\nHindu Writings<\/h3>\n
The holy literature of Hinduism encompasses many volumes, and is referred to as the Vedic literature. The most widely known is the Bhagavad-Gita, a small section of the much larger section, the Mahabharata\u2014a huge work that has influenced Hinduism profoundly. It allegedly was composed over a period of eight hundred years (400 B.C. to A.D. 400), and supposedly tells the Sanskrit history of the ancient world. But as A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada says in his translation, the Gita is \u201cthe essence of Vedic knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The high god in Hinduism is Brahman. In a sense, Brahman is the All, the infinitely embracing Everything\u2014ultimate reality. In another sense, Brahman is a god composed of Brahma, Shiva (the one often pictured with four arms), and Vishnu. Each of these three has a basic personality and work. Brahma creates, Shiva destroys, and Vishnu preserves. Each has wives, sons (one of Shiva\u2019s sons is the elephant-headed Ganesha), daughters, and a series of folklore-type adventures. Their consorts also are worshipped, so there is actually an indefinite number of gods. A Hindu expert will tell you that they often use the number 330,000,000 as a convenient way of describing how many are worshipped. The boundaries and eccentricities of Hinduism, therefore, are very loose, and there are many types and sects of Hindus. What ties them together seems to be their belief in Brahman and the pantheon of gods, reincarnation (the idea that after you die you are reborn into another life on Earth), karma (the law which says that if you were bad in this life you will have a difficult life in the next), and the Vedic teachings.<\/p>\n
One of Vishnu\u2019s avatars (incarnations) was named Krishna. He has been described as \u201can impetuous, violent, and erotic figure.\u201d Krishna is the speaker and the hero of the Bhagavad-Gita, in which he is prince of a great dynasty. The Gita\u2019s setting is a battle in which he is involved with relatives who are enemies of his kingdom. There is no way of checking whether these events actually occurred or if this is pure legend, since we have no record of the events outside the Gita itself.<\/p>\n
Someone might respond, \u201cBut why is it better to be historical and checkable (like the Bible) than to be non-historical (like the Koran or Vedic writings)?\u201d The real issue, of course, is that we believe we must be rational in regard to religion. Does anyone seriously suggest that we be irrational about it? If we are to be irrational, then what is the use of arguing rationally that we must be irrational? Why worry about persuading people that the major religions are all the same if it does not really matter? Actually, all of the world religions attempt to use reason and (with the possible exception of Buddhism) teach their adherents to use their minds in religion. Even though Buddhism tries to get its adherents to a point in meditation where they lose thought and feeling, it uses reason to teach them, to explain itself, and to get them to that point. The point is, should reason and proof be the \u201cengine that pulls our train of life\u201d or not? Should we not require proof for what we believe? If not, that would put us in the position of accepting every person who claimed a divine vision. The Bible both demands proof and provides it (Deuteronomy 18:20; Isaiah 41:21-24; I Thessalonians 5:21; et al.).<\/p>\n
[Kippy Myers, Ph.D., “Why Christianity?\u00a0 Why The Bible?,”\u00a0Reason & Revelation<\/em>, February 1994, 14(2):9-14]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: Is the book Bhagavad-Gita inspired and true? Also, how can I answer a Hare Krishna monk regarding the same? Answer: Bhagavad-Gita, or Song of God, is one of several books considered scripture to the Hindus. Since the Hindu religion is an old idolatrous religion, the books supporting the religion are as false as the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[505,304],"class_list":["post-25461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-hinduism","tag-idolatry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12179,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/transcendental-meditation\/","url_meta":{"origin":25461,"position":0},"title":"Transcendental Meditation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Philippians 4:6-9 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many people have heard of transcendental meditation even though they may not know what it is exactly. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is actually a trademarked name by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1958. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He made it into a large business with a Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29347,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-christian-do-yoga\/","url_meta":{"origin":25461,"position":1},"title":"Should a Christian do yoga?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Should a Christian do yoga? Answer: Your question has complexities because yoga is viewed in two different ways. Yoga originated in India and was strongly connected to Hinduism. It was later picked up by Buddhism and Jainism. The goal of yoga as a religious practice is for the practitioner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25213,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-scientific-evidence-that-christianity-is-the-true-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":25461,"position":2},"title":"Is there any scientific evidence that Christianity is the true religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am not a Christian! But I have been thinking about that religion. I would like to know more about Christianity. Is there any scientific evidence that Christianity is the true religion? And didn't the church oppose science some centuries back? Thanks. Answer: \"Scientific evidence is the result of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51748,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-look-at-images-of-hindu-gods\/","url_meta":{"origin":25461,"position":3},"title":"Is it wrong to look at images of Hindu gods?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question: you see, with my religion now, I tend to look at other religions. Not for worship but there are some religious gods in Hinduism that I usually research because they look interesting, such as the art that is made of them. Is that bad? If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48186,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-convert-my-hindu-girlfriend\/","url_meta":{"origin":25461,"position":4},"title":"How do I convert my Hindu girlfriend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I have this question -- it is more like a problem. I started dating this girl, but she's of a different religion (Hindu). I am a Christian. I like this girl. What should I do? How do I convert her to Christianity? Please respond to me. Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25463,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-hinduism\/","url_meta":{"origin":25461,"position":5},"title":"Notes on Hinduism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Paul Williams via\u00a0Truth Magazine, January 2, 2003 Hinduism is the religion of the vast majority of people who live in India. About 70% of the millions of Indians who live in South Africa are Hindus and there is an increasing number of Hindus in America. 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