Hinduism in the Balance of Its Original Teachings, Reason, and Sound Natural Disposition


Question and Answer

Dr. Haytham Tal‘at


 


In the name of Allah; praise be to Allah; and may Allah's peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad and his family, Companions, and those who follow him. To Proceed:


Hinduism may be a religion; but to be more accurate, it is a way of life.


Followers of Hinduism account for 15% of the world population, numbering more than 1.2 billion.


Hinduism has undergone a lot of change over time.


In the post-Vedas era, Hinduism was being filled with problems related to intellectual, scientific, and natural disposition, some of which we will address in this book.


Yes!


Hinduism went far away from the original teachings of the Vedas (the original sources of Hinduism) and followed the teachings of people, monks, and Bhagavad Gita भगवद्गीता,


and Esoteric Tantras.


In this short book, I will try to judge the current Hinduism according to reason, modern science, logic, and the original Vedas teachings, which still exist among Hinduists to this day.  I am certain that the remnants of the truth in the Vedas and in the fitrah (natural disposition) of Hinduists are sufficient to safely lead a Hinduist to the true religion.


The Vedas are the holiest scriptures in Hinduism ever.


Natural disposition: It is the motive that prompts one to consider the purpose of his existence and his consequence, and it directs this motive towards belief in Allah and servitude to Him based on His legislations.


The true religion: It is the message that comprises the remnants of the truth in the Vedas; and it is a call of the natural disposition, which is an inspiration of Allah to all humankind. It is the message reflecting the signs of belief in Allah's oneness in the teachings of Upanishad उपनिषद्.


I will try, in this little book, to hold a short comparison between the Hinduism at the time of the Vedas and today's Hinduism.


Indeed, Hinduism has changed immensely!


It has gone extremely far away from the remnants of the pure and untainted monotheistic teachings in the Vedas. Current Hinduism comprises the belief of pantheism (the unity of existence), as the Creator unites with the creation; thus created beings become themselves the Creator. Not only does this strange belief contradict the explicit teachings of the Vedas, but it also runs counter to intellectual axioms. How is it possible that the deity resides in everything; and then you, O Hinduist, seek to reach him through a group of certain rites and practices, while he originally exists in you?!


Is this not an obvious intellectual paradox?


Furthermore, the belief in the unity of existence entails the relativity of the truth, then all religions that worship idols or stones should be worshiping God, for God - according to this creed - is that idol or stone, as He resides in everything and He is everything.


The relativity of the truth destroys the meaning and value, as I will explain in this book.


Added to the foregoing is the fact that the Vedas explicitly call for belief in the god who is separate from his creation. These creatures are created by Allah, ands His creation cannot encompass Him in order for Him to reside in them.


The Vedas, specifically the Rig Veda ऋग्वेद, says: "O Allah, both the sun and the universe cannot encompass or contain you." ( )


This is a clear proof in the Vedas for the falsity of the belief in the unity of existence, for indeed Allah is separate from His creation.


In today's Hinduism, we find the belief in soul transmigration, as the souls of people are believed to move, after death, to other beings, to reborn in other new living beings. So, every human being has a previous life in another living being, and so on. This creed generates a lot of problems. If, for example, soul transmigration were right, why does a newborn not possess the same mental faculties like adults? ( )


Moreover, the belief of soul transmigration rests upon the succession of repeated births. How could this be right, when contemporary science has proved that life has a beginning, and even earth itself has a beginning and is not timeless?


Also, if soul transmigration were right, the number of living beings would have to be fixed, as they migrate between one another. No one can adopt this view today.


More importantly, the Vedas do not recognize soul transmigration. The Hinduist scholar Shri Styakam Widyalnkar said: "The creed of soul transmigration does not exist in the Vedas. I challenge anyone who says so." ( )


The strongest proof for Widyalnkar's view is that Hindus perform old religious rituals called श्राद्ध 'Śrāddha', and they are aimed at calming the souls of the dead.


How would the souls migrate while they reside in the dead?!


Another belief of today's Hinduism is karma. According to karma, people are born as a result of their previous deeds. Whoever was evil is born into a new life belonging to a lower caste or suffering more afflictions.


Therefore, Hindus consider the affliction of any person as a result of the sins he committed in a previous life. This erroneous vague conception ruins the life in its entirety. It does not do any good to humanity; rather, it determines that the suffering of people is a normal punishment for crimes they perpetrated in their previous lives. This is a kind of reconciliation among backwardness, oppression, and social discrimination.


But the bigger problem is: Where does this karma creed exist in the Vedas?


The Vedas state that there is paradise and hell, which Allah gives to people in accordance with their deeds, and they do not speak about new births in other beings.


The Rig Veda says: "Make me eternal in the place where all kinds of enjoyment and pleasure are stored, and where you give all what the souls desire." ( )


Another of the primary creeds in today's Hinduism is the pursuit to get rid of repeated births and soul transmigration and to reach a phase known as मोक्ष 'Moksha', in which a person unites with the divine essence. But this idea rests upon a very pessimistic outlook on existence, as the purpose of existence becomes an attempt to get rid of the existence.


This idea is actually dangerous to society, since it strips man of any scruple or fear; no matter how many immoralities he engages in, he will be reborn and will inevitably attain salvation in a future birth.


This utterly contradicts the teachings of the Vedas, which stipulate that a wrongdoer and sinner will be punished in a place particularly prepared for them. The Rig Veda says: "A very deep bottomless place for sinners." ( )


So, how can this place be reconciled with the idea of the repeated births?


As for the most famous scientific problem for today's Hinduism, it is its view of the universe's origin. It assumes that the universe dissolves and then forms and then dissolves and forms in a process that has no end. This is an odd scientific error that runs counter to modern science.


It is well-known that modern science has established that this universe has an absolute beginning and was not preceded by other universes.


Scientifically, the universe was created and originated in an unprecedented manner.


This is, however, the same creed existing in the Vedas, which states that there is a worldly life that emerged all of a sudden and there is an afterlife. However, in the philosophies that appeared later in Hinduism, like Puranas, there came the explicit view that the universe is eternal and gets repeated.


Today's Hinduism contradicts the creed of the Vedas, modern science, and the religion of Islam, which contains the truth spoken by the Vedas.


According to the Muslim creed, which Allah has revealed in the noble Qur'an, the universe emerged in an unprecedented manner. In His Book, Allah Almighty says: {The Originator of the heavens and earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 117]


So, according to Islam, the universe was created; i.e., it emerged in an unprecedented manner.


This is the result ultimately reached by science and was told by someone who worked as a shepherd 1400 years ago, called Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh. He is the Messenger of Allah and the Prophet of Islam.


I discuss in this book many of the problems facing Hinduism, and offer, on the other hand, the view  of Islam on the universe, life, the reward and punishment, and the purpose of existence, which totally agrees with natural disposition and the remnants of the Veda.


I will also point out how Islam provides the most accurate, reliable, and perfect example in fulfilling people's need to know how to live and explain the meaning and purpose of human existence in a way consistent with natural disposition, reason, and science.


Moreover, the book presents some proofs for the trueness of the Islamic religion and the prophecies about its coming in the Veda. Indeed, the Vedas told about the future emergence of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and called upon Hindus to believe in him.


Islam is not merely a religion on earth like other religions; rather, it is the only monotheistic religion with which Allah Almighty sent all prophets. All prophets were sent to call people to monotheism, and none of the religions maintained pure and untainted monotheism today except for Islam. All other religions, on the other hand, have some share of polytheism, be it small or large.


Allah does not accept a religion from people other than Islam. In the Qur'an, He says: {Anyone who seeks a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted from him; and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.} [Surat Āl ‘Imrān: 85]


Islam is the religion with which Allah Almighty sent all prophets and messengers.


The primary feature in Islam is that it has the meaning of submission to Allah, worshiping Him alone, and negating any embodiment of Allah in idols or stones, like the case in today's Hinduism.


In conclusion, the book shows how a person can be submissive to Allah, and explains the meaning of Islam and the necessity of this religion.


Let us begin the journey of this book, with Allah's blessing!


1. What is Hinduism?


Hinduism is a religion - or more accurately, a way of life - that comprises a group of rituals, acts of worship, scriptures, and concepts on the universe and the existence. ( )


Hinduism formed over long centuries and through complex collections of doctrines that allow for a diverse and sometimes contradictory belief system, and modern Hinduism finds nothing wrong about that, for it does not possess a single creed or reference or a binding text to which people can refer for judgment.


Although the Vedas are the holiest books in Hinduism ever, Hindus, as we will demonstrate in this book, came to contradict them so greatly that Hinduism now accepts various conceptions and divergent ideas that have no relation to the earliest Vedas era.


All in all, Hinduism aims at getting rid of suffering, and we will explain later how to do so according to the Hindus' concept and how they contradict the Vedic creed with regard to salvation, which has much remnants of the truth. ( )


2. How did this religion originate with this intertwinement?


Hinduism means India: India, the state, the climate, the history, the intertwinement, and the traditions.


So, it is a religion almost restricted to India, where about 95% of the world's Hindus live. ( )


Hinduism emerged on the basis of the earliest Vedas, yet, unfortunately, it merged with certain philosophies, beliefs, books, and notions that formed over centuries. At a later post-Vedas stage , Hinduism followed the teachings of hermits, Tantras, and Bhagavad Gita.


Nearly from 1500 BC to 500 AD, many of these concepts and philosophies pushed against and overcame the Vedas, to the extent that we no longer see on the ground anything but these concepts and philosophies.


3. What is the Hindus' belief specifically?


Modern-day Hinduism is a creed that believes in a large number of deities. Hindus, nonetheless, believe in Allah, the One God.


They believe that God resides in all these formulated items that they hold sacred.


Some people may think that the Hindus' belief in One God and their view of these statues and formulated items as images of God is not idolatry!


This is a clear error!


Regarding statues as images of the One God is the very basis of the pagan belief that contradicts the teachings of prophets and the Vedas throughout the history of humanity.


All polytheists who contradicted the prophets and the Vedic teachings did believe in Allah. They, however, regarded idols as representation of God. So, the belief of polytheists in the existence and oneness of Allah does not negate their disbelief in Him, His prophets, and the disbelief in the Vedas, as long as they adopt such idols.


The Vedas explicitly and categorically prohibit people from taking idols, seeking closeness to them, or holding them sacred.


The Veda says: "He who worships, apart from Allah, manufactured things will drown in the depths of darkness and taste the punishment of the fire for endless ages." ( )


So, whoever takes these idols, with which Hinduism abounds today, will, according to the Veda, remain eternally in Hell.


The Veda also says: "The Owner of all, the Knower of the unseen, Who does not need the assistance of other gods: That is Allah Who deserves to be worshiped by man. Those who take other gods apart from Allah are the miserable, and they will always face dreadful major disasters." ( )


The Bhagavad Gita also says: "Those who worship the deities will gain the deities; those who worship the ancestors will gain the ancestors; those who worship the devil will gain the devil; and those who worship Me will find Me." ( )


These and numerous other texts explicitly enjoin the Hindus to believe in the oneness of Allah and abandon these idols. Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati said: "There is not a single letter in the Vedas pointing to the worship of idols made of stones and other things."


Hindus did not abandon the monotheistic belief in the Vedas except through false teachings that came at a later time.


The noble Qur'an, which Allah Almighty revealed to His Prophet Muhammad, affirms that those who worship idols allege that they believe in Allah, the One God, and nonetheless, they, because of taking these idols, are considered as disbelievers in Allah.


In the Qur'an, Allah Almighty says: {If you ask them who created the heavens and earth, they will surely say: "Allah."} [Surat az-Zumar: 38]


He also says: {If you ask them who created them, they will surely say: "Allah."} [Surat az-Zukhruf: 87]


So, taking these idols makes one a disbeliever in Allah, according to both the Qur'an and the Vedas.


Allah Almighty says in His book: {You worship nothing besides Allah but idols and fabricate lies. Those whom you worship besides Allah have no power to give you provision. So seek provision from Allah, worship Him, and be grateful to Him. To Him you will all be returned.} [Surat al-‘Ankabūt: 17]


So, we should seek provision from Allah and worship Him, for He is the One to Whom we will all return.


Nothing still adheres to the belief in Allah's oneness and the abandonment of all forms of polytheism on earth today but Islam.


Therefore, every Hindu should consider Islam unbiasedly, with insight, and look into the creed of monotheism in Islam and consider whether or not it accords with his natural disposition and the Vedic teachings.


The mission with which Allah sent all prophets to humankind is to devote worship to Allah alone and this would happen by rejecting all idols and submitting to what was brought by the messengers of Allah and the final Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).


4. How did the idea of the embodiment of the One God through scores of idols emerge in Hinduism?


The major problem with modern Hinduism, after the Vedic era, is the assumption that the numerous attributes of God necessitates the existence of numerous essences; i.e., numerous deities.


They assume that every divine attribute has an idol representing it.


So, in their belief, the Creator has become:


Brahma: The Creator of the universe.


Vishnu: The Preserver of the universe.


Shiva: The Destroyer of the universe. ( )


This is an assumption that contradicts the axioms based on reason and natural disposition and runs counter to the teachings of the Vedas. Plurality of attributes does not entail plurality of essences.


A person can be intelligent, strong, and polite.


His numerous traits do not entail possessing numerous essences.


An intelligent person is himself the strong one and himself the polite one.


To Allah belongs the most exalted example!


The Vedas affirm this truth. It is stated in the Rig Veda: "They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman. The sages call the One God with different titles."


Numerous are the texts in the Vedas that mention Allah by various names and attributes.


The names and attributes belong to the one essence.


This is the concept adopted by the earliest Vedas and the Muslim creed. In Islam, Allah Almighty possesses the excellent names and sublime attributes. He, Exalted be He, says: {And your god is one God. None has the right to be worshiped except Him – the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 163]


So, Allah is the Most Compassionate One, and He is the Most Merciful One.


In another verse, He says: {He is Allah; none has the right to be worshiped except Him, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Most Perfect, the Granter of Security, the Watcher over all, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah far above what they associate with Him.} [Surat al-Hashr: 23]


Indeed, these numerous names and attributes belong to Allah, the One God.


The other problem with the idea of embodying God in different idols is that the universe enjoys no security with such paganism.


Hence, the noble Qur'an negates all these idolatrous conceptions about Allah and emphasizes that taking other gods with Allah entails lack of security for the entire universe. {If there had been gods besides Allah in the heavens and earth, both realms would have fallen in disorder. Glory be to Allah – Lord of the Throne – far above what they ascribe [to Him].} [Surat al-Anbiyā': 22]


So, had there been other gods besides Allah, the heavens and earth would have been ruined.


{Were the Truth to follow their desires, the heavens and earth, and all those who are therein would have been ruined. In fact, We have given them their Reminder, but they are averse to their Reminder.} [Surat al-Mu'minūn: 71]


5. How Hindus view the relationship between the Creator and the creation


Most Hindus today believe in pantheism (the unity of the universe), as the Creator unites with the creation. In modern-day Hinduism, God resides in His creatures. Thus, existing things and the One Who brought them into existence become one thing. ( )


This contradicts the simplest facts affirmed by science, reason, observation, and the Vedas.


There are many scientific and intellectual problems with the unity of the universe philosophy, such as the following:


The first problem is that God, in their belief, resides in everything. Then, what is the meaning of practicing certain rituals with the aim of uniting with God, in what is known as Moksha मोक्ष - if God is supposedly in everything?


How can a person reach something already existing in him, if you reside in him and he resides in you?!


The second problem is that errors and sins, according to their concept of the unity of the universe, are God Himself, as they consider God to be the error, the sin, the adultery, and the killing, because He resides in everything and He is the essence of everything. Then, why should they get rid of errors and sins?


And why should they be so keen to avoid mundane whims and desires?


Does sin not fall under the unity of the universe?


Is the world itself not God Himself?


There should be no justification for the keenness to do good, according to this modern-day Hindu conception.


But all people are keen on doing good and know that this is a duty, don't they?


In fact, the keenness to do good is a response to the pure call of natural disposition. This is a direct fitrah-based proof that the unity of the universe philosophy is erroneous.


The third problem is that the belief in the unity of the universe entails the belief in the relativity of the truth. All religions that worship idols or stones regard themselves to be worshiping God, for God, in their conception, is the very idol and stone, as God resides in everything and He is everything.


This relativity of the truth leads to the loss of meaning and value, as everything becomes right!


Added to the foregoing is that the belief in the unity of existence does not answer the question: Where did the universe come from?


Assuming that the Creator is Himself the creation is a preposterous assumption, for it makes the emergence of something conditional on its own emergence.


This is a strange contradiction and an intellectual impossibility.


How can something be a reason for its very emergence when it has yet to emerge in the first place?


The fourth problem is that it is also scientifically proven that the universe, with all its contents, has come into existence. This is considered by all rational people as an established fact.


The universe, with all its energy, matter, place, and time, has come into being.


The universe is proven, by numberless proofs, to have a beginning. Scientifically, there was no universe and then the universe emerged.


And since there was no universe, how can we then adopt the unity of existence notion?


If the unity of existence were right, it would entail the timelessness of the universe or at least the timelessness of matter.


Strangely, modern-day Hindus insist on the claim that the material universe is timeless, because this view is necessary for justifying the unity of existence.


The Hindu scholar Wiwekanand said: "The place is not subject to time or incidence." ( )


Contemporary Hindus are obliged to say that the material universe is timeless because this view is consistent with the unity of existence notion.


They should not have delved into this and they should not have held this belief about the unity of existence in the first place. But it is Satan who lies in wait for the children of Adam on their paths and tries to dissuade them from the religion of the prophets, seizing every opportunity to do so.


In a qudsi (divine) Hadīth, Allah Almighty said: "I have created My servants with a natural inclination to true faith, but it is Satan who turns them away from the right religion and he makes unlawful what has been declared lawful for them, and he commands them to associate partners with Me, although I have sent down no authority about that." ( )


All people initially were on the belief in Allah's oneness, and then the devils came and tempted them with such things of disbelief.


The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The devil sits for the son of Adam in his paths." ( )


Satan explores every means for alluring humankind, and there is no salvation except by holding onto the monotheistic belief and worship advocated by the prophets.


The Vedas state that the universe was created and has a beginning.


And that Allah is separate from His creation and does not reside therein.


So, how did Hindus reach this stage of believing in the unity of existence?


The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद says: "O Allah, both the sun and the universe cannot encompass or contain you." ( )


This is a clear proof from the Veda that the belief in the unity of existence is wrong. Indeed, Allah is separate from His creation, and the sun and the moon are not God.


The Rig Veda also says: "Allah is the One Who created the night and the day, and He is the owner of the world and all what is in it, and He is the One Who created the sun and the moon and the earth and the heaven." ( )


There could be no clearer creed in denying the unity of existence and the timelessness of the material universe!


The Yajur Veda says: "He is the One before Whom nothing was created, and He is our Creator and our Owner and He knows everything." ( )


Nothing was created before Allah. He is the First. The universe was created by Allah and it is not timeless. "He is the Great One, the Owner of the earth and the heaven." ( )


The noble Qur'an affirms this same clear fact. More than 1400 years ago, Allah Almighty revealed to His Prophet Muhammad that Allah is separate from His creation and established over His throne; He does not reside in His creation, neither does His creation reside in Him.


Allah Almighty says: {It is Allah Who created the heavens and earth and all that is between them in six Days, then rose over the Throne. You have no protector or intercessor other than Him. Will you not then take heed?} [Surat as-Sajdah: 4]


At its core, the creed and religion of the prophets says that Allah, the Creator and the One God, is separate from His creation and does not reside therein!


The fifth problem with the unity of existence philosophy is that it does not answer the most important question: Where did the universe come from?


How did the universe emerge, according to this philosophy?


And who first adopted this philosophy?


And what is the proof for it?


Numerous are the questions and problems revolving around this creed that contradicts modern science, reason, the Vedas, and the religion of the prophets.


6. How Hinduism views life and death


Modern-day Hinduism is based on the idea of soul transmigration and the endless cycle of births. We, according to the Hindu conception, revolve in a circle of births. Every newborn was existent in a previous being, and his soul will transfer, after his death, to another being, and so on. This process is known in Hinduism as Saṃsāra संसार [22]. Yet, there are several scientific and intellectual problems in relation to soul transmigration. They include the following:


The first problem is known as Tertullian's objection, which says: If soul transmigration were right, why does a newborn not possess the same mental faculties like adults? ( )


The second problem: If soul transmigration were right, the number of living beings would have to be fixed, as they migrate between one another in cycles of births. No rational person can adopt this view today!


It has been proven that there was once a time in which the earth had no existence whatsoever, and there was a time in which living beings did not exist on earth, and there was a time in which living beings were not in this number, yet their numbers were very small and increased with time. This is also subject to consensus among people today.


And there was a time in which people were less in number than today.


The number of people is not fixed, by consensus. So, how can soul transmigration take place in fixed cycles?


The third problem: Why is there no one who remembers the past life - the previous birth - which he went through, except the followers of this philosophy?


There was an American woman named Ruth Simmons. She claimed that she was a transmigration of the soul of another woman called Bridey Murphy. Simmons began to recall her previous memories when she was Murphy during the 19th century in Ireland. But when researchers investigated Simmons' life, it turned out that she had an old neighbor from Ireland called Bridey Murphy. So, she took Murphy's memories about Ireland and ascribed them to herself and claimed she was Murphy herself. ( )


Soul transmigration is nothing but illusion and imagination and it contradicts the simplest axioms of science and common sense.


Paul Edwards, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Philosophy and professor at New York University, said: "Reincarnation is a mere imagination that contradicts modern science." ( )


When a person dies, he will not be born into another life.


The Vedas always affirm this truth. No mention is made in the Vedas of soul transmigration or Samsara. ( )


The Hinduist scholar Shri Styakam Widyalnkar said: "The creed of soul transmigration does not exist in the Vedas. I challenge anyone who says so." ( )


The strongest proof for Widyalnkar's view is that Hindus perform old religious rituals called 'Śrāddha' श्राद्ध, and they are aimed at calming the souls of the dead.


How would the souls migrate while Hindus calm the souls of the dead!


The noble Qur'an, which Allah revealed to His Prophet, responds to the advocates of the repeated life, like those who say: {There is nothing except our life of this world - we die and live, but we will not be resurrected.} [Surat al-Mu'minūn: 37]


Responding to them in His noble book, Allah Almighty says: {Do they not see how many generations We destroyed before them who will never come back to them?} [Surat Yāsīn: 31]


He who dies will not return to worldly life again. ( )


Allah Almighty also says: {They will not taste death therein except the first death.} [Surat ad-Dukhān: 56]


This is the Muslim creed and the creed of the Vedas which, unfortunately, was abandoned by Hindus.


The fourth problem with soul transmigration is their claim that it is aimed at reaching the phase of unity with the absolute, or what is known as Moksha, so as to get rid of the repeated births. This means that the repeated births are torture.


But, who says that repeated births are torture?


If you ask people whether they wish to be reborn and experience life once again, most of them will not hesitate to respond in the affirmative.


Moreover, this pessimistic view of existence as torture is a false view; as existence has a lot of goodness and unlimited blessings.


Moksha is nothing but imaginary salvation from something that does not exist in reality!


The fifth problem is that the philosophy of soul transmigration generates indifference towards the commission of any crime or sin, and provides justification for it, because the person will inevitably find salvation in a future birth from the other births, and hence he should enjoy the current birth he is in.


This constitutes reconciliation with the perpetration of any crime. It is probably because of this that India has one of the highest crime rates worldwide, especially rape crimes. ( )


India also has one of the highest rates of gang rapes.


7. What is the origin of the idea of repeated births and soul transmigration among Hindus?


No one knows how these ideas originated, or who founded them, or what proof he had for doing so.


There is no proof for repeated births in the Vedas, neither is there a single word about soul transmigration. These ideas only emerged in the later Puranas philosophies.