Christianity And Reincarnation

Spirituality Religion
#21

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;36031]I like the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda as well. He definitely comes from a very impressive lineage. However, like another of his contemporaries Swami Vivekananda, he went to the West for the purpose of missionary activity. Nobody would have listened to either of them if they went to West to preach Hinduism, so they adopted the strategy of showing the parallels of Hinduism with Christianity and elevating Jesus to the status of an avatar. They went as far as to show that Jesus went to India himself and studied under the tutelage of the Hindu gurus.

Now as I have no intention to convert anybody to Hinduism I can be very honest with you. [B]These Hindus gurus used Christianity as a ploy to get people to accept Hindu teachings. If you do attend the Kriya Yoga group or Self-realization fellowship organization founded by Yoganandaji, you will get more Hinduism than you will get Christianity and the Christian elements will be highly Hinduized.[/B]

The original Christianity does not at all teach reincarnation. Its teahings are not at all compatible with Hinduism.

Why did Jesus arrogantly proclaim that he was the way, life and truth and there is no way to heaven except him? No Hindu guru has ever said something so arrogant. Not even Buddha said this.[/QUOTE]

I marvel at how you know so much.

Mukunda came to U.S to teach the Yoga. You don’t need to know a thing about the so called Sanatana Dharma to practice the yogic teachings.

Dude. Just stop. Why do you care so much?

No good guru would tell somebody to change their religion, nor disparage some one’s religion. They would intiate them into the yoga and tell them to keep on with their religion. For it is by the Yoga that each religion becomes truly meaningful and unitary and ultimately - useless.

These are the masters saying this.

You are no master. So all you do is harm and waste your energy.

#22

What you don’t understand is Yoga is Hinduism.

Of course they have changed their religion if they practice the religious practice of another religion.

If I was told to go pray 5 times a day to Allah and read the Quran(Namaz) but I am not actually changing my religion, I would laugh :smiley:

#23

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;36045]What you don’t understand is Yoga is Hinduism.

Of course they have changed their religion if they practice the religious practice of another religion.

If I was told to go pray 5 times a day to Allah and read the Quran(Namaz) but I am not actually changing my religion, I would laugh :D[/QUOTE]

No the yoga has nothing to do with hinduism. Thats what you don’t understand.

Why do you care anyway?

I know i’m right, and I know your a scratched record.

#24

Nah, of course you are not right. To say Yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism is like saying Christ has nothing to do with Christainity or Buddha has got nothing to do with Buddhism.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word. It first appears in the Vedas(Upanishads to be precise) It means union which is the practice of uniting the individual soul with the universal soul to gain liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The entire practice is described in detail in the ancient Vedic scriptures.

Hinduism is based on the Vedic scriptures. Therefore Yoga is clearly Hinduism.

I care because I care about what is true. You are blatantly making false statements about my religion, so of course I am going to respond.

#25

Oh great, you found something on the internet and now you know everything there is to know about Christianity too. The very first thing I said, was [I]I know this is not the orthodox interpretation [/I]of these verses. But what did yo do? You accused me of twisting some verses. I haven’t twisted anything, I merely expressed my personal belief, but I’m guessing I’m not the only one who sees it that way. But of course, there are others who have there own established beliefs to defend. So you went out and found something by one of them to support your position. Great, then you must be right. Of course, because you/re always right, aren’t you? And no one else is ever right, unless they agree with you. I think this comes from that chanting that you do, “I am God”.

OK, O grate and wise one, you win. But I gotta tell ya, after witnessing your rampage through this forum, I really don’t want anything to do with Hinduism. But as long as you’re reading this, would you mind explaining the parable of the wineskin, and the parable of the wheat and the tares?

#26

The truth is not based on your interpretation. It is clear that there is not a single verse in the bible that mentions reincarnation. It explicitly says, “You only live once” You are entitled to state any view you want however, but if you are going to spread false information, you should be prepared to be refuted.

The wineskin parable is as much suggestive of reincarnation as saying “putting old wine in a new bottle” We all know what this really means.

#27

Nevermind. Explain this one instead. Matthew 5:43-44

You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you, and persecute you.

#28

I see we are veering away from the reincarnation topic now.

This verse is saying that we should always be unfailingly be compassionate and loving to everybody, even those that wrong us. It is the classic Christian teaching of “turn the other cheek”

It sounds beautiful but it is unrealistic and impractical. I have not met a single Christian that practices this. You cannot love your enemy. Nor should you hate your enemy, but what you should do is act appropriately. All situations require an appropriate response. If somebody comes to assault me, my response will be to fight back and incapacitate my opponent, and then run away. This is what I was taught in martial arts training.

Although the New testimant is a massive improvement over the the Old testimant, a complete u-turn in fact in that suddenly god becomes a nice guy and stops killing people, there is also a complete u-turn going from absolute aggression to absolute pacifism. Christianity is a religion that celeberates the poor and the weak and teaches people to become docile bodies. It lacks drive, will to power and ambition. It is the worlds only religion that is based on pity for a man dying and demands unending sympathy. In many ways it is quite pitable.

I definitely do sympathize with Jesus though because what the Pharsee’s did to him was horrible. But is this weak and naive man the son of god? No. I cannot even say he is a wise man or an enlightened man. He seems more like a man-child than a deity.

#29

You really are taking the easy way out here. Sure you’re good with the quick answer, but its obvious that you haven’t done any real reflection. This is a hard saying that can take years to even begin to comprehend. You don’t understand Christianity at all, but this is not the place for you to learn, as I don’t want to turn the thread into a discussion of Christianity in general.

#30

Trust me, it does not take years to comprehend. It takes a few seconds, if you can speak the English language.

Indeed, if I am missing something, you can always enlighten me. I see no mystery though behind this verse the meaning is very clear to me.

You need to realise I am not completely ignorant of Christianity. I have in fact studied it.

#31

A simple quote from the Bible:

New Testament, Mathew, 11:14 “…St. John is nobody else than Elijah.”

This is easy to check yourself.

#32

Namaste Oak,

The article I posted earlier from Watchtower has already covered this point. It turns out this is not in fact a reference to St John being Elijah, but St John going in the spirit and power of Elijah

Matthew 11 & 17
In Matthew 11 and 17 (parallel passage Mark 9:11-13) Jesus refers to John the Baptist as the coming again of Elijah. Is Jesus teaching that Elijah was reincarnated as John the Baptists? Surely not. Another coming of Elijah was prophesied by Malachi (4:5-6) to occur before judgment day.

Elijah didn’t experience physical death as he was translated into heaven (2 Kings 2:1). Elijah still maintained his own identity and being as he was seen with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration after John the Baptist was born (Matthew 17:1-3). A good principle of Bible interpretation is to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. The explanation of Jesus’ reference is given in Luke 1:17 by Zechariah when he declared that John would go in the “power and spirit of Elijah,” thus fulfilling Malachi 4:5-6. As Elisha received the mantle of the “spirit of Elijah” and was obviously not a reincarnation of Elijah, John too held the same office and function of Eljiah the prophet.

John even clearly stated that he was not literally Elijah (John 1:21).

#33

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;36031]I like the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda as well. He definitely comes from a very impressive lineage. However, like another of his contemporaries Swami Vivekananda, he went to the West for the purpose of missionary activity. Nobody would have listened to either of them if they went to West to preach Hinduism, so they adopted the strategy of showing the parallels of Hinduism with Christianity and elevating Jesus to the status of an avatar. They went as far as to show that Jesus went to India himself and studied under the tutelage of the Hindu gurus.

Now as I have no intention to convert anybody to Hinduism I can be very honest with you. These Hindus gurus used Christianity as a ploy to get people to accept Hindu teachings.

.[/QUOTE]

Well , Hinduism has six schools of thought. Yoga is just one.

To try to introduce Hinduism through the back door of yoga is a lost cause.
People in the West practice yoga for its great merits: physical, mental, and spiritual. Lots of medical doctors recommend yoga meditation for good health.
No such medical doctor in the West will think that he introduces Hinduism.

Yoga is great. India has huge merits in discovering, practising, and popularizing it. After all, yoga means "union with God." As far as I know, God
is not Hindu or Christian or Muslim. God is the Father of us all, regardless of the theological dogmas.

You can practice yoga and remain a good practising Christian. Even Paramahansa Yogananda recommend to stick to your religion, and to go to the church of your religion.

" I am not young enough to know everything."

           Oscar Wilde
#34

Hinduism consists of all 6 schools of philosophy, because they interpenetrate. For example Nyaya-Vaiseshika are the school of logic and natural science and this logic and natural science is adopted by all Samkhya-Yoga and Mimasa-Vedanta. Samkhya-Yoga are the school of Metaphysics and Yogic practice and they are adoped by Vedanta as well. The philosophical schools sort of follow each other like a ladder. Nyaya-Vaiseshika leads to Samkhya-Yoga and Samkhya-Yoga to Vedanta.

I know people in the West practice Yoga for its great merits: physical, mental and spiritual. I know a lot of medical doctors recommend it. This is because in their mind it is a secular practice. However, this does not change the fact that it the Hindu religious practice. It is what we have been doing for thousands of years in order to connect to the self. It is what our religious scriptures teach. So effectively what medical doctors are doing is just validating our religious practice and our religion.

I am not telling anybody not to do Yoga. I say by all means do Yoga it is the best practice you can do for spiritual development. However, you will not be able to remain Christian or Muslim if you do so, you will become Hindu. You can continue to believe in Jesus or Allah and even worship them exclusively, but your definition will entirely change of them. You will begin to accept Jesus as not the only way but one of the many realised masters that have walked this Earth(I use to accept this, but recent research has lead me to strongly question Jesus as a master) who have divine consciousness. You can worship Allah but you will have redefine Allah as the pure consciousness and bliss reality that is within. Not to mention you will have to accept reincarnation and law of karma.

In the end I can easily see if you are Hindu are not by what you beleive and practice.

Do you believe that god is within at the core of your being?
Do you believe that you have a divine self that you can realise?
Do you believe in the law of karma and reincarnation?
Do you believe that divinity pervades everywhere?
Do you practice Yoga and meditation?
Do you chant mantras?

If you subscribe to most of those beliefs you are definitely a Hindu.

#35

Dude.

You are no master.

So please stop with your stupid advice.

And your stupidity in general. . .

Thank you.

#36

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;36073]

…(I use to accept this, but recent research has lead me to strongly question Jesus as a master) who have divine consciousness.

.[/QUOTE]

You go much too far. Probably you need rest.

#37

definitely do sympathize with Jesus though because what the Pharsee’s did to him was horrible. But is this weak and naive man the son of god? No. I cannot even say he is a wise man or an enlightened man. He seems more like a man-child than a deity.

I noticed that SD went out of his way here to make some disparaging remarks. But you are free to exercise your judgement as you see fit. Jesus had another saying, He who lives by the sword will die by the sword. Your words are your sword.

#38

Ah Ha Ha!

Usually the fire bringer, the light bringer, be their name Prometheus, or Loki, or Jesus, is bound or nailed somewhere in punishment, often with their side ravaged or Pierced.

#39

Yeah, I am sorry but a religion that has as its god a poor victim was who beaten up by lowly humans scounderls, then nailed to a cross and spat at, and who cries and whales in the end “Oh god why have you foresaken me” Has childish temper tantrums, such as cursing a fig tree for not giving any figs and killing it, even though it was not the season for figs, and goes around telling people he is the son of god and the only way, doesn’t eactly give me any confidence.

I can see why Nietzche had a problem with Christianity.

#40

You take things toooooo Literally.

You need to read some poetry or sumthing.

go paint a picture.

Read a story.