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Transcendental Meditation
All About GOD Ministries
A Hindu-based Movement Linked to New Age PhilosophyTranscendental Meditation is a Hindu-based movement that finds popularity in the United States.
Other offshoots of Hinduism increasing in attention
due to the New Age philosophy are the Vendata Society, Self-realization
Fellowship, Theosophy, Ecknakar, and the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (Hare Krishna).
Western "sects" based on Hindu concepts
have also grown in recent years, including Christian Science, the United Church
of Christ, and the Unity School of Christianity.
The Roots of Hinduism
In order to understand Transcendental Meditation and other extensions of Hindu philosophy, it's important to investigate the foundation of Hinduism itself.
In order to understand Transcendental Meditation and other extensions of Hindu philosophy, it's important to investigate the foundation of Hinduism itself.
Hinduism began in India around 1500 and 2500 B.C. It
is the world's oldest organized religion.
Hinduism is a massive and eccentric group of
divisions founded on more than 2000 years of diverse philosophical and
religious writings.
Included are the Bhagavad Gita, Vedas, Puranas, and
Upanishads. Adherents of Hinduism differ in belief systems, with no dominant
doctrine or overarching truth.
Hinduism has its background in ancient paganism, in
which nature, animals, and humanity are represented by various gods and
goddesses.
Although Hindus believe in many gods, they believe in
Brahman as the one definitive, impersonal, spiritual actuality over all
existence.
Sectarian Hinduism personalizes Brahman as the
following separate and distinct entities: "Brahma" (the Creator; the
god with four heads representing creative energy), "Vishnu" (the
Preserver; the god of stability and control), and "Shiva" (the
Destroyer; the god of endings).
Most Hindus also worship "Krishna" and
"Rama," two of Vishnu's ten incarnations. Actually, it gets very
complex, as Hindus claim the existence of millions of gods.
Throughout the year, Hindus worship a variety of
regional, family and individual gods. Hindus also focus a great deal on
astrology and the spirit world.
The Diversity of Hinduism
Transcendental Meditation is just one example of the wide variety of Hindu worship, integrating diverse symbols, offerings, fasting, and dance.
Transcendental Meditation is just one example of the wide variety of Hindu worship, integrating diverse symbols, offerings, fasting, and dance.
On a daily basis, most Hindus worship an image of
their chosen deity, with chants (mantras), flowers, and incense.
Worship, whether in a home or temple, is primarily
individualistic rather than congregational. Hinduism is typically separated
into two divisions.
The first, "popular Hinduism" is
articulated by worshipping gods, making offerings, ritualistic practices, and
prayers.
The second, "philosophical Hinduism" is
comprised of a multifaceted system of meditation, yoga practices, and the study
of early philosophical writings.
Traditional Hindu movements include the Ramkrishna
Mission and Vedanta Societies, Sri Aurobindo Society, Satya Sai Baba Movement,
Self Realization Fellowship, and International Sivananda Yoga Society.
Recent estimates state that there are roughly 850
million Hindus in the world today.
Of these, approximately 780 million live in India, 20
million in Bangladesh, 20 million in Indonesia, 20 million in Nepal, 3 million
in Sri Lanka, 2 million in Pakistan and 1.5 million in the United States.
In addition, it is estimated that Hindus comprise
approximately 20% of the following populations: Mauritius, Fiji, Surinam,
Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago.
An Endless Life Cycle
Hinduism rejects the biblical account of divine Creation and instead accept forms of pantheism.
Hinduism rejects the biblical account of divine Creation and instead accept forms of pantheism.
Hindus believe that only Brahman exists, and all else
is illusion (maya), including all creation.
According to Hinduism, there is no start or finish of
creation, only continuing successions of life and death. The soul (atman) of
man is a "spark" of Brahman trapped in the physical body.
Repeated lives or reincarnations (samsara) are
required before the soul can be liberated (moksha) from the body.
An individual's present life is determined by his
efforts in previous lives (the law of karma), and the physical body is
ultimately an illusion (maya).
Bodies are usually cremated, and the soul goes to an
intermediate state of punishment or reward before rebirth into another body.
Reincarnations are experienced until karma has been
removed and the individual soul is reabsorbed into Brahman.
Freedom from infinite being and final
self-realization of the truth (moksha) is the goal of existence.
Yoga and meditation (especially raja-yoga) taught by
a religious teacher (guru) is one way to attain moksha.
The other paths for moksha are the way of works
(karma marga), the way of knowledge (jnana marga), and the way of love and
devotion (bhakti marga).
Hinduism's fundamental goal is to escape the cycle of
reincarnation, and thereby to erase the illusion of personal existence -
eventually becoming one with Brahman.
We have all sinned and deserve
God’s judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for
those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and
eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins,
taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to
the Bible.
If you truly believe and trust this
in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord," you will be
saved from judgment and spend
eternity with God in heaven.
We believe truth transforms lives. Therefore, we place our
content on the first few pages of the most popular search engines in the world.
That way, when people seek answers on the Web, we're there with the truth at
the top!
We are followers of Jesus.
Like Jesus, we reject many of the issues found in “organized religion”
(man-made attempts to reach God through rules and rituals). We consider the
personal pursuit of God as paramount in each of our personal life journeys. We
also believe that ultimate, saving Truth is found only through God’s Son, Jesus
Christ. (Read our Faith Statement here.) We
believe that the authoritative and primary source of that truth is the Bible as
illuminated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Further, we believe that spiritual
growth occurs in combination with being in God’s Word consistently and dealing
with the things we suffer in this fallen world while being in fellowship with
other believers where there is an atmosphere of grace, love, and
accountability.
All About GOD Ministries,
Inc
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