Draft

     Hinduism and Judaism, can be contrasted through ideas of creation, religious laws, “how to”s, and belief of inequality or lack thereof. In the ancient world the principle of heaven and reincarnation differed dramatically. The faith in how God or gods should be worshipped defined a religion. Through similar religious ideas we can see just how much Judaism and Hinduism were different.

            The ideas of creation are one of the first main points to discuss when comparing religions. In Hinduism we see the world was created by sacrifice. A victim named Purusha was born at the very beginning. It is said gods sprinkled with sacred water upon sacrificial grass and from this came sacrificial formulas and sacred chants. By dividing the body of Purusha the gods created the castes, animals, the moon and sun and wind and atmosphere. From his feet came the earth and by his ears came the cardinal directions of the Earth. The great sacrifice reached the sky and that was where the gods lived. (76-78) In Judaism the earth was created by one god; the God in seven days. In the beginning there was darkness. God created light by command, and divided the light with darkness and named them Day and Night. God created the waters and the earth and separated the two from the space above, called Heaven. Then God commanded the earth to grow grass and fruit trees and plants and created signs for seasons and days and years. He added the sun and the moon and the stars. On the fifth day of creation God put whales and other animals into the waters and created birds for the air. The next day God created beasts and crawling animals and living creatures and he made man in His image. He made male and female and gave them power over the fish and birds and beasts. On the seventh day God rested and ended his work, naming the seventh day a blessed day. In Hinduism man and animal and the earth, sun, and the moon was created through sacrifice, by the separation of body parts from Purusha. Judaism states God commanded things to be and so they were.

From the creations come ideas of equality and lack thereof. The upper caste system for Hindus comes into being from the division of the mouth, arms, thighs, and feet of Purusha. Where as God made man and woman in His image and loved them both. The belief in inequality goes back to the origins of the religion and has even filtered into American society today where one who follows Hindu religion may change their name so as there will be no indication of a lower caste. In an interaction between the Lord and a group of upper class members the Lord explains the ideas of equality within the castes. He says, “Now suppose a king were to gather together a hundred men of different classes and to order the brahmans and kshatriyas to take kindling wood of sal, pine, lotus, or sandal, and light fires, while the low class folk did the same with common wood. What do you think would happen? Would the fires of high-born men blaze up brightly..and those of the humble fail?” (Buddhism and Caste pg. 200) In this statement the Lord points out that while one may be in a certain class, it does not make mean he is incapable of doing the same things as those in a different class.  Through this ideas born from Judaism are seen clashing with the religious and social boundaries of Hinduism.

            Another main difference is the two religions definitions of “heaven” and the main religious laws of Hindus and the followers of Judaism. The idea of reincarnation is popular within Hindu culture. In a Hindu sermon life is explained by Four Noble Truths and how sorrow can be eliminated by following a certain set of rules. Judaism says God spoke to one of his followers and laid down His commandments. The Four Noble Truths explain that life is sorrow and suffering and the only way to end suffering is to follow the Eight Fold Path. Through this, it is explained, suffering will cease. God says that if a follower lives by his rules he will die and reach heaven where he will live forever. If a follower does not abide by Gods code then he will go to hell, and live forever.