Gospel to Hindu World- Episode 11

How far is the movie ‘Teen Trilok Chaudha Bhuvan’ acceptable to Biblical worldview?

My aim is not to demean Ps. C.P. Sharma’s such a marvelous attempt in bridging Hinduism to Christianity. His work was appreciable but had many Achilles heel. The purpose of this movie was simply to show Jesus as a Sovereign God over all those realms. However, in an attempt to explain this theological truth, he tried to blend Christianity with Hinduism. He approved many Hinduism belief using the Bible which was seriously synchronization.

There are many occasions where a typical Hindu enthusiast find Jesus through Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas or the Bhagavad Gita or a Muslim finds Jesus through the Qur’an. But this again doesn’t mean Bible approves them as inspired scriptures. In my own case, it wasn’t through any tracts or evangelism I accepted Christ but I came to generate curiosity about him via a religious pluralistic picture. This doesn’t mean I should preach or evangelize in the same way I had calling by God. Read my testimony: https://apologeticsimpact.blogspot.com/2020/11/my-journey-from-hinduism-to-jesus.html. People often come to Christ by some sort of vision or dream. Steve Cioccolanti himself found a bridge to Jesus from Buddhism and wrote a book ‘From Buddha to Jesus’. Whereas, not all people get to know Christ by this way. Sadhu Sundar Singh can be one of them. We cannot Biblically approve anything that we experience or study which can be merely a part of calling from God.

A summary of the movie can be enlisted as;

1. World under an illusion/dream

A. The First Lok (The Sun illuminates its light covering Earth to Vishnu Lok. The Lokas also undergo suffering, war, death, day and night as on the Earth. They aren’t eternal realms.)

i. Earth

ii. Yama Lok: Yamaraja and Chitragupt for judgment

iii. Indra Lok: Indra, extreme dharma and karma affects his throne. Souls need to return back Earth to earn punya again.

iv. Brahma Lok: Four headed Brahma

v. Shiva Lok: Kailashà Shiva family and Dornachalà Devis, need to chant mantra for mukti

vi. Vishnu Lok: Abode of Vishnu. No need to return back on Earth.

vii. Saat Shunya: Doesn’t permit Sun and Moon lights to go beyond the First Lok

B. The Second Lok

i. Adhyaakaran: Satya Narayana, Dark everywhere.

ii. Ashtavaran: Keeps everything alive and every sound reverberates here.

iii. Golak Dhaam: Golaki Krishna, everything is smaller here.

iv. Sumangala Shakti: Aadi Shakti Bhavani, Mother of all Devis.

v. Kaal Niranjan: King of Death

vi. Chaar Veda kaa richa haru: Vedas in absolute form, It is situated so high that it has been believed there is allusion to Jesus in the Vedas.

2. World beyond the dream

The Second Lok: Akshyar Brahma: A sleeping deity. All lower Lokas are His dream.

The Third Lok: Paramadhama: The Final destination. The Highest Abode, Purna parmatma Para Brahman along with 12000 spirits.

Now, we will analyze whether or not these descriptions are Biblical worldviews under evaluation of the Bible verses used by the Pastor. Next, we will also navigate how exactly Hindu world explains this theology.

Misinterpreted Bible verses and their contextual analysis:

1. Is the darkness on Ashtavaran the same darkness of Genesis 1 and Exodus 10:21?

Ans. Genesis 1:2

Why darkness? Light will not be created until the following verse. There can be only darkness at this point. Still, God's Spirit is moving in this darkness. God is preparing to speak, to act with great power to bring order and light to this chaos.[i]

Exodus 10:21

The ninth plague, darkness, was aimed at the sun god, Re, who was symbolized by Pharaoh himself. For three days, the land of Egypt was smothered with an unearthly darkness, but the homes of the Israelites had light.[ii]

God placing these darkness on Ashtavaran is nothing more than assumption.

2. Does 2 Cor. 12:2 really affirm Third Heaven as Third Loka?

Ans. Especially in the Old Testament, the third heaven is often referred to as the highest heaven, a place created by God where He lives and where angels praise Him (1 Kings 8:27; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:4). Most commentators understand the first heaven—or first heavens—to be the sky above the earth (Gen. 6:7, Matthew 6:26, Hosea 2:18, Dan. 7:13). The second would be the realm of the sun, moon, and stars: what we would now refer to as outer space (Gen. 1:14-18, Matthew 24:29, Deut. 4:19, Psalms 148:4).[iii] The Bible however doesn’t mention the First and the Second heaven.[iv]

3. Does Eph. 4:9-10 approve existence of many heavens?

Ans. The reference to "above all the heavens" may be understood as "above the skies" since the same Greek word is used for sky and heaven. Jesus ascended to the heavenly realms, an area beyond the known physical world (Ephesians 6:12), and now sits at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:20; Romans 8:34). The final phrase "that he might fill all things" includes the sense of completion (Colossians 1:18–19; 2:9).[v]

4. Is Deut. 10:14 referring to Ashtavaran and Saat sunyas?

Ans. These are just terms in describing God’s handiwork in space. Nothing such description has been provided as in the movie.

5. Does Deut. 10:17 affirm existence of pantheon of other gods and deities?

Ans. The verse isn’t confirming approval of existence of pantheon of deities. The Bible describes these deities as lifeless idols. It was just a language to show God’s superiority and His unique exclusive existence over all false deities prevailed during contemporary civilization.[vi]

6. Is the Paramdham of Matthew 21:9 the same Paramdham of Hinduism?

Ans. The word ‘hypsistos’ just means ‘Highest’ for any translations.[vii] The paramdham described in the movie doesn’t even match with the one mentioned in the Bible.

7. Is Rev. 21:22-23 referring to the Paramdham?

Ans. This is about New Jerusalem that will be established on New Earth from the heaven.

Ancient cities were often dark. They did not have lighting systems, so they depended upon lighted torches or the light of the sun by day and the light of the moon at night. How different the New Jerusalem is. It enjoys glorious light all the time, as God and the Lamb provide it. The residents of New Jerusalem will never receive an electric bill or experience a blackout. Light will come from God's glory. Neither the moon nor the sun is needed to shine on New Jerusalem. Jesus, the Light of the world (John 1:9; 8:12), serves as the city's lamp.[viii]

8. Does Rev. 20:11 affirm vanishing of all heavens after waking up Akshyara Brahma?

Ans. The presence of the Judge on the great white throne causes the earth and sky to flee away. Perhaps the judgment takes place somewhere in outer space, and while it convenes, earth and sky pass away (2 Peter 3:10–13). Bible teachers are divided in their speculation of whether the earth and the heavens will be destroyed or renovated. The word describing the "new" heaven and earth in Revelation 21:1 indicates freshness and might suggest a renovated heaven and earth.[ix] In general, it might be referring to destruction of current universe. (21:1; Isa. 51:6; 2 Peter 3:7, 10-12)

9. Does Psalms 73:20 and Job 20:8 teach an illusionary world?

Ans. Psalms 73:20:

Those who are arrogant and wicked, yet manage to be rich, live in a dream world. That "dream" state applies in two ways: their lives seem blissful, like a good dream, but they are also just as illusory as a dream. Those dreams and fantasies will turn into nightmares of very real suffering when God judges them. The Old Testament concept of "despising" involves dismissal or rejection: God will wave away the comfortable lives of the wicked like someone waving their hand to ignore an illusion.[x]

Job 20:8

This is about wicked and ungodly people. The chapter doesn’t have anything to do with Maya.

10. Is Matthew 25:41 concerned with people worshipping those illusionary gods?

Ans. Satan and the demons can be behind the works of alleged gods in this world but this verse is not addressing Hinduistic concept of illusionary gods.

Despite his hopeful message at the end, there are several questions on his model or explanation.

1. What happened to those 12000 atmas? How are they Biblically related?

2. The story of Para Brahman about the misery world is totally outside Biblical worldview of God’s plan.

3. The definition of Para Brahman itself is unclear in Hinduism depending upon which Vedantic philosophy we cling to.[xi]

4. Does Bible approve reincarnation?

5. Hinduism is Cyclic worldview in core but the Biblical worldview is linear.

6. There are several sects within Hinduism that has different position on Supreme Being. Shaivite, Shakti and Vaishnava have their own theology. Meanwhile other believe they are one power. Other believe in Monism. Thus, Hinduism has wide variety of belief about gods and goddesses. How can then Biblical concept of God be correlated with these wide various beliefs of gods?

7. Kabir guru, who has studied all scriptures, didn’t know about Jesus when he had almost reached the Paramdhama?

8. Is Akshyar Brahma’s dream supported by Christian hymn? Aren’t they merely an innocent faith of the converted believer? There are words such as ‘mayajaal’ and ‘baikuntha’ as well. These words aren’t affirming the theology of forsaken religion but just focusing on the usage of the word just like Avatar. For instance, maya jaal means an Illusion which makes us incapable to know ourselves and the absolute reality or truth.

9. Ps. C.P. Sharma’s narration regarding Jesus in Vedas seems to be heard one rather than studied. He didn’t mention any references.

10. The creation under Maya of Shumangala Shakti within the dream of Akshyara Brahma is straightforward incompatible with Genesis 1 along with other creation narration in the Bible.[xii]

11. This movie is just analyzing Hinduism and Christianity. What about other thousands of religions and millions of deities? Where can we fit them?

12. Even if those gods are interrelated with one another just as Thomas Hwang had done his analysis in his book ‘Origin of Religions’, there are still differences in their ontology, stories, and theology despite of certain similarities in forms and works.

Let us check whether or not his explanation is the same even in Hindu world:

Loka refers to ‘World’ in Sanskrit.[1] There are 7 Lokas above the Earth and 7 Lokas beneath the Earth.

Three Lokas[2]:

i. Urdhva Loka: the realms of the gods or heavens

ii. Madhya Loka: the realms of the humans, animals and plants

iii. Adho Loka: the realms of the hellish beings or the infernal regions

Seven Upper Worlds are known as Vyarthis and Seven Lower Worlds are known as Patalas[3]:

The seven vyarthis:

1. Satya-loka: This is the place of Brahma, where each person’s atman is released from the inevitability of rebirth. The highest state of conscious awareness and the realm in which atman and Brahman are reunited eternally.

2. Tapa-loka: Abode of tapas or of other deities. Ayohnija devadasis live here. A pure state of consciousness. From this state it is easy to access Satya-Loka if you are already fully enlightened, but need a conscious awareness in everyday life on Earth.

3. Jana-loka: The sons of the god Brahma live here. This is a level of illumination known as “God-consciousness”. People who reach this level today are typically known as ‘mystics’ but are usually great healers or spiritual teachers.

4. Mahar-loka: Great Sages and Enlightened beings such as Markandeya live here. This is the realm of consciousness that can be accessed by the great mythological Rishis such as Bhrigu Muni and Markendeya.

5. Svar-loka: This is the area between the Sun and the Polar Star, the Heaven of the god Indra. It is a Heaven and Paradise, where all the 330 million Hindu gods live. In Hindu myth, this realm is inhabited by the 33 Vedic gods who represent individuals that have mastered their emotions and have no attachments in the physical realm.

6. Bhuvar-loka (or Pitri-loka): Sun, planets, stars. It is the space between Earth and the Sun. Semi-divine beings live here. It is real region, the atmosphere, the life force.

7. Bhur-loka: This is the Earth. Hindus teach or Vishnu Purana says that it is one of billions of inhabited worlds in the universe. This shows the Hindu belief in the multiverse. The Bhur-loka is the earthly realm and is the state of consciousness for many people, awakened or otherwise. Attachments to material possessions or physical needs are still present, but the initiate is aware of themselves and others.

The seven patalas:

1. Atala-loka: Atala is ruled by Bala, who is a son of Maya. Maya possesses mystical powers.

2. Vitala-loka: Vitala is ruled by the god Hara-Bhava, who is a form of Shiva. The inhabitants of Vitala live in a state of ignorance. They are typically successful people but feel immune to spiritual development to the extent they do not believe it exists.

3. Sutala-loka: Sutala is the kingdom of the demon king Bali. In this realm, people are able to learn from their mistakes.

4. Talatala-loka: Talatala is the realm of Maya. Shiva is also here under the protection of Maya. Shiva, as Tripurantaka, destroyed the three cities of Maya but was later pleased with Maya and gave him this realm and promised to protect him.

5. Mahatala-loka: Mahatala is where many nagas (serpents) live.

6. Rasatala-loka: Rasatala is the home of the demons Danavas and Daityas. This is a state of consciousness whereby individuals have little to no control over their actions and do what they want, whether it is right or wrong.

7. Patala-loka (or Naga-loka): This is the lowest realm. It is the region of the nagas, ruled by Vasuki a King serpent. The inhabitants here are filled with hatred, malice and anger. Yet at this point it is not too late to learn from mistakes and misery.

There is also a 13 minutes video describing these Lokas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Gg-Liky89nY

On further cross-checking, I have found similar model and explanation of 3 Lokas and 14 Bhuvanas. You may think that there has been serious interpolation, revision, development and evolution in this Hindu theology. You might be correct as well but our concern isn’t about how this model has been evolved in the Hinduism rather the Biblical theology doesn’t even resonate with these descriptions.

Even strong Hindu adherents do not support his sound knowledge. They have even made objection that he lacks Biblical knowledge.[4] This is seriously an embarrassment for us.

Please, let no one feel bad and misunderstand me. Ps. CP. Sharma had really done a great work but there are hidden slippery areas in his analysis that can be rather a backfire to our faith. The analysis of the verses used clearly depicts that they had no concern with any Hindu worldview of heavens and gods. We cannot think of evangelizing this way. We cannot approve other religious belief as Biblically coherent and consistent. Bridging gap is different case and synchronizing is another case. This was the weakness: He explained Biblical Christian worldview using Hinduism theology and approved it using the Bible.

Honestly, we don’t need any of these stories and extra-Biblical theology to strengthen the gospel or elevate Christ above all. Hinduism is philosophically vague and we cannot think of compromising the Biblical worldview with it despite of any minor or superficial similarities. However, we can obviously take wise approach just as Paul did.

We can rather show the burden in Hinduism philosophies of self-redemption and some common ground of need of sacrifices, divine aid, horror of karma and reincarnation.

Thank you

(I am thankful for Elder PA Thomas who first wrote an article on this subject. His article is in the reference in Nepali language.)

[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/loka#ref224257, 7/1/2021, 11:51 am

[2] https://hindu-devotional-info.blogspot.com/2016/06/what-are-14-lokas-or-worlds-according.html, 12:22 pm

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zmvhsrd/revision/7, 7/1/2021, 11:54 am

https://www.ganeshaspeaks.com/predictions/astrology/14-lokas-of-existence-in-hindu-mythology/, 7/1/2021, 11:56 am

https://www.antaryami.com/hinduism/mysterious-14-lokas-hindu-mythology/, (included in italics) 12.07 am

[4] सुरेन्द्र गौतम, नवराज पनेरु । विज्ञान को नजर मा वेद र बाइबल । विद्यार्थी पुस्तक भण्डार, २०७५ पेज ९७-९८

[i] https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/1/Genesis-1-2.html

[ii] https://www.gotquestions.org/ten-plagues-Egypt.html

[iii] https://www.bibleref.com/2-Corinthians/12/2-Corinthians-12-2.html

https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_151.cfm