MAN is the highest of creations. So goes the saying. But how does he appear in the eyes of different faiths?
Men are children of God in the eyes of the Christians. They are slaves of God in the eyes of Muslims. And Hindus? “I am God” (Aham Brahmasmi) says Advaita.
The Bible is the world of God. Kuran is the word of Allah. To question their veracity is to invite punishment. Even death. Hinduism is the word of many. As such, it has been questioned all through Hindus history. To begin with by Kapila, Mahavira and the Buddha.
In what way we conceive man will determine his life and work. And his outlook, too. If Christians are children of God, they will have a father up in heaven and another on earth. In any case, as children, they will be guided by their fathers. Not by themselves. And if Muslims are slaves of Allah, they will remain so for ever. They will not be asked to think for themselves. Since Hinduism is not the work of one hand, but of many, it has always been subject to questions and scrutiny.
As Hindus have freedom to shape their destiny, they are individualists. They pray alone. The followers of Semitic faiths offer their prayer collectively, i.e. in congregation. Hence, they have a collective approach to all matters.
Semitic faiths are simple. Hinduism is a highly complex religion. Man is not his body, says Hinduism. Man is the Atman. Body is the temple of the Atman.
What is the Atman. Atman is Brahman, which is why Hindus say “Aham Brahmasmi”. (I am Brahman), Tatwam Asi (that thou art” and so on). This is the highest reach of the Hindu mind (Advaita).
There is only one way to salvation in Semitic faiths. Hinduism suggests four ways-mediation, action (Karma), Bhakti and surrender to God.
What about life on earth? There is an impression that Hinduism does not give importance to life on earth. This is utterly false. Those who says so have vested interests. In fact, Hinduism offers four stages of life. Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. Why these four stages? Because the objective was to make the journey through life a happy experience. Hinduism, unlike Buddhism, does not favour young men taking to Sanyasa.
Desires pervert the mind. Which is why Hinduism and Buddhism call upon men to show restraint in their desires. Insatiable desires have destroyed the Western civilisation. Semitic faiths have given men just one life. At the end of it, men wait in purgatory for the Day of Judgement. And after the day of judgement, they spend their life either in hell or heaven till eternity. What about the Hindus? They take rebirth after death. Till they get their salvation. But salvation means a different thing in Hinduism. Krishna says in the Gita: At the end of the night of time all these creations return to my nature.”
Man is at the centre of Chinese life. God is secondary. And the Chinese did not think of death and the hereafter . “Not knowing life, how can you know of death”, asks Confucius. Confucianism is all about the worship of ancestors and the state. There is little asceticism and renunciation in Chinese life. They look upon it with abhorence. To the Chinese, the ideal man is sage. But the Chinese sage is deeply involved in the life of Chinese society. Man’s concern for man is strong in China. “Study human relationship to organise the state well,” says Confucius. Virtue comes from nature, not from God, they say.
The Christians lived in darkness for a thousand years when they were dominated by the Church. As for Muslims, they are still in darkness. The Hindus have always been free to think.
There is no concept of human brotherhood in Semitic faiths. They treat others as pagans, sons of the Devil. To the Hindus, the humanity is one family. Semitic faiths have always been theocratic. Hindus have always been secular.
Buddhism provides man scope to become a Buddha. Buddhists form sangas. There is hardly any individualism. The aim of life is to liberate oneself from the cycle of birth and death. Desire is the cause of sorrow. Reduce desires, the Buddhists say. Buddhists take to ascetic life even from childhood. There is no asceticism in Islam.
Good Reader, men are different. They will be so always. Let us not destroy their uniqueness.
