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Moojan Momen. and the Baha'i Faith. London: George Ronald, 1990. xii + 84 pp. $7.95, paper, ISBN 978-0-85398-299-9.

Reviewed by William N. Garlington

Published on H-Bahai (July, 2000)

In the fnal chapter of The World's Religions Hinduism and the Baha'i Faith can be divided Huston Smith asks the question as to how the va‐ into three essential sections: 1) a comparison of rieties of human cultural experience that we call Hindu and Baha'i metaphysical and ethical con‐ the world religions can be patterned. He proceeds cepts; 2) a brief description of Baha'i social teach‐ to outline several alternative answers, among ings, ritual, and community structure; and 3) a which is the view that "...holds that the religions short history of the Baha'i Faith. As it is the frst of are all basically alike. Diferences are acknowl‐ these sections that is most compelling from a reli‐ edged but, according to this second view, they are gious studies perspective, this review will focus incidental in comparison to the great enduring on its contents. truths on which the religions unite" (385). It is in The basic structure that Dr. Momen applies to the spirit of this approach that Moojan Momen's his comparative analysis involves taking a specifc short book, Hinduism and the Baha'i Faith (which Hindu doctrine and its Baha'i counterpart, giving is clearly intended as an aid to attracting Hindu a brief summary of both concepts, which includes converts, and not an academic inquiry) is written. supporting quotations from selected Hindu and But whereas certain advocates of may Baha'i texts, and then drawing out the essential derive their conclusions from philosophical or an‐ conclusions. In this fashion, he compares, among thropological analysis, the source for Dr. Momen's others, the Hindu notion of Absolute Reality position is a religious doctrine: namely the belief () with the Baha'i concept of God; the held in the Baha'i Faith that the great religious tra‐ Hindu concept of avatar with the Baha'i doctrine ditions of the world come from the same source. of manifestation; the Hindu principle of In Baha'i terminology this doctrine is referred to with Baha'i teachings on divine and social law; as the Oneness of Religion or "progressive revela‐ the Hindu paths of liberation (, jnana and tion." ) with Baha' i approaches to salvation; and the Hindu belief in a future avatar () H-Net Reviews with Baha'i claims to eschatological fulfllment. To of the Semitic prophets to which Baha'is give great elaborate on but one example, Dr. Momen in‐ prominence. forms the reader that while in Hindu scriptures it The second limitation to Dr. Momen's ap‐ is claimed that the essence of Brahman can never proach is his selective use of . Given be known or understood by human beings, it is the vast range of Hindu religious literature, selec‐ also maintained that this same Brahman periodi‐ tion will always be a problem for anyone involved cally reveals itself during periods of decline to in comparative analysis, for this range allows the special individuals (avatars). Reference is then writer to fnd examples of just about anything and made to the ten Vaishnavite avatars and the Bha‐ then conclude that these examples are represen‐ gavad Gita. tative of Hinduism. To be fair to Dr. Momen, he In a similar fashion Dr. Momen cites recognizes from the beginning that Hinduism "is Baha'u'llah as having stated that while God, or the not merely a religion; it is a collection of religious unknown Essence of Reality, is beyond human traditions," (p. ix) and that: "It is hard to fnd any comprehension, "the Source of Infnite Grace has concepts or doctrines about which all the strands caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to ap‐ of Hinduism are agreed." (p. ix) Still, he often uses pear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble texts as if he had forgotten this admission, quot‐ form of the human temple [manifestations] and to ing from one source to support a specifc point be made manifest unto all men that they may im‐ and then leaving that text when the support for part unto the world the mysteries of the un‐ another argument is not evident. For instance, changeable Being and tell of the subtleties of His The are cited to show that Hinduism Imperishable Essence" (p. 7). has an understanding of God that is highly ab‐ The strength of Dr. Momen's approach is that stract and transcendent, but these texts are looked it allows him to draw out large generalities for past when it comes to the idea of reincarnation comparison and thus fortify his essential belief in [more about this doctrine shortly]. Yet despite the commonality of the spirit of truth found in these shortcomings, the fact that there are many both religions. There are drawbacks to this ap‐ overarching similarities between certain Hindu proach, however, and they must be mentioned. and Baha''i doctrines, gives Dr. Momen's compar‐ The frst is that specifc diferences within the isons a certain degree of legitimacy. It is when the larger conceptual framework are often passed comparisons are not so easily found that more se‐ over as insignifcant. To give an example from the rious difculties arise. manifestation/avatar comparison, within Hin‐ Three aspects of Hindu tradition that do not duism avatars are not generally seen as founders compare well with Baha'i teachings are idol wor‐ of new religions. (Indeed only three of the nine ship, caste [jati], and reincarnation. Accordingly, are historical persons, the others being mythical when dealing with these examples Dr. Momen in‐ beings.) Rather they are commonly depicted as ex‐ troduces non-comparative categori es into his amples of incarnating himself for the pur‐ analysis. For the sake of this review I will call pose of combating a specifc evil, usually in the these categories "evolutionary" and "degenera‐ form of a demon. Even the Buddha, who is among tive" respectively. the traditional nine avatars, is not seen by An "evolutionary" critique argues that certain (when they deal with him at all) as having formu‐ religious institutions and ideas which were valid lated a new religion. Furthermore, all of the during an earlier period of cultural development avatars are of Indian origin. There is no mention are no longer feasible or desirable. Historical progress has rendered them either outmoded or

2 H-Net Reviews dysfunctional. Such a critique is employed by Dr. tinction between (class) and jati (caste), Momen when he discusses idol worship and caste. Gandhi's quoted statement ["Caste has nothing to Concerning the former he writes: do with religion. It is harmful to both spiritual Baha'is believe that this is the day when growth and national growth" (p. 22)] can lead an mankind has reached its maturity. All of humani‐ uninformed reader to conclude that the Mahatma ty should be educated. As a result of this educa‐ was opposed to occupational restriction based on tion and this maturity mankind no longer needs birth, or that he favored the elimination of mar‐ to use idols as a way of helping to form ideas of riage and commensal boundaries based on social God. (p.11) groups. As J. T. F. Jordens has pointed out in Gand‐ hi's Religion: A Homespun Shawl, Gandhi consid‐ Although this view is softened by comparing ered the traditional four divisions of society idol to the names of God in [Brahman, , , and ] funda‐ Baha'i, the attempt to correlate divine imminence mental to social order and under the eternal law as exemplifed in with the ab‐ of heredity. (p. 98) In this vein he viewed the re‐ stract Word falls fat and fails. Regarding the insti‐ strictions on interdining and intermarriage as tution of caste we fnd: benefcial. What he opposed was the fragmenta‐ The laws and rules of jati were once very im‐ tion over the centuries of these four groups into portant as they acted to stabilize society and thus numerous sub-groups [jati] and the ritual abuses ensured prosperity and progress for all. But the associated with such fragmentation. Specifcally, Baha'i Faith teaches that society is always chang‐ he saw untouchability as a blight brought about ing. So what was once a factor that was a beneft by caste ideals of ritual purity. Consequently to to society may, at a later stage, become a block to suggest that Gandhi's position was akin to Baha'i the further progress of that society. Today, we see social norms is unwarranted. this happening in India. The system of jati . . . has In addition to an evolutionary analysis, Dr. now become a major factor holding back the Momen also makes use of a "degenerative" cri‐ progress and development of India. (p. 22) tique which posits that specifc religious institu‐ One danger of an evolutionary critique is that tions or ideas were not part and parcel of the orig‐ it can easily slide into a type of triumphalism inal tradition but were later additions or accumu‐ whereby one religion views itself as modern, and lations associated with decline or the lack of un‐ therefore superior to another less-evolved reli‐ derstanding. This approach is used most forceful‐ gion. Dr. Momen attempts to protect himself from ly in conjunction with Hindu and Baha'i eschato‐ this shift by claiming support for his position logical claims, but it is also hinted at in the brief from both traditional texts and reformers from evaluation of reincarnation where the author be‐ within the Hindu tradition. Thus he cites the Laws gins by stating that it is not a concept found in the of as supportive of an evolutionary dharma earliest Hindu scriptures, the (p. 31). The (p. 23) and quotes such "modern" Hindus as Gand‐ statement is immediately followed by references hi, Radhakrishnan, and on the evils to "modern" Hindu thinkers and movements who of caste (p. 22). While a tack of this nature can rejected the idea. Consequently, while both a soften potential triumphalism, it is open to the claim to reincarnation's illogical nature and an charge of selectivity. Moreover, by failing to take explanation of the Baha'i doctrine of the return of into account context and nuance, it can at times qualities are also introduced, they are presented be misleading. Such is the case regarding the within a degenerative framework. above mentioned reformers. To take just one ex‐ ample, because Dr. Momen does not make a dis‐

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As stated above, the approach is more evident that the Puranic commentators would have been in Dr. Momen's discussion of Hindu prophecies. aghast at the thought of the mixing of castes or He begins this section by claiming that Hindus are the equality of men and women! awaiting the coming of the Kalki Avatar (10th At the beginning of Hinduism and the Baha'i avatar). Two long passages from the Faith Dr. Momen announces that Baha'is do not Purana are then presented which describe the believe that the Baha'i Faith has come to supplant Yuga, or period of decline, often associated Hinduism. Rather one of its aims is to take the tra‐ with this eschatological fgure. These passages dition on to a further stage of its development. (xi) highlight the degraded accumulations that parade To the extent that his book has opened up an are‐ in the name of religion during the dark age. To na for both current and future dialogue between support an identifcation of the with the the Hindu and Baha'i traditions, it must be mea‐ contemporary situation, Dr. Momen then quotes sured a success. Moreover, its attempts to fnd a the modern sage to the efect common ground of religious truths shared by the that no greater darkness has ever enveloped India traditions can only help in this enterprise.Where (p. 35). The section concludes with the claim that diferences are noted and critiqued, it can only be Baha'is believe Baha'u'llah to be the Kalki Avatar hoped that such analyses will produce among its who will usher in the return to righteousness as‐ readers (of whatever religious or secular aflia‐ sociated with the Golden Age (Krta Yuga). tion) what Huston Smith has termed the wisdom Coming from outside the evaluated tradition, of listening. Without listening, the world is left the degenerative critique also has the potential with a myriad of loud assertions, and even louder for being seen as a form of triumphalism. Here counter assertions, to which the fundamentalisms superiority is derived from the assumption im‐ of our time -- including certain strains of militant plied in the critique that it represents pure, unde‐ and of theocratic Bahaism -- readily at‐ generative religion. As mentioned earlier, even test. In Smith's own words: "Those who listen the use of internal texts is not a guarantee of pro‐ work for peace, a peace built not on ecclesiastical tection against such a charge. In addition, there hegemonies but on understanding and mutual are two structurally oriented problems with the concern" (p. 390) . approach that demand our attention. First, degen‐ Copyright (c) 2000 by H-Net, all rights re‐ erative critiques often lack consistency. Although served. This work may be copied for non-proft the doctrine of reincarnation may not be found in educational use if proper credit is given to the au‐ the Vedas, neither is a well-developed monothe‐ thor and the list. For other permission, please con‐ ism or the doctrine of avatars. Second, critiques of tact [email protected]. this nature are prone to misappropriating the aims of the protests found in traditional texts by dialectically projecting back on to those texts, if only by implication, the content of their own de‐ velopmental positions. Thus, while it is true that one can fnd degenerative critiques in certain pas‐ sages of the , it is to the rigidly class struc‐ tured and purity oriented ideals of Puranic Hin‐ duism, and not the more "liberal" attitudes of the Baha'i social teachings, that they speak. The re‐ turn of the Krta Yuga will be a return to pristine Hinduism as seen at that time. I would imagine

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Citation: William N. Garlington. Review of Momen, Moojan. Hinduism and the Baha'i Faith. H-Bahai, H- Net Reviews. July, 2000.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=4352

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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