Biblical Hermeneutics

Assignment on: Vedic, philosophical, missionaries, Indian Christians.

Roll no: 31.

Submitted by: Roscoe Pound Susngi.

Submitted to: Rev. Dr. George Philip.

Table of Contents
Introduction. ............................................................................................................................. 2
1. Vedic, philosophical, missionaries, Indian Christians................................................... 2
1.1. Christian missionaries............................................................................................... 3
2. Similarities in Biblical and Vedic Interpretation........................................................... 4
2.1. The Hindu scripture .................................................................................................. 4
2.2. The Christian Scripture ............................................................................................ 4
2.3. The “WORD” Similarity .......................................................................................... 4
3. The fourth gospel and the Indian thought world. The Word: Vedic Vak and the
Johannine Logos....................................................................................................................... 5
3.1. Creative power of Vak. ............................................................................................. 5
3.2. Creative and revelatory role of the Johannine Logos. ........................................... 6
3.3. The logos become Human. ........................................................................................ 7
3.4. Jesus The Vak. ........................................................................................................... 7
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 8
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 9

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Introduction.
The religious practices of India have emanated throughout the Asian continent with faith
practices in Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, and even Christianity. Its customs and practices
however stem from the Aryans. Indian thought is based mainly on the Vedas, which are
considered to be a direct revelation of God. The noun Veda, derived from the verb vid simply
means knowledge. But it generally means a special kind of Knowledge received by ancient
sages or seers by ‘hearing’ (sruti) or ‘seeing’ the eternal wisdom.1

In this assignment we will delve into the Vedic writings, the similarities of the Biblical writings
with that of the Hindu Scriptures, its association with its philosophies and theologies with
regards to the Gospel, the missionaries that work amongst the people, and some Indian
Christians and the way they revolutionize Indian thought of Christians.

1. Vedic, philosophical, missionaries, Indian Christians.

The Vedas which are considered to be the Holy Scripture of Hinduism is a collection of four,
composed during the period of the Aryan migration to India. They are called Rig-Veda, Sama-
Veda, Yajur-Veda, and Atharva-Veda and are regarded as an authorless, timeless, and infallible
source of knowledge about the religious and social duties to be done in harmony with Dharma
(natural universal order).2

Whether it be Buddhism, Christianity, or Hinduism, one of the main aspects of any spiritual
literature is the concept of salvation. In the Indian tradition, there are three traditional ways in
which a person can attain salvation (mukti/moksa): karma-marga; the way of works and action,
bhakti-marga; the way of devotion and love, and jnana-marga; the way of knowledge and
contemplation.3 There are many other words that express the goal of salvation or liberation in
Indian thought but are enunciated with different nuances: samadhi, svarga, nihsreyasa,
nirvana,… but the most popular being words that are derived from the root muc which means
release, free, liberate, etc.4 The sounds that were received by the sages are preserved by
families. These Priestly Brahmin families preserve the different traditions of recitation of the
sacred sounds. The basic component of each of the four Vedas is its collection (samhita) of
verses (mantra), which evoke the aspect of divinity in the sonic forms that they are, which are
used in rituals. Attached to each collection are the ‘Brahmanas’ which prescribe, describe and

1
George Gispert-Sauch, S.J, eds., Gems from India (Kashmere Gate: Academy Press, 2006) 109.
2
Christopher Bartley, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy (York Road: Replika Press Pvt Ltd, 2010)
7.
3
Gispert-Sauch, S.J, eds., Gems from India, 86.
4
Gispert-Sauch, S.J, eds., Gems from India, 67.

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illuminate the purposes of the sacrificial rituals performed by Brahmin priests and their
householder patrons. They include explanations of the meanings of the ritual actions and
postulate correspondences between aspects of the rites and features of the cosmos including
the social structure and the human body. It was believed that ritual performance orders,
sustains, and perpetuates the universe, creating new times and ensuring the regular succession
of the seasons. There are also the ‘Aranyakas’ (Forest Books) that speculate the ‘inner’
meaning of the ritual and are closely associated with what are called Upanisads. (The
Upanisads are the philosophical-religious texts of Hinduism (also known as Sanatan Dharma
meaning “Eternal Order” or “Eternal Path”) which develop and explain the fundamental tenets
of the religion. At the same time, Upanisad has also been interpreted to mean “secret teaching”
or “revealing underlying truth”.5

1.1. Christian missionaries

One of the pioneers of Christian missionaries who came to India in 1605 and inculcated the
context of the Indian way of life was Robert de Nobili who was a Roman Catholic Jesuit.
According to the policy of his mission, the Indians who discarded their ancestral customs and
embraced the Portuguese ways, the better Christians they would be. He stated that “it was
unjust to require people to change their national customs, to give up caste and other forms of
social and cultural life.”6 The only way to make Christianity acceptable to caste Hindus was to
present it as a universal religion, not as the religion of the Parangis7. His approach was to make
Christianity look less unpleasant in external forms by encouraging Christians to participate in
Hindu festivals like Pongal.

The first Protestant missionary, Bartholomeus Ziegenbalg, arrived in India in 1706 and had
preconceptions and assumptions regarding the Hindus at the time. He would use such terms as
‘you heathens’, ‘bondage of idolatry’, ‘gross ignorance’, etc. But after his study of the Hindu
Scriptures, his attitude changed.8 He understood the depth of the Hindu Scripture and rejoiced
in the fact that a small light of the gospel already began to shine through their understanding
of God and the natural order. The interpretations of the Hindu religious scriptures by Orientals

5
https://www.worldhistory.org/Upanishads accessed on 30/01/2023.
6
R.S Sugirtharajah and Cecil Hargreaves, eds., Readings in Indian Christian Theology (Kashmere
Gate: ISPCK, 1993) 4-5.
7
Parangi is old Tamil for foreigner especially the Portuguese and that St Thomas mount is still called
Parangi Malai.
8
Sugirtharajah and Hargreaves, eds., Readings in Indian Christian Theology, 5.

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like Max muller, Paul Deussen, and Berridale Keith had an impact on Christian missionary
thinking and considered it necessary to revise their basic Christian Doctrines9.

2. Similarities in Biblical and Vedic Interpretation

It is interesting to follow the ray of divine touch found in the Indian scripture or Hindu scripture
(Vedas) and in the Christian scripture (Bible). Every Hindu says that the Vedas, Upanishads,
etc. are all sacred since they are Sruti, namely sometimes heard from God by Holy men. The
Christians and the Jews would say that the Bible is sacred because it has been inspired by God.
In both cases, human being perceives revelation.10

2.1. The Hindu scripture

It is difficult to determine all sacred scriptures of Hinduism. Nevertheless, we can divide them
into three broad areas, namely, Sruti, Smrti, and the writings of the Hindu saints.11 In these
three categories, we are focusing on the first category of Scripture which is called “Sruti”. For
the Hindu brethren, the revelatory character of the sacred scriptures shines most conspicuously
in the first category called “Sruti”. The Sanskrit word “sruti” literary means “what is heard” or
“heard”. Sruti scripture is considered to be the most sacred as they were written down by the
Rishis who “heard” from God and pass down orally and thus “heard” by succeeding
generations. It is through Sruti that “Veda”, namely, ‘knowledge’ of God reached mankind.12

2.2. The Christian Scripture

The Christians use the word Bible to indicate all their sacred writings. The Bible is a collection
of 66 or 72 different books written at various times and places. It is generally divided into two
parts, the Old Testament and New Testament. The Christians believe that the whole Bible is of
divine origin and authority because they are “inspired” by God.

2.3. The “WORD” Similarity

For both the Hindus and Christians it is the revealed nature of the scriptures that makes them
sacred and authoritative. When the Hindus express this revealed nature of the scripture by
calling them “Sruti”, the Christians do the same by pointing them out as “inspired” by God.

According to orthodox Hindu thinking, the Vedas are the sole revelation to mankind. Veda has
two dimensions: It is “Sruti”, which is “hearing”, which denotes the aspect of reception from

9
Sugirtharajah and Hargreaves, eds., Readings in Indian Christian Theology, 5-6.
10
Lucius Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, ed: Augustine Thottakara (Dharmaram
Publications in India, Bangalore, 2000), 149.
11
C. F. Ishanand and Vempeny S. J., Inspiration in the Non-Biblical Scripture (Theological Publication
in India, Bangalore, 1973), 11.
12
Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, 149.

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an outside source, and It is “Sabda” which is “word”, which denotes the active revealing
agent.13 This double aspect of the Veda is attested by a great commentator of Vedas, who was
Bhartrhari of the 5th century C.E.

Here we find a great convergence thought of concerning the revealed word of God, in Hindu
and Christian thoughts. The Gospel of John begins with the words: “In the Beginning was the
word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God;
all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”

So according to Johnnine thought of the Word of God is not only that which is heard but also
the “advisable”. The eternal Word, who is a person, one with God, at the same time distinct
from the godhead, and who is the cause of all creation. In the Indian tradition, “Sabda” tends
to be reserved for Brahman who is identical to Vedas.14

The Johannine Word (logos in Greek) can be then termed “Sabda-Brahman”. For John, this
Sabda-Brahman is God and is revealing God through himself and the whole creation. Hence,
in the Johannine thought, the revelation is not confined to the scriptures, but it is extended to
the entire creation, which is the expression of the Logos. Similarly, the whole essence of the
logos, the Sabda-Brahman is his being the word. He is the Word, and he conveys the word of
God. Thus, with his whole being, he is the revelation of God. There is no Chronological
difference between him and Godhead.15

3. The fourth gospel and the Indian thought world. The Word: Vedic
Vak and the Johannine Logos
God’s revelation is found everywhere, though His final revelation according to a Christian is
found in Christ and the Bible, yet we find hints of His revelation in other scriptures also to
some extent. In India particularly, the search for God and the efforts to know and understand
Him are endless which are seen through their rites and rituals but these efforts then came to be
written down in the form of Scriptures which are unique to India.16

3.1. Creative power of Vak.

The Sanskrit word vak is a feminine word that implies a word that is sacred, primeval, creative,
and also sound speech, language, the organ of speech, and voice. Vak is the total living Word,

13
John Brockington, Hinduism and Christianity (Macmillan press Ltd.,London, 1992), 47.
14
Brockington, Hinduism and Christianity, 47.
15
Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, 153.
16
Dayanand Bharati, Living Water and Indian Bowl. An analysis of Christian Failings in
communicating Christ to Hindus with Suggestions towards Improvement (Kashmere Gate: ISPCK, 2004) 106-
107.

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that is the Word in her entirety, which encompasses her visible form, cosmic reverberations,
her sound, meaning…17 Vak presents herself as the goddess who is in the company of other
Vedic gods and supports and sustains them. Vak “was before all creation, preexisting before
any being came to be. It was she who initiated the creative process… the Word is not only the
First of the whole Vedic pantheon, but she is unique in herself. She is not to be compared with
or to other beings whether created or uncreated.”18 Taittiriya Brahmana (II.8.8.5) says this
about Vak: “The Word, imperishable, is the Firstborn of Truth, mother of Veda and hub of
immortality.” St. John ‘Upanishadic hymn to Vak (Jn 1:1-18) tells us that Vak “was in the
world and the world came into being through him(her). Unfortunately, the world did not
recognize her. However, all who receive her, who believed in ‘her’ name, God “gave power to
become children of God who are born, not of blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man,
but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the
glory of a Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.”19

The Rigveda acknowledges that a few who are wise are conscious of the totality of the Word,
while humans only have a partial understanding of the Word. The Word is measured in four
quarters. Three-quarters are concealed in secret and cannot be understood. The fourth quarter
is the part that is spoken by humanity.20 The first and highest of the Word is Para Vak, which
is the Word in its transcendental nature and therefore not reachable. The second is Pasyanti
Vak, the illuminated inner word that is still at a transcendental level. The third is Padhyama
Vak, the middle word, which is a purely mental articulation. The fourth and lowest is Vaikhari
Vak, the human word that is spoken and heard.21

3.2. Creative and revelatory role of the Johannine Logos.

The Greek term used for ‘word’ in the New Testament especially in the Johannine writings is
logos which means word, speaking, reason, matter, or subject. In the Old Testament, the
Hebrew term dabar is used to signify the word that is divine or human in nature implying that
it is not just a medium to communicate but a concrete reality, an event that occurs as a result
of that metaphysical notion. It conveys not only the divine message but the divine dynamism,
the Spirit ruah which is the divine life principle and hence both revelatory and efficacious.22

17
Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, 161.
18
Raimundo Pannikar, The Vedic Experience. Mantramanjari (London: Darton, Longman, and Todd,
1977) 89.
19
Gispert-Sauch, S.J, eds., Gems from India, 65.
20
Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, 166.
21
Pannikar, The Vedic Experience. Mantramanjari, 102.
22
Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, 168.

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In the creation account of the book of Genesis, which is to be understood theologically, God’s
creative action is described as taking place through the words uttered by Him. God uttered the
words and it comes into existence i.e., Literally spoken into existence. Creation is, therefore,
the concrete expression and realization of the word of God accomplished through the power of
the Spirit(ruah). The logos of the Johannine writings begins by introducing the Word (jn 1:1-
2) with the allusions to the Genesis account, “In the beginning was the Word,” which implies
that the Word was eternally existing together with God.

3.3. The logos become Human.

In the first chapter of John, in the climactic section of the hymn, in v14, it solemnly proclaims
that the personal Divine Word has become human and has made his dwelling amidst the
humans thereby enabling the humans to experience God’s divine nature firsthand. When the
Word became flesh, he could be recognized as God’s Unique Son. The Word “becoming flesh”
is a theme without proper parallel in the Old Testament or the Jewish or Hellenistic period
although there seem to be other mythological stories in other religious texts.23 The direct and
explicit presentation of Jesus Christ as the Word of God is not found outside of the Prologue
of the Johannine Gospel however there are other passages that this message that is equivalently
presented. In Jn 6:35-51, where Jesus presents Himself as the Bread of Life, or living bread or
bread from heaven. This reference is related to the Old Testament since bread and manna
particularly represents the symbol of God’s Word.24

3.4. Jesus The Vak.

Jesus Christ is the word incarnate, and the Alpha and the Omega is the supreme word. He is
the Vak whom the Supreme principle brought forth from his bosom, who existed with God
before all creation, through whom God “brought forth the whole world, whatsoever exists
here”, and whose expression the world is. He is the Vak who is the firstborn of the Truth, who
Himself is, therefore, the truth, and who as the source of life is the “hub of immortality”. He is
the Eternal Syllable containing and expressing the whole Scripture. He is the Vak, full of
wisdom, worthy of the same worship as the Father, one with the Father, the Sabdabrahman
who reveals the Father who is the basis of human words about God and who makes them
meaningful. He is the Vak who came down to the realm of Humans to fulfill his mission and
has “passes up to the Summit” returning to the Father.

23
Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, 174.
24
Nereparampil, Indian Interpretation of the Bible, 175.

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Conclusion
In the above paper, we have looked at the interpretations of the Bible in relation to the context
of India, specifically concerning the Hindu Scriptures. Many have contributed to the
knowledge acquired for this paper to help us learn, absorb and understand the deep teachings
of both the Scriptures. We see all the fragments of the Bible in the teachings of the Vedas as
well and gives us hope that we can reach other people of other faiths based on such similarities
while at the same time, the differences in the extremes of both the Scriptures give us the most
crucial part that builds up our foundational doctrines.

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Bibliography
Sauch, George Gispert and S.J, eds. Gems from India. Kashmere Gate: Academy Press, 2006.

Bartley, Christopher, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. York Road: Replika Press Pvt Ltd,
2010.

Sugirtharajah, R.S and Cecil Hargreaves, eds. Readings in Indian Christian Theology.
Kashmere Gate: ISPCK, 1993.

Nereparampil, Lucius. Indian Interpretation of the Bible. ed. Augustine Thottakara.

Dharmaram Publications in India, Bangalore, 2000.

Ishanand, C. F. and Vempeny S. J. Inspiration in the Non-Biblical Scripture. Theological

Publication in India, Bangalore, 1973.

Brockington, John. Hinduism and Christianity. Macmillan Press Ltd., London, 1992.

Bharati, Dayanand. Living Water and Indian Bowl. An analysis of Christian Failings in
communicating Christ to Hindus with Suggestions towards Improvement. Kashmere
Gate: ISPCK, 2004.

Pannikar, Raimundo. The Vedic Experience. Mantramanjari. London: Darton, Longman, and
Todd, 1977.

Webliography

https://www.worldhistory.org/Upanishads accessed on 30/01/2023.