The Uniqueness Of Hinduism – Concept Of Divine Immanence

According to Hinduism or Sanathana Hindu Dharma, “immanence” is a philosophical concept of utmost significance. This is essential to get a good understanding of God in Hindu philosophy. When a mention of “immanence is made” reference is being made to something “residing inside.” Thus, when Sanatana Dharma says that God is immanent, it means that the divine dwells within human beings.

The complete opposite of “immanence” is the word “transcendence,” which speaks of a thing/entity that is outside and separate from human life.

• Hinduism, the oldest religion in the world, holds that God and the universe aren’t separate; the Almighty is there in the creation, as well. This is different from the definition of God as per Abrahamic religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. These religions believe that God is completely disconnected from his creation.
• Sanatana Dharma states that God is both immanent and transcendent. The aatma that is there in the individual is the inner God. And, it’s through knowledge of aatma that a person can experience connectedness with the Brahman, the Paramatma. This aspect focuses on the flexibility and the all-encompassing nature of Hinduism.

Not just does Sanatana Dharma believe that God lives in human beings but also in other living and non-living things. That is the reason, Hindus respect animals and nature.

All the Abrahamic religions rigidly stick to the view that God is only transcendent and that the immanence of God is not accurate. This is a fundamental difference that shapes the viewpoint of life of its followers in different directions.

There are a few other differences in viewpoints between Sanathana Hindu Dharma and other Abrahamic Religions.

• The most ancient faith in the world preaches that all forms of beliefs and philosophies are nothing but various roads that lead to the same destination. Here, “destination” stands for the ultimate divine source. As a result of this broad approach, Hinduism is not against revering the prophets, saints, and seers of other faiths, along with its avatars, sages, and deities. This approach is missing in the viewpoint of Abrahamic faiths.
• There is another aspect where Hinduism grossly differs from faiths like Islam and Christianity. There are several ways of worshiping or getting close to God in Hinduism. In some paths, Sanatana Dharma does not discourage its adherents from questioning their beliefs and traditions. It allows them to know for themselves by experiencing reality through sadhana and get self-realization. People aren’t forced to blindly follow any custom, philosophy, or ritual, just because some great seer of the past has taught to do so. This is not so with Abrahamic faiths.
• There is a multitude of paths to get close to the divine based on the person’s bent of mind, previous knowledge, sadhana, and aptitude. So Hinduism gives a large number of options to experience the divine.
• There is no denying the fact that among Hindus there are several sects and schools of thought. But the crucial aspect here is that there have always been only healthy debates among these denominations, in an amicable environment. In most of these instances, there used to be consensus on pivotal metaphysical aspects. While at the same time, there are a few points on which the schools differ.
• Hinduism is a philosophy that gives more importance to good karma than just adherence to beliefs, traditions, traditions, norms or rules. Even if a person who doesn’t adhere to any precepts written in the scriptures leads a morally correct life, divine grace is not far away from them. Emphasis is on deeds and not on mere prayers. But the God of Abrahamic faiths is particular in that people obey the scriptures and pray. Any deviation, in this aspect, makes God adopt a vengeful approach towards the “violators.” This is quite different from Sanathana Hindu Dharma.
• God in Abrahamic religions is described as a male. On the other hand, Hinduism prays to God in masculine as well as feminine forms. This gender equality between Gods and Goddesses is another different characteristic of Sanatana Dharma.

To summarize, the purpose of this article is to explain the concept of immanence and transcendence. Also, it provides a quick overview of how Sanathana Hindu Dharma is different from the Abrahamic faiths. The concept of divine immanence shapes the Sanathani viewpoint of life and they tend to respect both living and non-living things as having the presence of the divine.

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