets.
Next article: Man's
salvation and eternal destiny
Four criteria to evaluate any religious perspective
Four criteria
to evaluate any religious perspective
All religions try to formulate a unitary and comprehensive perspective on Ultimate Reality and how man
should relate to it. However, before accepting a certain religion as our own spiritual path toward Ultimate
Reality, we have to evaluate it critically, using criteria with enough relevance to anyone. As we do not
accept almost anything without first examining it critically, whether it is food, drink or any other
elementary need, we should have a similar attitude when dealing with our quest for Ultimate Reality.
Finding relevant criteria to test a spiritual path is not an easy task, especially considering the fact that
they should cover all domains of human experience. We suggest the use of the following four:
1) internal consistency;
2) harmony between empirical knowledge and absolute (religious or mystical) knowledge;
3) viability;
4) contradiction with other religious perspectives.
Let us explain what they mean:
1) Internal consistency requires that no obvious internal contradiction should exist in the religious or
philosophical system we study. If it states that the law of non-contradiction (and logic, in general) does
not work here because logic has to be transcended in order to grasp higher realities, our capacity to know
and discern between truth and falsehood would be dramatically affected by incoherence. However, even
if a certain religious system seems to lack any obvious inconsistencies, it does not necessarily mean that
it should be accepted on this single basis. Hypothetically, many coherent systems could exist, not just
one, but without being true spiritual paths. This criterion proves what is false, but cannot establish by
itself what must be the truth. For this we need the next criteria.
2) The criterion of harmony between empirical and absolute knowledge requires, as its name
suggests, that a certain religion should state a harmonious relation between empirical knowledge,
obtained through man’s normal knowing abilities (sensory and mental), and what is called direct
knowledge of the Ultimate Reality. In other words, a religion should not state an insurmountable barrier
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between empirical and absolute knowledge, as if they were mutually exclusive. From this requirement it
does not follow that Ultimate Reality should be known exclusively using our empirical abilities of
knowledge. In this case we would belong to an atheist system of thought. The religions we analyze admit
both an empirical and an absolute way of knowledge, so that this criterion requires a right balance
between them, harmony and complementarity. However, neither would this criterion be enough in
determining its truthfulness, if a certain religion lacked viability.
3) The criterion of viability (or pragmatism) requires that a certain religion should work in personal and
social life. As a result of the given possibility to know what Ultimate Reality is, a religion should have
relevant answers to the fundamental questions of human existence, such as those posed by the author of
the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (1,1): “Whence are we born? Whereby do we live, and whither do we
go?" or in other words, “What is the meaning of our existence?”
In answering these questions, a religion should not demand that one ignore social life. Man is by his very
essence a social being and needs right patterns in order to live in harmony with his neighbors. The
religion that fails to regulate social life, giving no pattern to integrate all the members of society in a
viable system, may be valid only for the hermit. In other words, we should accept as principles only
those we would like to be followed by all members of society. Anything else should be abandoned. For
instance, if we were to accept lying as a valid principle of social conduct, we should accept all lies as
being valid. But when all have the right to lie, nobody will be trusted anymore, and no liar would ever
benefit from his lies. So the principle of admitting lies turns against its very purpose (making one’s life
easier, for instance) and undermines its own use. In our situation as socially interdependent beings, we
cannot ignore the need for pragmatic principles of conduct. Starting from here, a specific understanding
of some related issues such as freedom, morality, and compassion will necessarily develop.
4) If all religions address the same issues and there are basic contradictions between them, the principle
of external contradiction suggests that they cannot all be equally true. As we have seen in the previous
files on how the world religions define Ultimate Reality, man’s condition, salvation and the nature of
evil, there are major disagreements between them, especially when compared to Christianity. This point
should already be clear, so there is no need to re-emphasize it over and over in the following analysis of
different religious perspectives.
The four above-mentioned criteria rest only on our natural abilities of testing the truthfulness of a certain
religion. However, all religious perspectives necessarily include a supernatural dimension, which is
beyond our natural abilities of investigation. Far from trying to reduce Ultimate Reality to what our
limited mind could comprehend (which would be an atheistic approach to religion), we still need to
emphasize the importance of the second criterion mentioned above. Although all religions’ aim is to
formulate a right relation between man and Ultimate Reality and not only to give a theoretical
understanding of it, an intelligent approach to religion should still be possible. Far from being purely
rationalistic, such an approach should not be refused by stating that religion is the domain of pure
mysticism. Quoting Shankara, the well known Hindu philosopher, “that which is accepted or believed in
without sufficient inquiry is not only bad philosophy, but also prevents one from reaching the goal of
perfection and results in evil” (from T.M.P. Mahadevan, Invitation to Indian Philosophy, p. 5).
Alleged Eastern equivalent sayings of Jesus Christ
Most of the examples of such sayings are analyzed in previous files, so please take a look at the
following links:
Jesus' sayings that allegedly suggest reincarnation:
1) Matthew 11:14 and 17:12-13, concerning the identity of John the Baptist as Elijah reincarnated
2) John 9:2, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3) John 3:3, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again"
4) Matthew 26,52, “All who draw the sword will die by the sword”
Jesus' sayings that allegedly imply that humans have a hidden divine nature that has to
be discovered through introspective meditation:
1) John 10:30, "I and the Father are one", regarding the unity with Ultimate Reality that any human could
eventually attain.
2) Luke 17:21, "the kingdom of God is within you". This statement is sometimes interpreted as
confirming the Eastern concept of an inner divine self (atman) that has to be discovered in order to find
liberation. Therefore, a brief commentary may be useful here. The context of this saying is the following:
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied,
"The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it
is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21).
The Kingdom of God can be defined as the sphere in which His rule is fully acknowledged. It first comes
without being in the range of the natural power of observation (as Jesus states in this text), as an inner
transformation in the heart of the individual believer under the power and grace of Christ. There is also a
further aspect of it, that refers to the time when God will assert His universal rule, and the Kingdom will
be manifest to all (Matthew 25:31-34).
Why had Jesus addressed these words to the Pharisees, knowing that His relation with them was always
very tense? On the one hand, the Pharisees had constantly rejected Jesus as the Messiah and considered
Him a blasphemer. Their expectations from the Messiah were totally different from what Jesus had to
offer. On the other hand, He constantly rebuked them for their hypocrisy (in Luke, see 11:39-43; 12:1;
16:14-15; 18:10-14), so they couldn't belong to the Kingdom Jesus was announcing. Therefore it is
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absurd to believe that, despite all the antagonism between them, Jesus had acknowledged the inherent
divine nature of the Pharisees as a kind of hidden treasure to be discovered by any human. Otherwise
why didn't He teach it to his devoted disciples? Were they not fit to accept it, while the Pharisees were?
If so, He should have chosen his disciples out of the Pharisees, which is again absurd.
The phrase "within you" (gr. entos hymon) must have another meaning than an acknowledgment of a
divine human nature. It is better translated as "in your midst", "among you" or "within your reach". Jesus,
the one who was standing in the midst of the Pharisees, was the divine representative of the Kingdom to
come. This truth is what they had to acknowledge, that the Kingdom was already present in their midst in
the person of its king, by no means an inner spiritual nature they would allegedly possess. As mentioned
in a previous file, the only “true inner nature” of man is sin.
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Revelation and knowledge in Christianity
A previous file mentioned the necessity of critically evaluating a certain religious path before accepting it
as a spiritual path toward Ultimate Reality. Four criteria were proposed: 1) internal consistency, 2)
harmony between empirical knowledge and absolute (religious or mystical) knowledge, 3) viability and
4) contradiction with other religious perspectives. The moment has come to see how Christianity fulfills
the first three criteria. As to the fourth, the files on the nature of Ultimate Reality, human nature,
salvation and the nature of evil have already exposed the fact that world religions are irreconcilable on
these topics, so they cannot be all equally true. This point should already be clear, so there is no need to
re-emphasize it.
Before going on with our topic, an important clarification is needed: This file does not add anything to
the many theological debates on the nature of revelation and knowledge in Christianity. There is a huge
amount of literature available on this topic. (Have a look at the Christian links suggested in our special
file.) The goal pursued here is only to provide a necessary answer to objections raised in previous files
against Eastern pantheism, dualism and Buddhism regarding their basic inconsistencies. This is a limited
objective and therefore the reader should not expect an exhaustive theological debate here.
Revelation as the only way of knowing God
How do we know what Ultimate Reality is? What is the adequate way of communication between God
and limited, mortal man? To what extent can we trust our empirical abilities of knowledge (our senses
and mind) in order to get the right picture about ultimate truth? The Eastern religions state that Ultimate
Reality has an impersonal nature and cannot be grasped by empirical means. The only way of getting a
glimpse of it is shutting down normal perception and entering alterate states of consciousness, when the
sense of unity with Ultimate Reality can be experienced. The best example for this is Yoga practice,
which demands the abolition of body movement, breath, sensorial and mental activity. However, as
mentioned in a previous file, the accompanying experiences can be explained as a mere result of forcing
our senses and mind to function in a totally inadequate way, so that "mystical" experiences can be
nothing more than hallucinations or distorted perceptions of reality. As long as such experiences can be
obtained (to some extent) by the use of drugs or hypnosis, it is doubtful that ultimate truth can be grasped
by such doubtful methods.
On the other hand, if normal human capacity of perception alone were sufficient for grasping what
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Ultimate Reality is, we would fall into the trap of atheist naturalism and consider that the physical
universe is all that there is and that science is the best tool to research it. Even if atheist naturalism may
be satisfactory for some in explaining the way our physical world functions, it can never offer a
satisfying answer to the meaning of life. If the physical world is all there is, life would have no ultimate
meaning at all. As a result, the atheist ideologies that swept through history have led only to the
destruction of human dignity.
The Christian answer in solving this dilemma is given by God's initiative to make Himself known to
man. This process is called in theology revelation. It does not diminish man's empirical abilities of
knowledge, but unveils facts that are beyond these abilities. The Apostle Paul wrote about the object of
God's revelation in the Bible:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2
Timothy 3:16-17).
Revelation is informative and personal, using the sense of logic and requiring a personal response to it.
Its ultimate purpose is to redeem man from his fallen condition and help him experience salvation.
Mystical experiences in Christianity
God's revelation in the Scripture is enough for man to be saved. For more information on this topic see
our file on salvation in Christianity. There is no need for entering altered states of consciousness in order
to get a glimpse of Ultimate Reality, as such experiences may be deceptive. However, there are many
cases mentioned in the Bible and others recollected by the Church, in which God allowed some people to
have "a closer look" at things that are beyond our world, or to receive direct instructions from Him.
Therefore it is important to evaluate the meaning and importance of Christian mystical experiences, and
see to what extent they are compatible with those of other religions. There are five points here that
emphasize the main differences:
1) Mystical experiences in Christianity are always initiated by God, in His grace, and never induced by
believers using special meditative techniques or asceticism. As examples see the special revelations
granted to the apostles Peter (Acts 10,9-16), Paul (2 Corinthians 12,2-4) and John (Revelation 1,10-19).
2) Those who were granted such special revelations had to remember a coherent spiritual message in the
normal state of consciousness and transmit it to their fellow believers. The content was mostly
informative and specific, not a mere "neti, neti" type of Hindu glimpse of the impersonal Brahman that
cannot be communicated.
3) Special revelations are associated with external confirmations of their truth. For instance, the Apostle
Peter was met by the men sent by Cornelius (Acts 10,21-22), Paul was forced not to boast by "a thorn in
his flesh" (2 Corinthians 12,7) and John had to transmit his message to seven earthly churches that were
confronted with earthly problems (Revelation 2-3). The same is the case with the Old Testament
prophets. Although many of them had visions of other-world realities (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,
Zechariah), the message they got was meant to correct an earthly situation, in most cases Israel's
apostasy.
4) Mystical experiences in the Bible and in Church tradition always confirm previous revelation in the
Scripture. They never contradict it or make Christian doctrine depend on them. Christianity does not
proclaim mystical experience as the only way of knowing ultimate truth, as Eastern religions do.
Experience is not the primary instrument of knowing God, but of confirming the revelation already
received from Him in the Scripture and accepted by faith. Experience always has to be subject to
revelation and faith because those experiences that contradict revelation may be of demonic origin.
5) Mystical experiences never give the feeling of atman-Brahman oneness. The Christian mystic never
unites with the being of God, but only with His will in a higher communion relation. This is what is
meant by being "transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord"
(2 Corinthians 3,18). Consequently, the Christian mystics use rather the term of the soul's "marriage"
with God, than that of "absorption" or "merging" with the essence of Ultimate Reality. In order to avoid
deception by meeting a foreign spiritual world (1 Peter 5,8), they have to obey some basic requirements
to be guarded against falling into heresy. The most important concern is abiding in Christian doctrine and
morals. The First Epistle of John in the New Testament is a wonderful instrument for evaluating it. On
the other hand, the best proof that the Christian mystic has gotten lost in pantheism is the abandoning of
fundamental concepts such as sin, evil, reverence toward God, and considering himself to have attained a
realm beyond good and evil. This will necessarily develop into isolation from other "profane" people,
which is another indication of a wrong direction (1 John 4,7-21). Instead of attaining a special
communion relation with God, heretical mystics feel they become "one with the essence of God".
Therefore Eastern mysticism and Christianity hold irreconcilable positions concerning the meaning and
importance of mystical experiences. There is no meeting point between them, not even on this ground.
Revelation and the three testing criteria
In the context given by God's revelation to man, Christianity does not encounter the basic inconsistencies
of Eastern religions in fulfilling the three above mentioned criteria because of two basic elements: 1)
both God and man are personal beings; and 2) both man and the physical world were created by the same
God. According to the Bible, man was created by a personal God in His image and likeness (Genesis
1,27-28) and lives in the midst of His physical creation. (There is no need to explain again the meaning
of man's creation in God's image and likeness, as it is part of a previous file.) Neither personhood nor the
physical world have anything intrinsically bad (Genesis 1,31). For this reason Christianity has internal
consistency, can state a right balance between empirical and absolute knowledge and is also pragmatic.
Let us briefly analyze these claims.
The use of logic in Christianity
Eastern religions state that there is only one reality pervading all aspects of existence and therefore the
sense of duality is ultimately illusory. As duality is the basis on which logic operates, it is required that
logic should be transcended by the use of meditation techniques in order to attain oneness with the
impersonal Ultimate Reality. This generates some internal inconsistencies in Eastern religions (especially
in the pantheist religions.)
Christianity holds a different approach to logic. The word "logic" has its etymological root in the Greek
"logos". Ancient Greek philosophy considered the Logos to be a rational element in nature that generates
and controls its order. The apostle John gave another meaning to this term in his gospel. He chose to use
it to designate God the Son, who was incarnated as Jesus Christ (John 1,1-14). Therefore, the Christian
Logos is not a mere manifestation of an impersonal Ultimate Reality, but is personified as God Himself.
As a result, logic has its origin in God, the creator of all, who laid it at the ground of His creation. In
other words, the order in the universe is not a product of the manifestation of an impersonal being (as
Brahman), but the product of God's eternal and perfect mind. Because the Logos (God the Son) is
rational, creation is intelligible for the humans He created into His image and likeness. This is of
fundamental importance in balancing empirical and absolute knowledge, the second criterion a spiritual
path should meet.
Empirical and absolute knowledge in Christianity
By the fact that the same God created both our empirical abilities of knowledge (senses and mind) and
the physical world to be known, there is correspondence between them. The senses give us true
information about a true physical world around us, and the mind is able to make true judgments. Even if
our senses deceive us sometimes (as they make us believe the sun rotates around the earth), we can reach
the right perspective not by rejecting sense observation, but by being more careful in observations and
their logical inferences (as Galileo Galilei did, being a Christian).
God could not give us unreliable rational powers and senses while making us think they are reliable. He
could not be capable of such a deception. As a result, absolute knowledge (knowing God) does not
contradict empirical knowledge but completes it. In other words, a personal relationship with God is not
against the mind but beyond it, and faith works beyond what our mind can grasp but without destroying
it. If there were an irreconcilable barrier between empirical and absolute knowledge (as Eastern religions
state), revelation would be impossible.
Not only was man created in God's image, as a personal being, so that personhood has nothing
intrinsically bad, but the fullest revelation of God to man, i.e. the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, was
also in personal form. Jesus Christ was a historical person who lived on this earth in a physical body. As
a Person of the Holy Trinity, He is the same God that created man and the physical world, inspired the
Bible, and descended in the world in order to save it from its fallen state. What better way of bridging the
gap between empirical and absolute knowledge could we ask than the descending of Ultimate Reality to
us in human form? This element unparalleled by other religions, the historical incarnation of God, is the
key element for both defining our true nature and finding our way back to God.
Empirical knowledge and the possibility for science to exist
Our minds are capable of understanding the world we live in because we are created by a rational God.
Rationality in nature and rationality in man are therefore correlated. This context makes science possible
as a way of understanding God's creation in order to govern it properly, according to the mandate
entrusted by God in Genesis 1,28:
Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Genesis 1,28).
On the basis of his given abilities, man can know and understand God's creation and "subdue" it. For this
reason, science has developed in Western culture, in a Christian background, and not in the East. The
Eastern concepts of researcher and researched being ultimately one, or matter being illusory or evil,
could not have given a proper context for science. If the physical world is defined as a source of
suffering, the only solution is to withdraw from it, cut away any sensation and intellectual thought
deriving from it. This doesn't mean that the East doesn't acknowledge nowadays the importance of
science, but that science can only grow where the physical world is objective. Although science has
eventually developed during the last century in the East as well, it is obviously grounded on a Western
pattern.
Is Christianity viable?
Christianity offers the right pattern for living in our physical universe and in harmony with our
neighbors. This results from two basic commands in the Bible:
1) "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Genesis 1,28).
2) "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22,39; Mark 12,31; Luke 10,27).
The best moral rule for harmonious social living is the 10 commandments (Exodus 20,1-17). Although
very old, they still cannot be replaced by a better moral rule. Even if Christian history has recorded a lot
of falling short from practicing its moral rule (the often mentioned abuses of the Inquisition, crusades,
holy wars, etc.), the fault is not with the religion, but with the people who disobey it. Christianity is only
responsible for what it teaches, not for what its so-called adherents do contrary to its teachings.
In fact, our whole educational system has its roots in Christianity. In the Middle Ages schools and
universities were first grounded around churches. The reformers emphasized the need for education so
that the believer could read his Bible. Christian missions brought literacy to many parts of the world. J.
Herbert Kane writes in his book:
There are 860 known languages and dialects in Africa. A hundred years ago fewer than 20 had a
written form. Since then 500 have been reduced to writing - all the work of missionaries (J.
Herbert Kane, A Concise History of the Christian World Mission, Baker Book House, 1978, p.
166).
The missionaries had to start from scratch - inventing scripts, writing textbooks, and opening
schools. For many decades they were the sole purveyors of education. The british did as good a
job as anyone in Africa, but in 1923 only 100 of the 6,000 schools in British Africa were
government schools. As late as 1961, 68% of all the school children in Africa were still in mission
schools (p. 141).
It had the same impact on human rights:
By precept and example they [the missionaries] inculcated the ideas and ideals of Christianity the sanctity of life, the worth of the individual, the dignity of labor, social justice, personal
integrity, freedom of thought and speech - which have since been incorporated in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights drawn up by the United Nations" (Kane, p. 169).
The worldwide efforts in grounding orphanages, homes for the aged, hospitals, all kinds of care and
charity institutions are also known. These are all practical deeds in the spirit of love for one's neighbor
with which Christ has filled His followers. Mother Teresa was an internationally known example of
living out this spirit of Christianity. She didn’t only teach compassion, but also practiced it and was
eventually rewarded with the Nobel Prize for peace in 1979. As the same prize was awarded to the Dalai
Lama in 1989, it is interesting to observe the difference between their lifestyles. Although both taught
compassion, they had a different understanding of it. The Eastern meaning of compassion (karuna) is an
impersonal mindset rather than a factual commitment to one’s neighbor. Christian compassion (agape),
on the other hand, leads to action, to the fulfillment of real needs in one’s neighbor’s life. That is why
Mother Teresa got the prize for her work with the poorest in India (that no Hindu or Buddhist cared for),
while the Dalai Lama got it for his political stand for Tibet. This difference speaks for itself.
Kane concludes in his book:
By all odds the missionaries of the nineteenth century were a special breed of men and women.
Single-handedly and with great courage they attacked the social evils of their time; child
marriage, the immolation of widows, temple prostitution, and untouchability in India; footbinding,
opium addiction, and the abandoning of babies in China; polygamy, the slave trade, and the
destruction of twins in Africa. In all parts of the world they opened schools, hospitals, clinics,
medical colleges, orphanages, and leprosaria. They gave succor and sustenance to the dregs of
society cast off by their own communities. At great risk to themselves and their families they fought
famines, floods, pestilences, and plagues. They were the first to rescue unwanted babies, educate
girls, and liberate women" (p. 100).
No other religion has produced at least a small part of such an impact on human civilization, so
Christianity has no real competitor in changing our world for the good. Unfortunately, critics today are
used to seeing and commenting only the bad side of human history and blame Christianity for it, ignoring
the difference between genuine followers of Christ and counterfeits. In other words, they throw out the
baby with the bathwater.
Appendix
"Who are you, the writer of this web site?"
This was the subject of an e-mail received by me, "the writer of this web site", some time ago. I use it
here as a title for a short confession concerning my findings on the spiritual path toward God. Following
the Eastern tradition of answering tough questions by parables, I will use the story of a pantomime play I
saw years ago on a student campus. Although the play took only a few minutes, its message is so dense
that it describes my whole life.
Imagine the main character in the pantomime standing alone in his room, looking at nothing, sad and
disappointed with his life. Let's call him John. He seems to be too tired to go on looking for answers to
life's questions in a hostile world like ours. This dramatic atmosphere is emphasized by the melancholic
music that is accompanying the play. Suddenly there is a knock at the door. Roused from his lethargy,
John approaches the door and looks through the peephole to see who is there. It is a friend, his drinking
companion, in a very good mood, coming to have another drink together. Before opening, John goes to
the wardrobe, opens a drawer and takes out an object that he puts on his face. It is a mask. Suddenly his
mood changes and he becomes as cheerful as his visitor is. He opens the door and the two have a nice
party together, with a lot of drinks, jokes and fun. Then John sees his dear old pal off and closes the door.
He approaches the wardrobe, takes off his mask and puts it away. Instantly he returns to his initial icy
state.
Another knock at the door follows. Again John looks through the peephole and sees his girl friend, with
earphones on and her body moving to the rhythm of the music. (However, the only musical background
in the play is the same sad and monotonous music, which makes her even more ridiculous.) Before
opening, he takes another mask and puts it on. His transformation into her likeness occurs immediately.
They dance and have a good time together. But this episode also has to end and the mask is put back
where it belongs, in the wardrobe. Again there is loneliness and iciness, as if nothing had happened.
The next knock at the door is from a humped beggar. The mask of pity is put on and John opens the door.
Very compassionate and merciful, he gives some money and gently directs him to other neighbors.
Finally here comes a wandering ascetic to visit him, the embodiment of false godliness, holding his
hands together as if he were praying. Our man takes a similar mask, spends some time miming the same
"godliness", but gently invites "the holy man" to go, pushing him toward the door with his prayer
postured hands. (In the context of this web page inquiry, a better illustration would have been that this
visitor be a Yogi, and the two performing some body postures (asanas) together.)
At last John is again alone, in his normal "state of consciousness", with all masks carefully stored in the
wardrobe. Unexpectedly, a new knock at the door is heard. Exhausted, John goes to see who is next to
bother him. Through the peephole he sees an unknown fellow, all dressed in white. It is Christ. Very
confused, our man doesn't know which mask to choose and takes the first one. Failure. Instead of
accepting the invitation to have a drink together, the stranger snatches John's mask and breaks it. Getting
even more confused, John takes the next mask and puts it on. But the stranger snatches this mask as well
and breaks it. The third and the fourth masks are also tried on but with the same result. Dreadfully scared,
John searches for another mask in the wardrobe, but there is none left. In his despair, he feels a gentle
touch on his shoulder and reluctantly turns his face to the stranger, beginning to understand who He
really is. Christ makes a sign of rejection toward the broken masks lying on the ground and draws the
sign of the heart on his chest, pointing his hands toward John in a demanding attitude. Yes, Christ is
asking for his heart, the core of his true identity, which is beyond all masks. John repeats this sign as if
testing that he truly has understood Christ's demand. He answers affirmatively and keeps waiting with his
hands outstretched.
After a moment of uncertainty, John puts his hands on his chest and then stretches them toward Christ, as
if offering his heart to him. Christ accepts it and then stretches his hands horizontally, miming the
Crucifixion, the price He paid for renewing John's heart. Our man falls in his knees before Him and is
transfigured. His face becomes shiny; all despair is gone and replaced by real joy, gratitude and hope.
Paradoxically, although the music is the same in the play, it seems to produce a different feeling, as if it
is accompanying the new life that has begun.
Although my masks were slightly different, something similar has happened with me, "the writer of this
web site". I too am indebted to Christ for bringing me to light from behind the masks and giving me a
new life. He liberated me from the yoke of being a stranger to myself, from the illusion I was
administrating to myself, and then gave me true freedom: freedom from the uncertainties of life, from
pride and competition for prestige, from the fear of not being accepted by worldly standards - in other
words, freedom from the power of sin. Although the world I live in is the same, as the musical
background in the play, life with Christ is totally different. It is a life full of hope, full of meaning and
certitude. In the midst of a world that seeks to fulfill only its own interest at all costs, regardless of the
means, Christ can give true peace, joy and fulfillment. The condition is to put your faith in the true
Christ, the historical Christ that was incarnated and crucified for our sins, not in one created by
someone's imagination and "wisdom", as there are many such New Age productions today. More than a
transformed life, He promises eternal life in His heavenly kingdom, which is more than anyone could
expect from religion.
There are probably many of you that look condescendingly on this confession. Many may be skeptical
and many may be smiling tolerantly. I would only ask them to remember the healing of the man born
blind by Jesus (John 9), so wonderfully pictured by Franco Zeffirelli's internationally known film Jesus
of Nazareth. Remember how people laughed at him while he sought to reach the Pool of Siloam with his
eyes covered with mud. However, although it may have been quite a spectacle, the eyes of the blind
opened, and the laughter froze. It is possible that I too may be ridiculed for what I have written here, due
to our post-modern mindset but, as the healed man said once, "One thing I do know. I was blind but now
I see!" (John 9,25). This is Christ's gift for me, so precious that I cannot stop being thankful to Him.
See also this one: Marcia's story: a strange but true spiritual journey, by Marcia Montenegro
Links to Other Useful Web Sites
Links to Other Web Sites
CrossSearch A Massive Online Christian Resource Directory
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Academic Info Christianity, An independent directory compiled by Mike Madin, a graduate of the
University of Washington's Comparative Religion program.
Virtual Religion Index, Links for Research on Religion, designed by Prof. Mahlon H. Smith, Rutgers
University.
"The Elephant's Eye", the Dialog Center's Information Service on New Religious Movements. Here
you can find factual information on many New Religious Movements.
The Muslim-Christian Debate Website It aims to stimulate genuine debate between Christians
and Muslims on a wide range of topics.
The Good Way Is the best way to God the way of the Torah, the way of the Gospel or the way of the
Qur'an? Good articles and downloadable books on this site.
Classic Christian books in electronic format, selected for your edification. There is enough good
reading material here to last you a lifetime, if you give each work the time it deserves!
World Wide Study Bible -- Scripture, commentaries, sermons, etc.
Early Church Fathers, 38 volumes -- The most important writings from the first 800 years of the
church.
StudyWeb - a place for anyone doing research to find the information they need as easily as possible.
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CyberU.com - a comprehensive guide to online education for consumers and businesses.
Adherents.com - Statistics, Overviews, Index about classical religions and new religions. A goldmine of
information!
GoSearch Web Directory:
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CrossDaily.com has Awesome Christian Sites where you can vote for this site & other great ones.
Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews,
software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
Religious Resources on the Net is a comprehensive, searchable database of religious web sites on the
Internet. Visitors to the web site can browse through over 100 topics or use the search engine to generate
a listing of resources containing selected keywords.
Apologetics Index provides a database and glossary of information on cults, sects, new religious
movements, doctrines, apologetics and counter-cult organizations.
Karma and Reincarnation. An extensive scholarly examination of the theory of karma by Joseph F.
Morales, an author whose conclusion is: “The more closely I have looked into the topic, the less satisfied
I have become with the whole theory.”
CANA - Christian Answers for the New Age, by Marcia Montenegro
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Ogden's Prose Poetry
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Original Designer Artist dolls sculpted by Michelle Lightner, Links
An original fine art collection showcasing Niagara Region Canadian art
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We showcase watercolour landscape paintings and art work by artists ba
A place where Kirin and Kiwa share their art and stories to everyone.
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Celebrating the interconnectedness of all life
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A Comparative Analysis of The Major World Religions

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