Comparison of the Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam religions

By John Fuller

Outline
Introduction
Body (Ritual/beliefs)
o Sacred space
Hinduism
Islam
Sikhism
Comparison
o Goal & problem
Hinduism
Islam
Sikhism
Comparison
o How to a achieve goal
Hinduism
Islam
Sikhism
Comparison
o Additional comparison
Conclusion
Work Cited
Introduction
Religion plays a big part in society and how we interact with one another any people follow
different types of religion according to their birth or by choice. The major religions of the world
are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Each religion is similar and
different from one another by practices, beliefs, and goals. In this reports I selected the religions
Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism to share what I learned while pointing out similarities /differences
that Ive noticed. The reason I chose these three religions was that each one was a lot different
than I thought they were before I got to learn about them and experience them for myself.
Sacred space
Hindus have multiple holy texts but the most important one which is their scriptures is the
Vedas. The Agamas, the Smriti, and the Itihasa-Purana are the other holy text to
Hindus.(Matthew pg 75) Hindus usually set a shrine in their home creating a sacred place that
they can worship at home. Sacred rituals are performed daily at the Hindu temple. at the temple
everyone who enters must remove their shoes before they enter into the room full of shrines.
Many things are sacred to Hindus because everything is a representation of the highest god
Brahaman.
The most sacred thing to the Muslims is the Quran their sacred text which is regarded as the
word of god dictated by Muhammad who received it from the archangel Gabriel. the Kabah
which is a cube-shaped building of stone in the open court of the grand mosque in mecca is very
sacred. The reason that the Kabah is so sacred is because according to Muslims it was built by
Abraham and Ishmael. (Matthew pg 337) in Islam there is a sacred symbol that means the
God.
Like the previous religions and maybe all religions their most sacred thing is their holy text. the
Adi Granth is the holy scriptures for Sikhs. Their holy temple the Gurdwara is sacred because it
is their place of worship and the dwelling of the guru.(matthew pg 170) The Sikh people hold the
five ks Kesh, Kangha, Kach, Kara, Kirpan as a sacred symbol.

Hindus have a holiday about every month while Islam only has two a year. Sikhs and Muslims
hold objects that connect them to their ancestry as sacred. In Sikhism the five Ks go back to the
members of the Khalsa Singhs. The Muslims us the large cube to connect back to Abraham and
Ishmael. in each of these religions you must first remove their shoes before entering the sacred
building and place of worship. Similarly to how the Muslims have the sacred mosque that holds
the cube the Sikhs have the Golden temple that is most important of all Sikh temples.
Ritual/beliefs
View of the deity
Hindus believe in the deity Brahman who is to them the supreme god over all things seen &
unseen. Brahman goes by many other names such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. He is
everything, contains everything, and also resides in everything. He manifests himself as
everything and in everything. He is both the material and instrument cause of the universe. The
three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva or the trinity are just aspects of Brahman with the
responsibilities of creation, preservation, and destruction. All gods that Hindus worship are just
aspects of Brahman. Brahman is atman; atman refers to the essence of each individual living
thing. (Matthew pg 78)
Islams perception of God is in a strictly monotheistic sense. God is the singular, transcendent,
and indivisible one and only true god. God is considered indescribable, all-knowing, and all-
powerful. In the Islamic view, God neither begets nor is he begotten unlike Hinduism there are
no incarnations of Allah, nor does he possess avatars. God is the creator and has complete
sovereignty over them. We were created to worship Him and to obey His will. (Matthew 350)
Sikhs believe in one God who is, father, creator, Omniscient, Truth. Our relationship to god is as
worshiper and child. He is indescribable, indubitable, dependable, intangible, eternal, absolute,
perfect, formless, fearless, compassionate, and creator of all. Similar to how Hindus believe that
their deity lives within themselves through atman, Sikhs believe that God dwells in every human
heart. (Matthew pg 169)
Between all three of these religions all believe in one almighty god unlike Islam and Sikhism
which would be classified as monotheistic Hinduism would be henotheism. Like monotheistic
religions that believe in one god henotheism means belief in and worship of a single God while
accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities that may also be worshipped. In
Hinduism they use idols to represent god and as I am a portion of god I am also a representation
of god. Unlike Hinduism, Muslims and Sikhs cannot create an image or representation of god. In
the Islamic tradition you cant create a picture of god because it would be like putting that
picture before god. It is forbidden to worship to someone/thing other than God. Sikhs arent able
to make a picture of god because he is unimaginable. If it was attempted it would be wrong
because it beyond imagination.
Goal & Problem
The ultimate goal in Hinduism is to be reunited with Brahman by releasing their soul from the
cycle of Reincarnation. The only way to be released from the cycle one has to stop accumulating
karma and reach a state of enlightenment Moksha. Karma extends this life onto further
incarnations of people and is accumulated through the actions you make. Because of the cycle of
recantation you have as much time to reach enlightenment as you want if not in this life than in
the next. (Matthews pg 98)
The ultimate goal for a Muslim is very similar to that of a Hindu and Sikh but in a different way
than returning as part of god. In this religion everything is based around god and our relationship
with him. When all is about god the goal is to be reunited with God in Paradise and live eternally
in his blissful presence. The obstacle that stops them from reaching paradise is sin. Sin is the
hardest thing to overcome because something is trying to persuade you to make the wrong
decision at all times so we must overcome the temptations of this world. (Matthew pg 361)
Just like in the Hindu goal a Sikh wants to be reunited and be absorbed back in with god. All
Sikhs are seeking the eternal peace, joy and unity found in the experience of union with God. To
be reunited with god they must live a god-centered life. By living a god-centered life is how they
will escape the cycle of rebirth. Unlike the Hinduism belief that you can take as long as you like
to reach enlightenment Sikhs believe that the longer you take the more you forget about gods
grace and the more likely it is to fall away.(Matthew pg 169)
Between these three ultimate realities the problems stopping you from getting there is
represented differently. In both the Sikhism and Islamic religions you must overcome
temptations of this world and live a god-centered life. You must live as an example of god by
doing thing that release you from worldly things. The Hindus goal is achieved by letting go of
this world but it is not by doing selfless things like the other two but releasing good and bad
karma. They believe that letting go of worldly things is not by giving to help others it is by living
as one with nature away from people and other things that are keeping them here.
How to achieve their goal
For a Hindu to reach enlightenment they must first determine where life path they are in. the four
life paths are: Dharma: Righteousness in their religious life, Artha: Success in material life,
Kama: Gratification of the senses, personal life, Moksha: Liberation from samsara. After you
know your path you can release your karma by bathing the god. During this ritual there is an
offering of food to the images of deities while the whole time reciting from religious scripts,
singing devotional hymns, meditation, chanting mantras, reciting scriptures etc. Hindus use
yogas as recommended by Bhagavad Gita to become more spiritual through unselfish acts,
devotional worship, and meditation. (Matthews pg 85)
Muslims come closer to the Lord and their goal by applying the five pillars into their lives. The
first pillar is Shahada: Faith, There is no God but God, Muhammad is His messenger. The
second Salat: Prayer five times a day while facing Mecca. The third Sawm: going on long fasts
giving food drink and certain actions between married couples. The fourth Zakat: must donate to
a charity after every lunar year. The final is Hajj: Pilgrimage Every Muslim should visit Mecca
once in their life if physically able. (Matthew pg 344)
Sikhs must spiritually sincere toward god so that we do not lose our soul in the objects of the
world, lead an honest life with clean thoughts, love one-another as His children, and take care of
the poor and the oppressed. This enables them to live a selfless life instead of a selfish life. When
Sikhs make a decision they try to choose what would help me people. They use hymns,
meditations, and live in a selfless way to become closer and understand god.
Every life cycle a Hindu would be judged by Shiva and then placed into a new life but all
Muslim wait for their judgment day where everyone will stand before the god. something
unusual about Hinduism compared to these other two religions is that they have life paths that
tell you where you are at instead of having a book that just says if you have a question read
because their holy text has all the answers. Something that is similar between Sikhism and
Hinduism is how Sikhs combine the four life paths into their one life to progress in all aspects of
life. In Hinduism they display free will because they choose they life path and have the choose to
take as long as they want but Muslims wonder if they even have free will because god knows all
so they make the chooses that they do because they arent all knowing. Their role is to obey and
follow gods will. Islam prescribes a specific dress code for Muslims based on the principle of
modesty and women are expected to wear burkha in public. Hindus have no specific dress code
for men or women. After baptism Sikhs wear the wear the prescribed physical articles of the
faith. Hinduism and Islam both have food restrictions. For Hindus the cow is sacred so they cant
eat beef. Muslims view pig as an unclean animal so pork is forbidden. Unlike the other two Sikhs
are told it is better to eat a vegetarian diet but do not require it.
in the Sikh and the Hindu religions when a baby is born they perform a type of ceremony. the
ceremony for Hindus is when the meet with an astrologer to see what the babys life paths. In
Sikhism they give the child a second name. Unlike the other two religions there is no ceremony
for the birth of a child in Islam. In Sikhism they view marriage as a blissful union but in the
Islamic tradition marriage is just a part of life that you can eventually move on from if you get
tired of each other.
Conclusion
From all of these religions Ive seen and learned that though each religion seems different but
there are similarities that bring us together as human beings. largest and easiest similarity that
you can find between these three religions is their belief in their one god which everything comes
from. Ive stated similarities/differences that i have noticed between religions. In each religion
you can see that they are searching for the higher purpose in life that makes this life more
meaningful. You see a difference between the eastern and the western religion is that in eastern
you do the right thing because it is gods will but in the western they live their lives to find self-
enlightenment not follow because you are told to.




















Work Cited
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 75)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 337)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg.170)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 78)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 350)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 169)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 98)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 361)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 85)
Matthews, Warren World Religions 7
th
Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013 (pg. 344 )

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