Christianity & Hindu Traditions
Bhakti and Christian Devotion
Of all the meeting points between Hinduism and Christianity, bhakti, loving devotion and surrender to a personal God, is the nearest. The Bhagavad Gita teaches that God receives the humblest offering made with love, and delivers those who take refuge in him. Christianity, too, is at heart a love given to God because he first loved us. Here two traditions stand remarkably close, and the Christian claim is that this love has come looking for us.
What the Gita teaches
The path of bhakti (loving devotion) offers a relationship with a personal God open to all, and God, in turn, receives the devotee’s smallest gift of love:
What Christianity teaches
Christian faith is, at its core, love, surrender, and trust toward a personal God, a love that is always a response to his love first.
Where they meet
Both know God as personal and loving, both call for whole-hearted devotion and surrender, and both hold that God receives the one who comes in love. This is the closest bridge in all of comparative religion.
Where they differ
The traditions still differ on who God is and how he saves. The Christian claim is that the God to whom bhakti reaches out has himself come near in Jesus, and loved us first, all the way to a cross. If your heart already longs to love God, the Gospel says that longing has a name.
Hindu sources: the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads; renderings are faithful to the Sanskrit (translations vary, compare public-domain translations such as Telang or Arnold). Hinduism is vast and diverse (Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita, and many devotional traditions); we note where schools differ. Bible: King James Version. Every reference on this page was checked against its source.
The word itself
bhakti (Sanskrit) → loving devotion
Bhakti is the path of loving devotion and surrender to a personal God, one of Hinduism's great spiritual ways. Of all Hindu paths it stands closest to Christian faith, which is likewise a love given to a personal God.
Frequently asked questions
- What is bhakti?
- Bhakti is the path of loving devotion and surrender to a personal God, one of the major spiritual paths in Hinduism, taught beautifully in the Bhagavad Gita. It is open to all people regardless of station.
- Why is bhakti close to Christianity?
- Because both center on a personal, loving God who receives the devotee, and both call for whole-hearted love and surrender. Bhakti is often considered the nearest bridge between Hindu and Christian devotion.
- What does Christianity add to bhakti?
- The Christian claim is that the personal, loving God whom bhakti seeks has come near in Jesus and loved us first, to the point of the cross, so that our love for God is always a response to his love.
Come and see
The Gita speaks of surrendering to God in loving devotion; the Gospel tells of a God who first gave himself in love. The most direct way to know Jesus is to read his words for yourself. There is no pressure here.
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