Grace Institute: Relating to You World: Relating to Pantheism

Relating to Pantheism Relating To Your World Spring 2007

A look at the beliefs and perspective of Hindus, Buddhists, and other Pantheists. How can we best communicate with people with this worldview?

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Statement of Pantheist Beliefs

General Pantheist Beliefs

There are numerous religious systems that fit under the category of pantheism. The beliefs and doctrines of these various religions are varied and sometimes conflicting. Nonetheless, there seems to be some primary concepts that affect the worldview of all pantheists to some extent or another.

The Nature of God

Pantheists believe in one supreme God who is in absolute unity with all things. This God is neither personal nor conscious, but is more a mystical force than a personality. God, however, is within all beings, including personal beings.

Because God is beyond normal comprehension, God can be understood only by mystical intuition. Most Pantheists do not try to define God by delineating his characteristics but by defining what he is not. Pantheists believe that God can only be explained by negation.

Creation flows out of God and all creation is rooted in His being. The creation was not made out of nothing by a being outside of the universe but was created out of God himself as a manifestation of itself. As a result, good and evil both flow from God necessarily.

In the Pantheist view, the Universe and God are ultimately one. All aspects of the Universe contain the essence of God. God is the only reality and we are only real to the extent that we contain the essence of God.

Reincarnation & Karma

Pantheism is not defined by a belief in reincarnation. However, the most dominant Pantheist religions contain a belief in reincarnation and the concept of Karma.

Because creation flows out of God, there is no matter which came into existence that has not always been in existence. As a result, human souls do not have a beginning, nor do they have an end. Rather souls existed in a different body previously, and will exist in another body in the next life.

The form of your next life is determined based on the law of Karma. Here, the good and bad works you accomplish in life are carried with you after death and place you in either a higher form of life or a lower form of life.

The law of Karma is not overseen by God in the same way Christians see a God judging people after death, but is built into the natural law of things. It is part of the fabric of creation and is part of the continual creation, destruction, and sustaining of the universal order.

Non-Exclusive Nature of Pantheist Beliefs

Because God is not easily defined, and because God is found in all aspects of creation, including lesser deities, Pantheism is very tolerant of other religious systems. In fact adherents see Hinduism and Buddhism both not as religions but as philosophies which are not necessarily contradictory to other religious beliefs. The Christian God and the Muslim God are seen as manifestations of the same Almighty God, and their beliefs and practices not competing systems but complementary systems.

Specific Pantheistic Doctrines

While there are some general consistent beliefs within pantheism, there are numerous sects, religious doctrines, and philosophies which each add their own twist. The two largest and most influential modern pantheist perspectives come from Hinduism and Buddhism.

Hinduism

The term Hindu actually defines a cultural people group rather than a religion. To be Hindu merely means to be an Indian. However, because the religious beliefs of the Indian people so permeate their culture, the name has taken on the religious belief system of the Indians. The Indian people have a very diverse religious heritage, all of which we lump under the term “Hinduism.” Defining Hindu, then, becomes very difficult.

Nonetheless, we will attempt to define Hinduism by looking at three concepts:

The Concept of God

In Hinduism, the ultimate concept of God as the supreme force that permeates all of creation, is called Brahman, or the Absolute. Brahman is the impersonal, ultimate reality that transcends but also penetrates all.

Brahman, however, manifests itself into three more personal deities. Known as the Hindu trinity, these deities are known as Brahma, the creator, Shiva, the destroyer, and Vishnu, the preserver. Different sects worship different of these three primary personal deities, but they are never seen as anything but specific aspects of Brahman.

There are thousands of other deities within Hinduism that have emanated out of the trinity. But they are all seen as part of or manifestations of the Almighty. All beings and all items in the universe are part of the Almighty, but deities are seen as being closer to the ultimate reality. The more material things seem the farther from Brahman they really are.

As a result, the goal is to become less attached to the world and more conscious of the Brahman.

The Concept of Karma

Because all beings ultimately are manifestations of the same absolute, the obvious question is how is it that there is any distinction between beings? The Hindu concept of Karma accounts for the differences among beings. All of creation is going through a continual process of creation and destruction. As different elements of this creation/Brahma go through birth and death, that element is seen from a materialistic perspective as a new being coming into and going out of existence.

The Concept of Yoga

So how does one get past the futility of the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and end up closer to the Almighty? It is found in the four Hindu philosophies or yoga. The yogas are not exclusive of one another. A Hindu may favor one yoga, but each are seen as interchangeable and complementary.

• Karma Yoga- doing one's duty (“karma”) or good works in life.
• Jnana Yoga- developing knowledge and spiritual enlightenment of Brahma.
• Raja Yoga- Meditation on the divinity within, the unity of all things, and the denial of self-existence.
• Bhakti Yoga- considered the highest form of yoga, submission to and development of a devotional relationship with God.

Buddhism

Buddhism grew out of a reaction to the rigid system of castes and power found in traditional Hinduism. Its founder, Siddhartha Gautama became disenchanted with Hinduism. He had led a life of hedonism, then abandoned it and tried to find meaning in asceticism. That also left him lacking, so he began practicing meditation. During one such meditation, Gautama achieved nirvana while still alive. Thus he became the Buddha, or the Enlightened One.

Buddha taught that the path to nirvana is found in understanding the four noble truths and in following the eight-fold path.

The Four Noble Truths

1. The First Noble Truth is that there is pain and suffering in the world.
2. The Second Noble Truth states that suffering is the result of desire.
3. The Third Noble Truth states that by ending desire, suffering will cease.
4. The Fourth Noble Truth states that by following the eight-fold path, you can eliminate desire.

The Eight-Fold Path

1. Right View – One must change the pattern of thinking and accept the four noble truths as reality.
2. Right Resolve – One must renounce the desires of the world and commit oneself to good will and non-violence towards any living creature.
3. Right Speech – One must speak only the truth, and not engage in lying, slander or gossip.
4. Right Conduct – One must abstain from destroying living beings, sexual immorality, stealing and intoxication.
5. Right Occupation – One must be employed in a job which benefits others and does no harm.
6. Right Effort – One must seek to eliminate evil within and cultivate the good within.
7. Right Contemplation – One must be contemplative and observe the present without judgment and free of desire.
8. Right Meditation – One must concentrate to eliminate oneself of any sensation of pain or pleasure.

Buddhism and Karma

Buddhism believes in reincarnation and the law of Karma. However, Buddhism denies that there is an eternal soul that passes from life to life. Rather the constant changing cycles of creation and destruction does not retain enough of the former self to be considered an eternal soul. As a result, everything is impermanent. It is the attachment to the impermanent that brings about suffering. The goal of Buddhism, then, is to become unattached to all things, including yourself, in order to become one with the singular reality. This singular reality is sometimes called the void or the emptiness.

The Goal of Buddhism

Buddhism does not answer the question of whether or not God exits or what the meaning of life is. It is more concerned with the process of avoiding suffering through meditation then in answering life's deeper issues. Nonetheless, the nature of the Buddhist void, in practice, takes on similar characteristics to a Pantheistic God.

There are many other practices, beliefs, and sects of Buddhism which guide the seeker to the ultimate reality. Like Hinduism, Buddhism is very inclusive. But all Buddhist are looking to disassociate themselves from the material, from themselves, and from the suffering of this world to loose themselves into the cosmic nothingness and thereby escape the futility of life.

Evaluation of Pantheist Beliefs

Misconceptions

Pantheists are not polytheists. While some Hindus believe in a multiplicity of deities, these deities are considered lower manifestations of the Almighty. Some branches of Hinduism are solidly monotheistic. But all pantheists consider that there is One unified all-encompassing supreme God.

While most pantheists try improving their karma through good works, the concept of bhakti yoga is based on devotion to one of the personal forms of God, not good works. There are certain deities who are characterized by mercy, grace and forgiveness. These pantheists trust in those deities' forgiveness to bring improved karma and perhaps even nirvana.

While some sects of Hinduism have used the concept of karma as a way to enforce the caste system, the caste system is not universal to Hinduism. It is not even a central concept of pantheism. The caste system is a sociological system, not a religious one.

Positives

• Pantheism is a comprehensive unifying philosophy of the Universe that emphasizes unity and harmony. The universe is not an unorganized or chaotic system.
• Pantheism affirms that God is not distant or remote from creation. God's presence and activity in the world is imminent.
• Pantheism states that God is absolute and necessary. God is indeed by definition, necessary and absolute.
• Knowledge of God has an intuitive element and can only be explained by negation. Pantheism emphasizes this more than even many Christians.
• Pantheists are typically moral people. In Hinduism, karma yoga emphasizes the need for a moral code. Buddhism and other Pantheist religions also see morality as a means to achieving unity with God.
• Dedication to God and the mercy of God is highly valued by many Pantheists. Bhakti Yoga emphasizes the need for devotion to God in order to achieve unity with God.

Critique of Pantheist beliefs

If we are real in so far as we have the essence of God within us, then only God is real. That is to say, God exists, but I do not. However, you cannot meaningfully deny your own existence. If we are deceived or confused about the consciousness of our individual existence, how then can we know that we are not deceived or confused when we are conscious only of God?

If a person does not exist except as a manifestation of God, then an individual cannot experience God. If an individual experiences God, under pantheistic doctrine, it is not the individual having the experience but God experiencing himself. Individuality has no place in true religious experience when the ultimate goal of nirvana is the complete losing of your self-identity.

Furthermore, if God is unknowable without being absorbed into it, Pantheism becomes self-defeating. That is to say, if I cannot know God without losing myself into it, how can I state anything meaningful about him?

Norman Geisler states, “The ship of pantheism is wrecked on the reef of evil.” If evil flows out of God that means God cannot be absolutely good. If evil is just an illusion, why does experiencing evil seem so real? This later explanation does not adequately explain the universe.

In a deeper sense, pantheism lacks the ability to objectively define good and evil. If God is in all, then good and evil are merely illusory or differing manifestations of God. Evil and good cannot be seen as distinct.

Under pantheism, God is an impersonal force, which is metaphysically necessary. God does not have a will. The personal nature of God merely is lower, less real, forms of God. Therefore to speak of an all-loving God is either nonsense or a lesser reality of God's character.

God is part of creation and creation flows from God. In this sense, then, God is dependent on creation. Therefore God cannot be transcendent.

This means that pantheism becomes metaphysically indistinguishable from Atheism. Atheism believes that there is nothing except the “All.” Pantheism merely attaches religious significance to the “All.” God becomes merely the impersonal material and natural laws.

Bibliography

Norman Geisler , Christian Apologetics , Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, pp. 173-192.

Sunil Balasubramaniam, “Hinduism, the World's Oldest Religion,” http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/9410/hindu1.html .

Gerald Grow, “Buddhism – A Brief Introduction for Westerners,” http://www.famu.edu/sjmga/ggrow .

Dr. Patrick Taylor, Looking Beyond Death , an unpublished dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, p. 166-197, 1985.

Rick Rood, “Hinduism: A Christian Perspective,” Leadership U., http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/hindu.html .

Pat Zukeran, “Buddhism,” Leadership U. http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/buddhism.html .

Mark Van Bebber, “Reincarnation: Does the Bible Allow for this Possibility?” Christian Answes.Net, http://www.christiananswers.net/`-eden/edn-r009.html

Tim Stafford, “God's Missionary To Us,” Christianity Today, December 9, 1996, Vol. 40, No. 14, Page 24 , http://www.christianity.net/ct/6TE/6TE24a.html