Talk:Introduction - Can we describe Bhagavān completely:Non-Hindu Traditions on the Nature of Bhagavān
By Sri Vishal Agarwal
The scriptures, teachers and followers of different religions make different claims about Divinity. The claims of one religion often contradict the claims of another religion.
• Christian Viewpoint: Christians say that there is One Bhagavān who sent many prophets and revealed the Bible to humanity. Then, He sent His only son Jesus Christ to take away our sins. Therefore, Christians see Bhagavān through the history of their community as recorded in the Bible. According to the Bible, a unique event in human history was the descent of Jesus, the only begotten son of Bhagavān, in Palestine. Jesus was the perfect person and he set the gold standard on what is good and what is bad. To go to heaven, we must believe in what the Bible says about human history, especially the fact that Jesus is the only son of Bhagavān. No one can get Salvation unless they follow these Christian doctrines and their view of history. Therefore, non-believing Christians and non-Christians all automatically go to everlasting hell after their deaths, although Catholics believe that Hell is a temporary purgatory and eventually all will go to heaven. Christians believe that it is a sin to worship Bhagavān through idols. Since the earth is a special planet to which Bhagavān sent Jesus, the Universe is geocentric. Human beings are said to sin because they get tempted by the Devil, who is an anti-Bhagavān creature, so to speak. The Devil is also created by Bhagavān, and his task is to tempt people so that those who are firm in faith are separated from those who are not. Christians worship the Biblical Bhagavān and his only son Jesus Christ so that they may reach an everlasting heaven after their deaths. In this palace-like heaven reside Bhagavān and Jesus in whose company the limited number of successful Christians will become permanent residents. Many Christians also worship Saints and Angels for worldly benefits. They also believe that these Saints as well as Jesus can intercede on their behalf so that they can enter heaven.
• Jewish Viewpoint: Jews believe that they are a special people ‘chosen’ by Bhagavān who revealed the Old Testament of the Bible to the Jewish Prophets. Jews reject the Christian claim that Jesus was the only son of Bhagavān, and they also reject the New Testament of the Bible which contains the teachings of Jesus Christ and his followers. Jews also believe that idol worship is a sin. Like Christians, Jews also understand Bhagavān through the history of His ‘chosen people’, i.e., the Jews themselves. Jews believe that Bhagavān promised them the land of Israel forever.
• Islamic Viewpoint: Muslims believe that their Bhagavān, who they named Allah, did send the Jewish Prophets. But unlike Christians, they do not believe that Bhagavān has any son or daughter. They consider Jesus too as a prophet. Muslims believe that the Bible was polluted by human beings and therefore Bhagavān sent His last prophet named Muhammad to reveal the Koran in Arabic. There will be no more scripture revealed and no new prophet will be sent till the Universe ends. The Mosque in Mecca is constructed around a cubicle structure called the Kaaba, which is said to have been the first mosque of humanity. At one of the corners is kept a black stone encased in silver. Muslims believe that this stone fell from the heaven to the earth. All non-Muslims or anyone who does not believe in Allah and Muhammad will go to everlasting hell after their deaths. Some Muslims also believe that it is acceptable to attack and kill non-Muslims because they do not accept Muhammad and Koran as Divine. The Devil (‘Shaitān’) plays a similar role in Islam as the Devil in Christianity. The goal of Muslims is to reach an everlasting heaven after death. This heaven is the opposite of the desert wastes of Arabia – it is like an ever-green garden with underground channels of water, fruit-laden trees, ever-flowing cups of wine served by beautiful damsels and boys etc. Many Muslims also worship other supernatural figures called Jinns, and at the graves of dead holy men for getting mundane rewards (like success, or children) while others ask for the same things from Allah.
• Buddhist Viewpoint: Buddhists do not believe in a Bhagavān or in the devil. Buddha neither confirmed nor did he deny the existence of Bhagavān. Buddhists believe that the presence or absence of a Bhagavān is not required for final mokṣa. However, many Buddhists worship the Buddha, and several Buddhists worship Hindu Bhagavān as well. Buddhists also believe in the law of karm and in rebirth but emphasize that Bhagavān is not required for the functioning of these two. Mokṣa in Buddhism means going out of existence, or becoming nonexistent (Nirvāṇa). In Sri Lanka and S.E. Asia, many Buddhists also worship Bhagavān like Brahmā, Sarasvatī and Viṣṇu.
• Jain Viewpoint: Jains are atheists in theory, but most of them worship Bhagavān in actual practice. The universe is beginning-less and is eternal even though it keeps changing all the time according to the laws of nature. Therefore, there is no need for a Bhagavān to create it or to destroy it. Jains worship their 24 teachers called Tīrthaṅkaras but they are worshipped only as realized Sages and not as Bhagavāns. Most Jains worship Bhagavān like Gaṇeśa, Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī etc.
• Sikh Viewpoint: Sikhs say that Bhagavān is formless and can be worshipped perfectly only in the way that their ten Gurus starting with Guru Nānak (born 1469 CE) taught – by chanting His holy names and through devotion and love. According to Sikhs, Bhagavān does not incarnate, He does not have any form and idol worship is futile. The Bhagavān are acknowledged as creations of that one Bhagavān. Like Hindus, Sikhs too believe that people of all faiths can attain mokṣa. There is no concept of a devil in Sikhism.
• Chinese and Japanese Religions: Followers of Chinese religions worship ancestors. They also worship Buddha if they subscribe to Buddhism. Followers of Shintoism also worship different nature spirits and also extra-terrestrial Bhagavāns. Several Bhagavān reached China, Korea and Japan through the medium of Buddhist missionaries and are worshipped by these nations in a somewhat morphed form.