Islam and Hinduism
21 videos • 596 views • by DAWAH TALK Is Lord RAM God? An Analysis - According to Hindu Scriptures **Concept of God according to Hindu Scriptures: - BHAGAVAD GITA The most popular amongst all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita. Consider the following verse from the Gita: 1)"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures." [Bhagavad Gita 7:20] The Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. ‘gods’ besides the True God. - UPANISHADS: The Upanishads are considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus. The following verses from the Upanishads refer to the Concept of God: 2) "Ekam evadvitiyam" "He is One only without a second." [Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1] 3) "Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah." "Of Him there are neither parents nor lord." [Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9] 4) "Na tasya pratima asti" "There is no likeness of Him." [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19] - THE VEDAS Vedas are considered the most sacred of all the Hindu scriptures. There are four principal Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda. Yajurveda The following verses from the Yajurveda echo a similar concept of God: 5) "na tasya pratima asti "There is no image of Him." [Yajurveda 32:3] 6) "shudhama poapvidham" "He is bodyless and pure." [Yajurveda 40:8] 7) "Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste" "They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti." [Yajurveda 40:9] (Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc) 8 ) The Yajurveda contains the following prayer: "Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander." [Yajurveda 40:16] 9) The Atharvaveda praises God in Book 20, hymn 58 and verse 3: "Dev maha osi" "God is verily great" [Atharvaveda 20:58:3] - Rigveda The oldest of all the vedas is Rigveda. It is also the one considered most sacred by the Hindus. 10) The Rigveda states in Book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46: "Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names." [Rigveda 1:164:46] 11) Rigveda 2:1:3 mentions names of God as Brahma and Vishnu 12) Rigveda 2:1:11 mentions name of God as ‘ILA’ 13) "Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata" "O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone." [Rigveda 8:1:1] 14) Brahma Sutra of Hinduism: "Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan" "There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit." Thus only a dispassionate study of the Hindu scriptures can help one understand the concept of God in Hinduism. **Articles qouted during the Lecture 1) 300 Versions of Epic Ramayana: https://www.newindianexpress.com/…/thre… 2) Some Hindus worship King Ravan the opponent of King Rama in Srilanka as well in India : https://www.news18.com/…/travel-dussehr… 3) Srilanka launches Satellite in reference to King Ravan: https://m.timesofindia.com/…/69858285.c… 4) Some Hindus believe King Ram was born in Nepal: https://www.aljazeera.com/…/encroachmen… **Conclusion: 1) King Ram isn’t mentioned in Sacred Hindu scriptes as God such as in Vedas, Upanishads & Puranas. 3) Neither do the above scriptures allow worshipping humans 4) Hindu scriptures does not allow rather warn against making any idols, sculptures or images in the name of God. 5) Amongst Hindus there are many who consider Ravan (opponent of King Ram) to be the righteous king and King Ram to be a negative character as portrayed in several versions of EPIC Ramayana Hence one could academically conclude that King Ram based on evidence from Hindu Scriptures isn’t God rather he maybe considered a very revered, respected & righteous King who stood for Justice against Evil and was also victorious by the help of God