Difference between Hindu Spirituality and Christian Spirituality

Any practice of spirituality hinges heavily on the fundamental theological tenets of the faith. A comparison of Hinduism and Christianity reveals that the theological tenets are mutually exclusive, and hence the presumptions on the practice of spirituality differs heavily. One core difference between Christianity and Hinduism is the concept of time and change. The Bible teaches that God was personally involved in the creation of the world and the affairs of man whom He created in love, but was corrupted by sin during the Fall. The sin of man ushered in a separation from God and hence God created a definite plan of the salvation of the world through His son Jesus Christ. Within this context, time and history is understood to have Gods intervention in the affairs of the world wherein time and history is progressing towards a day of judgment. In contrast, Hinduism, along with other Eastern religions emphasize that everything in the world is temporary and changing, and other perceptions of the world are mostly illusory and deceptive. The physical world is seen as a hindrance from experiencing the Ultimate Reality. This Ultimate Reality is only attainable by realizing that the self is Divine or at least a part of the Divine. God is seen as an impersonal, abstract force that does not intervene in human affairs nor has personal interest in individuals. The idea that there is a Creator with sole authority over the universe who has universal moral demands is by and far largely rejected. The Hindu spirituality and the Christian faith also largely differ on the concept of God. The Hindu religions are not strictly one religion that believes in one God, but many religions that interact and blend with each other. There is no single authority or creed that defines the Hindu religion, but the overarching rationale is that all of reality, whether contradictory or not is seen as one. The foundations of Hinduism rest on the Dravidian polytheistic fertility religion and the early Aryan Vedic polytheistic religion. The early Vedas were polytheistic and devoted to rituals and sacrifice, but it eventually evolved to pantheistic view wherein God is not the creator of the world, but rather God IS the world and everything in it. Hence, man is a part of the divinity that embodies everything according to the pantheistic view. The human soul is uncreated and part of divinity in itself. Whereas, the Christian faith believes in a God who created the world the world and is deeply interested in the affairs of men. The human soul is created by God according to the Christian faith. Hence, the world is not God, neither is man. In the Christian faith, the way to know God would be to seek outside of oneself. In the Christian faith, salvation is granted by God by faith through the acceptance of His Son Jesus Christ. In the Hindu traditions, salvation is attained through a process of reincarnation where the soul is liberated depending on his karma. In the process of reincarnation, the soul can go through thousands of rebirths through the wheel of samsara (suffering), until it reaches moksha which is liberation from suffering and union with the infinite Brahma. Given the core differences of the Hindu religions and the Christian faith, the practice of spirituality is largely affected. The Christian disciplines of prayer, almsgiving, fasting, are not done for personal salvation, but rather as a way to draw closer to God who has already granted salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and experience union with God and with fellow man. The Christian does not attempt to

connect to the divinity within themselves, God is an outside being whom the Holy Spirit within the Christian connects and communicates with. Through the Christian disciplines which facilitate communication with God, acts of justice and righteousness are a natural outworking of the communion with God, and hence mans relationship with his fellowman is also restored. Whereas, in the Hindu traditions, which relies largely on philosophy, rather than theology, each person is a god or a part of god. The Hindus maintain the largeness of their impersonal god Brahma who can neither be known, related with, or understood in its complete otherness to reality. Hence the Hindu seeks to know Brahma within himself. This creates the argument that if the Hindu seeks to know Brahma within himself, as a part of a universal, unknowable divinity, then the Hindu concept of god is too small. Hence, the pantheistic tradition of Hindu spirituality wherein all are gods is irreconcilable with Christian spirituality which points to a personal Creator God.