Essay Cont.

The religions of Hebrew and Hinduism are two of the world’s oldest faiths, having been around since the ancient Egyptian society was at its peak. To this day they are among the most researched by historians; they continue to be taught today and will still be here for generations to come. It is not difficult to see both the similarities and differences in the religions, obvious and not so obvious.

Hinduism was very different from most world religions because it was so internationally diverse; it actually wasn't even a single faith, but actually a collection of religions that changed and developed with time. It had no real founders, nor did it have any real "breakthrough" idea to unite its people, that pretty much contrast most religions in general, but especially the Hebrews. They were descendants of Abraham and believed in the Lord God. First Abraham had his son Isaac, whose son Jacob had 12 sons, each being the direct decedents of the 12 tribes of Israel. However, God's struggle with Lucifer for mankind is somewhat parallel to the Indian mythology, which has gods, called Devas, who are in constant battle with Asuras, which means demons in English.

One basic principle of the early Hebrews is the belief that God constantly watches us, and good actions will have its rewards; this is practically identical to karma. One's karma is always a matter of cause and effect. Your actions will add either good or bad karma and will ultimately affect where you are in your next life. Hebrews never believed in reincarnation, but it’s worth mentioning that in their early history the covenant stressed fulfillment in this world, not the next (summarized from Hebrew Society, History, Religion and Text. See bibliography.).  Never the less it is still an uncanny similarity, and they certainly believed in some kind of afterlife. However, it should be necessary to elaborate on the Hindu side because it's a little more complex than the Hebrews. Indian society was in the form of a caste system, or varna, and they valued it so greatly they connected it to their religious beliefs. They believed that when one was born in a caste, it would increase your good karma to live in that caste obediently and in your next life you will reincarnate into a higher caste. However, to do otherwise would obviously have the opposite effect, and will be demoted into a lower caste in the next life. The universe was seen as a system of complete justice, in fact karma means “as you sow, so shall you reap,” so everyone in the end would get exactly what they deserved (summarized pg. 93).
 

Another major characteristic of the ancient peoples were how much religion influenced the government. Genesis tells that God created the universe in six days and then rested on the seventh day, blessing it as a holy day when mankind does not work but prays and be thankful. To the Hebrews, religion was history and society was directly based off religious laws. The Ten Commandants, brought by Moses, and the Covenant, which had been around for as long as the Hebrews themselves. Now one of the creation stories of ancient India was called the Rig Veda and it tells of a being named Purusha, who the gods sacrificed his body to create the universe. "His mouth became the brahman; his two arms were made into the rajanya; his two thighs the vaishyas; from his two feet the shudra was born (Kevin Reilly, pg. 92)." This quote alone demonstrates the people’s belief that the varnas were critical to their way of life, because the gods actually created it by from the body of Purusha. You could also see the significance in the choices made in the sacrifice: his mouth became the brahman, the priesthood and the highest in the caste system, signifying their duty in withholding the laws of the gods. Now the obvious difference between the two creation stories is that Hebrews are monotheistic and Hindus are polytheistic, but let’s not take for granted the interesting parallel between this Purusha and the Lord God as both being the source of all creation. Another difference between the two stories, outside the obvious, is that creation in Genesis took place in the course of seven days, while the Rig Veda gave no indication of time, which to me suggests the sacrifice and creation happened all at once, or at least during the period of a day.

As the facts have shown, the Hebrew faith and Hinduism are just as much alike as they are different, and historians have made the study of both to answer the mysteries of mankind and how we have arrived at this modern age. It is interesting to consider that different peoples' perspective on how mankind should live has evolved with time. Polytheism was the norm in ancient societies, yet today the Hebrew belief in one god has replaced that in our present day for most religions. Yet it was once considered radical and dangerous. As we continue to live there will always be different values between people of faith, but that devotion to those values remains the same, so we are not so different.