1. Vedic Monotheism and Biblical Doctrine of Trinity
1
VEDIC MONOTHEISM AND BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF TRINITY
- VEDIC MONOTHEISM
Vedic philosophy revolves round singularity of God. There is no mention of plurality of God in Vedas. Vedic religion is pure unadulterated Monotheism. According to Hoy Vedas, God is one, not many :
sa eYa ekx ekxvaRdokx eva |
a Aqava-vaod 13o4o20Verily He is one
Single, indivisible, supreme reality.
- Atharva Veda 13/4/20
Oneness of God is the axis round which the philosophy of Vedas revolves. None but God alone reigns and rules over the whole universe. True kingship belongs to Creator of the cosmos. He alone is the Supreme Sovereign of the universe :
ekxao ivaEvasya Bauvanasya rajaa |
a Pgvaod 6o36o4He is the sole sovereign
Of the universe.
- Rig Veda 6/36/4
There is none who equals him. He is One, without parallel :
ya ekxao Aista dMsanaa maha^M {ga
ao AiBa vataO: |
a Pgvaod 8o1o27He is one, unparalleled
Through His wondrous, mighty
And formidable laws and deeds.
- Rig Veda 8/1/27
Vedic philosophy does not approve of polytheism. There are no gods except one God, who is the Lord of lords. Only He is worthy to be worshipped and fit to be adored :
ekx eva namasyaao#ivaXvaIDyaa: |
a Aqava-vaod 2o2o1There is only One
Who ought to be adored
By the people.
- Atharva Veda 2/2/1
Holy Vedas declare that God alone is the unchallenged Lord of the whole creation. All sorts of eulogy, adoration and prayer befit Him only. Man does not deserve to be eulogised and deified by man. The deification of man by man is not permitted by Vedic religion. Therefore, it behoves man to worship the Great Lord of the cosmos only :
maa icadnyaiW SaMsata saKayaao maa irYaNyata |
[nd`imatstaaotaa vaRYaNaM sacaa sautao mauhur]@qaa ca SaMsata ||
a saamavaod 242O friends,
Adore none else but Providence
Who is supreme bestower of bliss
And thus thou wilt not suffer;
Eulogise Him in congregation
And sing songs of His glory repeatedly
- Sam Veda 242
God is singular, but his names are plural. All the epithets mentioned in Holy Vedas are ascribed to one God, who is Creator of the cosmos. Shiva, Shankara, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Ganesh, Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, Yama etc. are the epithets of one Supreme Being, who is formless, featureless, birthless and bodiless. He is unborn, eternal, immortal and everlasting. He has no agents, no intermediaries, no representatives, no incarnations and no partners. He has neither father, nor mother. He has neither wife, nor sons, nor daughters. He has no attachment. But He is Benevolent Father of all his children, and imparts equal love impartially to all his creatures. He is kind to all, cruel to, none. His first name is Om. But He is evoked and adored by several other names which are written in Vedas
[nd
M ima~aM var]Namaignamaahurqaao idvya: sa saupaNaao- gar]tmaana\ | ekMx saiWpaa bahuQaa vadntyaigna yamaM maatairEvaanamaahu: ||
a Pgvaod 1o164o46He is One Brahma
The Creator of the cosmos
Who pervades and protects
And enlightens aft beings
He is One Supreme Entity
Whom sages call by various names
Such as Indra, the glorious
Mitra, the benign friend
Varuna, the greatest, the noblest
Agni, the resplendent, the bright
Yama, the dispenser of justice
Matarishwa, the almighty.
- Rig Veda 1/164/46
He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. He is All-powerful and All-pervasive. He pervades, permeates and penetrates all things and all hearts
sa#Aaota: pa
aotaEca ivaBaU: pajaasau |
a yajauva-od 32o8He, the all-pervasive
Pervades all beings
Within and without.
- Yajur Veda 32/8
He reigns magnificently and munificently over the whole universe. He is unparalleled and unequalled emperor of the cosmos created by Him. He is the One and the sole Sovereign of all creation, animate and inanimate. He is the unchallenged Master of. the whole cosmos :
dovaao dovaanaamaisa |
a Pgvaod 1o94o13Thou art Lord of lords.
- Rig Veda 1/94/13
God does not have face, form, features, signs and symbols. He has no body. He is formless, featureless and bodiless. He is birthless and deathless. When He does not take birth, He cannot assume body. He cannot be seen, He can be felt. Hence no picture or portrait, idol or statue of God can be made.
na tasya pa`itamaa#Aista |
a yajauva-od 32o3God has no image.
- Yajur Veda 32/3
The Western scholars, who drank deep from Vedic spring, have never lagged behind in admiring and appreciating the oneness of God as revealed in Vedas, from the core of their hearts. Count Bjornstjerne, the Norway’s national poet, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1903, observes :
‘These truly sublime ideas cannot fail to convince us that the Vedas recognise only one God, who is Almighty, Infinite, Eternal, Self-existent, the Light and Lord of the Universe.’
- Count Bjornstjerne
Colebrook, the British scholar, states :
‘The ancient Hindu religion as found in the Hindu scriptures (the Vedas) recognises but one God.’
- Colebrook
Charles Coleman acknowledges in his book ‘Theophany of the Hindus’, the oneness of God as revealed in Holy Vedas as under :
‘The Almighty, Infinite, Eternal, Incomprehensible, Self-existent Being, He who sees everything though never seen is Brahm, the one unknown, True Being, the Creator, the Preserver and Destroyer of the Universe. Under such and innumerable other definitions is the Deity acknowledged in the Vedas.’
- Charles Coleman
Livi, the famous Arabic poet, honours and admires the blessed land of Hindusthan and Holy Vedas as under :
‘Blessed land of Hind (Hindusthan), thou art worthy of reverence, for in thee has God revealed true knowledge of Himself. What a pure light do these four revealed books afford to our mind’s eyes like the charming and cool lustre of the dawn ! These four God revealed upon His prophets (Rishis) in Hind. Those treasuries are the Sama and Yajur which God has preached. O my brothers, revere these, for they all tell us the good news of salvation. The next two of these four, the Rig and the Atharva, teach us lessons of universal brotherhood. These two (Vedas) are the beacons that warn us to turn towards that goal (universal brotherhood).’
- Livi
Dara Shakoh, the son of king Shah Jehan and elder brother of Aurangzeb, comes to the conclusion in Persian language as under :
‘After gradual research, I have come to the conclusion that long before all heavenly books like the Quran, the Old Testament and the New Testament etc., God had revealed to the Hindus through the Rishis of Yore, of whom BRAHAM was the chief, His four books of knowledge, the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the, Samveda, and the AtharvaVeda.’
- Dara Shakoh
2. BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF TRINITY
(i) (a) Doctrine of ‘three in one’ and ‘three equal to one’
Unlike Vedic religion, which is pure Monotheism, Holy Bible preaches the doctrine of Trinity, i.e. the existence of three Gods : God, the Father, God, the Son (Christ) and God, the Holy Ghost (Spirit). The Christians believe that each God is equal in power and glory, and that these three are one. Thus Christianity revolves round the theory of ‘three in one’ and ‘three equal to one’. And they still call it ‘monotheism’ ! They claim that their doctrine of Trinity or Trinitarianism amounts to monotheism.
(b) Three Entities are one
The New Testament says
1. ‘7. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one.’
- 1 John, 5/7
The above text appears on page 1279 of the authorised (King James) version of the Holy Bible printed by the Gideons International in U.S.A. in 1979. But, later on it is omitted from the Bible. In this connection W.P. Ball and G.W. Foote write in their ‘The Bible Handbook’ as under :
_’This verse, being demonstrated a forgery, is omitted from the Revised Version. It is the only text distinctly asserting the doctrine of the Trinity, which is really a Christian invention or development of later date than the Bible.’_31
- W.P. Ball and G.W. Foote
Thomas Jefferson, the third President of U.S.A. who was the founding father of secularism In government in the modern West, exclaimed :
_’The incomprehensible jargon of Trinitarian arithmetic, that three are one and one is three.’_32
-Thomas Jefferson
James A. Haught states :
_’In A.D. 385 at Trier. Germany, bishops put to death Priscillian and his followers for doubting the Trinity and the Resurrection.’_33
- James A. Haught
Leo Tolstoy, the renowned Russian writer and thinker, opines :
_’One may utter words that have no sense, but one cannot believe what has no sense - one cannot believe that God is, at the same time, both One and also Three ‘_34
- Leo Tolstoy
(c) Convert and baptize all nations in the name of three entities
The New Testament instructs the Pope and all Christian missionaries to go and convert all nations of the world by baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Here is the text :
2. ‘19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’
- Matthew 28/19
It is on account of the above text that Christian missionaries bluntly refuse to stop converting Hindus to their faith. They claim that it is God’s command to them that they must convert and baptize all people of all nations of the world. When Shri Omprakash Tyagi presented a ‘Freedom of Religion Bill’ in Parliament, which recommended that there should be no conversion from one religion to another, more than three lakh Christians demonstrated in protest against the bill in Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Delhi. They claimed that under Article 25(1) of the Indian Constitution it was their fundamental right to convert non-Christians to Christianity. They knocked the doors of High Courts and even Supreme Court to get their ‘right to convert’ upheld judicially. But the then Chief Justice, Shri A.N. Ray rejected their claim in his judgement. In spite of the judgments of Supreme Court, the Christian missionaries, under direct and indirect patronization of pseudo-secular Hindu politicians, continue to convert the poor, illiterate and innocent tribal Hindus with political motive on the plea that, it is God’s command to them that they must baptize and convert all persons of all nations on the earth.
(d) Eternal damnation for blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
The New Testament declares that the man who blasphemes against the Holy Ghost will be damned eternally :
3. ‘29. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost bath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.’
- Mark, 3/29
(e) God sent His only begotten Son
The New Testament states that God manifested His love to the people by sending His only begotten Son to the world
4. ‘9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.’
- 1 John, 4/9
(f) Christ in God, God in Christ
The New Testament declares that Jesus Christ is in God, and God is in Jesus Christ.
5. ‘11. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; ’
- John, 14/11
(g) God and Christ are one
The Holy Bible (the New Testament) confirms oneness of God and Christ in the following verse :
6. ‘30. I and my Father are one.’
- John, 10/30
(h) God gave all powers to Christ
The Holy Bible (the New Testament) mentions that God gave all powers to Jesus Christ not only on the earth, but also in heaven.
7. ‘18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’
- Matthew, 28118
8. ‘35. The Father loveth the Son, and bath given all things into his hand.’
- John, 3/35
(i) Christ was equal to God
The New Testament states that Christ was in the form of God and that He had full right to be equal to God :
9. ‘Who (Christ), being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God;’
- Philippians, 2/6
(j) Foolishness of Biblical God !
The New Testament dubs God Almighty as foolish and weak, though His foolishness (?) is wiser than men. Here is the verse :
10. ‘25. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.’
- 1 Corinthians, 1/25
It is nothing but blasphemy to call God Almighty, the Supreme Lord, as foolish and weak !
(ii) Laelius Socinus rejected the Doctrine of Trinity
An Italian scholar Laelius Socinus (b. 1525-d.1582) emphatically rejected the doctrine of Trinitarianism as irrational and unacceptable to reason. The theory of ‘three gods in one’ was not acceptable to him. He started preaching ‘monotheism’, the principle of one God. Consequently, he was declared a heretic and expelled from the Church. Any one who preached ‘monotheism’ was a heretic, not a true Christian in the estimation of the Church. In 1546, Laelius Socinus joined a Secret Society, which preached that the doctrine of ‘three gods in one’ (Trideism or Trinitarianism) was untenable and that many tenets of the Roman Catholic Church were repugnant to reason. Consequently the Secret Society was banned by the Church and its several members were massacred because of their only fault that they did not believe in the cult of Trinity. Laelius Socinus had to flee to a foreign place of safety. While in exile, he breathed his last at Zurich. Even today when the Church condemns any person for his secular ideas, it brands him as a ‘Socinian’.
(iii) Unitarians were burnt alive
In 1662, about two thousand priests were expelled by the Church under the Act of Uniformity, because they had declined to accept the doctrine of Trinity and professed ‘monotheism’ which they called ‘Unitarianism’. They considered Christ as a mere mortal and believed in one God. Consequently thousands of Unitarians were burnt at stakes not only in England but also other countries. Ultimately in 1813, the Church, under pressure of public opinion, agreed to accept ‘Unitarianism’ as one of several ‘isms’ into which Christianity is divided and subdivided today.
(iv) Rev. William Adam embraced Vedic Religion
Rev. William Adam was assigned the duty of converting Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Christianity. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a staunch monotheist. So instead of being converted to Christianity, he influenced and impressed William Adam to give up his belief in three Christian gods and embrace Vedic monotheism. Thus Rev. William Adam, a Christian missionary, who had set out to convert Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Christian trideism, ultimately became a Vedantist35. He was, therefore, expelled from the Church and declared a heretic and a Socinian. His conversion to Vedic religion was reported in the ‘Annual London Report of the Missionary Society’ as under :
_’We mention with deep regret that Mr. Adam had embraced opinions derogatory to the honour of the Saviour, denying the proper divinity of ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ’, inconsequence of which the connection between him and the Society has been dissolved.’_36
(v) Superiority of the Vedic Religion
Mr. W.D. Brown, the British philosopher, admits in his ‘Superiority of the Vedic Religion’ as under :
‘Vedic religion recognises but one God. It is a thoroughly scientific religion, where religion and science meet hand in hand Here theology is based on science and philosophy.’
- W.D. brown
Mr. Count Bjornstjerne, the Norway’s national poet, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1903, observes :
‘These truly sublime ideas cannto fail to convince us that the Vedas recognise only one God.’
- Count Bjornstjerne
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‘Dharma is the repository of the nation’s soul. If Dharma is destroyed, the Nation perishes. Any one who abandons Dharma, betrays the nation Since Dharma is supreme, our ideal of the State has been Dharma Rajya What constitutes the good of the people, Dharma alone can decide. Therefore a democratic government Jana Rajya must also be rooted in Dharma i.e. a Dharma Rajya.
Since in the West injustice and atrocities were perpetrated, bitter conflicts and battles were fought in the name of religion, all these were en bloc listed on the debit side of Dharma also. We feel that in the name of Dharma also battles were fought. However battles of religion and battles of Dharma are two different things. Religion means a creed or a sect, it does not mean Dharma. Dharma is very wide concept. It is concerned with all aspects of life. It sustains the society. Even further, it sustains the whole world. That which sustains is Dharma.’
- Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya
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Footnotes: 31 W.P. Ball, G.W. Foote, John Bowden, Richard, M. Smith : ‘The Bible Handbook’, Revised Edition, 1986, U.S.A., p. 96
32 Charles Smith : ‘The Bible in the Balance’, published in the West, reprinted by Hindu Writers’ Forum, New Delhi, p.4
33 James A. Haught : ‘Holy Horrors’, published by Prometheus Books, New York, 1990, p. 53
34 (i) Leo Tolstoy : ‘Essays and Letters’, translated by Aylmer Maude, Oxford University Press, London, 1911
(ii) N.S. Rajaram : ‘Christianity’s Collapsing Empire and It’s Designs in India’, New Delhi, 1999, p, 15
35 ‘Anglo India’, Vol. III, p. 238
36 ‘The Annual London Report of the Missionary Society’, dated June 20, 1822