A Christian woman said this to me...

[ThusArtThou]

Namastie:

 

While shopping today I went into a "remainder" bookstore; the "left-over-or-100-copies-published" kind of bookstore an lo, a young Indian woman was the clerk. Moderately constrained, I asked if they had any books on "Hinduism" and she pointed me at a table of books loaded with Christian books, Jewish books and Bhuddist books all of which looked extremely interesting, some more so than others (I am a voracious reader and seeker of knowledge). That being, there was one small paperback book titled "The Upanishad" I opened in and it looked like it was written in novel form; I put that one down.

This fine young woman then approached me and we began a discussion to which she stated she was brought up in India and is Christian by faith. I explained my new direction and she quite openly told me Hinduism has " a lot of deities" and all that I need to search for is in the Bible.

I appreciated her perspective and we chatted quite some time, she was openly disappointed I declare myself "Hindu", asking me why I strayed from a Christian path. I never had one I explained. As a small child (I am now 50) I was enchanted and intrigued by India, its culture and incredible richness of intellect, through books and television. I was following the path that is right for me. "God is God" I said.

This young lady explained she has read the Mahabarata, Ramayana, and then stated in the Bhagavad Gita it says that God will be found "from wood" or that the true path to God is the man from wood. I shrugged my shoulders, not enough of a Gita scholar- nay, nowhere near that, to refute her statement.

Having read the aforementioned I have never seen that remark anywhere. Does this comment exist?

[Guest guest]

 

then stated in the Bhagavad Gita it says that God will be found "from wood" or that the true path to God is the man from wood. I shrugged my shoulders, not enough of a Gita scholar- nay, nowhere near that, to refute her statement.

I do not have any idea what she is speaking about? she clearly has no depth of understanding in regards to the Bhagavad Gita. I wonder if she has even ever read it?

 

It's a shame you were prostelytized by an employee in the bookstore, because of her objections to the religious books you were looking for. My guess is, she probably thought she would appear to you as some authority on Hinduism, just because of her racial identity. And thus, you would think that if her as an indian rejected Hinduism to embrace Christianity, then you as an non-indian certainly should.

 

She probably couldn't resist the urge to cease the moment.

 

Remember Christians believe all Hindus are damned to hell, so they feel the need to "witness" the gospel to them and try to convert them to the Light before their soul is damned.

 

Anyway... go to another bookstore next time (one that carries more than one book!) Also, it would be good for you to really study the Bhagavad Gita more and more, as that contains all the basics. Then next time a Christian or someone else tries to bombard you with questions or anti-Hindu rhetoric, you will be able to confidently respond..

[Guest guest]

 

This young lady explained she has read the Mahabarata, Ramayana, and then stated in the Bhagavad Gita it says that God will be found "from wood" or that the true path to God is the man from wood. I shrugged my shoulders, not enough of a Gita scholar- nay, nowhere near that, to refute her statement.

Having read the aforementioned I have never seen that remark anywhere. Does this comment exist?

It's highly unlikely that this woman has read the Mahabharata and Ramayana as these are huge works. She probably just read a novelised version, which doesn't really count.

I do not know about any verse saying God will be found from wood in the Gita, it seems very unlikely but funnily enough, I think a verse in the Gospel of St Thomas that says something like that. Maybe that's why the Church see's the Gospel of St Thomas as a heretical work.

 

I think this woman may have fallen for Christian propaganda when she talks about the true path to God from the Gita. Do you really think scholars the likes of even Einstein would have any respect for the Gita if it says something like that? Yet they were fascinated by it.

[Guest guest]

 

I do not know about any verse saying God will be found from wood in the Gita, it seems very unlikely but funnily enough, I think a verse in the Gospel of St Thomas that says something like that. Maybe that's why the Church see's the Gospel of St Thomas as a heretical work.

You are right, that is a direct quote from the Gospel of Thomas.

 

Gospel of Thomas saying 77

Jesus said: "Split wood, I am there. Lift up a rock, you will find me there."

 

She must have confused the Bhagavad Gita with the GoT. Just goes to show you how little she knows, that she doesn't know the difference between the Gospel of Thomas and the Bhagavad Gita. Sigh. It's always these ignorant folks that are the most vocal, in trying to convert others to their religion and bash every other that is not their own.. They don't even have a basic understanding of our traditions, yet they are just sure we are the ones who are the ignorant morons...

 

I guess when you believe your religion is the only true religion, and every other has been created by Satan, you don't find any need or have any desire to learn about other religions. Just automatically bash all other sacred texts and traditions, without even trying to understand them..

[theist]

Yes the Lord is everywhere, within the wood, under the rock, in sound and light and even in the pillars.

 

If God is everywhere, which the Bible agrees that He is, then he must be within the Deity as well. But even before the wood was carved to make the Deity form God was already there.

 

But this woman was trying to help you steer clear of poly-theism I believe which is what she considers Hinduism to be all about. She has discovered the supreme truth of mono-theism but unfortunately the Bible doesn't contain enough information.

 

Srila Prabhupada also is steering us away from polytheism but he has the knowledge to explain why.

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

 

Does this comment exist?

No, it doesn't exist.

[Yegan]

I would say hinduism is monotheist in the sense , Vaisnavas believe in one supreme GOD being Vishnu. In similar way adepts of Shiva believe that shiva is the ultimate lord. So basically these two branches of hinduism are monotheist, believing in ONLY one supreme lord .

 

But we do believe in "demigods", or should I say the ministers of the supreme LORD. These ministers ensure the proper functioning of the material world but they are all working under the direction of the supreme lord, be it Shiva or Vishnu. We have in the line of 330 millions of "demigods".

 

So when others say hinduism is polytheist, that is definitely wrong concept of hinduism.

 

 

Gospel of Thomas saying 77

Jesus said: "Split wood, I am there. Lift up a rock, you will find me there."

 

Lord Vishnu is there in every atom. So yes God is evrywhere in the woods, stones , in the hearts, basically everywhere.

[Guest guest]

sorry...many christians are too fundamental and stuck in their narrow views to understand anything past what they're sold in the church. dont believe a thing, some of them are actually trained to refute points about hindus yet they dont understand a thing about them.

[Guest guest]

 

Namastie:

 

While shopping today I went into a "remainder" bookstore; the "left-over-or-100-copies-published" kind of bookstore an lo, a young Indian woman was the clerk. Moderately constrained, I asked if they had any books on "Hinduism" and she pointed me at a table of books loaded with Christian books, Jewish books and Bhuddist books all of which looked extremely interesting, some more so than others (I am a voracious reader and seeker of knowledge). That being, there was one small paperback book titled "The Upanishad" I opened in and it looked like it was written in novel form; I put that one down.

This fine young woman then approached me and we began a discussion to which she stated she was brought up in India and is Christian by faith. I explained my new direction and she quite openly told me Hinduism has " a lot of deities" and all that I need to search for is in the Bible.

I appreciated her perspective and we chatted quite some time, she was openly disappointed I declare myself "Hindu", asking me why I strayed from a Christian path. I never had one I explained. As a small child (I am now 50) I was enchanted and intrigued by India, its culture and incredible richness of intellect, through books and television. I was following the path that is right for me. "God is God" I said.

This young lady explained she has read the Mahabarata, Ramayana, and then stated in the Bhagavad Gita it says that God will be found "from wood" or that the true path to God is the man from wood. I shrugged my shoulders, not enough of a Gita scholar- nay, nowhere near that, to refute her statement.

Having read the aforementioned I have never seen that remark anywhere. Does this comment exist?

 

it sound like she talks about the gospel of st. thomas, in there jesu says lift a stone u will find me there, slice a piece of wood and u will found me there to.. but it may be my speculations only..

[gHari]

BG 18.27 actually says "Those who deride this sacred conversation have wooden heads and wooden hearts".

[Guest guest]

 

You are right, that is a direct quote from the Gospel of Thomas.

 

Gospel of Thomas saying 77

Jesus said: "Split wood, I am there. Lift up a rock, you will find me there."

 

 

Ah yes, thanks for the quote. I was trying to remember it. The church only accepts only four gospels when there are around thirty. All these other gospels have been been termed heretical by the church but were followed by early Christian sects that have since died out, such as the Gnostics. Many of these texts have teachings that echo Hindu and Buddhist teachings. I suppose the similarity to eastern religions is what has caused the church to distance themselves from them. The fairly recently discovered gospel of Judas will complicate things even further for them. But it may lead to a modern revival of Gnostic Christianity.

 

 

 

They don't even have a basic understanding of our traditions, yet they are just sure we are the ones who are the ignorant morons...

 

I guess when you believe your religion is the only true religion, and every other has been created by Satan, you don't find any need or have any desire to learn about other religions. Just automatically bash all other sacred texts and traditions, without even trying to understand them..

 

 

This is the way they see others and they think they have the right under God to do so. They feel they are "enlightening" us when they tell us about Jesus. I always find Indian Christian converts to be a rather funny bunch. They seem to think I'm actually interested in what they have to say. They assume we don't know about Christianity or the Jesus story. I always like to give them a shock. The fact that I can know about Christianity and still choose not want to convert, disturbs them greatly.

[Guest guest]

 

You are right, that is a direct quote from the Gospel of Thomas.

 

Gospel of Thomas saying 77

Jesus said: "Split wood, I am there. Lift up a rock, you will find me there."

 

She must have confused the Bhagavad Gita with the GoT. Just goes to show you how little she knows, that she doesn't know the difference between the Gospel of Thomas and the Bhagavad Gita. Sigh. It's always these ignorant folks that are the most vocal, in trying to convert others to their religion and bash every other that is not their own.. They don't even have a basic understanding of our traditions, yet they are just sure we are the ones who are the ignorant morons...

 

I guess when you believe your religion is the only true religion, and every other has been created by Satan, you don't find any need or have any desire to learn about other religions. Just automatically bash all other sacred texts and traditions, without even trying to understand them..

 

 

Do you not understand either? The Indian clerk should have been embarrassed at her own naivete, but apparently so should you. God found in wood is not an idea that should be considered with scorn, it is representative of Truth. Hindus believe God is omnipresent, He is everywhere, in the universe, outside of it, everywhere. So He is in wood, in stone, in every little grain of sand. So the Bhagavadgita has at least that in common with the gospel of st. thomas, and the latter should be a respected work for at least that idea. And so should the former, but this ignorant Christian Indian clerk lacked the brains and the sophistication to understand this concept. And the idea of many deities in Hinduism isn't that different from many different spiritual entities in Christianity. I don't see any difference, actually, as the deities in Hinduism are not perceived as the Ultimate, they are perceived as forms of Brahman, expansions, such as ourselves and the universe as well. There are many different sects within Hinduism that proclaim one form is the source of all other expansions and thus the Ultimate, but that's about it. Her "polytheistic" perception of Hinduism should have been exposed for the fallacy that it is.

[theist]

TRANSLATION Gita-9.23

Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way.

 

PURPORT

"Persons who are engaged in the worship of demigods are not very intelligent, although such worship is offered to Me indirectly," Krishna says. For example, when a man pours water on the leaves and branches of a tree without pouring water on the root, he does so without sufficient knowledge or without observing regulative principles. Similarly, the process of rendering service to different parts of the body is to supply food to the stomach. The demigods are, so to speak, different officers and directors in the government of the Supreme Lord. One has to follow the laws made by the government, not by the officers or directors. Similarly, everyone is to offer his worship to the Supreme Lord only. That will automatically satisfy the different officers and directors of the Lord. The officers and directors are engaged as representatives of the government, and to offer some bribe to the officers and directors is illegal. This is stated here as avidhi-purvakam. In other words, Krishna does not approve the unnecessary worship of the demigods.

[theist]

On the Gospel of Thomas. I wonder who the translators into English are. Are they mere academic scholars or worse yet mayavadis? I am not interested in a mayavada interpretation of the words of Christ no more than I am willing to hear an impersonal try and explain the words of Krsna.

 

I have no idea myself but see the need for caution.

 

Also it may be hindu to worship the various Gods as temporary manifestations of the one eternal Brahman with an eye to merging into that Brahman at some date but it is not Vaisnava monotheism.

[Guest guest]

 

Do you not understand either? The Indian clerk should have been embarrassed at her own naivete, but apparently so should you. God found in wood is not an idea that should be considered with scorn, it is representative of Truth. Hindus believe God is omnipresent, He is everywhere, in the universe, outside of it, everywhere. So He is in wood, in stone, in every little grain of sand. So the Bhagavadgita has at least that in common with the gospel of st. thomas, and the latter should be a respected work for at least that idea. And so should the former, but this ignorant Christian Indian clerk lacked the brains and the sophistication to understand this concept. And the idea of many deities in Hinduism isn't that different from many different spiritual entities in Christianity. I don't see any difference, actually, as the deities in Hinduism are not perceived as the Ultimate, they are perceived as forms of Brahman, expansions, such as ourselves and the universe as well. There are many different sects within Hinduism that proclaim one form is the source of all other expansions and thus the Ultimate, but that's about it. Her "polytheistic" perception of Hinduism should have been exposed for the fallacy that it is.

 

I am afraid you misunderstood my post. I was not belittling the Gospel of Thomas. The gnostic texts, like the GoT, are the only Christian texts worth reading, IMO.

 

I was commenting how some supposed authority on the Bhagavad Gita, does not even know the difference between the two texts. She was actually mis-quoting from a Gnostic Christian text, while thinking she was stating some teaching from the BG about the true path to God being in the wood? (whatever that means).

 

My point was she should get her facts straight before she spreads such anti-Krishna rhetoric. It wouldn't surprise me if she never even read the BG.

 

Those ignorant of Hinduism, might think she is some big authority because of her Indian heritage, and she is probably spreading lies. I have heard many Christians speak flatout lies about Hindu beliefs and practices. And some of these lies they got from Indians who converted to Christianity, and then badmouthed all things Vedic. The Christians don't even bother to check out the facts for themselves, so these lies cause a lot of confusion.

 

There are people who still think Hinduism is all about worshipping cows and eagerly anticipating being reincarnated as flies. They don't have a clue about the depth of our spiritual teachings. And it's indians (who arent even Hindu!) like this clerk that are especially guilty of continuing to spread this ignorance.

[Guest guest]

 

My point was she should get her facts straight before she spreads such anti-Krishna rhetoric. It wouldn't surprise me if she never even read the BG.

 

Those ignorant of Hinduism, might think she is some big authority because of her Indian heritage, and she is probably spreading lies. I have heard many Christians speak flatout lies about Hindu beliefs and practices. And some of these lies they got from Indians who converted to Christianity, and then badmouthed all things Vedic. The Christians don't even bother to check out the facts for themselves, so these lies cause a lot of confusion.

 

 

That's the problem, just because she's Indian people will think she knows what she's talking about. But we also have a problem with some who are Hindus but criticise it due to the anti-hindu propaganda they fall victim too. Many Hindus do not read or study their religion and can be easily influenced to convert.

 

When it comes to the right-wing Christians, no matter what you tell them that is positive in Hinduism they will never believe it. Their agenda is to convert Hindu so they would prefer to believe anti-Hindu propaganda as it's to their advantage. The Indian Christians would believe in anti-Hindu propaganda for the same reason plus they feel they need to 'justify' their conversion to Christianity and their rejection of Hinduism. I don't think this woman would not be interested in getting her facts right.

 

 

There are people who still think Hinduism is all about worshipping cows and eagerly anticipating being reincarnated as flies.

 

 

The media as well as ignorant Hindu reinforce this satement. Some Hindu just believe whatever they are told whether by the media or school textbooks.

 

ThusArtThou - If you want to, go back to the shop and see this woman and tell her where she was wrong. Tell her that you now know where God will be found from wood and that it is the Gospel of Thomas. The look on her face would make a great picture

[akshar]

Woah

[ThusArtThou]

Thank you all!

In retrospect I don't see the difference between demigods and "saints", as I as I learn about Hinduism through practice and learning (I unfortunately have no guru and have no idea how to find one) I see there truly is little difference; belief in God, however it's done or felt or experienced is the same. This young Indian woman was merely doing what she has been taught to do through her upbringing as Christian the same as my son's rabidly Southern Baptist caucasian girlfriend did.

[Guest guest]

 

Thank you all!

In retrospect I don't see the difference between demigods and "saints", as

 

the gods can also be seen as equivalent to the hebrew archangels.

 

the gnostics knew there were many high planetary spirits and gods that populated the heavenlies. Unfortunately this knowledge was lost to mainstream Christianity.