I received the following email from an old friend who also happens to be a convert to Islam. I thought he, better than anyone else articulates a worthy argument on the reasons for conversion from what he states is a religion of "myths and fantastic drawings" to one of "absolute truth".

Hello,

For years, we have heard that people of the Hindu faith say that worshipping a statue is like respecting a picture of your mother. It was made a focal tool, because the masses needed something to objectify God. For years, I justified my worship as a Hindu with that same excuse.

Then it dawned on me:

Would respecting your mother constist of looking at her photograph only but never calling or caring for her? Would you kiss her photo on a regular basis and try to feed it or talk to it when you can simply go to your mother directly and be heard? Can a photo represent your mother and do justice to her? If she calls you, do you run to her photo and say "Yes Mum?"? And do you make a represntation of her when you don't even know how she looks? Can any picture capture the Beauty of God then? Is any attempt at drawing Him not an insult to His Perfection then? Did He tell you how He looks? Did He tell you to invent myths and fantastic drawings of Him? Did He say He needed an intermediary- when God is All Hearing All Seeing? Is He not more worthy of direct worship than an idol we invent? Can idols then help you? If the poor Monotheistic masses, illiterate and uneducated, can worship without making idols, why is it the Hindus can't do the same? Is Truth not the most important concept? On top of that, don't we see then from examples throughout religious history (ie. Moses destroying the Golden Calf, Krishan speaking about 1 God, etc.) that the purpose of man was to worship that same unseen God in the way He wants, not the way we prefer with our worldly desires, and to return to His Oneness? Should we not feel His love and mercy direct and free from any third party, whether it be an idol, a priest or "avatar"? Have we become so insecure that we cannot worship that which we cannot see or concieve of?

See, there is no question that Hindus may understand that there is a God, although they don't approach Him correctly and assign to Him all sorts of made-up stories and partners and qualities. If even the pinnacle of hinduism is to "graduate" from idol worship to the unseen, imagine a way that BEGINS at that true unseen perfect unrepresntable essence... how high could that take you? Which is then closer to Absolute Truth?

It is for this reason mainly, among others, that I left the religion of my parents, the worship of created things, or through created things including mortal men and stones, for the worship of that which creates, the Ultimate Reality, which is the Only power that really Is, and can help or harm, or is worthy of my worship, because He is beyond what we try to limit Him to.

Salaam to all.

Anik

Rather than attacking Aniks decision to convert, a route taken by the disrespectful and foolish, I think I'd like to take the time and address his primary concerns - the perceived worship of idols and the singularity of God.

The single most popular miconception of Sanatha Dharma (Hinduism) is of its faith in multiple Gods, multiple deities that are adorned and objectified and prayed to. Lets begin by understanding the Hindu definition of God and move on from there. God as Hinduism defines it, is that which is all encompassing. The Vedas refer to the concept of God as "OM Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaad Poornamudachyate; Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornamevaashiyate". Roughly translated the verse reads as "What is Whole - is Whole - What has come out of the Whole is also Whole; When the Whole is taken out of the Whole, the Whole still remains Whole".

The essence of this verse remains that which is infinite cannot be measured arithmetically, nor can it be defined within the boundaries of absolute values. This is the fundamental reason that practitioners of Sanatha Dharma emphatically state that God is not on some higher plane called "heaven" but is inside each one of us.

The Gospel of Thomas makes a similar claim;

Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained.

Split a piece of wood; I am there.

Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

At the end of the day, Hinduism is monotheistic - however Hinduism stresses not only in the singularity God but his infinite perpetual manifestations. That is the fundamental difference between Islam and Sanatha Dharma. Islam states that "there is one God and Muhammad (PBUH) is his prophet". But the logical fallacy comes in the application of the existence of God. Islam does not accept the existence of God in each one of us, a claim that can draw accusations of blaspheme. If the problem is that Islam and Hinduism are using two different definitions of God than let us examine the fundamental characteristics shared by both.

The Universal God

Wikipedia, which defines God in the context of monotheism states that;

God is the term used to denote the ultimate reality which pertains to all known existence. Conceptions of God vary widely, despite the common use of the same term for all.

The Islamic concept of mankind's place in the universe hinges on the notion that Allah, or God, is the only true reality. There is nothing permanent other than Him. God is considered by Muslims to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. In the Qur'an, God is described as being fully aware of everything that happens in the universe, and knows all things. God also knows what is in people's hearts and minds at all times.

It is mentioned in the Qur'an;

"And He it is Who takes your souls at night (in sleep), and He knows what you acquire in the day, then He raises you up therein that an appointed term may be fulfilled; then to Him is your return, then He will inform you of what you were doing."

Surah 6:60

Therefore, Muslims consider it blasphemous to describe Jesus (or another man, woman child etc) as 'Son of God' whether literally or metaphorically. Similarly, Muslims do not believe that God resembles a man (old or young), woman, half man half woman, half man half animal , bird, elephant or other animal or other creation. It is forbidden for Muslims to view God anthropomorphically.

Allah does not resemble any of his creations in any way whatsoever. Allah is not attributed with shape, colour, size, position, location, direction and indeed all of these attributes are found in the creatures Allah created.

Realizing that it is impossible for mankind to visualize the Infinite, a concept that is virtually undefinable by definition, Hinduism presents us with forms toaid in our quest of understanding, not just claiming to understand. This belief of Hinduism is often confused with polytheism.

Let me illustrate my point. We all observe the unending processes of birth, existence and death which seem to be continually taking place around us. We constantly witness these processes and are yet ignorant of them, living as we do in the comfort of our lives. Hinduism gives form and shape to these works of the Infinite via the Hindu trinity; Brahma creates, Vishnu sustains and Shiva destroys.

This should not be confused with idol worship. Hinduism does not promote idol worship, on the contrary, Hinduism urges us to transcend all physical aids to worship in our spiritual progress. Hindus do not worship idols as Gods but God in the form of Idols. It may seem like I am arguing semantics, but this slight difference seems to be the basis of the misconception of Hinduism.

"If a person wants to drink milk, he uses a cup as he cannot drink it directly. For the quivering and unsteady mind, there should be a visible form or a symbol, the idol, so that it becomes a foundation for his adoration. The idol form of God is akin to a vessel which enables a man to drink the milk. Through the instrumentality of an idol, a devotee comprehends divinity."

1. Would respecting your mother constist of looking at her photograph only but never calling or caring for her?

2. And do you make a represntation of her when you don't even know how she looks?

I know that it is inappropriate to answer a question with a question, but I can't help myself. Does it really matter? If God is truly infinite than any representation we give Him is justified by his omnipresence. You cannot have an infinite God without his presence in all. Whether we claim that God is a blue skinned being who has an affinity for buttermilk or a bearded carpenter, all forms are equally inclusive rather than mutually exclusive.

3. Is Truth not the most important concept?

Most of the other claims have been refuted during our earlier discussion and I want to be sure that this discussion does not break down into a diatribe of "my God can beat up your God". While Anik's reasons to convert may simply be a level of comfort in the Islamic world view, the arguments he put forth in the preceding email are obviously based on a combination of gross misunderstandings of Hinduism and basic misrepresentations of the religion.

That said, I wish him the best and look forward to more E-mails and further debate.

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