Hinduism from an Orthodox Christian Perspective | Public Lecture | Part 1 (Lecture) 

Again I will Quote a Hymn from RigVeda written more than 2000 BC... And it says about "Light of the Sun" and you will find very close resemblance with what the current speed of Light ( discovered by Danish astronomer Ole Roemer (1644-1710) ). The hymn goes like below in Sanskrit written in Rig Veda: "Yojananam Sahastra Dwe Dwe Shate Dwe Cha Yojane Aken Nimishardhena Krammana Namostute." In this hymn, the author pays respect to the one (apparently, the sunlight, and not the sun) who moves 2202 yojanas in half a nimish. Now comes the maths part: 1 yojan = 4 kose 1 kose = 8000 British yards 1 British yard = 0.9144 m. The unit of time nimish is defined in Shrimadbhagwat. 15 nimishas = 1 kashta 15 kashtas = 1 laghu 30 laghus = 1 muhurta 30 muhurtas = 1 diva-ratri 1 diva-ratri is, as the name suggests, one cycle of day and night, that is, 24 hrs. Therefore, the sunlight travels: 2202 yojanas = 2202*4 = 8808 kose = 8808*8000 = 70464000 British yards = 70464000*0.9144 = 64432281 m. in time interval: 1/2 nimish = 1/30 kashta = 1/30*1/15 = 1/450 laghu = 1/450*1/30 = 1/13500 muhurta = 1/13500*1/30 = 1/405000 diva-ratri = 1/405000 diva-ratri = 1/405000*24*60*60 s = 0.21333 s. Therefore, speed of the sunlight, according to the hymn is: c = 64432281 m/ 0.21333 s c = 302031036.422 m/s which is fairly close to the calculated speed of light. What I would like to infer from this is, ancient Indians had incredible knowledge about astronomy and astronomical calculations. For e.g. Indians knew that the earth was round centuries before Galileo. The hymn definitely speaks volumes about their ability in doing so. It is definitely the work of a genius and should not be written off as a mere coincidence.

I am a Syrian Christian and we are Christians since 52 AD, I am an Indian, we lived peacefully in Kerala and still do, we have been holding important positions and are considered as landed aristocracy and held important positions since then till today in the government and in society, some of the richest Christians in Asia, the Portuguese and the other European invaders were surprised to see us and then the trouble started when they tried to make us Catholics and protestants.

First of all no Aryans came to India on horseback’s from Stepe. This has been debunked properly using archaeology, genetics, texts, astronomy and no evidence of any reference to Stepe Homeland.

Hinduism is a newer term. The Original term is 'Sanatan Dharm'. Hinduism was coined in 712AD, the Muslims invaded the Indus Valley. To distinguish themselves, they called all non-Muslims Hindus. It is more than 5000 years old. A good attempt. Very well articulated.

To everyone who's not a Hindu or follows Hinduism in any capacity, just because some imagery is not aesthetic according to our modern standards, it doesn't mean they are demons or evil. In Hinduism, the knowledge of good and evil is not binary. Just because Kali looks dark and scary doesn't mean she's a demon. The point is that Kali represents something "Dark side of anything". It can mean the dark side of Masculine, or feminine. Kali represents Nature in its most brutal form, which doesn't warrant a good-looking picture. Considering pictures are being used as symbols here. In Hinduism, death is not something bad. Death is also bound by the Dharma-Karma cycle and it is just doing its job which is necessary to bring balance to the world. Karma literally means your job (Divine Job). A warrior's karma is to go to battle. A sage = shaman = old wise man's job is to teach and find new ways to expand its knowledge. The job of Kali is to destroy. It's her job in the Universe (Corporate Cosmos, lol. jk) which she is bound to do. She's not doing it out of intention. Scary face /= Scary Philosophy or person

Dharma Means Duty of conciousness

Brahmin came from the word brahmand. Brahmin is a person who has knowledge of the brahmhand. Sadly today it is is called a caste.

This is one school of Hindu philosophy. There are others.

Hinduism as demonstrated is a foreign word. Iranians coined the word Hindu to refer to people living on and beyond river Sindhu (Indus). Hinduism is no where to be seen in Indian scriptures. Sanatan tradition is used to refer to a canon of ancient scriptures which include multitudes of philosophies. These philosophies try to explain us, life, cosmos etc. Some talk about Paramatma(divine being), ultimate reality, dualism and no belief in supernatural being. You can be an atheist and yet be a Sanatani(now a Hindu)

Not very accurate, but much better than many mixed up insiders. I appreciate his desire to know and he may do much better if he gets a good guide. I like his frankness that he states that he does not know, when that is the case. Almost all the people are baffled by seeing Buddha as one of the incarnations of Vishnu. I have done lot of research and Acharya Madhva is a great resource to give the true understanding. Even many followers of Madhva are also confused and think that the historical Gautama Buddha is the one mentioned as the incarnation. But a lot of analysis will lead to the conclusion that the historical Buddha is not the incarnation, but another with the same name, but during the time of Tripurasauras (certain demons), is the incarnation. Note that the religion propounded by Gautama Buddha is atheistic in nature and does not believe in the validity of the Vedas, which propound the greatness of the Supreme Lord. at 33:10, he was looking for Sanskrit word - it is punarjanma.

It is heartening to see this degree of openness whereby an orthodox Christian takes pains to study, understand and explain another set of beliefs namely Hinduism or the Sanatan Dharma. If such were the attitude across the world there would be no strife in the name of religion!

I'm surprised and impressed by your efforts to understand Indian philosophy.

That's how educated people describe other religions thank you❤❤

As a Hindu I really like this presentation and the way in which it was presented.

80% were quite accurate. Being a Hindu this is how I would like a foreign know about Hinduism. Few best lecture on Hinduism on RU-vid. Speaker understood core principles and explained those in best possible way.

50.00 'To see things many and different is ignorance and to see them one from many is knowledge' This tells it all

15:27 The fire ritual is worshipping the holy river Ganga at the ghats of Varanasi. It happens around sunrise and sunset everyday.

4:22 1500 years BC is Max Mueller's dating of the RigVeda. When this date was derived, the Age of the Earth was assumed to be just 5000 years old, with the creation event dated to 4004 BC. The age of the Earth is now estimated at 4.55 +/- 0.05 billion years using various radiometric dating methods.

In ancient times, somewhere between modern day India & Pakistan, there were (and still are) 7 rivers in the fertile lands of Punjab and Sind -> Indus, Saraswati, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej & Beas. Indus was the main river and the rest were its tributaries. Together they were called, in Sanskrit, as Sapta (seven) Sindhu (confluence or where they meet). The peoples that lived on the banks of the rivers of the 'Sapta Sindhu' were called 'Sindhus'. As is typical with adjacent civilizations, words get juxtaposed, and the Persians living next door, pronounced 'Sapta Sindhu' as 'Hepta Hendu". The word 'Hindu' is derived from the Persian 'Hepta Hendu'. The practices followed by the 'Hendus' or the 'Hindus' are referred to, in common parlance, as 'Hinduism'.

Jai Sri Mā! I have to say Monk Innocent did a pretty good job explaining Hinduism. He has a lot jumbled together, and there were mistakes, but you know what, I don't care. He came at this in a genuine spirit of trying to understand, and with humility. I have read and listened to many different Christians from different sects pretend to know what they are saying about Hinduism - just absolutely wrong. Innocent is the first (and will more than likely be the last) Christian I will come across that made a sincere effort and actually grasped some vital, core views of Hinduism. I pray Sri Mā brings this monk more knowledge of, as well as love and devotion for God. Jai Sri Mā!

This is the difference between religion of Hindu and other religions that our religion never bound us to strictly believe in one God we have choice to follow any of the way we want and we Hindus also don't stop or force someone to fulfill their beliefs.

In Rigveda they have mentioned river Saraswati which dried up. Scientists have found paleo channels of this river and number of settlements along its bank. Thus many call this Indus Saraswati culture. You can look up Rakhigarhi. 15:44 This ritual is called Aarti, singing praise of god or goddess. This photo is on the Ganga river bank in Kashi/Banares. The four "Purushartha" of hindu to live a fulfilled life. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha Plenty of literature available on the same. A lot of Christians use hindu god /goddess images to shock their audiences. Kali is the favorite. Try Laxmi or Saraswati or Parvati as the other goddesses.

This video is a drop of an ocean

VID is Slavic word for Seeing VEDATI is Slavic word for giving oral knowledge . Example " PripoVEDATI", where PRI-PO are prefixes, mean something that was known before, PRI ( Prije = Before), was retold PO ( Poslije= After) - VEDATI ( VE =Veliko, Vezati = Big, made into pattern) DATI = Given. PRIPO- VEDKA = Short story

As an Indian, I applaud your research and open-mindedness

As a native orthodox interested inasian culture, I am extremely grateful that you have done this research and that this is now on-line. Religious study is so vastly intrleresting, specially if you research one ideology rather than dedicate your existance to only one practice.

Hinduism is what Hindus believe or practice Hindu is person who consider land South of Himalayas and Sindhu (indus) river as land of his ancestors, sacred land

Good effort. All the best for your pursuit. सत्यमेवजयते/Only the Truth prevails !!

Hindus are believers of multiple daitees. Not fighting for supremacy on other religious group

This is a great exploration from an Orthodox Christian and many thanks for a great work done. Most important is not to judge the things from our own perspective, just open mind and seek for the truth. "Satyam Eva Jayate - truth alone prevail." Namaste..🙏

Thanks alot for clearing it seriously. We are sanatanis.

You really scratched the surface very well though. Kudos to that, because others don't even know the surface.

Nice effort to present Hinduism. As he mentioned, there r tons of things to cover. Mostly, as a information 80% are correct. However, interpretation of few things needs refinement. The most underlying base of Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) is reincarnation, Atama & Brahman. Hinduism encompasses entire life of a human being. Even more, it relates Self, World & Creator in most logical, developed & enlightened way.

A very excellent attempt to explain Hinduism from a foreign land. by the way for Hinduism, there is no boundaries, world is like a one family . Respect from India.

We respect, appreciate and encourage others to have a wholesome, rational analysis of Sanatan with right guidance. Nonetheless this is a good beginning in this regard. This will evolve with time. Best wishes brothers and sisters.

@15:30 .. This is called ganga aarti .. They are worshiping river Ganga. biggest river in india ..

Amazing video essay on Hinduism. Yes, Dharma is very closely related to the concept of Logos. I am enjoying this a lot. There are a couple of places where a deeper inquiry is required but then again even a lot of Hindu scholars don't do a very good job. But this was very well put together.

So vivakenanda thought all religions were essentially the same, and he then spread his religion. Makes perfect sense! Thank you for providing this video to us

Hindu philosophy is not just in one book or school. In hindu dharma some hindu will follow vedant some will follow advait vedanta. *Hindu dharm is not a religion it's the way of life,duty towards society, responsibility of family,duty of the position.*

The moment Monk Innocent confessed that most of the material for this presentation came from Western scholars, I was certain that there would be incorrect understanding of rituals and practises and stereotyped distorted articulation of the history of Bharat. Why didn't he take the trouble to talk to practising Hindus living in the US and Canada, so he could have access to the most authentic sources of information ? For information on Christianity people in the West go to sources written by practising Christians, and the same is true for information on Islam and Judaism. Why don't they apply the same criteria when it comes to studying and presenting Hinduism ?

@34:18 I would like to correct that there is specific nature connected to it. What body(weather animal, human etc) the soul takes up depends on your Karma. Ex: If you have been tormenting a particular animal just to derive pleasure out of it's suffering, you will be born as that animal and go through that same pain and learn that you were wrong in doing so... Garuda Purāṇa gives more detail on this concept.

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing

I'm only at the 12:39 mark of the video so far, but I like this guy's vibe.

Nice presentation, enjoyed watching it. Few comments from a practicing Hindu : Most of the texts converted to English were done by people that did not understand Sanskrit (language of these ancient texts), so lots of miss translations, and miss understanding etc. Some of those inaccuracies: 1. Multiple Gods : This is the biggest myth 🙂Vedic texts speak about 33 million demi-gods, these are the administrators of the Universe and each universe as it's own set of 33 million demi-gods. The material word as per Vedic texts include the Heavenly planets, Earthly planets and Hellish planets. Beyond these are the spiritual world with multiple planets and One God. That one God appears multiple times when there is a deviation in philosophy over different ages or Yuga's. These avatar's or appearances are misunderstood by the West as multiple God's (or Polytheism). In Hinduism God is not a jealousy God, confirmed in Bhagavad Gita Krsna, even through God is indirectly worshiped, it is not a problem. So paganism is supported as part of your journey to great enlightenment. 2. Democracy : India was always modern 🙂 not just recently, it had advanced democracy & governance, down to the village level, etc. The English absorbed some of this into their administration. 3. Institutions : We have a parampara - unbroken chain of spiritual teachers for the last 5,000 years, so we do have institutions. 4. Ancient worlds : East and West already knew about India, not only since the East India company. 5. Ghee lamps picture : Is called an arati (fire offering) to the sacred river Ganges. Immersing yourself in the river purifies you of your sins, so Ganges is seen in high respect, similar to baptism in water. Hindu's are always taking the opportunity 6. Karma : Picture indicates that Karma leads to repeated birth & suffering in the material world, therefore circle. In Bhagavad Gita, talks about how to break the cycle and go back to Godhead (spiritual world) 7 Time : Time only exists in the material world, not in the spiritual world. 8 Soul : The soul 'always' existed as per Hinduism, we have just temporary fallen down to the material world and taken birth and the body changes from baby, to youth to old age. 🙂 it does not leads to spiritual laziness... but a realization that you wasting your time here and time to go back home. 'Get out logic' is incorrect, salvation means going back home, back to the spiritual world. The 're-absorb' only happens in the material world and purifies your karma and you sent back to the material world, to try again. Agree with : 1. Agree no Dogma, people in differences walks of life accepted (Yoga ladder, people at difference stages of realization). 2. Thinking that you are God is also seen as 'spiritual darkness' in Hinduism and is a by-product of impersonalism. SO Hare Krishna, do not believe they are God.

Also, you cannot convert to Hinduism. You sort of just pack your bags and start living like a Hindu from any part of India, you're a Hindu then. Hindu consider someone to be religious/spiritual if they are living in accordance with the universal moral principles. Basically, be a good person, don't cheat, don't lie, don't kill unnecessarily, try to care for the jungle and all the beings who don't have a voice in the world as much as you have, do your job, be a good father, mother, sister, friend, brother, son, daughter, respect other religions and faiths, give to poor, increase your knowledge and wisdom, don't harm yourself, etc. If you do this, then you're considered religious. Hinduism is simply a way of life that focuses on a holistic way to live, a balanced way, and sustainability, although people tend to take Hinduism to an extreme and claim it's an organized religion, it's not. There will always be radicals, but to be Hindu is simply to be a good, wise, and moral person, in that way every priest and father who's true to their salt, is also a Hindu. Hinduism advertises harmony. It is pragmatic but people have been making it dogmatic and inaccurate.

It's great video. I am a hindu

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ ☦️💒

Prostrations to Father Innocent for his efforts on understanding Hinduism and hard work that went into this presentation🙇‍♀️🙏 Important point was made about the "Error of the devil" . What takes out the dangerousness is the renunciation of ego that happens in Jivanmukta(Free while alive) Saints... by which no particular consequence that looks to preserve the Self remains. Like science, if there is some pending past bad/good karma a bad/good consequence has to happen , so be it. When no desires remain, no past actions remain to get any consequence for, there is 100% purity and no need for rebirth. Thus such a saint is as harmless as a newborn kitten. Such a saint is unable to even claim that he is Free/Realised. So if we come across one who claims to be God, he maybe at an advanced stage but not fully free... he may learn and one day proceed to be Free.

Thank U, Infinite Intelligence 🙏

Well done father innocent, very helpful in understanding the ” Hindu “ way!

I had no idea that the transcendentalist writers were inspired by Indian scriptures. Makes perfect sense to me now.

Atheist,monotheist,polythiest every comes under the umbrella of Hindu dharma but everybody either they follow vedanta,advait vedanta, either they believe in god or not but they do beleive in Vedas except charbak darshan who only beleive what they can see nothing else they are like on the peak of materialism, although in the charwak darshan there are two sides in that some beleive that we are composition of five material kshiti(soil), jal(water),pawak(fire),gagan(air), Samira (cosmos,space,nothingness)

A very good portrayal of Hinduism from a Non Hindu. Thanks.

Nice effort to present Hinduism (Sanaathana Dharma).

What an ecplanation, first time I have heard the correct explanation of Dharma.

At 55:00 Swami Vivekananda is the inspiration for current prime minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

I think there is a lot to respect in Hinduism just as there is in another pagan family of traditions among Greek philosophers and spiritual masters. It is true that there are some things within it that are just “off” enough to be risky unless handled with extreme care.

The Persian or Mughal invader & traders started calling people stay near Sindhu River as Hindus bcoz of the pronouncing issue and the Greek since Herodotus (5th century BCE) started calling Indus river again pronouncing issue hence Sindhu become Indus Valley civilization so the name India was given by Britisher the Real and Ancient Name of India is Bharat The name Bharat is derived from the legendary King Bharat

Very well articulated. You have Humility.

A surprisingly accurate take on Hindu beliefs for an outsider.

👌👍✌️A very great job. Amazing

Wow. Amazing talk. Thank you.

Beautifully explained, given the constraints…the basics are quite correct

Great, you have learned more and gave good lecture in good form. Thank u sir

The name Hindu is as per the Avesta language version of Sindhu which is the river that existed long ago where the Indus Valley Civilization thrived.

Could we possibly have another talk on Hinduism by Monk Innocent. I found this talk very interesting indeed. My friend is exploring Hindu ideas so this is quite relevant to the dialogue I've had with him as an Orthodox Christian

thank you for your efforts in understanding😊.. greetings from sanatanis..🙏

The monstrous look of Hindu gods mostly comes from the coloring and multiple arms and heads along with facial poses. The coloring indicates a thematic implication for the god in question, the faces and arms represent the multiple spacial and temporal manifestations these beings can assume, transcending time and space. The facial expression on Kali is a mythoreprrsentation of a scorned wife....so pretty accurate. Though it appears foreign, the Hindi attempted to create visual representations of universal beings by creating multitudinous art, this translated to their architecture as well. The occidental answer to this was to not create an effigy of God at all. I think both approached are to be appreciated. God is entirely unknowable especially through a visible representation. Nonetheless the Hindu effort is aweinspiring and paradoxes can point to the infinite quite effectively.

15.27min. This is river worship. Rivers are divine because they provide water.

Fair and good attempt at the presentation

Old Slavic and Sanscrit are not only very similar in words meaning and grammar but also believe in Trinity ... Vishnu= Višnji ( High) Brahman=Brana (Defend/ Preserve) , Shiva= Živa ( Life ) PS . Živa is also name for mercury . Ortdox Christianity is called PRAVO-SLAVLJE, which means Right Celebration/ Glorification of God.

I read a comment on how old any religion is, be it Islam, Buddhism or Christianity ; however God created the universe so nothing can be older than Him. I am in awe of the speaker. When will all humans be United in the Religion of Humanity?

Really surprised to see orthodox Christian perspective on Hinduism. Wondering what future will uncover about the past. As a student of western philosophy, Hinduism goes all encompassing without any single focus and form. As a Hindu, Hindu principles are realised well by its people but the practice is forever ill.

historical evidences are bout 5000 years old . But no one knows its origin and like who started this religion. This is why we Hindu people call our religion to be the ''sanatan dharma'' or the eternal religion . This i the most scientific religion which talks about many modern scientific theories like time dilation , gravity , multiverse and many more . our religious texts had predicted about the birth of lord buddha about 4000 years before he actually took birth. In Hinduism lord buddha is the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Jainsim , Buddhism and sikhism are all a part of Sanantan Dharma only.

Excellent

I love your explanation. You have simplified it.keep up the good work. May be look at it from extenslism.

Appreciated👏. Pastor has a sound knowledge of our religion and he is correct on 90% areas.

There are some artefacts that have been found in Indus Valley(Harappa) Civilisation point to presence of thoughts and rituals found in modern Sanatani (Hindu) philosophies. This makes Sanatan(Hindu) tradition at least as old as 5000 years old. There are indications from more recent excavations that it could be as old as 10000 years old.

The indian emblem of 4 headed animal with wheels on 4sides bring to mind the throne of God mentioned in Rev

thank you for the hard work of presenting difficult to grasp subject of Upanishads.

The guy had an impossible task. A+ for effort. It is impossible to explain Sanatan Dharma in a few minutes. Lots of words/notions just gets messed up due to translation even today.

This was very enriching. Thank you

Good attempt at what you did!

I was given a book called "the orthodox way" and it compared the trinity to how Hindus view brahma,very interesting

Thank u for taking interest in Sanatan Dharma (so called Hinduism) which has philosophy of “Vasudhev Kutumbakam ie Whole world is family:)

😜👍. all I can say for the time being. So thanks for the good lecture. 😊

I have read that the Persians replaced the S in the Sindhu river, with an H, as they often did in their language, which is how it became Hindu. Shruti, means "to listen", which was the medium of receiving education in the olden times in Bhaaratha. Smriti, means "to recall", which is bound to be more erroneous than a direct teaching. Of course, the person delivering the knowledge is also doing so from "Smriti", but that is Krushna or Shankara themselves. Translating these words to non-Indian languages is difficult due to the massive difference in concepts of morality and society in their places of use.

9:22 very well said. He gets it.

He understood very well...good job sir 🙏

🙏🙏🙏!

Fair and sincere effort. Thanks.

Sir.....I must say you have a true and honest depiction of Hinduism....lot of effort and unbiased approach to understand....one of the oldest religion .....we are truly thankful you ...

.....yeah ,quite nice ........

I am sure it must have taken a lot of time and effort to understand and synthesize what a religion like Santayana Dharma. Congratulations! on your research, learnings and humbleness. A few pointers to think about: The concept of rebirth “leads to idleness, spiritual laziness, and despair”. Oh oh! depression is a big problem in the west, not as much in Asia/India/Nepal. The way of living has a quite a bit to do with not being despaired. Generally Hindu seekers are non-despair by definition. If they are then they are either still seeking/learning. More importantly, I find the logic silly. Because there is this birth cycle, I must have been born so many times did my stuff (eat, sleep, cry, laugh, sex, acquire, and sue). How many more times should I do this? Is there a way to break the cycle? Santayana Dharma says ‘Yes’…andyou have to seek and practice quite a bit. No time for laziness. Also it is interesting that all such study’s objective to help the orthodox church to be ready to answer not so inclined Hindu questions and convert.

This shows that the West has so much to learn about Bharat and Sanatan Dharm, they have just scratched the surface but I'd say keep digging, someday you might get there.

As a hindu, you are free to do as you please. That is what i like. It makes one open to diverse thoughts

The 10 Avatars of Vishnu predated Charles Darwin by several millennia and essentially talk about the divinity of creation and all the creatures that evolved across time.

This holy man does not know about Rakhigarhi excavations that nullify Aryan connection to Central Asia.

Muy interesante.

Excellent introduction to hinduism. The central idea in hinduism aka sanatan dharma is enlightenment, there are multitude of practices and philosophies, often conflicting as it depends upon individual temperament.