HINDUISM
The Vedas constitute a body of intuitively gained accumulated knowledge bearing neither date nor any author's name. Individuals who had contributed to this vast fund of knowledge were all rishis who had renounced the world. Intuition does not work unless one has raised oneself to higher levels of consciousness. And in order to be able to attain those higher levels of consciousness one has to necessarily give up body-related ego. Hinduism did not emanate from one individual nor is it contained in any one book that bears a date. Lord Krishna has stated in the Bhagavad-Gita that as and when the need arises He would incarnate and to this day He has kept the promise.
Merits/Demerits
The total freedom allowed by the religion enables the practitioners as also the leaders to think freely at all times and this is what enables the religious leaders to keep in mind needs of the changing times and interpret teachings of the Vedas accordingly. If any individual in the process of interpreting any shloka goes berserk by adding his own intelligence or distorts the essence of the shloka in any manner there is any number of individuals who feel free to correct it and engage in an intellectual dialogue and convincingly explain why the particular interpretation is wrong.
Of course there is the flip-side to it in the sense the absolute freedom allowed does result in many Hindus turning agnostic if not atheist. All the same this is held as a small price to pay for the total freedom allowed by the Religion.
ISLAM
Islam on the other hand began with the Prophet- a historical reality of the Sixth Century AD! The Divine Revelation of Prophet Mohammed of the Seventh Century was also intuitively evolved knowledge; fruit of the isolated life he had led in the cave of Mount Hira for years.
Merits/Demerits
Universal brotherhood is an excellent aspect of this religion. As a religion there does not seem to be anything wrong with it on the other hand there is much to commend. Perhaps the Prophet had in mind barbarians who were less civilized and yet to come under his tutelage and living in his immediate vicinity within that little world of his. That was his style of approach as a warrior in order to get results in double quick time. Perhaps therefore in a sense he was right when he advised his followers to forcibly convert those who do not agree to embrace Islam because he was unaware of the fact more advanced civilizations existed beyond the borders known to him at that time.
Day in and day out the Hindu sings 'Allah Ishwar tero naam' meaning to say Allah and Ishwar both are your names. He sings this with the firm conviction that God is one and His names are many. The underlying logic is very sound.
In a sense Hinduism and Islam are exact opposites. While the former is tolerance personified the latter survives and subsists on intolerance/violence. While Hinduism advocates introspection Islam on the other hand has nothing to offer even as much as a hint of introspection. While the Hindu leaders believe in interpreting the scriptures in the light of ground realities, the Muslims can neither be at peace nor allow others to be in peace unless and until the entire species of homo sapiens on this earth embraces their religion!(?) The element of intolerance towards other faiths as also violence in the name of religion although may have been once relevant has long since outlived its purpose.
If the Islamic world is to be deviated from the path of self-destruction none other than Allah the Almighty can do it. But then unfortunately even this path seems to have been more or less permanently blocked by that one-liner from Prophet Mohammed that he is the last to visit this planet Earth.
To say God is all powerful and in the same breath argue that He cannot come down in human would amount to contradiction in terms is it not? The earlier this truth is realized the better for the religion as also for the rest of the world.
The Vedas constitute a body of intuitively gained accumulated knowledge bearing neither date nor any author's name. Individuals who had contributed to this vast fund of knowledge were all rishis who had renounced the world. Intuition does not work unless one has raised oneself to higher levels of consciousness. And in order to be able to attain those higher levels of consciousness one has to necessarily give up body-related ego. Hinduism did not emanate from one individual nor is it contained in any one book that bears a date. Lord Krishna has stated in the Bhagavad-Gita that as and when the need arises He would incarnate and to this day He has kept the promise.
Merits/Demerits
The total freedom allowed by the religion enables the practitioners as also the leaders to think freely at all times and this is what enables the religious leaders to keep in mind needs of the changing times and interpret teachings of the Vedas accordingly. If any individual in the process of interpreting any shloka goes berserk by adding his own intelligence or distorts the essence of the shloka in any manner there is any number of individuals who feel free to correct it and engage in an intellectual dialogue and convincingly explain why the particular interpretation is wrong.
Of course there is the flip-side to it in the sense the absolute freedom allowed does result in many Hindus turning agnostic if not atheist. All the same this is held as a small price to pay for the total freedom allowed by the Religion.
ISLAM
Islam on the other hand began with the Prophet- a historical reality of the Sixth Century AD! The Divine Revelation of Prophet Mohammed of the Seventh Century was also intuitively evolved knowledge; fruit of the isolated life he had led in the cave of Mount Hira for years.
Merits/Demerits
Universal brotherhood is an excellent aspect of this religion. As a religion there does not seem to be anything wrong with it on the other hand there is much to commend. Perhaps the Prophet had in mind barbarians who were less civilized and yet to come under his tutelage and living in his immediate vicinity within that little world of his. That was his style of approach as a warrior in order to get results in double quick time. Perhaps therefore in a sense he was right when he advised his followers to forcibly convert those who do not agree to embrace Islam because he was unaware of the fact more advanced civilizations existed beyond the borders known to him at that time.
Day in and day out the Hindu sings 'Allah Ishwar tero naam' meaning to say Allah and Ishwar both are your names. He sings this with the firm conviction that God is one and His names are many. The underlying logic is very sound.
In a sense Hinduism and Islam are exact opposites. While the former is tolerance personified the latter survives and subsists on intolerance/violence. While Hinduism advocates introspection Islam on the other hand has nothing to offer even as much as a hint of introspection. While the Hindu leaders believe in interpreting the scriptures in the light of ground realities, the Muslims can neither be at peace nor allow others to be in peace unless and until the entire species of homo sapiens on this earth embraces their religion!(?) The element of intolerance towards other faiths as also violence in the name of religion although may have been once relevant has long since outlived its purpose.
If the Islamic world is to be deviated from the path of self-destruction none other than Allah the Almighty can do it. But then unfortunately even this path seems to have been more or less permanently blocked by that one-liner from Prophet Mohammed that he is the last to visit this planet Earth.
To say God is all powerful and in the same breath argue that He cannot come down in human would amount to contradiction in terms is it not? The earlier this truth is realized the better for the religion as also for the rest of the world.
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