Even a cursory reading of the Bible shows the vast chasm between Brahmoism and Christianity which the Christians in our midst should be aware of.
For example the book of Genesis (1:26, 1;27 and 2:7) we are told by Christians that "God created Man in his own image from the dust of the earth". Rammohan had challenged this and we say that to the contrary
"it was Man who creates (idols of) God from the dust of the earth.". Rammohan foresaw the great importance for Christians that Man is in God's image for does not Christ have the same image as his Father GOD
(Corinthians).
Another example would be of the "Fatherhood of God". This is a decidedly Christian concept (inserted by Keshab Sen) antithetical to Brahmoism where the "Godhood of father" is upheld. Christianity asks us to accept that Christ is God's son and that salvation lies through
God's Son and his chosen representatives on earth (namely Popery). Keshab went on to introduce more alien Christian concepts "Motherhood of God", "Kingdom of God" "Loyalty to Sovereign" etc which True
Brahmos reject out of hand.
Nay, Brahmoism is to be regarded as the highest form of a much debased Hinduism, a Hinduism which has now ceased to be Brahmoism.
Rahul
On Fri, Dec 26, 2008 at 5:53 PM, Sumanta-Sandhya Niyogi wrote:
> Dear Friends and Fellow-members,
> Merry Christmas. On this solemn occasion we pray,"May the Almighty
> God and one of his noblest sons, Lord Jesus Christ shower Their choicest
> blessings on you all." Jesus Christ is such a universally loved and revered
> soul that even in our Hindu-majority country there are millionms and
> millions of people who virtually worship him. It gives us a wonderful
> feeling to send our greetings to you on such a grand occasion. May his
> sermons, the words of wisdom and benevolence, guide, protect and inspire us
> all. As Brahmos,we feel proud of the way Raja Rammohun in his classic work,
> The Precepts of Jesus, and Swami Vivekananda (his broadness and liberality
> originated from his Brahmo background) in his Thus Spake the Christ, paid
> their homage to Jesus Christ. Vivekananda wrote, "If I, as an Oriental, am
> to worship Jesus of Nazareth, there is only one way left to me, that is to
> worship Him as God and nothing else." This reflects our universal and
> cosmopolitan tradition. Interestingly enough, it is the Brahmo Samaj which
> was the first Indian non-Christian religious community to start the annual
> celebration of the Chritmas and to conduct upasana on the occasion. Later
> the Ramakrishna Mission follow3ed the example.
> On such a holy occasion we generally make it a point to read the
> Holy Bible, at least some portions, if not the whole, of it. This time one
> message of Jesus that deeply touched us is that one should not evaluate what
> he/she has got or could not get from God, but should find joy and happiness
> from His divine presence within himself/herself all the time and the way he
> protected us at different times. That will bring greatest satisfaction to
> everyone and this will be as good as the key to the Kingdom of God. What a
> profound message and so similar to the thoughts of our ancient sages and
> Brahmo pioneers.
> Regards,
> Yours truly,
> Sumanta and Sandhya Niyogi
>
For example the book of Genesis (1:26, 1;27 and 2:7) we are told by Christians that "God created Man in his own image from the dust of the earth". Rammohan had challenged this and we say that to the contrary
"it was Man who creates (idols of) God from the dust of the earth.". Rammohan foresaw the great importance for Christians that Man is in God's image for does not Christ have the same image as his Father GOD
(Corinthians).
Another example would be of the "Fatherhood of God". This is a decidedly Christian concept (inserted by Keshab Sen) antithetical to Brahmoism where the "Godhood of father" is upheld. Christianity asks us to accept that Christ is God's son and that salvation lies through
God's Son and his chosen representatives on earth (namely Popery). Keshab went on to introduce more alien Christian concepts "Motherhood of God", "Kingdom of God" "Loyalty to Sovereign" etc which True
Brahmos reject out of hand.
Nay, Brahmoism is to be regarded as the highest form of a much debased Hinduism, a Hinduism which has now ceased to be Brahmoism.
Rahul
On Fri, Dec 26, 2008 at 5:53 PM, Sumanta-Sandhya Niyogi wrote:
> Dear Friends and Fellow-members,
> Merry Christmas. On this solemn occasion we pray,"May the Almighty
> God and one of his noblest sons, Lord Jesus Christ shower Their choicest
> blessings on you all." Jesus Christ is such a universally loved and revered
> soul that even in our Hindu-majority country there are millionms and
> millions of people who virtually worship him. It gives us a wonderful
> feeling to send our greetings to you on such a grand occasion. May his
> sermons, the words of wisdom and benevolence, guide, protect and inspire us
> all. As Brahmos,we feel proud of the way Raja Rammohun in his classic work,
> The Precepts of Jesus, and Swami Vivekananda (his broadness and liberality
> originated from his Brahmo background) in his Thus Spake the Christ, paid
> their homage to Jesus Christ. Vivekananda wrote, "If I, as an Oriental, am
> to worship Jesus of Nazareth, there is only one way left to me, that is to
> worship Him as God and nothing else." This reflects our universal and
> cosmopolitan tradition. Interestingly enough, it is the Brahmo Samaj which
> was the first Indian non-Christian religious community to start the annual
> celebration of the Chritmas and to conduct upasana on the occasion. Later
> the Ramakrishna Mission follow3ed the example.
> On such a holy occasion we generally make it a point to read the
> Holy Bible, at least some portions, if not the whole, of it. This time one
> message of Jesus that deeply touched us is that one should not evaluate what
> he/she has got or could not get from God, but should find joy and happiness
> from His divine presence within himself/herself all the time and the way he
> protected us at different times. That will bring greatest satisfaction to
> everyone and this will be as good as the key to the Kingdom of God. What a
> profound message and so similar to the thoughts of our ancient sages and
> Brahmo pioneers.
> Regards,
> Yours truly,
> Sumanta and Sandhya Niyogi
>
1 comment:
I came across your blog quite by accident, and I thought that I might endeavor to point out that a 'cursory' reading of the Bible might indeed mislead. What you might not have understood was that the books of Christianity were written by people whose information was limited, and allowed for a degree of understanding to people who were trying to make sense of the world, like many acknowledged myth systems. Also, the fact that we come from the dust of the earth is completely in tune with science, just watch the Lion King. The creation of idols has nothing to do with the material aspects of God. Secondly, I find 'Popery" to be somewhat pejorative, and your comments on that head to be misinformed. I think you might read a bit more, before you create 'vast chasms'. Lastly, I don't see how Rammohan could foresee, given that these beliefs, however anyone chooses to take them, were already well in place before he was born. But then this is your blog, and I do hope that I have not offended you.
Shefali Sequeira
Post a Comment