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| On the other hand, there were also many Muslim kings who wished to live in harmony with the Hindus. ] and ] of ] Adil Shah dynasty are notable examples. Akbar's court was home to intellectuals and saints both Hindu and Muslim, among them the great musician ], and he even went so far as to try and create a new religion (the '']'') to promote peace between people of both creeds. <!--But in recent times, this theory was found to be a hoax and in fact Akbar was proved to be a bloody villain who butchered thousands of Hindus. ''' ], ], ], and ]'''.--> | On the other hand, there were also many Muslim kings who wished to live in harmony with the Hindus. ] and ] of ] Adil Shah dynasty are notable examples. Akbar's court was home to intellectuals and saints both Hindu and Muslim, among them the great musician ], and he even went so far as to try and create a new religion (the '']'') to promote peace between people of both creeds. <!--But in recent times, this theory was found to be a hoax and in fact Akbar was proved to be a bloody villain who butchered thousands of Hindus. ''' ], ], ], and ]'''.--> | ||
| The great ] |
The great ] mov that particularly flo in thant land of Hinduisten conversing with the similarly tolerant mystic traditions of ], ], and ], added a rich history of peace and spiritual growth to many areas of India. | ||
| ] was a Sufi saint who embraced the Hindu God ] as his chosen bhakti ideal. ] wrote poetry and preached to the people, advocating a blend of philosophy and spiritual practices that was primarily based on ], ] and ], challenging the religious clergy of both Islam and Hinduism and claiming to be neither Hindu, nor Muslim. | ] was a Sufi saint who embraced the Hindu God ] as his chosen bhakti ideal. ] wrote poetry and preached to the people, advocating a blend of philosophy and spiritual practices that was primarily based on ], ] and ], challenging the religious clergy of both Islam and Hinduism and claiming to be neither Hindu, nor Muslim. | ||
Revision as of 00:09, 23 March 2006
Hinduism is most closely related to the subsequent Dharmic faiths of Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism. As such, these religions display mutual respect and have historically had few conflicts. The worldview of Abrahamic religions, on the otherhand, has sharper differences with Hindu ideology and philosophy. These religions, seeing themselves as the exclusive paths toward God, have sometimes been pitted against Hinduism, with resulting conflicts.
Subsequent Dharma faiths: Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism
While scriptures or teachings of Buddhism and Jainism are not actively followed by Hindus, they are respected as valid paths to God. The founders of these two faiths lived in a proto-Hindu environment and denied the ultimate authority of the Vedas. Gautama Buddha's primary difference with Hindu beliefs was in the existence of Brahman, the Ultimate Self. He believed in Shunyata, or void, and also did not endorse the ritual aspects of the Vedas. In his Brahmajala Sutta, he expounds his own beliefs as they differ from Hindu thought. It is not fair, however, to say that Buddhism and Jainism completely rejected Vedic/Hindu thought, since both religions grew from Hindu understandings of Dharma, samsara, Maya, reincarnation, liberation (moksha), Yoga, meditation, and many symbols which are now common to all Dharmic faiths, such as the Lotus, the Chakra and even certain Hindu goddesses who were absorbed into Buddhist beliefs of bodhisattvas. Certainly Buddhists and Jains deparated in many ways from Hindu beliefs, but they were not independent growths.
Sikhism emerged as one of the expressions of the bhakti movement that swept India following the Islamic conquest of the Indian subcontinent. The relation between Sikhism and Hinduism had been one of a very peaceful co-existence. However the Operation Blue Star greatly harmed this unity. But now after almost twenty years of the Operation, the sikhs and the hindus have a peaceful co-existence. Many sikhs pay the same respect to goddess Durga as they do to the ten Sikh Gurus. Even the hindus who live in the Punjab highly respect the Sikh Gurus. This has been possible due to the mutual understanding and broad-mindedness, both of hinduism and Sikhism.
Hinduism and Islam
Hinduism and Islam, from the arrival of the Mughals as far back as the 10 century AD, have had a long and varicolored history. It is undisputed that the invading Mughals slaughtered many Hindus and razed thousands of temples, especially in Northern India. Emperors like Aurangzeb left bloody legacies behind them and scorned the vast Hindu populace and their practices as idolatrous and the people as kafir (infidels).
On the other hand, there were also many Muslim kings who wished to live in harmony with the Hindus. Akbar and Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur Adil Shah dynasty are notable examples. Akbar's court was home to intellectuals and saints both Hindu and Muslim, among them the great musician Tansen, and he even went so far as to try and create a new religion (the din ilahi) to promote peace between people of both creeds.
The great Sufi mov that particularly flo in thant land of Hinduisten conversing with the similarly tolerant mystic traditions of Vedanta, Yoga, and Bhakti, added a rich history of peace and spiritual growth to many areas of India.
Sheikh Muhammad was a Sufi saint who embraced the Hindu God Rama as his chosen bhakti ideal. Kabir wrote poetry and preached to the people, advocating a blend of philosophy and spiritual practices that was primarily based on Vedanta, Bhakti and Sufism, challenging the religious clergy of both Islam and Hinduism and claiming to be neither Hindu, nor Muslim.
Such was fruitive collaboration between certain Sufis and Bhaktas that in many regions of India it is not uncommon for Muslim and Hindu laity to worship together at a pir (Sufi shrine) that is attended by a Vaishnav priest. Indeed, Muslim and Hindu conflict certainly exists in India, but is often more communal than ideological in motivation.
Mughal art forms, especially miniatures and even certain niches of Urdu poetry, were quick to absorb classic Hindu motifs, like the love story of Krishna and Radha. Hindustani classical music is a complex and sonorous blend of Vedic notions of sound, raga and tala and absorbed a many instruments of either Persian origin or Indian-Muslim invention. Practically all classical musicians, including Muslim musicians, like Ustad Bismillah Khan, and Sikh musicians, in India worship the Hindu Goddess of Knowledge and the Arts, Mother Saraswati.
Thus, while Hinduism and Islam, on the face, have irreconcilable differences in ideology, the common ground was extensive enough to result in a large-scale blending in India. Indeed, such unity is underplayed and is often obscured by the current unrest and communal tension between the Hindu and muslim populations in the Indian subcontinent.
Similarities between Hinduism and Judaism
The Hindu kingdoms of West Asia of the second millennium BC precede the rise of Judaism, and the commonality between Hinduism and Judaism has been traced as a remembrance of the Hindu past. The Rigveda knows Yahvah as one name of Agni. Tha Ugarits, a Hebraic people, spoke of 33 gods just as in the Veda.
Hinduism has much in common with Judaism. The two faiths' monist mystic streams, kabalistic Judaism and Advaita Vedanta, have so much in common that some scholars have seen the differences as being limited to mere nomenclature; this includes perceptions of illusory superimposition upon a divine monad, pantheism/panentheism and belief in knowledge of the self leading to salvation/liberation. If the broader Hindu religion, however, is taken as a faith (though impossible it is to condense its many beliefs into one system) and compared to Judaism, the primary difference can be seen in the fact that Judaism does not admit deities, even if such deities are but emanations or different aspects/forms of a singular and same source, Brahman (whether one God or a formless monad).
The Hindu and Christian Trinities
The Christian trinity, which came into being long after the Hindu trinity, has often been cited as possible common ground. There are three forms of God in the Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The God Brahma symbolizes the creator, Vishnu represents the maintainer or presever and Shiva represents the destroyer in the cycle of existence. This concept of an ultimate three is seen by some as evidence of distant connections with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of Christianity. Some would argue, however, that the Christian trinity sees the Father as the well-spring of the Son and the Holy Ghost, whereas the Hindu trinity sees the three as equal elements of an ultimate One: creative, preservative and destructive principles are all equal parts of a unitary existence. If anything, the parallel is tenuous, since the number three has long held symbolic importance in many cultures across the world.
Hinduism's general view of non-Hindu religions
Hinduism has always regarded all religions with respect. It believes that all religions are valid paths to God if they are followed with sufficient devotion and good moral life. Sarva dharma samabhāva (all religions must be viewed with equal respect) is an essential motto of Hinduism. The Hindus (like the Jews) feel that the Hindu way of life is neither required nor expected from the non-Hindu people. That is why Hinduism does not encourage evangelization, unlike Christianity. However, it encourages non-Hindus to think about and understand the idylls of their sublime Hindu philosophy, and so if non-Hindu individuals insist, some Hindu gurus may grant them initiation (dīkshā) into the Hindu way of life.
As such, all Jain spiritual teachers like Mahavira, Buddha and Sikh gurus are highly revered by many Hindus, who often in turn may revere Hindu deities and temples. Even Judaism, Islam and Christianity are respectfully treated as valid paths to God. Hindus may even pray at Muslim dargahs and Christian churches. However, they do get deeply offended when the chauvinists of these religions call them as atheists, polytheists, animists, idolators, Kafir (unbeliever), etc or try to convert Hindus by what they allege as "unfair means".
