GOOD FRIDAY, THE HINDU WAY
We, Hindus, do not subscribe to the concept of salvation from original sin by the Saviour's dying on the Cross. Hindus are convinced that the Self is eternally free and immaculate in its native purity ever, and, hence, needs no divine intervention for freedom. We revere Christ just as we revere our great spiritual masters, divine incarnations, sages and saints, but we do not purchase the Biblical precept of salvation from sin that is the central theme of the Christ incarnation and that of the New Testament. We accept the great divinity of Christ but reject the irrational principle of expiation of original sin through his gruesome death on the Cross. The Atman which is our essential self is the basis of all of phenomena and cannot in any way be bound to any sin. As such, the question of our redemption and consequent eternal existence in proximity to God in heaven simply does not arise. The Atman is 'shuddham apaapabiddham' and cannot be contaminated in any way ever, be it from the figurative apple-eating or from anything else. Hence, when Hindus celebrate redemption, salvation et al on Good Friday, it is typically in pursuance of the magnanimous Hindu spirit of universal acceptance, albeit, as usual, in the typically ignorant way of acceptance without understanding.
Written by Sugata Bose
We, Hindus, do not subscribe to the concept of salvation from original sin by the Saviour's dying on the Cross. Hindus are convinced that the Self is eternally free and immaculate in its native purity ever, and, hence, needs no divine intervention for freedom. We revere Christ just as we revere our great spiritual masters, divine incarnations, sages and saints, but we do not purchase the Biblical precept of salvation from sin that is the central theme of the Christ incarnation and that of the New Testament. We accept the great divinity of Christ but reject the irrational principle of expiation of original sin through his gruesome death on the Cross. The Atman which is our essential self is the basis of all of phenomena and cannot in any way be bound to any sin. As such, the question of our redemption and consequent eternal existence in proximity to God in heaven simply does not arise. The Atman is 'shuddham apaapabiddham' and cannot be contaminated in any way ever, be it from the figurative apple-eating or from anything else. Hence, when Hindus celebrate redemption, salvation et al on Good Friday, it is typically in pursuance of the magnanimous Hindu spirit of universal acceptance, albeit, as usual, in the typically ignorant way of acceptance without understanding.
Written by Sugata Bose
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