niranjan

Yes, I agree with you. I have read a book by Dan Brown, " angels and demons " , where a professor , who is the hero of the story, states in a history class that December 25 , which is considered as the birthday of Christ, was originally a Roman fertility festival , and the Roman officials incorporated their festivals and ideas into Christianity.

However , I wish to know whether there are similarities between Horus's teachings and Jesus's teachings , just as there are similarities between Jesus's teachings and hindu-buddhist teachings.

I believe it is Jesus's teachings that define him, and not the various legends about him.

lauraclay

Yes, that I think that is what defines a religion, the teachings, not the legends of the leader. The rest is just interesting. Or, who knows, maybe there's something to all these similarities....like an answer....

jaej

I disagree that you can simply call Jesus a teacher, a great moral leader, whatever. Jesus claimed something that the buddha never claimed; he claimed to be able to forgive sin. If anyone is familiar with apologetics, C.S. Lewis points out that since Jesus said things like this: (here you go faith) "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through me", Jesus can be one of only three things. He could be lying, he could be crazy, or he could be who he claimed: the son of god.

I don't pretend to know or insinuate anything, and I'm not sure how relevant this is to the thread. I'm just saying-saying Jesus was a great moral teacher, only, is ignorant.

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jaej

I suppose that one could logically conclude that being wrong does not necessarily make one crazy. All I can say is that claiming to be able to forgive 'sin' is somehow different. I'm not sure how to put it into words. What I truly think is that Jesus' message was right and moral and good, and that he should be listened too. However, I also think he was horribly misguided, and he thought he was something he was not. Does this make any sense? Not really sure where I'm going with this..

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niranjan

According to the Vedanta, sin is nothing but error, and we make errors due to ignorance.

Buddha was more interested in making sure that everyone reached enlightenment and wisdom ,so that ignorance,which is the original cause of sin or error, will be wiped out.

Remove the cause, which is ignorance, and its effect, which is sin or error will be automatically removed.

niranjan

If you read the Bhagavad Gita, you will find Krishna making similar statements.

For example ...

In this world there are two orders of being: the perishable, separate creature and the changeless spirit. But beyond these there is another, the supreme Self, the eternal Lord, who enters into the entire cosmos and supports it from within. I am that supreme Self, praised by the scriptures as beyond the changing and the changeless. Those who see in me that supreme Self see truly. They have found the source of all wisdom, . . . and they worship me with all their heart.

But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them.

(Those who follow the path of spiritual wisdom) see that where there is One, that One is me (God); where there are many, all are me; they see my face everywhere.


I (God) am easily attained by the person who always remembers me and is attached to nothing else.

Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart.

“Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart - a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water - I accept with joy.”


“Setting aside all noble deeds, just surrender completely to the will of God. I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not grieve.”

"Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall certainly reach Me. I promise you because you are My very dear friend."



So here we see Krishna himself stating himself to be the Lord of the universe. And this is very similar to what Jesus said as well.

How do you explain it?

The reason why Krishna and Jesus stated themselves to be God, is beautifully explained in Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's " Hinduism and Christianity".

lauraclay

niranjan, doesn't that just prove that many different claims have been made throughout history, and that no religion can take complete credit for being the one true religion just based on a claim by a leader? I think all these similarities and differences just prove that every religion is as credible as the next, and that all that matters is the purpose it serves. What truly matters is the function of religion, not the credibility.

niranjan

If you read my previous post, you can see that it is but a response to Jaej's claim that Jesus, because he declared himself to be God, should be considered different from Buddha.

Also , I have never stated that one should worship Krishna or Jesus simply because they have stated themselves to be God.

I have only said that there is a logical reason why Krishna or Jesus or others have claimed themselves to be God , and this can be understood from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's "Hinduism and Christianity" . Even an understanding of Indian philosophy is suffice for this matter.

As a priest of the Saint Thomas Christian Church of South India once commented : "You cannot understand the teachings of Jesus if you do not know the scriptures of India."

niranjan

The beauty of Buddha's teachings is that he never said that one should depend on God or gods for ones salvation , or for leading a pure and good life.

Rather than depending on God, Buddha emphasised self-reliance, self-help and self-belief. Through this itself , he gives tremondous dignity and self-respect and self-esteem to the individual and helps him or her to stand up on their two legs independently , without the need for psychological crutches. And I believe this is something unique in the annals of world spirituality.

Also through his other teachings , he emphasises the importance of logic and reason, individuality , freedom of thought and mind, and the importance of loving oneself.

And also consider that great heart of his , that extended its love not only to all human beings, but to all animals and fellow creatures as well.

When a ritual was being conducted in ancient India where a goat was about to be sacrificed, Buddha came to the king who was conducting the ritual and asked him to spare the goat and sacrifice himself instead, and needless to say, the king was astonished by this statement of the Buddha.

It is because of Buddha's efforts that animal sacrifices came to an end in India.

Og

amen.

Anthony deMello was an Indian Catholic Jesuit priest who died back in the 80s. His work was a wonderful western read of the teachings of christ with an eastern perspective underpinning it all.

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You & I, no distinction.
Mettā & Namaste