EPISODE 2
The Prajapati
Once I got an information about a preacher
named Acharya Vikas Massey from Jaipur. I went through his testimony[i]
and his sermons.[ii] How fascinatedly he
quotes from Indian philosophies and literature and ends the stretching thread
to need of Jesus in his every sermon. His sermon made such a great impression
that people were convinced that even Indian literature and philosophy points to
need of Christ.
Let me be careful not to imply any personal
attack on him. I personally admit his sermons are great. I have no right to
give anyone a tag with heretical preacher, cult or something of such nature.
However, the use of Hindu scriptures does have some vulnerability for Christian
circle when we try to offer the water of life. Even Sadhu Sundar Singh has not
evangelized in such a way.
Let us briefly examine the claims of allusion
to Christ in Vedas. Out of many such resources[iii]
I have selected:
https://interestingfactsfromjack.blogspot.com/2010/12/jesus-was-mentioned-in-vedas.html
1.
When
Christ was born in Palestine it was informed the wise men of the east, the
non-Jewish world. Not only at His birth even before that, the plan of salvation
through the sacrificial death of Christ was revealed in the ancient Vedas, the
Hindu religious books. When the ancient sages wrote about the sacrifice of
Prajapati (God), quite unknowingly they were portraying the Lord Jesus Christ
as the way of salvation,
2.
The
literal meaning of the word Prajapati is the Lord of all creation. He is the
Creator. Therefore, the Prajapati’s Sacrifice means the Sacrifice of God
Himself. There are several verses in the Vedas in connection with this,
3.
Tandyamaha
Brahmana in its second part, chapter 7:
“Prajapatirddevebhyam
Atmanam
yajnam krtva prayacchat”
(Having
done a self-sacrifice, Prajapati, the Lord of all creation, offered Himself for
gods.)
This
concept of self-sacrifice is very significant. Normally, God is supposed to
receive sacrifices and offerings; but here the victim of sacrifice is God Himself.
4.
The
meaning of the word ‘Prajapati’ (the Lord of all creation) is fulfilled only in
Jesus.
According
to the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ is the creator of the world: “All things came
into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come
into being” (John 1: 3). About Him it is also written: “Thou Lord, in the
beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works
of Thy hands” (Hebrews 1: 10). Jesus is the real Prajapati – the Lord of all
creation.
5.
According
to the Vedas, Prajapati is called Purusa, the Man of perfection. (Purusasukta,
Rig Veda 10: 90: 1-16). Christ refers to Himself ‘Son of Man” (Matt.20:28).
6.
The
definitions of ‘Purusa’ in Vedic literature are meaningful only when they
applied to Jesus.
i.
Definition
1 is quoted from ‘Yajur Veda’ 32:4: “Purvoh jatah Purusah” which means one who
is born in the beginning. Well, Jesus has no beginning. He is eternal. Still
Jesus is called the first born in the Bible: “He is the image of invisible God,
the first born of all creation” (Colossians 2: 15).
ii.
Definition
2 “Purnatvad Purusah” means the One who is perfection is Purusah is also
fulfilled in Jesus. When all men of the world are imperfect beings, Jesus
Christ, the Son of Man is the one and the only perfect Man in this world.
iii.
Definition
3: “Sa yat purvo asmat sarvasmat sarvan papmana ausat tasmat Purusah (He who
burns out sin before all is Purusa” (Brhadaranykoponisad 1.4.1). The
Chandogyopanisad 1.6. 6-7 says: This man is above all sin and one who worships
Him and follows Him also raise himself above sins.”
7.
Jesus
Christ came to this world to save sinners from their sins. At the same time, He
was above from sins. He is the one and the only sinless Man in this world. According
to the Vedas the victim of the Purusa-Prajapati’s sacrifice should be
blameless. It is completely fulfilled in Jesus.
8.
Purusa-Prajapati’s
sacrifice should be blameless. It is completely fulfilled in Jesus.
9.
The
Sacrificial Man should be closely tied to the sacrificial pillar
(Sathapathabrahmana 3.7.3.1). Christ was closely nailed to the cross, the
sacrificial pillar.
10.
The
blood of the Sacrificial Man should be shed, according to the Vedas. Fulfilled
in Jesus’ crucifixion.
11.
The
Sacrificial Man should return to life after the sacrifice. (Brhadaranykopanisad
3.9.28.4,5). Fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection
Another
short reference is from https://peace-of-mind.net/hinduism.htm:
Rig
Veda contains reference to Jesus.
In
the oldest ‘Hindu’ scripture, Rig Veda, for example, there is evidence of the
promised "Prajapathi", the God who will once come in bodily form, be
born to a virgin, be called the Lamb of God, die with unbroken bones for the
sins of man on a wood, be resurrected from the dead and will be giving his own
flesh to be eaten by people. If any Hindu compares this promised Saviour in the
ancient vedic scriptures and early poems of the famous Indian saints and
philosophers with the Jesus Christ of the Bible, he will be amazed without
having any doubts about the compelling evidence. "Jesus is the
Prajapathi", the Sanskrit name for the promised God in human body who died
for the sins of mankind to redeem sinners.
Fascinating!
Isn’t it? It’s a kind of great joy for believers unless they percolate their
exploration deep onto reality!
Now let
us change some direction of our flight in this topic. We cannot totally rely on
such alleged description from the Vedas alone. First, Christ is not explicitly
mentioned as the only way to heaven in the Vedas. Second, the Vedas mention the
deity, Prajapati, who, according to some Christians, is an allusion to the Lord
Jesus Christ.[iv]
Few views
on Prajapati identification:
1.
From
https://www.antaryami.com/hinduism/who-is-prajapati-in-hinduism/:
Ø
He
first appears in the Rig Vedas as an individual God, yet most Hindus today recognize
Prajapati as a group of deities. Furthermore, the Rig Vedas depict Prajapati as
one of the most important gods.
Ø
However,
in later texts, Prajapati disappears and is replaced with the Brahma
Ø
According
to ancient myths, Prajapati was emerged from the primal waters and produced the
Universe and all sentient beings. In one myth he is described as becoming an
ascetic before producing the Universe. However, Prajapati is first mentioned in
Rig Veda 10 verse 121 where it describes him emerging from the “golden germ.”
This is a direct correlation with Brahma who emerges from the golden egg.
Ø
In
later Sanskrit texts, Prajapati is described as a group of people, rather than
the individual God he is depicted as in earlier legends. Essentially, Prajapati
is a collective for a group of deities – gods that were born from the mind of
Brahma.
Ø
they
are both associated with the laws of nature, which is the essence that forms in
accordance with cosmic laws. Prajapati is actually described as ‘the life
force’ which later became known as prana.
Ø
But
in the early legends, Prajapati was also responsible for upholding the moral
principles of dharma – the need to do the right thing.
Ø
In
Hindu mythology, Brahma is described as the Universal Mind. And given the
comparisons between the two gods, Prajapati is also symbolic of the Universal
Mind.
Ø
Although
Prajapati is generally known today as “the god of the people,” a more accurate
description would be God in man. He represents a state of higher-consciousness
that is innate within each of us if we choose to search for it through the act
of self-realization.
Ø
Prajapati
is also associated with sacrifice and is honored in Hindu rituals as the god of
fire.
Ø
Prajapati
is noted as a Supreme God, thus he can be identified as representing higher
consciousness. But he is also associated with animals which represents the
lower consciousness of man – because we are by nature animals. It is only our
ability to attain higher states of consciousness that human beings are superior
to animals.
Also consider this: We therefore have choices to make; to
follow the path of our divine consciousness and become like gods, or
stay rooted in ignorance and slavery like cattle.
Like all Hindu Gods, Prajapati is an aspect of ourselves. He
is our conscious thoughts that evolve to become reality. And the thoughts you
choose to act upon come from either your higher consciousness, or your lower
consciousness. So, pay attention to your actions.
So, is this a Biblical worldview?
2.
From
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Prajapati:
Ø
He
is the Hindu god of animals and protector of the male sex organ,
Ø
Prajapati
is conceived of as a creator of the universe in early Vedic texts such as the
Brahmanas,
Ø
In
the post-Vedic period, as Hindu religion became more internalized, Prajapati
largely fell out of currency. Eventually, the mythology surrounding Prajapati
was absorbed into that of other Hindu creation gods, specifically Brahma,
Shiva, and the Prajpatis,
Ø
Like
Time (Kala), Prajapati was more accurately thought of as the source of all
being, the embodiment of a creative principle rather than an anthropomorphic
creator,
Ø
As
the lord of creatures, Prajapati was thought of as keeper and caregiver not
only of humans but also of animals. Prajapati's connection with animals was
evident by way of the numerous species that were connected to him in both
written and visual depictions,
Ø
Prajapati
was also thought to hold jurisdiction over human and animal reproduction. Prajapati
is among the deities evoked at Hindu wedding ceremonies.
Ø
Due
to his status as a supreme creator god, Prajapati becomes connected with a
number of other important gods in the Vedic pantheon,
Ø
In
Rig Veda 10.90, Purusha is credited with an immense act of self-sacrifice that
brought the world into being. Like Purusha, Prajapati is also said to have
sacrificed himself, resulting in the various divisions of empirical reality.
Most importantly, his constituents became brahman, the sacred verbal power that
was thought to mitigate the cleavage between human beings and the divine, and
consequently became the lynchpin of all Vedic sacrifice,
Ø
Prajapati
gained his initial significance in the sacrificial drama. The Vedas insisted
humans must repeat this original primordial sacrificial event regularly in
order to renew all aspects of space and time that Prajapati had originally put
into place by way of his self-immolation.
3.
Page
325/529 of a book ‘The Encyclopedia of world religions’ revised edition, 2007
published by Ellwood and Alles has mentioned:
The
creation story tells us that the world and the Creator of the world are not to
be confused. The world is to be honored because it was made by God, but it is
not the same as God. We humans can have a deep relationship of love, service,
and obedience to God, but we must not say that we are God. All these very
important ideas, central to Judaism and Christianity, are embedded in the
creation myth.
Compare
that account with one from the VEDAS of India, which tells us that the world is
a sacrifice made by Prajapati, a Creator God who made the world by dividing
up his body so that his bones became the mountains, his blood the rivers, and
so forth. Here is conveyed something told in much more philosophical
language in later HINDUISM, that God is not a Creator separate from the world,
but the word is God, God in disguise, God playing hide-and-seek with himself,
and to know God we do not look outside of the world, but into the depths of the
world, into our own innermost nature.
Having
examine attributes of the Prajapati, none of these descriptions align closer to
Biblical Jesus. The bitter truth is there is no Christ prophesized in the
Vedas.[v] According
to the Vedas, Prajapati presides over life and procreation. But Prajapati is
not the only deity mentioned in the Vedas. In addition to Prajapati, the Vedas
speak about other deities as well.[vi] In
later literature, Prajapati is identified with the creator god Brahma, but the
term also connotes many different gods, depending on the Hindu text, ranging
from being the creator god to being same as one of the following: Viswakarma,
Agni, Indra, Daksha and many others, reflecting the diverse Hindu cosmology.[vii]
https://haindavakeralam.com/christian-missionary-frauds-hk9554
has done an attempt to expose Christian missionaries’ fraud. They proclaim: In Vedic
literatures, the word yagya is not similar to the meaning of sacrifice as being
followed by Christians and Muslims (for them sacrifice means killing of men or
animals as an offering to God!). Vedas totally prohibits killing of any
creatures for any purpose including food needs also. The Prajapathi
mentioned in Vedas do not have any resemblance with the man God Jesus! Here
again, a question arises if Vedic people were truly vegetarian? Rig Veda 5: 29:
7-8 7. As friend to aid a friend, Agni dressed quickly three hundred buffaloes,
even as he willed it. And Indra, from man's gift, for Vṛtra's slaughter, drank
ofr at once three lakes of pressed-out Soma. 8. When thou three hundred
buffaloes' flesh hadst eaten, and drunk, as Maghavan, three lakes of Soma, all
the Gods raised as ’twere a shout of triumph to Indra praise because he slew
the Dragon. When the God of the Bible allowed human beings to have non
vegetarian, deities of Vedic times were apparently flesh eaters.[viii]
This additional information has been added here for their false claim.
Another
fact to be noticed is that Prajapati is not just one God in the Vedas. Unlike
the Bible, Vedas is attributed by polytheism and animism worldviews. Different
natural forces are given godly positions and personifications. Prajapati is
hence one among many deities in the Vedas. Therefore, the parallel between
Jesus and Prajapati seems quite weak.
The
Prajapati of the Vedas and the Christ of the Bible contradict each other.
Studies have exposed the dissimilarities between the Prajapati and the Christ
of the Bible.[ix],[x], [xi]
As per the analytical claims, the root of Prajapati is believed to trace back
to Nimrod, a leader of rebellion at Babel incident, who was worshipped as
Pashupati in Harappan civilization as there was evolution of Nimrod worship and
later called as Purusha Prajapati by Aryans. The Prajapati is actually
considered to be none other than Nimrod himself.
As T.S.
Balan puts, “If we can borrow the other god's names and use it to address
Jesus, it will lead us to great dangers. For example, the word BAAL means,
LORD. Who is the Lord? We know that it is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Can we preach: "Believe in Baal and you will be saved". It means
nothing but "Believe in the Lord and you will be saved". The prayer,
"O, Baal, hear us" (I Ki-18:26) means '0, Lord, hear us", but
the Lord did not hear them. It proves that we cannot give Jesus the names of
the other gods, though the meaning is good. So, it is blasphemy to call our
Lord, Jesus Christ, Prajapati or Baal or anything like that. The god of the
Vedas, who was killed for taking his own daughter as wife, has nothing to do
with the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ does not need his name.”[xii]
It has
also been claimed that the entire Prajapati-Christ fraud came into existence
mainly through the publication of the fraudulent writings of Adhyksha
Anubhavandand.[xiii]
In the nineties the Prajapati Movement has become an unbelievably large and profitable
"industry". At the time of this writing Mr. Koshy Abraham has 50 publications,
Padinjarekara has half a dozen, and many small-time Prajapati writers have publications
of their own. More than 50,000 copies of Arvindaksha Menon's Malayalam book
have been published in less than 24 months. Perhaps NO other Malayalam book has
ever attained this record. Then there are hundreds of thousands of cassette
tapes circulating in the Name of Menon and a certain Titus Karthikappally. Six
famous shlokas from the Sama Veda that many Christians use is said to have been
taken from a tract ‘Who is Real Prajapati’ published in Malayalam. It has been
said by researcher that those shlokas never existed in the Sama Veda.[xiv]
In
addition, the tract entitled ‘Sacrifice’ written by the same author
Anubhavandand has also been accused to be a fraud. Mr. Koshy Abraham
says, “We should not give much importance to these erroneous statements. It
would be sufficient to acknowledge that these people (who cheated the public)
did so with a pure aim. It is true that this evangelist (who cheated the
public) did so purely because he wanted to create a wave for Christ among
Indians.”[xv]
From https://silo.tips/download/nine-signs-of-christ-in-rigveda:
The Nine-Point Prajapati proponents have been stating
their case for almost seven decades now. They have been using all the available
media to convince people that this Nine-Point sacrifice is there in the
Rigveda. In fact the Nine-Point Sacrifice of the Prajapati has even become a
Shibboleth for many Christians. However, when asked to prove their point,
neither the 160 page book of Padinjarekara, nor its 201 page brother birthed by
Mr. Koshy Abraham has been able to produce even a single point. These
quotations simply DO NOT exist in the Rigveda. They are a FORGERY and FRAUD. As
repeatedly said in this book, the Prajapati Theology stands upon pillars of
deception, bound together by the cement of false interpretation.
In summary, the Prajapati-Christ story is a big myth. It
has been perpetrated by Christians for the last 100 years only because
listeners never asked whether these things are so. Here are a few observations
that everyone must keep in mind
ü Christians
implicitly trust when someone makes a truth-claim
ü As
a result, the Christian community trusted the false claim made by many in the name
of Prajapati-Christ-Vedas
ü Numerous
modern writers took this falsehood and developed it further. This includes people
like Dr. Joseph Padinjarekkara, Dr. Koshy Abraham, Arvindaksha Menon, Sadhu
Chellappa, Acharya Daya Prakash
ü Not
a single one of them has been able to show from Vedas the quotations that they use
ü Many
of the references that they have given have turned out to be non-existent, which
is deception.
ü It
is high time for Christians to reject the Prajapti-Vedas-Christ myth and lie
However,
the case of Prajapati is also discussed in Evidence that demands Verdict by
Josh McDowell: Whereas the Vedic Prajapati is a mythical symbol, which has
been applied to several figures, Jesus of Nazareth is an historic person.
‘Jesus is the true Prajapati,’ he said, ‘the true Saviour of the world.’
Late Sir Ravi Zacharias[xvi], [xvii]
that ends up to sacrifice necessary for humanity. Rev. Dr. Balkrishna Sharma,
Principal of Nepal Theological College and has Master degree in Hinduism,
suggests that one has to analyze such alleged shlokas in light of their
contemporary and valid hermeneutics and context, date of the scripture,
contemporary environment and background. Otherwise, there arises a big question
whether to declare those scripture as Divinely Inspired and include within
canonical books of the Bible. He also added that, if such shlokas really exist
then those are merely natural aspiration of human beings since they are created
in God’s image.[xviii]
There are people from Hindu background who encounters the Prajapati draws a
deeper conclusion that Jesus is the true Prajapati. Even if such shlokas or
parallels exist (let’s take an assumption), it is wiser to conclude that Jesus
indeed fulfils the sacrifice rather than declaring it as His prophecy or
allusion. A better way of understanding is that humans are created in God’s
image and has some traces or ideas about God’s plan. Therefore, some sort of parallel
can be seen in such scripture which should not be considered astonishing. When Hindus
are told Jesus is there in their holy books, just read and believe their own
holy books, we are indeed digging our own grave and allegedly conveying their
scriptures are also inspired.
On
other side, there is also an understanding of contextualization since
Christianity can be translated both linguistically and culturally in any social
framework so that the people can understand the message in their own context. Simply
to put, both Jesus and Paul did contextualization during their mission. Paul
used pagan philosophers to contextualize and help people to understand gospel. Sadhu
Sundar Singh has said to offer water of life in Indian cup. Even if Vedas have
such shlokas, one can begin with common ground to start up conversation is what
some Christians also believe. They believe that such striking similarities can
open a door for positive dialogue. They hold the position that the best way is
to show inner cry for a need of Savior revealed in Vedic scriptures and end the
thread to Christ as fulfilment. Since they also focus on sacrifice for moksha,
Christians believe that we can make a bridge to enable them to reach Christ. Finally,
God’s fingerprints in world religions can be a sort of General Revelation. God
doesn’t want anyone to be condemned. Hence, it is also a possibility of such
astonishing allusions can be seen in the scriptures. And we can carefully move
ahead contextualizing and leading people to Christ.[xix]
[i] https://youtu.be/1owwKVRNqMo,
9/28/2021, 12.40 pm accessed for update on the article published on 3rd
Jan. 2021.
[iii] https://dokumen.tips/reader/f/jesus-christ-is-the-fulfillment-of-the-prophecies-in-hindu-scriptures,
accessed on 9/28/2021, 12.52 pm as new update, https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/jesus-christ-revealed-from-the-hindu-vedas/47100,
accessed on 12:55 pm and http://jesus-vedas.blogspot.com/2009/02/vedas-really-say-this.html,
accessed on 12:57 pm
[v]
Refer to video: https://youtu.be/5fCu8a6MYGE,
accessed on 9/28/2021, 4:15 pm (Latest update)
[vi] https://vedicfeed.com/vedic-gods-according-to-rig-veda/,
accessed on 9/28/2021, 1.57 pm (Latest update)
[vii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajapati#Prajapati_in_Vedas,
accessed on 9/28/2021, 2.04 pm (Latest update)
[viii]
http://www.sakshitimes.net/blog/2009/11/23/genesis-9-1-4-answering-maharishi-dayananda-saraswati-178/,
accessed on 9/28/2021, 1:38 pm (Latest update)
[x] http://thedonministries.blogspot.com/2017/11/prajapati-cult-ts-balan.html,
accessed on 9/28/2021, 2.22 pm (Latest update)
[xi] https://www.scribd.com/document/7239694/Jesus-is-Not-a-Hindu-God,
accessed on 9/28/2021, 2.34 pm (Latest update)
[xiv]
Ibid.
[xv]
Ibid.
[xvii]
Despite of inconvenience to mention him, it was a requirement for this article.
[xviii]
Part 8 from https://apologeticsimpact.blogspot.com/2021/09/interaction-on-worldviews-2019-with-rev.html,
accessed at 9/28/2021, 3:46 pm (Latest update)
[xix]
Singh, Sunil. Smoothing the Paths to Missions: Paul’s “To an Unknown God” a
Model for Evangelization in the Context of Nepal. Asia Pacific Theological
Seminary. Baguio City, Philippines. March 21, 2014.
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