Bhakti Traditions "a tiny percentage" of Hindu Schools?

[Guest guest]

Bhakti Ananda Goswami

Sunday, January 26, 2003 5:01 PM

Bhakti Traditions " A VERY TINY PERCENTAGE" ? Current Statistics

BHAKTI TRADITIONS "REPRESENT A VERY TINY PERCENTAGE" OF HINDU & BUDDHIST SCHOOLS?

 

Bhakti Ananda Goswami has been in an on-line academic debate with some leading

Theosophists for the last month. Below he corrects a Theosophist's

misperception that most of the people of India are non-bhakti Advaita Vedantist

Jnanis.

 

Jerry S. said...

 

"But the "Sattvic Bhakti Traditions" represent a very tiny percentage of Hindu

and Buddhist schools..."

 

The Bhakti salvific devotional traditions have ALWAYS been the dominant ones.

The tending-towards-sattvic Eastern Bhakti Traditions like Vaishnavism,

Theistic Shaivism and Mahayana Buddhism, proclaim Godhead's great love for all

humanity, and that God is eager to reveal Himself to humanity. God's law and

highest truths are not hidden from His children. God is honest with us, and we

are expected to be honest (humble) with Him, ourselves and each other. Thus

these exoteric traditions share an ideal of morality that prizes equality,

openness and honesty. Among Vaishnavas, Godhead is considered full in ALL

spiritual and material opulences, and CHIEF among His spiritual opulences IS

HIS HUMILITY. God is the MOST HUMBLE and RENOUNCED of all beings. He alone both

'has it all' and is able to renounce it all. Thus as in the Catholic Mystery of

the Cross, the 'highest' wills Himself to become the 'lowest' for the redemption

of all beings in the saha world. In the same way Avalokiteshvara, the 'Second

Person' of Amitabha Adi Buddha becomes the Bodhisattva of infinite compassion

Whose Cosmic Sacrifice redeems the beings of the saha worlds. Lokeshavara even

descends into the hells, and stays in every saha world until the "last hungry

ghost" is saved !

 

Looking at the statistic for Mahayana Buddhism below, consider how many Chinese

there are, and that Pure Land Buddhism was their dominant tradition, (nearly

all Confucianists also practiced Mahayana)for much more than a thousand years !

Despite the effort of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, who are a small

minority of the Chinese People, faith in Mother Kuan Yin and the Buddha is

still alive in the hearts of both the educated and the peasantry. I have known

refugees and missioners from China, and they all say the same thing. Every form

of faith is flourishing there in the underground temples or 'house churches',

despite the worst vicious persecution. The faith and religiosity of the Chinese

people is like a sealed kettle about to explode. It almost took down the

government at Tiananmen Square but was violently suppressed. However it cannot

stay pent-up forever. Even though Pure Land (Mahayana)Buddhism has been

suppressed in China and North Korea, as per the chart below, it is still the

dominant form practiced ! In the Chart below please note the totals...

 

HIGHEST NUMBERS OF PERSONS IN IDENTIFIABLE GROUPS

 

Catholic

Christianity

1,030,000,000

Sunni

Islam

940,000,000

Vaishnavites

Hinduism

580,000,000

Orthodox/Eastern Christian

Christianity

240,000,000

Shaivites

Hinduism

220,000,000

 

Vaishnavas are not Mayavadis, and those who identify as Shaivites are not

atheistic Advaiti Mayavadis either ! Those who self-identify as Shaivites

practice Bhakti Yoga devoted to Shiva as Param Ishvara. So where are the

atheistic or if one prefers, the non-theistic Hindus in this ranking ?

 

They are principally in the iconoclastic Advaiti, Neo-Hindu and Hindu reform

movements like the Arya Samaja and Vedanta Society. Because of their bhakti or

devotion, Vaishnavites and Shaivites prefer to identify themselves as such in

demographic studies, instead of using the generic word 'Hindu'. Otherwise it

would be impossible for anyone to come up with statistics like this ! As

opposed to "Vaishnavites' 580,000,000 and "Shaivites" 220,000,000, there are

only 22,000,000 who are self-identified as "Hindu".

 

neo-Hindusand reform Hindus

Hinduism

22,000,000

 

So much for statement by Jerry S. that the "...the "Sattvic Bhakti Traditions"

represent a very tiny percentage of Hindu and Buddhist schools..." I wonder

how many Theosophists there are ?

 

-BA G

 

http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

 

Buddhism: World estimates for Buddhism vary between 230 and 500 million, with

most around 350 million. More.

Major Branches of Buddhism

Branch

Number of Adherents

Mahayana

185,000,000

Theravada

124,000,000

Lamaism (Vajrayana/Tibetan/Tantric)

20,000,000

 

 

 

Hinduism: The highest figure we've seen for Hinduism (1.4 billion, Clarke, Peter

B., editor), The Religions of the World: Understanding the Living Faiths,

Marshall Editions Limited: USA (1993); pg. 125.) is actually higher than the

highest figure we've seen for Islam. But this is an abberation. World Hinduism

adherent figures are usually between 850 million and one billion. More.

http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html

Hinduism

Major Branches of Hinduism

Branch

Number of Adherents

Vaishnavites

580,000,000

Shaivites

220,000,000

neo-Hindus and reform Hindus

22,000,000

Veerashaivas (Lingayats)

10,000,000

 

 

 

Christianity: 2 billion

Islam: 1.3 billion

Hinduism: 900 million

Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 850 million

Buddhism: 360 million

Chinese traditional religion: 225 million

primal-indigenous: 150 million

African Traditional & Diasporic: 95 million

Sikhism: 23 million

Juche: 19 million

Spiritism: 14 million

Judaism: 14 million

Baha'i: 6 million

Jainism: 4 million

Shinto: 4 million

Cao Dai: 3 million

Tenrikyo: 2.4 million

Neo-Paganism: 1 million

Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand

Rastafarianism: 700 thousand

Scientology: 600 thousand

Zoroastrianism: 150 thousand

Branch

Number of Adherents

Catholic

1,030,000,000

Orthodox/Eastern Christian

240,000,000

Conservative Protestant

200,000,000

Liberal Protestant *

150,000,000

African indigenous sects (AICs)

110,000,000

Pentecostal

105,000,000

Anglican *

73,000,000

Jehovah's Witnesses

14,800,000

Latter Day Saints

11,200,000

New Thought (Unity, Christian Science, etc.)

1,500,000

Friends (Quakers)*

300,000

 

 

Branch

Religion

Number of Adherents

Catholic

Christianity

1,030,000,000

Sunni

Islam

940,000,000

Vaishnavites

Hinduism

580,000,000

Orthodox/Eastern Christian

Christianity

240,000,000

Shaivites

Hinduism

220,000,000

Conservative Protestant

Christianity

200,000,000

Mahayana

Buddhism

185,000,000

Liberal Protestant

Christianity

150,000,000

Theravada

Buddhism

124,000,000

Shiite

Islam

120,000,000

African indigenous sects (AICs)

Christianity

110,000,000

Pentecostal

Christianity

105,000,000

Anglican

Christianity

73,000,000

Sikhism

Sikhism

23,000,000

neo-Hindusand reform Hindus

Hinduism

22,000,000

Lamaism(Vajrayana/Tibetan, etc.)

Buddhism

20,000,000

Jehovah's Witnesses

Christianity

14,800,000

Latter Day Saints

Christianity

11,200,000

Ahmadiyya

Islam

10,000,000

Veerashaivas (Lingayats)

Hinduism

10,000,000

Baha'i World Faith

Baha'i Faiths

6,000,000

Conservative

Judaism

4,500,000

Unaffiliated and Secular

Judaism

4,500,000

Svetambara

Jainism

4,000,000

Reform

Judaism

3,750,000

Seicho-No-Ie

New Japanese

3,200,000

Shinto all branches

Shinto

3,000,000

Tenrikyo

New Japanese

2,800,000

PL Kyodan

New Japanese

2,600,000

Orthodox

Judaism

2,000,000

New Thought(Unity, Christian Science, etc.)

Christianity

1,500,000

Sekai Kyuseikyo

New Japanese

800,000

Sthanakavasis

Jainism

750,000

Zenrinkai

New Japanese

600,000

Druze

Islam

450,000

Tensho Kotai Jingukyo

New Japanese

400,000

Friends (Quakers)

Christianity

300,000

Ennokyo

New Japanese

300,000

Digambaras

Jainism

155,000

Reconstructionist

Judaism

150,000

Parsis

Zoroastrianism

110,000

Gabars

Zoroastrianism

20,000

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