Ideological differences western v/s Eastern Philosophies - A Synopsis

Initial approach to any subject or idea or a task of an individual in a way is decided by certain core ideological affiliations, Physical capacity, the environment which the individual grows up, the acquired knowledge, perspectives, community & Friends. This affects an individuals thinking, behavior, mindset & outcomes in a day to day life towards self and rest of the world either with full awareness or unknowingly. Among all these, "religious beliefs" "faiths" play major role in shaping a human and often we don't discuss due to human sentiments, My interests towards comparative religious study grew over time and I would like to summaries some of the basic differences in thought process of religious/Philosophical ideologies in Ancient and modern Worlds. My views & interpretations can be debatable, and that's how we all interrogate ourselves, improve each others perspectives.

From my understanding, the thought process of the eastern and the western thought and its balance has significant implications on how humans progress in future collectively and our relationship with nature. Past, present and future is a continuum but we often tend to view in a small time frame and hence unable to grasp the reality. How and why the root of understanding life as whole has become so complex is a very interesting subject. People in the past who have pondered over "why" ? how? when ? have given their perspectives of life in their own experience. Religion/Faith/Beliefs are something which are very frequently used but less often discussed about in general conversations. In this article am trying to put all my thought process in one place along with comparative study of the different perspectives. Let me start with summarizing some of the very interesting and complex ideologies of the world. This is imperative for everyone especially Indians to understand each others (Purva Paksha) as we have always been told and brought up not to discuss on religion and politics, to an extent that we show complete ignorance to world view and often misinterpret larger perspectives.

Christianity:

The Book of Genesis in the "Bible" provides details of how the world was created.

The world was created in Seven days (Days of the Gods) and Sixth day "Adam" and "Eve" are populated in the "Garden of Eden" who make the initial humans. The dominant dates for creation using various models exist, somewhere between 5500 BC and about 4000 BC.

Adam and Eve commit the first original Sin in the garden by having the fruit from Tree of Knowledge which was forbidden by God, thus God curses "Eve" to childbearing and sends both to populate the Earth.

All the decedents of "Adam" and "Eve" are thus Sinful by nature, There were many Prophets sent to Earth to serve humanity as examples at various times starting with Abraham. One day God sends his own Son "Jesus" to Earth as a Christ (Savior) from Sin by taking the punishment of Sins on behalf of the entire world.

Some of the principles to be adhered by true (Quite arguable on what true really is) Christian are

• Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.

• The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

• The holiness of the Church and the communion of saints.

• Christ's second coming, the Day of Judgment and salvation of the faithful.

• Follow the 10 commandments given my Moses, one of the prophets.

• the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. There are ignorant humans who are unaware of the "Good News" of Jesus and it is duty of every true Christian to convey the "Good New" commonly known as Evangelism.

• The Day of Judgment is the day in the future when all people who are living or who have ever lived will be judged by God. It is often known as the Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, humans will either go to Heaven or Hell based on this judgment and be there forever after.

Primary Source is the Collection called "Kings James Bible" that most referred which has chapters/books like "Mathew", "John", "Psalms", "Luke", "Genesis", "Exodus", "Deuteronomy" etc...People do refer to Torah/Old testament either in Hebrew or English version to decipher & Interpret. People usually become a member/subscribe to a particular church to continue their religious practices and affiliations. There could be more than 50 different widely know major Christian denominations which could have variations in certain subtle principles & practices.

Note: During Imperial Europe BC -Before Christ and AD -Ano Domini meaning "in the time of the Lord" was used until 20th Century, now all refer to ACE and BCE (After and before common Era) as Non-Christians may not have concept of savior.

Islam:

Islam means Submission. The basic Islamic concept is that "the whole universe was created by omnipotent God, whom Islam calls Allah, and who is the Lord and the Sovereign of the universe, which he Alone sustains. He created man and appointed for each human being a fixed period of life that he is to spend upon the earth.

Allah has prescribed a certain code of life as the correct one for mankind, but has, at the same time, conferred upon man the freedom of choice as to whether or not he adopts this code as the actual basis of his life. One who chooses to follow the code revealed by Allah becomes a Muslim (believer) and one who refuses to follow it becomes a kafir (disbeliever). A man joins the fold of Islam by honestly believing in and professing faith in the oneness of Allah and the prophet hood of Muhammad. The belief is epitomized in the kalimah (the article of faith): "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasul Allah. (There is no Allah(God) except Allah; and Muhammad is His last and final Prophet.)". Primary Source of Books are the "Quran" and the Sunna which includes the Hadith (Mohammed's traditions) such as Al -Bhukari, Shahi Muslim, Abu Daud etc.. and the Sira (Mohammed's biography).

Some of the principles of people following Islam in general may be as below although there could be at least 20 plus ideological different divisions within Islam based on Different Hadiths they consider genuine or different schools of Islamic thoughts (Hanafi, Islmaili, sufi, hanbali, salafi, wahabi, deobandhi, dharelvi etc..).

• Belief in the Prophets or Messengers of God: Muslims believe that God's guidance has been revealed to humankind through specially appointed messengers, or prophets, throughout history, beginning with the first man, Adam, who is considered the first prophet. Twenty-five of these prophets are mentioned by name in the Quran, including Noah, Ibrahim, Musa, and Jesus similar to Jewish and Christianity. Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last in this line of prophets, sent for all humankind with the message of Islam.

• Belief in the Day of Judgment: Very similar to Christian and Jewish beliefs of judgment day that there will be a day of judgment by the god and they will go to "Jannah" (Heaven) if true believer or "Jahanum" (Hell) if not followed the faith truly.

• Prohibitions: In Islam, everything considered harmful either to the body, mind or society is prohibited (haram), while whatever is beneficial is permissible (halal). Islam prohibits Muslims from consuming pork, alcohol or mind-altering drugs. Muslims are required to eat meat that is butchered and blessed in an Islamic way. This meat is called "halal." Muslims are also prohibited from gambling, taking interest, fortune-telling, cheating, oppressing or abusing others, being greedy or stingy, engaging in sex outside of marriage based on specific circumstances.

• Conversion to Islam: Muslims are encouraged to share their faith with others (called Dahwa). There is no formal ceremony for conversion. People must merely believe in and recite the shahada to convert to Islam as a first step, later other aspects are taught.

• Sharia- literally means "the clear, well-trodden path to water". Sharia (law in Arabic) acts as a code for living that all Muslims should adhere to, including prayers, taxation, family, punishments, fasting and donations. It aims to help Muslims understand how they should lead every aspect of their lives according to God's wishes. Some of topics covered are Hygiene and purification, Economic law, tax, Leaving Islam, Dietary law, Theological obligation, Marital jurisprudence, Apostasy, Customs, Rituals, Dress code, Slavery, Non-Muslim status, Blasphemy, Homo sexuality, Animal Sex etc..

• Islamic pillars of Shahada, Salah (Daily Prayers), Hajj pilgrimage, Fasting on Ramadan, compulsory donation zakat are mandatory. There are multiple diversity within Muslim communities sometimes subtle & Significant differences in practices, here have summarized generic common idea across the sects.

Hindu - Nyaya/Vaisheshika:

This Philosophy originated in India may or may not be from speculations from the Vedas, Brahmanas and the Upanishads (Texts/Commentaries of the primary texts of Vedas) , opinions vary from experts. According to the principles of both Nyaya & Vaisheshika, the world is made up of combination of Atoms (Paramanu), Existence is new effect without a cause.

The universe is defined in terms of seven categories dravya(substance), guna(quality), karman(action), samanya(generality), visesa (particularity), samavaya (inherence) and abhava (negation). These are all objects of experience. Substances are nine in number which constitute prithvı(earth), ap(water), tejas(ire), vayu (air), akasa(ether), kala(time), dis (space), atma (coniousness) and manas (mind). Atoms of earth, water, fire and air are eternal and they remain at the time of dissolution also. From the combination and disintegration of the atoms, all material objects in the world are formed. A principle ‘adrsta’ is responsible for this movement of atoms. It is the unseen agency that makes the atoms mobile in the process of creation, later stages of philosophical upgrades many philosophers have added "Ishwara" (Owner of initiation/Action in Sanskrit) as primordial cause for 'adrsta', Sometimes called "the God particle" in modern science. Nyaya is credited to "Gotama", and his writings or commentries are used for research purpose and very few adherents today.

A Saint named "Kanada" is attributed to "Vaisheshika" which mostly used by the Western Indologists for research on Physics and mathematics.

Yoga/Samkhya:

Derived from the interpretations of of Vedas, Brahmanas and the Upanishads literatures.

As per both the philosophies, the world is evolution of matter. There are "prakruthi" and "Purusha" components. "Prakruthi" is the fundamental substance from which everything evolves. Prakruthi tries to maintain equilibrium of three gunas or attributes called Rajas, Tamas, Satva. When all three maintain perfect equilibrium there are no actions created.

Variations of these gunas create actions & effects and this variations are influenced by purusha. This causes evolution and a reverse happens during dissolution. Prakruthi and purusha evolve in a union together, The first product of evolution is Budhi (Intellect), rest all are perception of the Budhi, which may not necessarily be the reality.

Yoga differs from Sankhya with introduction of Ishvara (or primordial creation principle) as cause of prakruthi. Yoga provides different methods of attaining the equilibrium of the gunas to attain union of purusha with prakruthi. The concepts of "Jiva" living being and "Ahamkar" Self Identity are some of the outcomes of these philosophies.

Yoga Sutra is atrributed to "Patanjali" who consolidated the concept and Samkhya is attributed to Philosopher "Kapila". Patanjali provides four methods of Yoga either attaining union with "Ishwara ..Gnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga. Hath Yoga part of Raja yoga, the Physical form of Yoga has spread extensively across the world in modern times.

Hindu - Advaitha Vedantha:

Derived from the interpretations of mainly Brahmanas and Upanishads literature.

Most Indic Philosophies follow principles of "Pramana" or Conclusion using concepts of Pratyaksa (Perception), Anumana (Inference), Upamana (Comparision), Arthapati (Derivation), Anupalabdi ( Negetive Proof) & Sabhda ( Words or experts).

Advaita , One of Vedanta school of thought uses all these for its justification and philosophy. The universe according to Badarayana (One of the early philosophers) universe is ‘originated’ from Brahman (Not Brahma) who (a Principle phenomenon, roots word Breath or vast or ever expanding in Sanskrit) is thought to be the cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution of the same. Brahman is seen as the material as well as instrumental cause, more a verb-noun than a noun, It is the cause, it is the effect.

Manifestation is the basic quality of Brahman which manifests into material and non material world, but also is the unchanging reality. The world according to Sankaracharya (One of main Philosophers in Advaitha) is beginning-less (anadi) and anantha (non end). It is avidya or ignorance that is responsible for the world-appearance. A concept called "Maya" is an unknowable, un-grasped creative force which enables or causes the world-appearance, many authors have different meanings to "Maya" (In Tibetan Bhudhist literature "Maya" would be illusion). "Brahman" manifests as "Atman" into all beings including animals & plants which is called the silent "Witness" of the actions performed by the being, which also is beginnings and endless. Purpose of "Atman" is to merge with "Brahman" within multiple life cycles of Birth and Death of the physical form with a concept called "moksha". The cycle of Birth and rebirth is called "Samsara". Atman in its cycle moves through different beings based on the actions "Karma" of the material being from the past.

Over the period of time, many alternative ideas like Nyaya or Yoga have influenced heavily into and outward of advaitha thought process. Swamy Vivekananda formulated Neo- Vedanta which became quite extensively used by modern Vedantists.

Hindu - Religio-Philosophies of Vaishnava, Shaiva and shakti:

These philosophies have numerous literature for each from centuries. Some of them could have been derived or influenced by other philosophies of Yoga/Advaitha or Samhkya as well. At Basic understanding, These philosophies asserts the existence of a primordial being responsible for creation, manifestation and dissolution. Sometimes referred to as Bhakti Traditions have Krishna, Shiva and Shakti Deities as the manifestation of the reality & consciousness and other tenets of Vedanta thoughts.

Rituals and mantra (verses from Vedas or Upanishads literature in specific pitch and meters) form integral part of one who follow this ideology. Bagavath gita and other texts are read and retold with examples of how on should follow "Dharma" or righteous deeds based on circumstances. As per the thought process, even a Plant, River, mountain, Insect has its own "Dharma" to adhere to in this world. There might be arbitrary variations of rituals, Deities based on tradition and local customs. (Refer my other article for difference between idol and deity in this context).

I have summarized some of the critical aspects of above ideologies or philosophies which usually are very crucial in understanding a world view, history, present & ponder over the future. More details on development and influence of Sramana Philosophies like Buddhist philosophies and its influence on Christianity and modern Hinduism can be expected in a later article.

References:

King James Bible - English version, www.history.com, www.britannica.com

Quran - Wahidudin Khan and Abdhulla Yusuf Ali

Hadiths - Sahih Al Bhukari - https://sunnah.com/bukhari

Upanishads - Mandukya and Mundaka Upanishad, Bhrahma sutras Bhashya

Samkhya - https://www.yogajournal.com/ ,

Nyaya - www.britannica.com

Yoga - Vivekananda's Raja, Bhakti, Gnana, karma yoga