Jesus and other Religions

Jesus of Nazareth 7–2 BC/BCE to 26–36 AD/CE), was a 1st century Jewish teacher and ascetic who some Christians believe is both the son of God and God as well, and is the central Divinity of Christianity. He is also an important figure in several other religions. In the Septuagint, written in the Greek of the comman man of the times, not the scholarly Greek that was being used by the Hebrew scholars of the time, Jeshua, or more accurately Jeshua Ben Joseph (his susposed Hebrew name) the man called:

• The name - Jesus was a creation of the scholars called together by King James to provide for his subjects a Bible they could read. The scholars, in using the name Jesus were, as the English who have a habit of changing names for either their own purpose, or because they percieved other languages too difficult to pronounce or remember (a trait not unknown among people all over the world.) were seeking to come up with a unique unused name for Jeshua in the Kings new Bible. The word Jesuit— the Catholic Society of Jesus (the first Christians missionaries seeking to convert the Indians, Chinese and Japanese to Christianity sans the swords of Islamists) gives a clue to Jesus' name once being Jeshua as the name for the society is not pronounced Gzee-uits. Before the use of Christ and Jesus the preferred name in old English was - hæland "healer".
• Christ — (Greek: Anointed One) from O.Fr. enoint "smeared on," pp. of enoindre "smear on," from L. inunguere, from in- "on" + unguere "to smear." The title 'Messiah' meaning the 'Anointed One', was used by all the Kings of Israel — Moses and his succesors.

"The title was given to those, "…having the crown of God's unction upon them." (Leviticus 21:12)

This Anointing bears a striking similarity to the Indian Hindu custom of applying a tilak to the forehead of a new Raja, or for instance on a guest, many Hindus have told me that a guest in their homes is to be treated as one would treat a God. This is said to be a custom in a Bedouin tent and is also part of the ancient Pashtunwali code of conduct.

This custom was also used in the ceromony used to designate each new Sikh Guru after Guru Nanak as well, according to many written accounts.

Islam holds Jesus (Arabic: عيسى‎ `Īsĝ) to have been a messenger of God who had been sent to guide the Children of Israel (banī isrĝ'īl) with a new scripture, the Injīl (gospel). Muslims tell me that as they say, Peace be upon his soul for their Rasul, the term is used when Jesus' name – Hazrat `Īsĝ is said as well.

According to the Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be God's final revelation, Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah). This is also the belief of Christians. The word Virgin is sometimes said to be a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for - young girl. Both the Gospels of Mark and John make no mention of the virgin-birth. They begin their stories of Jesus' short life on Earth with his Baptism by John.

In Hindu Mythology Sita, the wife of Rama, is called 'ayonija' (not born of the womb) as she was said to have sprung from a furrow in a field. In Greek Mythology Venus too arises from the sea, born of a 'giant clam shell'.

Some Christians believe that to aid him in his quest, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles. Some say he spoke from the manger (a small cradle or bed like box on legs like a 'manji' which is usually filled with hay for animals to graze upon. In the story of Jesus' birth the hay with swaddling clothes served as a cushion for the infant). The curing the blind and the lepers, as well as the raising of the dead; all are related by the permission of God.

Is Jesus God? The Sikh view

Sikhs do not believe that Jesus is God. Rather Sikhs believe that there is only one God, Ek Onkar means "God is One." The symbol is an emblem of the Sikh religion and is found on Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) around the world. The symbol has some resemblance to the Sanskrit Om or Aum (written in Devanagari as ढ़. In Sanskrit Om is known as a praṇava (lit. "to sound out loudly). In Hinduism Om is a mystical or sacred syllable.

Ek Onkar forms the cornerstone of Sikh belief in the unity and oneness of God. God is neither born and nor does God die; God is neither He nor Her. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and all knowing and thus is everywhere, in everything and can do anything and everything.

When someone speaks of a man being God, it is wrong because a man cannot be God, but more correctly a man can be one with God or of the same 'light' as God. Sikhs do not discount that Jesus may have merged with God, but Sikhs do not believe that Jesus is God.

A much-used analogy to describe this is that of an ocean. A human can become one with God just like a rain droplets mingles with the ocean. God is an ocean of light and His light is disbursed in all His creation represented as souls. Jesus could have been one God but not God himself.

Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Scripture of Sikhs states, “O my friend, you dignity lies in merging in the one whom you originated from”. Guru Granth Sahib further says (page 1426-1429), “The one who is not affected by happiness, pain, greed, emotional attachment and egotistical pride. The one who is beyond praise and slander, and treats iron and gold alike. The one who is not touched by pain or pleasure, and treats his friends and enemies alike. The one who does not terrorize anyone and neither is afraid of anybody. The one who has left all the materialistic things, renounces wealth and have detached himself from this world, The one who recites the name of God day and night. That person becomes the image of Lord, he becomes united with God and merges in the fearless Lord. There no longer remains any difference between that person and God. That person and God become One.” Sikh Gurus had become One with God before they preached about God in this world. The Bible says, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:31). Meaning that Jesus and God are one. Just like Sikh Gurus and God are one. God then sent Gurus to the earth to enlighten people. When Gurus were on earth they were a part of God, in other words the son of God but NOT God.

The answer may come as a shock to many Christians but Jesus never said he is God. Actually, he said over and over that he is the son of God, which means that he is not God. Jesus made it clear in many ways that he is not God; that God is greater. “If you truly loved me you would rejoice to have me go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Jesus taught the mankind to pray to the Father, our Creator, not to himself. In fact, he did not mention himself in any way, nor did he indicate that we should pray in his name. His instructions were very specific, we are to pray to God alone.

The result of human errors and the misinterpretation of the Bible leads many Christians to believe that Jesus is God. The first verse of John is very misleading in explaining the word of God. “In the beginning was the Word; The Word was in God's presence, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). An objective reading of this verse raises the question: If the “Word” was in “God's presence”, how could it be God? When something is in your presence, it has to be, by definition, separate from you. The logical understanding of these lines is that the “Word” originates from God, or represents God. In addition, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory: the glory of an only son coming from the Father filled with enduring love” (John 1:14). This verse makes a clear distinction between the Word and the Father. In no way does it argue for the divinity of Jesus. The Word comes from God, and thus reflects the glory of the Creator. This understanding is confirmed by the fact that throughout the Gospels, Jesus emphasizes that he did not speak on his own, that God told him what to say. This clearly indicates that Jesus delivered the Word of God, not that he was God. Here is an illustration, “whatever I say is spoken just as he instructed me" (John 12:44-50). In John 8:40, Jesus describes himself as "a man who has told you the truth which I have heard from God”. Thus again we see that Jesus delivered the Word of God.

In Luke 9:35 Bible says, “This is my Son, My chosen One; listen to Him!” This clearly explains that when Jesus was on the earth he was the son of God (a soul send to this world by God) but not God Himself. If a person thinks he can sail his ship in a rain droplet then he is in oblivion. But if he believes he can sail his ship in the ocean then he is on the right track. If one worships Jesus then he is in oblivion as Jesus is not God but a part of God. One should not worship Jesus but One God only. The tenth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji said, “Those who worship me will be destined to hell. Consider me the son of God and worship my Father.” Jesus himself said to worship his father. When Jesus was on earth he refer to a supreme being high above as his Father. If Jesus is God then why would he refer to someone else as God? But even if you still believe that Jesus is God then look it at this way. Suppose he is God, then Christians are worshipping God and Sikhs are worshipping God. Now suppose Jesus is not God, then Sikhs are still worshipping God, are Christians? The answer is No.

Jesus & Nanak

Who is Jesus Christ? I see him as a wonderful parallel with the person of Nanak, the first Sikh Guru. There is no direct connection between Christ and the Sikh Gurus. They do not intersect each other. The two form separate and distinct temporal and spatial points in our history, but when we look closely at them, they illuminate each other. By looking at them as parallel phenomena, we not only learn more about the founders of Christianity and Sikhism, but we also get a better sense of ourselves, of our neighbours, and of the world we live in. Both Christ and Nanak are remembered in almost identical ways. Churches resound with hymns like "Christ is the light of the world," and Sikh Gurdwaras with "satgur nanak pragatia miti dhundh jag chanan hoia -- as Nanak appeared, mist and darkness disappeared into light." The powerful and substanceless light used across cultures and across centuries reveals the common patterns of our human imagination.

Jesus and Nanak ushered a way of life that was illuminating and liberating. It is interesting that both claimed they had no control over their speech. Spontaneously, effortlessly, they revealed what they were endowed with. According to the gospel of John: "I do not speak of my own accord... what the Father has told me is what I speak" And Guru Nanak, "haun bol na janda mai kahia sabhu hukmao jio - I don't know how to speak, I utter what you command me." In each case, then, the Divine is the Voice.

Their message too bears a striking resemblance. Against ceremonial rituals and orthodox formalities, both Jesus and Nanak directed their followers to the human condition. For them cleanliness did not reside in external codes and behavior; it was an inner attitude towards life and living. Just as Christ denounced the superiority of all those who walked about in long robes, Nanak denounced the practices of those who wore loincloths and smeared themselves with ashes, as being of no use in reaching their stated goal of achieving yugam (linking) with God.

Most importantly, both Jesus and Nanak showed us the path of love. The writers of the Gospels report that Jesus said, "The greatest commandment of all is this - love your God with all your soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself." In the same vein, the Sikh Gurus applauded love as the supreme virtue, "sunia mania, manu kita bhau." Bhau or love is passionate and takes lovers to those depths of richness and fullness where there is freedom from all kinds of prejudices and limitations. But we need to put their words in practice. Love for the Divine would open and expand us towards our families and neighbours; it would enable us to cast aside racism, sexism, and classism so prevalent in our contemporary society.

We need to remember their message of love for all our "neighbours" - high and low, black and white, men and women too. In fact Christ revealed himself first to Mary. Throughout his ministry, he healed and helped women, and reminds us of "mother's joy" that a human being has been born into the world. The Mother is an important figure in Sikh scripture, for the transcendent One is both father and mother, and Guru Nanak repeatedly points to the womb in which we are first lodged. Mother's body and joy, and the earth, our common matrix to which we all equally belong, are celebrated throughout the sacred scripture of the Sikhs. But of course, memory is selective and the patriarchs with their access to the words of Christ and Nanak have remembered, interpreted, and kept them for themselves. It is important that each of us begins to see the Christian and Sikh scriptures from our own eyes and experience their rich legacy.

So, who is Jesus Christ for me, a Sikh? In my mind he is an enlightener, and though I may not see him as one of the Ten Sikh Gurus, he is a distinct and vital parallel who continues to play a very significant role in my life as a Sikh. In a way, I trace my happiness and at-homeness in contemporary America because he opened me up to another mode of spirituality at a very young age. He did not take anything away from my being a Sikh. In fact, Jesus Christ concretised the message of Guru Nanak: "Countless are the ways of meditation, and countless are the avenues of love." (Japji, 17). Jesus has been a wonderful mirror who in his unique form and vocabulary promoted my self-understanding.

The image of Christ imbedded in my childhood has made the verses of the Gurus alive for me. I can see and feel what Guru Nanak meant: "Accept all humans as your equals, and let them be your only sect" (Japji 28), or Guru Gobind Singh: "manas ki jat sabhe eke paihcanbo - recognise the single caste of humanity." However, it also complicates the situation. Coming from the pluralist tradition of Sikhism where the holy book contains not only the verses of the Sikh Gurus but also of Hindu and Muslim saints, and where the Ultimate is received in a variety of perceptions and relationships, I do have problems with the exclusivism of Jesus. The Sikh Gurus reiterate that Allah and Ram are the same, so is the Muslim Mosque and the Hindu Temple. Emerging historically and geographically between the eastern tradition of Hinduism and the western faith of Islam, Sikhism whole-heartedly accepts both eastern and western perceptions of the Divine, and their various modes of worship. But when Christ alone is declared the Omega Point, or Baptism the exclusive way to the Kingdom of God, then where do I stand? As a Sikh I have no place.

Personally, I find it hard to understand how the God of Genesis becomes the biological father of Christ in the Gospels. According to Genesis, God creates the earth, animals, Adam and Eve - but he remains distant and far away. How can this totally transcendent God become the Father of Christ? How can he beget Jesus? Now Guru Nanak is not viewed as an incarnation of the Divine; rather, he is an enlightener whose inspired poetry becomes the embodiment of the Transcendent One. I guess the issue of incarnation really troubles me as a Sikh. Creation in Christianity is modelled on a distant artist, more in the sense of a commander-in-chief, rather than on the biological mother who actually bodies forth her offspring.

The Virgin Birth of Christ sends negative messages about our bodies, our world, and of our selves. Now that I think of it, saying "Our Father" in a language that was not my mother tongue did not make me any less committed to Sikhism. But it has left an indelible paternal figure in my imagination, which - in spite of all my Sikh and feminist mental footnotes - still dominates. I sometimes wonder how my world would have been shaped had I attended a Hindu school and visited goddess' Kali's temple which was close to my home! In postcolonial Sikh society it was safe and secure to go to Convent schools and even attend Catholic services because it was all very "distant." But the Hindu tradition so close geographically, historically, anthropologically, and psychologically, was all too dangerous and threatening.

I find similar fears and phobias now circulating in our contemporary western society. As our world is getting to be a smaller and smaller place we are getting more and more afraid of losing our self, of losing our "identity." So instead of opening ourselves up and appreciating others, we are becoming more narrow and insular. Our tunnel vision makes us grope in darkness. How can we remain afraid and threatened by each other's religions? It is not a matter of simple tolerance, and it is not simply mastering facts and figures about other religious traditions, and it is certainly not about converting and conversions from one faith to another. As Jesus resurfaces in my mind, I realise the beauty and power of his personality for me, and I realise the urgency of breaking our narrow mental walls. Just as he entered the imagination of us Sikhs in far away India, Sikhs and others have to enter into the imagination of people here in the West. We have to see the "light" that Jesus and Nanak ushered in for us.

So many Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Africans, Middle-easterners have made their homes here, but how little we know about each other's spiritual worldviews! We may sit in the same classroom, work in the same office, and fly in the same planes, but we remain segregated at a fundamental level. During the first waves of migrations, the racial policies pretty much forced into homogenising matters, and in recent waves, sacred spaces and sacred times are confined to ethnic ghettos and left to their individual communities. The result? We are impoverished. We have lost out on the extremely rich arabesques of images, languages, metaphysics, rituals, music, and poetry and many other wonderful resources of our global society. Sadly, even after century and a half, we are far from fulfilling Walt Whitman's exhortation:

Lo, soul, seest thou not God's purpose from the first?

The earth to be spann'd, connected by network

The races, neighbours, to marry and be given in marriage,

The oceans to be cross'd, the distant brought near,

The lands to be welded together.

Walt Whitman, Passage to India!

We may have triumphed in producing physical and technological networks, but we have failed in creating mental and spiritual links. We need to "weld together". We need to experience the fullness of humanity and the transcendence of the Divine. Together, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Jains, men and women, we should relish the plurality and diversity of our human culture. It is more than a coincidence that Christians and Sikhs celebrate the birth of their communities on the first day of spring - called Easter in northern Europe and Baisakhi in India. Our joint celebration of the annual renewal of life carries on the legacy of Jesus Christ and Guru Nanak.

See Also

1. No one religion teaches the only path to God
2. Did a historical Jesus exist?, by Jim Walker