Bahá'í Faith and Hinduism

Hinduism is recognized in the Bahá'í Faith as one of nine known religions and its scriptures are regarded as predicting the coming of Bahá'u'lláh (Kalki avatar). Krishna is included in the succession of Manifestations of God. The authenticity of the Hindu scriptures is seen as uncertain.[1]

Scriptural references

Bahá'u'lláh was familiar with Hinduism, which is clear from a tablet to Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl, the English translation of which is included in the volume Tabernacle of Unity. In this tablet Bahá'u'lláh answered questions about Hinduism and Zoroastrianism by Maneckji Limji Hataria. The subjects include comparative religion, and constitute, while much remains implicit, a dialogue of Bahá'u'lláh with Hinduism and the other religions discussed, giving an understanding of what Baha'u'llah meant with the unity of the world religions.[2]

In another tablet (published in Gleanings, section LXXXVII) Bahá'u'lláh discussed the absence of records about history before Adam. Here he refers to the Jug-Basisht (Book of Juk), which is the Persian translation of the Yoga Vasistha, a syncretic philosophic text.[2] The translation was done during the Moghul Dynasty in the sixteenth century A.D. and became popular in Persia among intellectuals with Indo-Persian interests since then.[3] In the Story of Bhusunda, a chapter of the Yoga Vasistha, a very old sage, Bhusunda, recalls a succession of epochs in the earth's history, as described in Hindu cosmology. Juan Cole states that this means that in dating Creation, Bahá'u'lláh promotes the theory of a long chronology over a short one.[2]

Teachings

Brahman (God)

In Hinduism Brahman is believed to be the Absolute Reality. Followers of Vedanta see Brahman as an impersonal reality, of which each soul (ātman) is a part. The theistic traditions of Hinduism, which include Vaishnavism and Shaivism, consider Brahman as a personal God, whom they call Bhagwan or Ishvara (Lord).[4] According to the Bahá'í teachings these differing views are all valid, as they represent different points of view looking at the Absolute Reality.[5]

Avatars (Manifestations of God)

Both Hinduism and the Bahá'í Faith teach that God manifests himself at different times and places. These messengers are termed Avatars in Hinduism and Manifestations of God in the Bahá'í teachings.[6] However the difference is that Hinduism teaches that Avatars are God himself in human form and are thus divine while Bahá'í teachings stress that the Manifestations of God are not God but his representatives, i.e. they are not divine.

Deities and images

In Hinduism many deities, depicted in images and murti (statues), are worshipped. Many Hindus realize that all these deities represent different aspects of the one God, Brahman. The Bahá'í teachings state that in this day, when mankind is reaching the state of maturity, images are not needed anymore to form an idea of God.[7]

Ethical and moral teachings

There are many similarities in the ethical and moral teachings of Hinduism and the Bahá'í Faith. These include subject as contemplation, detachment, faith, love, non-violence, purity, respect for parents, righteousness, self-control, right speech, not stealing, truth, virtue, work as worship.[8]

Adaptation of Bahá'í teachings to Hindu context

Bahá'í House of Worship, New Delhi, India.

The speedy growth of the Indian Bahá'í community since the 1960s was influenced by adapting the Bahá'í teachings for presentation in a clearly Hindu context familiar to the people of the countryside - using principles and language familiar to them:[1][9]

  • the presentation of Bahá'u'lláh as the Kalki Avatar who according to the Vishnu Purana will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga for the purpose of reestablishing an era of righteousness;
  • emphasizing the figures of Buddha and Krishna as past Manifestations of God or Avatars;
  • references to Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita;
  • the substitution of Sanskrit-based terminology for Arabic and Persian where possible (i.e., Bhagavan Baha for Bahá'u'lláh), and the incorporation in both song (bhajan)[10] and literature of Hindu holy places, hero-figures and poetic images;
  • Hindi translations of Baha'i scriptures and prayers that appeared during this period which are so heavily Sanskritized as to make it difficult to recognize their non-Hindu antecedents.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Smith, Peter (2000). "Indian religions". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 195. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  2. 1 2 3 Cole, Juan R. I. Baha'u'llah on Hinduism and Zoroastrianism: The Tablet to Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Concerning the Questions of Manakji Limji Hataria.
  3. ↑ Cole, Juan R.I. "Iranian Culture and South Asia, 1500-1900". in: Keddie, Nikki (ed.). (2002). Iran and the Surrounding World: Interactions in Culture and Cultural Politics. pp. 22-23
  4. ↑ Momen 1990, pp. ix
  5. ↑ Momen 1990, pp. 1–5
  6. ↑ Momen 1990, pp. 5–9
  7. ↑ Momen 1990, pp. 11–12
  8. ↑ Momen 1990, pp. 13–21
  9. ↑ Garlington, William. The Baha'i Faith in India: A Developmental Stage Approach, Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies, No. 2 (June, 1997).
  10. ↑ Garlington, William. The Baha'i Bhajans: An example of the Baha'i Use of Hindu Symbols, Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1 (January, 1998).

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, August 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.