Kunal Chugh RLST 110 A Dimensional Analysis Word Count : 0 Religion has been around human civilization from

time immemorial, and as Karl Marx put it It is the opiate of the masses. Through this research paper I intend to compare and contrast Hinduism and Islam through two of Ninian Smarts six dimensions of religion, namely the mythological and doctrinal dimensions of the aforementioned religions, while gaining a deeper understanding of how the traditions of these religions are related and what purpose they serve towards the betterment of the lives of their believers. Hinduism is not truly a single religion in the classic sense; it is a portmanteau of ancient subcontinental traditions that have over a period of time been classified as a religion due to their similarities and overlaying ideologies. Due to its ancient nature, most of its teaching are not in the form of tenets but rather stories with a underlying current of morality associated with accompanying rituals which imbibe within its followers a certain trait that helps shape the society of the religion. Hinduism is characterized by a number of myths and legends that inspire fear or devotion in the god or god like protagonists, encouraging the reader or disciple to emulate the behavioral characteristics of the gods and demi gods in the said myths. Examples of the characteristics I am talking about would be courage, valor, honesty and the like, whereas the antagonists of the stories tend to be characterized by a singular evil such as greed, lust or cruelty. Most myths tend to demonstrate the positive overcoming the negative simply by being the better

force sometimes with divine intervention, in order to induce faith in the righteousness of the (axiomatically/humanely) positive action. The myth that I have chosen to extrapolate, comes from the Bhagawat Gita, which is a part of the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, wherein Arjuna, a highly competent soldier is reluctant to participate in the raging battle due to the pain and suffering he realizes he would cause the enemy, who also happen to be his brethren. He is conflicted by duty and his sense of morality as he faces a situation where he is fighting the greed and corruption of the oppressive, unjust empire in which he was raised, and due to his complete confidence in his ability, he sees clearly the destruction and havoc he would wreak upon the enemy. Seeing the pain and suffering all around him, he wonders if justice is a worthy enough cause to inflict such horrific collateral damage upon his human brothers and sisters purely for an immaterial cause. His mind is overwhelmed and cannot truly decide whether or not this prolonged suffering is worth it until the divine Krishna comes to his assistance and unveils the harsh truth to him through a series of hymns, the gist of which I shall proceed to try and explain. Krishna explains to Arjuna that Dharma or duty should be pursued above everything else and provides a justification for Arjunas actions through the revelation of the Aatman or spirit and the Brahman the universal spirit. He explains that as a warrior, it is Arjunas duty to fight for the true cause he believes in due to the fact the suffering around him is borne by the impermanent human body. The soul or the essence of the mortal remains unaffected by the actions of the mortal world. The Aatman is a part of the Brahman or the universal spirit, which is the sum total of all the unchanging universe, therefore our actions in the mortal world have no overall effect upon the universe and this brings Arjuna to the realization that our mortal lives are largely inconsequential and it is only through our actions or Karma that our lives take real

meaning. Therefore the relentless pursuit of Dharma is an honorable course of action. This furthers the fact that killing during the war and the suffering endured all around him was not merciless, but rather noble and righteous [CITE] and that it was simply the mortals that perished and nothing really changed in the grand scheme of things. The two doctrinal understandings we obtain from this myth is the Dharma orientation of Hindu society and the Karmatic acceptance of duty and livelihood among Hindu culture. A further explanation of Karma entails understanding the belief that good action or Karma according to your dharma is rewarded by the regeneration (Samsara) of the immortal Aatman in a more desirable form right until when consistent good action leads the Aatman to break free from the cycle of rebirth to become one with the Brahman, thus attaining perfect harmony and freedom from the chaos of the mortal world Moksha. Islam exemplifies the modern idea of a religion; it is a Monotheistic religion which is articulated by the Quran a text assumed to be the absolute world of God. Islam is a far more precise religion when compared to Hinduism and is filled with tenets and laws which touch upon every aspect of life and society, the most preeminent of which are the five pillars of Islam which are Shahada, Salah, Zakat, Hajj and Sawam which in order refer to Creed or the Brotherhood, Prayer, Almsgiving, Pilgrimage and the fasting during the month of Ramazan. I have chosen to examine the myth behind the Hajj and its doctrinal understanding followed by a exploration of the Zakat. The Quran decrees that Any adult muslim, if physically and economically capable must perform Hajj at least once in his/her lifetime to be granted a place in Jannah (paradise). The concept of Hajj is based on the story of Abrahams second wife, Hagar and her child Ishmael. God ordered

Abraham to leave Hagar and Ishmael alone in the dessert in Mecca and after a while the wife and son were dehydrated causing Hagar to panic and look for water and shelter. She ran through the mountains of Safa and Marwa 7 times looking for water, before God took pity upon her and granted her the release of fresh water sprung from the desert and this is the symbolic ritual that is emulated by Muslims during the Hajj pilgrimage. Muslims are taught to understand and accept the suffering wrought upon humans by god because only through suffering and an acceptance of suffering spring compassion and empathy, the most humane emotions on the spectrum of human sentiment. By symbolically walking or running between the mountains, a deeper understanding of the teachings conveyed through a myth are brought about and this is an example of a very precise blend of the mythical, doctrinal and ritual aspects of religion mixing to have a profound impact upon the devotees. This is exemplified by the fact that irrespective of social or economic standing, during the Hajj everyone is equal, creating a sense of solidarity and brotherhood which is expected to carry on to general society. There is no better example of the profound impact of this experience on the human psyche than this quote by Malcom X "Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors. There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to blackskinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white. As quoted from his autobiography.

This spirit of compassion and empathy further carries on to the tenet of Zakat, or almsgiving and outlined by the Quran which states that believers donate a certain percentage of their total income hers and produce to the poor and the needy. This is not a tax on yearly income but rather a tax on all that one owns [Molloy, pg 434]

Having looked at the mythological and doctrinal dimensions of Islam and Hinduism, let us now analyze the similarities in their teachings. In my opinion, the founding principle of any religion is the promotion of a peaceful, harmonious society through moral behavior. Krishna tries to teach Arjuna, and through him, us, the principles of Aatman, Dharma and Karma. What he is fundamentally trying to teach him is the disassociation from a material outlook towards life. He explains the flaws in the human understanding of life as a selfish pursuit. The takes the examples of Arjunas fear of suffering and the sorrow a war causes and demonstrates how this is simply a one dimensional view of life and that the truth is not subjective, there is simply right and wrong and that the path of righteousness must be pursued relentlessly regardless of the consequences of our actions when pursuing righteousness, as in, action based on our Dharma is the only action we must consider pursuing . As we look at the principles outlined by Krishna, the similarities

between his teachings and the tenets of Islam become increasingly apparent. The Hajj pilgrimage which is doctrinally undertaken by the Muslims seeks to emulate the suffering of Abrahams wife, in the desert. Myth tells us that God finally came to the assistance of Abrahams wife after she had run across the mountains between Safa and Marwa seven times, which leads us to conclude that Islam teaches us that the human spirit may be challenged by suffering however faith in the righteousness of our actions will ultimately bear fruit. This doctrine induces an understanding that suffering is an unavoidable reality of our existence similarly the Bhagawat Gita explains that since the human body is impermanent, the suffering borne by it does not affect the Aatman or the soul which is in turn an element of the universal spirit, or the Brahman. While both religions employ differing methods to teach their adherents, the moral education obtained is fairly similar. This is a metaphor for society, in both religions, where the overlapping compassion of everyone acting upon their own dharma and or pursuing a right course of action through obedience towards the tenets of Islam would result in satisfaction for everyone participating in said society. Moving on to a comparison of the idea of Karma, fundamentally what Karma is, is an incentive to do good, tying into the idea of the soul being permanent. Hinduism teaches us that by being dutiful and charitable the Aatman attains a higher station. This is a fairly convoluted, incentivized approach towards redirecting our lives towards a moral station. Islam favors a more direct approach, as outlined by one of the doctrines of Islam, Zakat which states that a certain sum of your wealth must be given towards charitable causes. This is promoted through various festivals such as Eid Ul Fitr of which charity is a big part, further this also promotes a disassociation from material goods which as outlined previously can be seen in Hinduism as

well. As we can see, Islam usually takes a more direct approach towards directing the lives of its believers. My conclusive comparison builds on the previous one and is again the reward or incentive system that can be found in most mainstream religions, after our comparisons we notice that Islam and Hinduism incentivize good action through the promises of happiness and fulfillment that follow our mortal lives. The Islamic reward being Jannah or Paradise, a place of eternal happiness and the Hindu equivalent being Moksha or release from the cycle of rebirth, the cycle being undesirable due to the entropy and dissatisfaction prevalent in the mortal world. Thus religions tend to enforce a constant sense or aspiration, increasing the morale of its adherents whilst simultaneously promoting the general betterment of their lives.