Hinduism

by Toms, A. F. | Category: Spotlight On | Mar 1981

"Death of a Guru" is the title of a paperback published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1978; the compelling story of the conversion of a young Hindu Brahmin. Anyone desiring an insight into the intricacies of Hinduism will be well repaid for giving it a careful reading, and the glossary at the end of the book makes it easy to follow the Hindu terms used.

The story begins with an account of the author's father who died when he was eight years of age, and during those years never ~poke two words to his son. Within months of his marriage and before the son's birth, he went into a state of trance, achieved through deep meditation, and for the remainder of his life he neither spoke to, nor acknowledged anyone. Sitting cross-legged in a lotus position he passed his days in meditation and reading the Hindu scriptures. He was said to be in direct communication with Brahman, the ultimate goal of a devout Hindu.

The Hindu believes that Brahman (not be confused with Brahma, the creator and first god of the Hindu trinity, along with Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer) is the Ultimate Reality, and by means of meditation and yoga he aims to renounce all desires which the body imposes upon the mind and to merge into union with Brahman again. In Hindu thought the creator and his creation are one and the same. They say that God is in everything and everything is God. That is why there are "gods many", so many that the number is said to run into many millions.

Self-realization, which they aim for, is deliverance from the "illusion" that the individual self is different from the universal self. When a person is absorbed into the state of ceasing to desire, he has reached his nirvana, which is the Hindu's heaven. But this does not happen in one life time. Karma or fate decrees that every thought, word or deed produces an effect, and in the next life, which reincarnation provides, the person either suffers from the wrong things or benefits from the good things of his previous existence. There is no forgiveness in Karma. Each must suffer for his own deeds.

With a deep sense of thankfulness we turn to our Bibles and remember that "to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto

Him" (1 Cor. 8:6), and on the very first page of Scripture He is revealed as a God who is distinct from His creation. He named each part of it individually and pronounced it to be good, and in the final act of His creation He made man in His own image and after His likeness. The early chapters of Genesis make it abundantly clear that the Creator was far above His creation and everything He made is under His sovereign control.

One of the things which comes out clearly in the very honest story told by Rabindranath R. Maharaj, the author of the book already referred to, is the power of evil spirits in the lives of those who open their minds to them by the repetition of mantras (or sound symbols) and the practice of yoga and meditation. This throws new light on the apostle's words in 1 Cor. 10:20 that "the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils (Gr. demons)". These demons are agents of Satan, and under his control they can intrude into the daily lives of those who worship them to a very frightening degree. Sometimes they work in favour of their worshippers, but even so their power is always feared and the devout Hindu spends his life appeasing the gods he serves. The concept of a God who loves is foreign to Hindu thought.

The true God revealed to us in the Scriptures is One who commends His love toward men and has sent His Son to die for them. "God is a Spirit" said the Lord Jesus; to which revelation John the apostle added "God is light" and "God is love". Having redeemed us from sin and created us anew in Christ Jesus, He has given us His Holy Spirit to indwell our hearts, and to guide us into His truth (John 16:13) and love (Rom. 5:5). How greatly favoured we are!

"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet" wrote Rudyard Kipling, But they do meet, of course, as Kipling went on to say. They meet in Christ and the glorious proof will be fully seen when around His throne there shall be gathered the redeemed from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. Alas, they will meet also when world power is headed up for one brief, awful period under the rule of the Antichrist, Satan's superman. Part of his work will be to unite the religions of the world into one great confederation. Bible students are very aware that the growing interest among Western people in the mystic religions of the East is one of the indications that Satan is already preparing his ground. And those who know something of the immoral aspects of Hindu worship can see that it bears a relation to what is said about Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots in Revelation 17:1-6.

Transcendental Meditation is being widely advertised in some countries. Emphasis is placed upon the ability it claims in coping with the stresses of life, bringing a deep rest to both mind and body. Combined tranquillity and

alertness is claimed for those who practise the technique, and were it not for the name of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, on whose Hindu philosophy the yoga therapy is based, the unsuspecting would hardly associate it with Hinduism. But associated it is, very much so, and we would remind our readers that the meditative technique taught by TM involves the silent and constant repetition of a mantra under the guidance of a personal tutor, by which means the adherents are induced into a mystical state. It is said that the spirit or deity embodied in the mantra is called into the person repeating it. These are "the deep things of Satan, as they say", strange, mystical, unknown things, and far removed from "the simplicity and purity that is toward Christ". It hardly need be said that the believer on the Lord Jesus should keep far away from such things.

The Divine Light Mission and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (the Hare Krishna Movement) are two more sects of modern times which have sprung out of Hinduism and more openly so than TM. They are becoming increasingly popular in Western society where many are sadly disillusioned by the emptiness of materialism. The great Adversary is subtly swinging men's thoughts to spiritual things, but to the deep things of Satan rather than to the holy things of God.

Each of these three movements claims no desire to change a person's religion but only to make him a better person in the religion which he professes. Maybe this is one of the reasons why these cults are making such rapid progress, for this very tolerance is seen by many to provide the basis for uniting a divided world. We remember that the Lord Jesus taught that "many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray" (Matt. 24:11), and when He added in verse 24, "to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" we can see the urgency for alerting one another to the dangers which are surrounding us on every hand. It is in this spirit that this article is written, and grateful acknowledgement is made of help received from a booklet entitled "God and the Gurus" by Mr R D. Clements, as well as the paperback referred to earlier.

Toms, A. F. | Mar 1981
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