https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir_(indologist)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matapar%C4%ABk%E1%B9%A3%C4%81
John Muir was a British Indologist who like many others
studies Sanskrit to misinterpret and denigrate all that is Hindu and to
propagate Christianity.
The book is written in the form of a dialogue between a
student and a teacher. The following is a synopsis of 1839 edition of his work
Matapariksha with my refutation inline:
Description of God's Attributes (Īśvara-guṇa-varṇana)
The student notes that various religions contradict each
other, and therefore, not all of them can be true. The teacher explains that an
intelligent person must analyze religions, accept the true one, and reject all
others. He then describes the various attributes of the god.
The Necessity of Divine Guidance (Aiśanītyāvaśyakatā)
The student asks if all believers conceive the God as
omniscient, creator of everything etc. The teacher explains that many people
follow religions that blaspheme God and worship other spirits, claiming that
their scripture is divine.
Description of the Characteristics of the True Religion
(Satya-dharma-lakṣaṇa-varṇana)
The teacher describes the three characteristics of the true
scriptures:
The founder of the true religion must have performed
miracles such as giving life to the dead, and such miracles should have been
recorded beyond doubt. The true scripture must show excellence: the texts
containing shameful stories are not divine. The true scripture must be
universal: a scripture good for only a certain group of people is not divine.
True scripture/religion is that
which is not created or founded by any human, ever existing or sanAtana and
that which unconditionally sustain the entire universe. Veda/dharma alone
qualify as true scripture/religion as it is not created or founded by any
human, eternal with no beginning or end and enshrines the ideal of
dharma/yagya/sacrifice that unconditionally sustains the universe. Though
propagation of Veda is restricted to a section of people, the results of the
sacrifice performed is reaped by all. Also, the performance of dharma comprising
of the ideals of yagya/sacrifice, daana/charity and Tapasya/self-control is
applicable to all.
Everything else including
Christianity and its siblings that do not have the idea of karma/dharma cannot
explain the diversity in creation and so they all fall into the category of
adharma/false religion. Intelligent people need to reject and take up Sanatana dharma.
Miracles like giving life to the dead and so on are only for children and
fools. Alternatively, what is not a miracle in the universe? everything
including the sprouting of a plant, birth of a baby, working of the human body
and the entire universe is a miracle and intelligent people can recognize God’s
presence in all of them. What is needed for a true religion is not just a story
or miracle but a solid philosophy that explains everything. Vedic view of
looking upon the entire universe as the body of God sustaining everything alone
can be considered as universal and real as it is experiential.
Presentation of Christianity (Khṛṣtīya-mata-pradarśana)
The teacher explains that only the scriptures of
Christianity have the above-described characteristics, arguing that:
The miracles of Jesus were recorded before many witnesses,
and even his adversaries admitted them. The commandments of Christianity are
holy and pure. Christianity is universal and does not benefit only people from
certain castes During this explanation, the teacher discusses various Christian
doctrines such as the necessity of Jesus' incarnation, the Holy Spirit and the
Heaven.
Christianity and other Abrahamic
religions with eternal hell and heaven are applicable only for dogmatic humans
and so cannot be universal. Their kindness is restricted to believers in their
faith only. Vedic Hindu religion alone could be considered as universal as it
locates God in all and consequently extending kindness and compassion to every
living being including plants and animals. Even non-living entities are revered
as sacred and humans are urged to reduce consumption and promote sustainable
living.
Deliberation on the Indian Scriptures
(Bhāratīya-śāstra-vicāra)
The teacher then explains that the Indian scriptures do not
show the three characteristics of the true scriptures, arguing that:
Only the children and the fools, not intelligent people,
believe in the miraculous stories about the daityas and the asuras. The origin
of the Hindu texts such as the Vedas is obscure, as they were orally
transmitted for a long period. Heroes such as Rama and Krishna were humans who
have been glorified as divine figures by poets.
Asuras and Suras symbolically
represent material and spiritual forces that influences humans. It is very well
known that Rama and Krishna are avataras or incarnations of the supreme God
Vishnu or Brahman who is the Universal Self. As already mentioned, Vedas alone
are authentic as they are authorless and universal. Vedas look upon the entire
universe as the One supreme being, God and as a consequence, dharma as a
service to the universe, culminate in the service of God.
Bible also is filled with stories
with fictitious characters like Satan and Angels and they are not symbolic
either. All other non-Vedic texts are not universal as they divide the universe
into believers and non-believers. Abrahamic god is arrogant, jealous and human
like, as he damns a section of his own creation into eternal hell.
Hindu God on the other hand, is full
of auspicious qualities and unconditional love as he keeps the entire world
within himself. He resides in the heart of all including those who don’t
believe in him. Instead of damning adharmic people, He gives infinite chance
through multiple lives for them to correct themselves and come to the right
path of dharma.
The Hindu texts are full of contradictions, "shameful
stories", and erroneous claims such as the description of the earth as
"lotus-shaped or resting on a turtle's back". The rituals described
in these texts do not make sense: for example, if one's sufferings are a result
of sins, why does bathing in the Ganges cleanses one's sins but doesn't remove
one's sufferings? Moreover, the Hindu scriptures are contradictory: if one
follows the Vedas (which worship Indra and Agni), they must reject the Puranas
(which worship Shiva and Vishnu) and the Vedanta (which worship the God as
atman or spirit). The various philosophical systems - such as mimamsa, nyaya
and sankhya - are mutually contradictory.
Many such, seemingly “shameful” and
“contradictory” stories in the Vedas, puranas, ithihasas and other Hindu
scriptures are highly symbolic. They serve two important purpose – one to
mislead ignorant, non-traditional and irreligious adharmic people or asuras and
the other to encourage traditional devoted dharmic souls to investigate and
contemplate further and reconcile based on the interpretations provided by
traditional AchAryas or teachers.
In addition to Agni and Indra - Rama
and Krishna who are avataras of Vishnu, are mentioned umpteen number of times
in the Vedas. The name Vishnu etymologically means the all-pervading and
indwelling Self. This Vedic idea of God as the inner controlling Self of all
should reconcile all differences as the spirit Self alone is identified through
every name/form in the universe. Rigveda itself reconciles by saying “Ekam sat
viprah bahuda vadanti” - that God or reality is One even though learned people identify
Him with many names like Indra, Mitra, Varuna and so on.
Bathing in Ganga removes past sins
or sanchita karma, but the soul will still have to go thru the sufferings due
to prarabdha karma that has started bearing fruits. Even this could be reduced
based on the individual’s devotion and God’s grace.
The caste restrictions prescribed by the dharma-shastras
deny the equality of men, thus proving that Hinduism is not universal.
In conclusion, the teacher states that he derives "no
satisfaction from refuting other religions". He praises the "good
qualities" of the Hindus (such as their poetry and grammatical sciences),
but states that their religion is not true.
Not everything including humans in
the world are created equal. So, Vedas recognizes differences and urges humans
to engage in dharma or service to the society and universe according to one’s
capability and capacity. More importantly, Vedas recognize the presence of the
same God in all and this view leads to spiritual equality and unity in
diversity. Good qualities of Hindus are based on this universal view of
recognizing the presence of the divine God in all the diverse entities. All
other religions including Christianity that locates God only in heaven are
obviously short sighted and so not complete. They could at best be considered
as a reflection or partial manifestation of the universal Hindu religion. Such human
conceived religions may come and go in time, as opposed to Sanatana Hindu
dharma that exists for ever.
The attempt of all non-Vedic / adhArmic scholars to refute Vedic Hindu religion, is similar to the darkness fighting the light.
Many Hindus have written rebuttals to Muir’s work:
Mata-parīkṣā-śikṣā ("A Lesson for the [Author of the]
Mataparīkṣā", 1839) by Somanātha, apparently a pseudonym for Subaji Bapu
of Central India
Mataparīkṣottara ("An Answer to the Mataparīkṣā",
1840) by Harachandra Tarkapanchanan of Calcutta
Śāstra-tattva-vinirṇaya ("A Verdict on the Truth of the
Shastra", 1844-1845) by Nilakantha Gore (or Goreh) of Benares
Namaste
Suresh
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