- What are the main types of religious philosophy, and what are their differences? Answer: There are three main types of religous philosophy :
- Where did Religious Philosophy come from? Answer: The origins of Religious philosophy can be summarized as follows.
- Ancient Hindu scriptures described both dualism (dvaita) and non-dualism (advaita).
- Jesus Christ, could have introduced non-dualism (advaita) to the Middle-East.
- The West adapted teachings of Jesus Christ, as Christianity.
- Islam (probably) copied Holy Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
- Sri Adi Shankara revived the nondualism (advaita) tradition in India.
- Can we regard Teachings of Jesus as Religious Philosophy? Answer: Generally speaking "No".
- How could you say, Jesus introduced Non-dualism in Middle East? Answer: The following conversation was described in The Holy Bible.
- What is the impact of Univeral Theology on other faiths? Answer: Univeral Theology is only a tool, which can be used, to analyze a religion.
- Can non-dualism (or advaita), destroy other faiths? Answer: No.
- What is the impact of Non-dualism (or advaita) on Christianity? Answer: The author believes that Jesus of Nazareth preached "non-dualism" in Israel. Judaism is based on dualism. Christianity vacillates between the two philosophies.
- The Christ of Cosmos (or Heaven) is Cosmic Energy or divine radiance.
- The Christ of Heaven (or Cosmos) serves as guidance and as a controlling power of the Universe.
- Jesus of Nazareth, may be regarded as a prophet, and Christ on Earth.
- What is the full scope of non-dualism (or advaita)? Answer: Non-dualism (or advaita) provides an exhaustive analysis, of core philosophical concepts like perception and reality.
- What is meant by "The Lord" in Religious Philosophy or Universal Theology? Answer: The phrase "The Lord" is a generic title, given to male deities.
- How does Hinduism view the "Cosmic Energy"? Answer: The Cosmic Energy, is considered as "The Lord", and a deity.
- It was stated that Advaita (or non-dualism) has no impact on other religions, but a little later, a new concept called "Christ of Cosmos" was proposed, as a prescription for Christian Theology. How can this disparity be explained? Answer: The author of the articles on this website, did not invent the concept of "Christ of Cosmos".
a) Dualism (or Dvaita)
b) Non-Dualism (or Advaita)
c) Non-theism
In dualism (or dvaita), God is seperate and distinct from creation. Devotion comprises of surrendering to God, by service.
Judaism, Christianity, Islam follow this philosophy.
In non-dualism (or advaita), God and creation are one and the same. Devotion comprises of realization of God, by meditation.
Shaivism and Shaktism adopt non-dualism (or advaita) philosophy.
Vaishnavism (of Hinduism) was originally based on dualism (or dvaita) philosophy, but later transformed into Vishishta-dvaita. The Vishishta-dvaita philosophy is closer to, and qualifies as non-dualism (or advaita).
Buddhism adopted Non-theism, and rejected dualism (or dvaita); but unlike Shaivism, it also rejected the notion of God.
It is possible that most religions across the world, are probably not fully aware of the philosophical foundations, on which their religion was laid upon.
There is nothing in Holy Bible, that directly fits the bill, as a "philosophical discourse", with some logical basis.
Jesus revealed spiritual insights, which are possible for people, who meditate a lot. What really happens in such communications, is not very well defined.
Jesus answered,
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6
The words "I" & "Me" do not carry personal significance (i.e they do not describe Jesus himself); Jesus could have received the message, from the "Cosmic Energy" of the Universe. The word "Father" could be recognized as the "choice word" of Jesus, to describe "God".
Quite interestingly, the message is very well structured, and does not look like a regular answer, to the simple question posed by "Thomas" in John 14:5.
In other words, the "Cosmic Energy" of the Universe is asserting to the soul of Jesus, that -
"It is the way and the truth and the life. No one can reach God except through it". This single line, is the essence of non-dualism (or advaita) philosophy.
This concept was detailed in the "Inferences" section, as well as in the third poem, named "Legend of the Cosmic Energy".
A pertinent question of Religious Philosophy, revolves around the nature of entities, and their characteristics, like whether they are real physical objects, or mental processes, or cosmic energy.
This inquiry may appear as a frivolous exercise, but it does reveal important philosophical underpinnings, on how the religion, was laid out.
Non-dualism also known as nonduality, is a philosophy adopted by some religions. It co-existed with dualism (or duality), in Hindusim, for thousands of years; and still co-exists with dualism, till this date.
The impact of Non-dualism (or advaita) on Christianity would be minimal. A good understanding of the philosophical underpinnings, could definitely make Christianity more robust and stronger.
Christian Trinity comprises of "God, Christ and the Holy Spirit". The word "Christ" means Son of God, and this was borrowed from Judaism.
The "Trinity" concept is a Christian invention or discovery, but very surprisingly, it matches the core concepts of non-dualism (or advaita).
The Christian terminology can be mapped to non-dualism (or advaita) as shown below.
| Christianity | Non-dualism (or Advaita) |
|---|---|
| God | The Holy Lord |
| Christ | Cosmic Energy |
| I / Me | Soul |
| Act of the Holy Spirit | Enlightenment or Illumination of Soul |
| Joy of the Holy Spirit | Bliss of the Soul |
| Heavenly bliss | Soul is bound to Cosmic Energy |
As shown in the above table, the concept of "God" maps to the concept of "The Holy Lord"; Christ maps to the Cosmic Energy; and the Holy Spirit maps to the concept of illumination of the soul.
As per the Holy Bible, the people of Israel tried to stone Jesus, after he made a surprising statement:
"I and the Father are one," - John 10:30
By making use of the non-dualism (or advaita) mapping table given above, we can deduce that -
The soul of Jesus was bound to Cosmic Energy, under Heavenly bliss.
So, all that was asserted is:
"The Cosmic Energy is The Lord",
which is True.
The Sanskrit phrase "Aham Brahmasmi" in Hindu religious texts, translates to "I am Brahman"; which means "The soul is the Cosmic Energy".
If we use the full background context of the discourse, it means:
"The enlightened/illuminated soul, could get connected, to the Cosmic Energy".
Jesus laid out his teachings on non-dualism (or advaita), but the real source of this knowledge was not revealed. If Christianity aspires to align with non-dualism (or advaita), then the following may become imperative.
A full exploration of these topics, is beyond the scope of this discussion.
The Holy Lord (Supreme God), is "unknown" at all times, to ordinary human beings. The closest ordinary human beings could get to, is the Cosmic Energy.
The Cosmic Energy (Brahman) is visualized as the creation (or Son) of the Supreme Goddess and the Supreme God.
Everything in the Universe gets recycled, except the Supreme God (Para-Brahma) and the Supreme Goddess (Para-Brahma Swarupini). The sanskrit term "Para-Brahma" means above or outside Brahman (Cosmic Energy).
The Cosmic Energy (Brahman) and the Universe merges into the Supreme God and the Supreme Goddess, during the recycling process. The Cosmic Energy (Brahman) is recreated along with the Universe, after the recycling process. Although the Cosmic Energy (Brahman) is recycled, its existence is endless.
A particular branch of Hinduism (Shaktism), depicts Lord Vishnu as Cosmic Energy, and as Son of the Supreme Goddess.
This concept of "Cosmic Christ" was known in Christian Theology, more than two decades prior to the articles on this website. Please refer to reference #7.
The first known description of "Cosmic Christ" was given by Saint Paul the apostle (AD 60-62), in Colossians of the New Testament (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV), and reads as follows:
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together".
Christian Theology (unlike Christianity) is rooted both in scriptures and in philosophy, and had to grapple with the notion, that "God is a primordial creation process".
Christian Theology could not resolve, or provide a satisfactory explanation for -
"Why or for what reason, God, who is a primordial creation process, took birth in flesh and blood?".
A well noted British philosopher, Professor Alfred North Whitehead, attempted to provide an explanation, for God taking birth in flesh and blood; but the explanation revalidated the Hindu, Greek and the European mythological Gods, which Christianity rejected as pagan Gods.
The "Cosmic Christ" resolved many of the problems faced by Christian Theology, and the Cosmic Christ is well rooted in the Christian scripture (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV).
The concept of "Christ of Cosmos" deduced from advaita (or non-duality) is almost parallel to the "Cosmic Christ" of Christian Theology, and there is nothing new in the final result.
"I exist in Belief and in Disbelief;
I exist as Singularity and as Plurality;
I exist in Knowledge and in Ignorance."
References:
- Vivekachudamani : Sri Adi Sankaracharya; web link
- The Holy Bible: King James Version; web link
- Trinity, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2025 Edition): Tuggy, Dale (author); Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.); web link
- Three Trinitarian Controversies Every Christian Should Know: Adriel Sanchez; web link
-
The History of Christian Theology: Professor Phillip Cary; Eastern University;
Published by: The Great Courses; Corporate Headquarters, 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500, Chantilly, Virginia 20151-2299; web link -
Scripture and the Nicene Gift: Andrea D. Saner;
The Conrad Grebel Review 37, no. 2 (Spring 2019): 154-162. web link -
The hermeneutical praxis of the 'Rule of Faith' as generating an
ecclesiology of community in Irenaeus of Lyons: Richard S. Gariepy;
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Theological Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 2001. web link