Saint Jesus

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Jesus in Hinduism

Shaunaka Rishi Das has been Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies since its inception in 1997. He gives his view on Jesus from a Hindu perspective.

Jesus from a Hindu perspective. Photo: Eirik Newth ©

I've an Indian friend who, when he was seven ,moved with his family from India to England, where he was enrolled at a new school. On his first day he was asked to speak to the class about a saint from his Hindu tradition.

Enthusiastically he began to tell the story of the saint called Ishu, who was born in a cowshed, was visited by three holy men, performed many amazing miracles, walked on water and spoke a wonderful sermon on a mountain.

Of course, he was telling the story of Christ. But he was bewildered to hear that the teacher laid claim to Ishu for herself and her friends and she let him know that this was her Lord and her story, not his. He was very upset about this, because Ishu's tale was his favourite story.

You see, in a sense, Hindus don't really see Jesus as a Christian at all. (Of course Jesus didn't either, because the term wasn't used during His lifetime.) In Hindu thought, church or temple membership or belief is not as significant as spiritual practice, which in Sanskrit is called sadhana.

As there is no Church of Hinduism, everyone holds their own spiritual and philosophical opinions. It is difficult then to understand someone's spirituality simply by looking at their religious trappings. So, in India it is more common to hear someone ask, "What is your sadhana (practice)?" than, "What do you believe?"

Then when we ask how we can see spirituality in Hindus, the answer comes: by behaviour and practice. We can ask are we humble, are we tolerant and are we non-violent? Can we control our senses and our mind? Are we aware of others' suffering and are we willing to give up our comfort to help them? Looking at these criteria Jesus measures up as a Sadhu, a holy man. He preached a universal message, love of God and love of brother, which was beyond any sectarianism or selfishness. Jesus was one of those people who appealed from heart to heart, and that's what makes him such a good Hindu Saint.

Shaunaka Rishi Das

In my particular tradition, and among other Hindus, He is seen as much more, as an Avatar, specifically a Shaktavesha Avatar or an empowered incarnation. This means that God has sent Him to us for a specific mission to fulfil God's will on earth.

The greatest challenge

When I was 14 I began a personal and serious study of the New Testament. I wanted to understand what Christ had to say about things, so I paid particular attention to the words of Jesus Himself. I can see now that the whole direction of my life was determined by this formative study and by the thoughtfulness invoked by it.

I read such passages as Luke 5: "forsake all and follow me". I remember distinctly, as a 14 year old, developing my own understanding of what that meant. I had formed a sense of mission and vocation by reading the Bible, seeing that the love of God should be shared with others. The greatest commandment - to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our words and all our deeds, and love our neighbour as ourselves - struck me as an instruction, as a plea and, actually, as a necessity. Considering how to do to that, how to forsake all and follow God out of love, has provided me my greatest challenge in life.

As a young boy, that meant giving up sitting in front of the TV with my cup of coffee, two sugars and a biscuit (these were the comforts of my life at that time). It meant to go down to the town centre of Wexford, my hometown, stand in the Bullring, and preach the glory of love of God to all who wanted to hear it. From my reading of Christ's words and the example of his life, I knew that is what I was called to do, but did I do it? No, I couldn't. That surrender to God I had to postpone.

The instructions and teachings of Christ were crystal clear to me but I wasn't having an easy time trying to follow them. Isn't it funny how it sometimes seems easier to fight for our principles than to actually follow them? Thus my script was written, the challenge laid down, a challenge that Christ had posed to the whole world. "He who has ears let him hear", he would say. I seemed to have those unfortunate ears.

Christ was different. He was radically different. He preached for three years and got killed for it. He gave everything. A friend betrayed him. We have all had some experience where someone we trust turns on us, but imagine how we would feel if a friend betrayed us to death! Does the word forgiveness spring to mind? Not in my case, but it comes a close second. In Hindu scripture it says that forgiveness is the principal quality of a civilised man, and civilisation is measured in terms of spiritual qualities rather than economic or scientific advancement. It's quite clear to me where Jesus hung his hat on that issue.

For instance, in our civilised world, who would get away with going to a funeral, approaching the chief mourner and asking him to surrender everything to God now, as Jesus did? When the chief mourner replied "But I've got to bury my father", Christ said "let the dead bury the dead". I wonder what the tabloids in those days had to say about that.

Of course, Jesus didn't get away with this either, but he had the courage of His convictions. He spoke the truth, the absolute truth to a materialistic society and risked life and limb for His mission. I wonder how He might fare today with His uncompromising stand on hypocrites and whited sepulchres? For instance, if he was to visit Belfast he might have problems being heard unless He declared first if he were a Catholic or a Protestant Christian.