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Hindus represents 15% of the world’s population |
Judaism represents an insignificant percentage of the world’s population. There are about 13million Jews of which 80% live in either the USA or Israel / Palestine (However they have played a significant role in world affairs in the past century) |
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HINDUISM |
JUDAISM |
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Founded |
Based on traditions that stared around 2000 BC, but probably became Hinduism as a specific identity about 400 BC |
A longstanding and changing religious tradition |
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God(s) |
The Hindu tradition encourages Hindus to seek spiritual and moral truth wherever it might be found, while acknowledging that no creed can contain such truth in its fullness and that each individual must realize this truth through his or her own systematic effort. Our experience, our reason, and our dialogue with others—especially with enlightened individuals—provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth. And Hindu scripture, based on the insights of Hindu sages and seers, serves primarily as a guidebook. But ultimately truth comes to us through direct consciousness of the divine or the ultimate reality. In other religions this ultimate reality is known as God. Hindus refer to it by many names, but the most common name is Brahman. |
Belief in one God who created the universe and continues to govern it. Also a belief in angels and demonic beings.
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Prophet(s) |
Personified Gods and Goddesses created to assist (through stories) understanding of Brahman. Known as Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes) these personified forms of Brahman correspond to three stages in the cycle of the universe. Brahmā corresponds to the creative spirit from which the universe arises. Vishnu corresponds to the force of order that sustains the universe. Shiva corresponds to the force that brings a cycle to an end—destruction acting as a prelude to transformation, leaving pure consciousness from which the universe is reborn after destruction. Other personified forms widely worshiped by Hindus are Shakti, the female aspect of divinity, and Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity associated with the removal of obstacles. Krishna appears at times to save the world. The majority of Hindus choose a personal deity, a saguna form of Brahman with whom they can feel a direct personal connection. Devotion to this deity can take a number of forms, including prayer, ceremonial worship, chanting of the deity’s name, and pilgrimage to sites sacred to the deity.
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Many prophets from the Old Testament but especially Moses. |
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Leader(s) |
Spiritual authority in Hinduism flows from enlightened sages called gurus. The guru is someone who has attained realization and acts as a guide for other human beings. He or she guides the individual seeker of truth and self-realization to the appropriate deity, practice, or yoga within Hinduism. The disciple’s goal is to transcend the need for a guru through direct experience of the divine and self-awareness. Having a guide is considered critical for traversing the complexities of spiritual practice and self-discovery. The guru thus constitutes an important centre of spiritual activity in Hinduism. *Yoga - there are different forms of yoga within Hinduism, hatha yoga (a physical yoga well known in the west), karma yoga (appropriate selfless deeds and actions), bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion and love for a personal deity), Jñāna yoga (the yoga of knowledge) |
Rabbis |
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Afterlife |
We normally think of ourselves as coming into being when we are born of our parents and as perishing when we die. According to Hinduism, however, this current life is merely one link in a chain of lives that extends far into the past and projects far into the future. The point of origin of this chain cannot be determined. The process of our involvement in the universe—the chain of births and deaths—is called samsāra. Samsāra is caused by a lack of knowledge of our true self and our resultant desire for fulfilment outside ourselves. We continue to embody ourselves, or be reborn, in this infinite and eternal universe as a result of these unfulfilled desires. The chain of births lets us resume the pursuit. The law that governs samsāra is called karma. Each birth and death we undergo is determined by the balance sheet of our karma—that is, in accordance with the actions performed and the dispositions acquired in the past. Time in the Hindu universe moves in endlessly recurring cycles, much like the motion of a wheel. The duration of the various phases of the universe’s existence are calculated in units of mind-boggling astronomical duration.
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Various differing beliefs throughout history, now generally resurrection of body & soul and afterlife containing rewards and punishments.
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Practices |
Daily individual or household worship, occasional communal worship, worship at temples, religious festivals. |
Prayers 3 times daily, benedictions, |
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Texts |
There is no single revelation or orthodoxy (established doctrine) by which people may achieve knowledge of the divine or lead a life backed by religious law. The Hindu tradition acknowledges that there are many paths by which people may seek and experience religious understanding and direction. It also claims that every individual has the potential to achieve enlightenment. Although Hindu tradition maintains that the ultimate reality lies beyond all scriptures, it is equally convinced that the scriptures help people orient their minds and lives towards Brahman. This attitude has given rise to a body of sacred literature so vast that by one calculation it would take 70 lifetimes of devoted study to read all of it. |
Torah / Pentateuch (the revealed will of god, sections of the Old Testament, scriptures, scholarly writings)
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Human situation/ Life's purpose |
The highest aim of existence is the realization of the identity or union of the individual’s innermost self with the ultimate reality. Although this ultimate reality is beyond name, the word Brahman is used to refer to it. (But how can the human mind, with its limitations, conceive of this transcendent reality? Human comprehension requires a more personal reality, with attributes. Therefore Saguna Brahman—that is, Brahman with attributes—generally takes the form of one of three main Hindu deities: Brahmā, Vishnu, or Shiva to serve this purpose.)
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To acknowledge the unity of God and to serve God in the world. The world is both intelligible and purposive, because a single divine intelligence stands behind it. Nothing that humanity experiences is capricious; everything ultimately has meaning. |
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Punishment for heresy |
Not applicable |
None.
(Judaism has long lived alongside Christianity and Islam. All Jews are free to practice the religion of their choice or no religion at all).
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Attitude to Women |
From the 6th century, the Tantric tradition influenced the role of equality of women in Hinduism including allowing women to be gurus. |
Historically: Reasonable
Currently: Equality (women are now ordained as Rabbis since the 1970's)
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Main objectives in theory |
More strikingly than any other major religious community, Hindus accept—and indeed celebrate—the organic, multileveled, and sometimes pluralistic nature of their traditions. This expansiveness is made possible by the widely shared Hindu view that truth or reality cannot be encapsulated in any creedal formulation, a perspective expressed in the Hindu prayer “May good thoughts come to us from all sides.” Thus, Hinduism maintains that truth must be sought in multiple sources, not dogmatically proclaimed. Anyone's view of the truth—even that of a guru regarded as possessing superior authority—is fundamentally conditioned by the specifics of time, age, gender, state of consciousness, social and geographic location, and stage of attainment. These multiple perspectives enhance a broad view of religious truth rather than diminish it; hence, there is a strong tendency for contemporary Hindus to affirm that tolerance is the foremost religious virtue. On the other hand, even cosmopolitan Hindus living in a global environment recognize and value the fact that their religion has developed in the specific context of the Indian subcontinent. Such a tension between universalist and particularist impulses has long animated the Hindu tradition. When Hindus speak of their religious identity they emphasize its continuous, seemingly eternal existence and the fact that it describes a web of customs, obligations, traditions, and ideals that far exceeds the Western tendency to think of religion primarily as a system of beliefs. A common way in which English-speaking Hindus often distance themselves from that frame of mind is to insist that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. |
For the religious Jew, the entirety of life is a continuous act of divine worship. “I keep the Lord always before me” (Psalms 16:8)
For the Zionist, to establish a permanent homeland in Israel (Palestine)
(Zionism originated in Europe in the later part of the 19th century as a Jewish political movement. Believing that Jews could never assimilate in to any multicultural society/country - a belief not supported by orthodox Jews - its purpose was to unite the Jewish people in a homeland of Israel, based on the belief that God had promised the land of Israel to the Jews as his chosen people.
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Main objectives in practice |
As Above. |
As above. |
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Major benefits to the human condition |
Many beautiful works of art and architecture. A religious love of theatre, drama, music and dance. Generally, when not defending themselves from attack, Hindus live in a gentle and peaceful social order.
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Major detriments to the human condition in deaths. |
Hindus live with a legacy of domination by Muslim and Christian rulers that stretches back many centuries—in northern India, to the Delhi sultanate established at the beginning of the 13th century. The patterns of relationship between Hindus and Muslims have been different between north and south India. While there is a history of conquest and domination in the north, Hindu-Muslim relations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been peaceful.
Yet there were periods when the political ambitions of Islamic rulers took strength from the iconoclastic (to destroy religious images) aspects of Muslim teaching and led to the devastation of many major Hindu temple complexes, from Mathura and Varanasi in the north to Chidambaram, Sriringam, and Madurai in the far south; other temples were converted to mosques. Since the 14th century this history has provided rhetorical fuel for Hindu anger against Muslim rulers.
In 1946 the Muslim League declares August 16, Direct Action Day for the purpose of winning a separate Muslim state. Savage Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Calcutta the next day and quickly spread throughout India. As independence approached Hindus and Muslims continued to fight and kill each other.
Three wars have been fought between India and Pakistan:-
1947. Pakistani forces invaded independent Kashmir, Kashmir asked for military help in return for Kashmir's accession to India. India then joined the war in defence of Kashmir.
1965. Military personnel disguised as local Kashmiris began to infiltrate into the Kashmīr Valley in early August. Once they entered the valley, the infiltrators intended to foment a rebellion among Kashmiri Muslims. The Kashmiris did not respond as expected; instead, they turned the infiltrators over to the local authorities. Accordingly, the Indian army moved to secure the border and on August 15 scored a major victory after a prolonged artillery barrage. Attacks and counterattacks followed in quick succession. On September 1 the Pakistanis opened a new front catching Indian forces unprepared. Indian forces responded with air strikes, leading to Pakistani retaliation. On September 5 the Pakistanis made a significant thrust into Indian territory that threatened to cut off Kashmir state from the rest of India. The following day Indian troops crossed the international border near Lahore. Faced with this threat to Lahore, the Pakistanis launched a counterattack in the neighbouring Indian state of Punjab. This attack, was anticipated by the Indian forces and failed, with Pakistani forces suffering major losses.
1971. The 1947 partition had created a Pakistan comprised of two “wings”—West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan) and East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan; now Bangladesh)—that were separated by 1,600 km of Indian territory. In the wake of Pakistan’s first free and fair election in December 1970, the leaders of the western and eastern wings failed to reach an understanding about power sharing. In March 1971, after talks failed to break the deadlock, the Pakistani government launched a military crackdown in East Pakistan. Large numbers of the Bengali intelligentsia in East Pakistan were killed and many prominent Bengali leaders were thrown in jail. In response, the leadership of East Pakistan declared the province’s independence on March 26. As the crackdown escalated into a full-blown and brutal civil war over the next two months, some 10 million Bengalis fled East Pakistan and took refuge in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal. The Indian leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi quickly decided that it was cheaper to resort to war against Pakistan than to absorb millions of refugees into India’s already bloated population. The third Indo-Pakistani war formally began with a Pakistani air attack on a number of air bases in north-western India. The Indian air force responded the next day An invading Pakistani tank column was bombed by the Indian air force, which carried out as many as 4,000 sorties during the conflict. An Indian thrust made by three Indian army divisions launched a five-pronged attack on Dhaka, the provincial capital, and received the surrender of Pakistani forces there on December 16. East Pakistan immediately seceded from Pakistan and became the sovereign nation of Bangladesh.
The bloody partition of the subcontinent from India into India and Pakistan in 1947 mobilized Hindu sensibilities about the sacredness of the land as a whole, Hindus have sometimes depicted the creation of Pakistan as a dismemberment of the body of India.
At the end of the 20th century in a campaign to destroy the mosque built in 1528 by a lieutenant of the Mughal emperor in Ayodhya, a city that has traditionally been identified as the place where Rama (Rama - incarnation of Vishnu) was born and ruled. In 1992 militant Hindu nationalists from throughout India, who had been organized by the VHP “World Hindu Council”, the RSS “National Volunteer Alliance”, and the BJP “Indian People's Party”, destroyed the mosque in an effort to “liberate” Rama and establish a huge “Rama's Birthplace Temple” on the spot.
The continuing tensions in the Kashmir region have also spawned outbursts of sectarian violence on both sides, including the destruction of some Hindu temples there by militant Muslims.
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(For many centuries Christians in Europe discriminated against Jews. Many harboured a prejudice against Jews that is known as anti-Semitism, viewed as a religious prejudice or an anti-Jewish variety of hatred directed against ethnic minorities. To anti-Semites, Jews represent mysterious, mythical, and evil forces; are all-powerful; and play a sinister role in world history. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church's anti-Jewish preaching sought to prevent contact with Jews, and many Christians believed that Jews were in league with the Devil. The Protestant Church also advised burning synagogues Christians blamed the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Many believed that Jews were not human and that they used magic to appear like other people. Also the false accusation that Jews used the blood of Christian children in their rituals. Such stereotypes of the Jews interacted in the minds of many Europeans with fear of foreigners and combined with economic and social frictions. As a result, anti-Jewish violence frequently erupted. The Christian church and various governments enacted laws that prohibited Jews from engaging in certain occupations, forced them to live in certain areas, kept them from attending universities, or even expelled them from various countries. The linking of anti-Semitic accusations to race struggle is what made Nazism so genocidal. The Nazis believed the Jews were responsible for what they regarded as the degeneracy of modern society. Hitler viewed modern ideologies that stressed equality and freedom as a revolt of inferior classes and peoples led by the Jews. The Nazis viewed communism as the most radical recent form of the ancient Jewish conspiracy that would lead to national dissolution and disintegration. For Hitler, Nazism was thus a doctrine of world salvation to redeem humanity from the Jewish-Bolshevik doctrine. He believed that the German race had to acquire and maintain total supremacy through total war against the Jews. Such a war would be a fight in which the only alternatives, for either side, were victory or extinction).
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Other Major detriments to the human condition. |
The traditional caste system of India developed more than 3000 years ago when Aryan-speaking nomadic groups migrated from the north to India about 1500 BC. The Aryan priests divided society into a basic caste system. Sometime between 200 BC and 100 AD, the Manu Smriti, or Law of Manu, was written. In it were the four great hereditary divisions of society still surviving today, placing their own priestly class at the head of this caste system with the title of earthly gods, or Brahmans. Next in order of rank were the warriors, then came the farmers and merchants. The fourth of the original castes were the labourers, born to be servants to the other three castes, especially the Brahman. Far lower, in fact entirely outside the social order and limited to doing the most menial and unappealing tasks were those people of no caste, formerly known as Untouchables. In the modern world any form of caste system is totally unacceptable.
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In November 1947 a two-thirds majority of the UN General Assembly, including both the United States and the Soviet Union, passed a resolution calling for the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Arabs rejected partition, arguing that the UN had no right to give more than half of Palestine to a minority of the population (approx. 14%) and that they should not be forced to pay for Europe’s crimes against the Jews.
The Arab state of Palestine called for in the UN partition plan never came into being. Instead Israel held 77 percent of Palestine, while Jordan occupied and annexed the West Bank and Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip.
Following the 1967 war with the Arab states more lands were annexed to and are currently occupied by Israel. During all this time the Palestinian people have been subject to harsh illegal rule, with virtually all their work, education, health and infrastructure operating at minimum levels. Universal punishment has been meted out to Palestinian communities in response to attacks upon Israel by Arab fighters.
The Palestinian people generally now live in fear and abject poverty.
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Notes |
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