Debunking Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s False Assertions About Jesus – Part 2

Why Worship Jesus?

            Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s possibly ignorant or deceptive rants against Jesus persist.

            Sadhguru said (and I paraphrase) that Jesus is worshipped for his virtues of grace, patience and tolerance.¹

            Christians subscribing to Historic Christianity would emphatically deny this thought.

            Jesus is not worshipped for a specific set of attributes. Jesus is worshipped because HE is God.

            Sadhguru’s New Age worldview would permit him to term Jesus as a god (not God) - one among the many gods in the divine-stable of the henotheist-panentheistic-polytheistic² Hinduism, which is one of the many sources from which the New Age movement borrows its tenets.

Call Jesus Shiva?

            Regarding Jesus’ identity, Sadhguru said, “…which we can call Jesus or Shiva or whatever you like…”³

            Sadhguru’s henotheist-panentheistic-polytheistic persuasion permits him to call Jesus as Shiva and what-not!

            To stress this notion again, being eclectic in nature, the New Age movement draws its religious views from many religious sources, even if they are fundamentally contradictory. Hinduism is one such religious source. Therefore, a New Ager, from only within his worldview, can term Jesus as Shiva.

            However, it is blasphemous for a Christian to call Jesus as Shiva. Jesus is God-incarnate. HE is the second person of the blessed Trinity. HE is the Christ, the Messiah, “Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said, “John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.” (Mark 8: 27-30, NET).

            Therefore, calling Jesus Shiva will intensely offend the religious sentiment of every Christian who subscribes to Historic Christianity.

Jesus A Good Man?

            First, here’s C.S Lewis to those who consider Jesus as a good man or as a good teacher, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse….You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (Emphasis Mine).⁴

            Second, here’s what Sadhguru said, “Even Jesus is not a good man. Wonderful. Not a good man. Anybody who disturbs the existing situation is not a good man, isn’t it?...Jesus is not a good man. Maybe he’s wonderful, but not a good man.”⁵

            He probably knows this Scripture passage wherein Jesus questioned why HE should be called good, “Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18, NET).

            Sadhguru deems Jesus as not a good man because Jesus Christ did disturb the religious sentiments of the Jews. How?

            HE claimed to be God!

            The testimony of the Jews is sufficient, “When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “You take him and crucify him! Certainly I find no reason for an accusation against him!” The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God!”” (John 19: 6-7, NET).

            That’s why the Jews crucified the Lord Jesus Christ!

            Because Jesus is God!

            The God-incarnate Jesus also lived a sinless life. So HE was certainly a good man from a moral perspective.

            Jesus came to seek and save the lost. HE was a good man because HE performed HIS task.

            Jesus was indeed a good man!

Debunking New Age

            Christians are succumbing to the lure of the New Age movement. Hence, they should be liberated from this worldview that stands in stark opposition to Historic Christianity.

            Pew Research Center’s survey states that approximately 60% of Christians in the USA believe in one or more of the New Age beliefs, “But many Christians also hold what are sometimes characterized as “New Age” beliefs – including belief in reincarnation, astrology, psychics and the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects like mountains or trees…While eight-in-ten Christians say they believe in God as described in the Bible, six-in-ten believe in one or more of the four New Age beliefs analyzed here, ranging from 47% of evangelical Protestants to roughly seven-in-ten Catholics and Protestants in the historically black tradition.”⁶

            This article strives to defend the actuality of the second person of the blessed trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ, from Sadhguru’s false portrayal. 

            Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev speaks on behalf of the New Age worldview. Hence, it is imperative to understand the basics of the New Age and follow the reasons that reveal the ideological fragility of the New Age.

            An excerpt from an article entitled The New Age Movement (Pantheism and Monism) in the website of the Christian apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis provides sound reasons to debunk the New Age movement: ⁷

… This worldview centers on monism (all is one), pantheism (all is God), and mysticism (the experience of oneness with the divine).

Along with these primary core beliefs are some secondary characteristics that are true of most New Agers. For example, most New Agers are highly eclectic. By this I mean that New Agers typically draw their religious and philosophical ideas from a variety of religious sources. They consult holy books like the Bible and the Hindu Vedas, but also feel free to consult psychics and channelers, whose “revelations” from spirit guides are considered just as authoritative as those found in holy books. They have no hesitation in consulting astrologers and others who practice the occultic arts of necromancy, palm readings, ball gazing, tarot cards, etc.

Not surprisingly, New Agers are also syncretistic. By this I mean that New Agers combine and synthesize religious and philosophical ideas from Jesus, the Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, alleged “space brothers” aboard UFOs, Ascended Masters who live on planet Venus, and many others. New Agers believe there is truth in all religions and religious traditions. This willingness to pick and choose what they believe from various sources of enlightenment is a vivid demonstration of the arbitrary and inconsistent nature of the worldview.

Most New Agers are also transformational on two levels. First, New Agers believe that personal transformation takes place when a human being recognizes his or her oneness with all things in the universe. Second, planetary transformation takes place when a critical mass of human beings come into this same awareness. We are allegedly transforming—or transitioning—into a New Age with a new consciousness…

Debunking New Age Claims

Someone said that the New Age movement is a target-rich environment when it comes to opportunities for critique. In what follows, I will provide a brief biblical response to some of the primary ideas set forth in the movement.

… All religions do not teach the same truths. One cannot rationally claim that the various world religions are teaching the same basic truths. This becomes evident by examining key doctrines in each religion. The doctrine of God is a good example. The Christian Bible reveals that there is one personal God who is triune in nature (Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29; Romans 8:15). The Muslim Quran teaches there is only one God, but God cannot have a son, and there is no Trinity. The writings of Confucius affirm polytheism (there are many gods). Krishna taught a combination of polytheism and pantheism (all is god). Zoroaster set forth religious dualism (there is both a good god and a bad god). Buddha taught that the concept of God was essentially irrelevant. Clearly, the world’s major religions hold completely contradictory views regarding the nature of God. The same is true in their view of Jesus and their view of salvation. This means that the New Age claim that all the religions teach the same basic truths is wishful thinking.

…New Age meditation can be injurious. New Age (Eastern) meditation’s stated goal of transforming one’s state of mind into a monistic (“all is one”), if not an outright pantheistic (“all is God”), outlook lies in direct contradiction to the biblical view of the eternal distinction between God the Creator and His creatures (Isaiah 44:6–8; Hebrews 2:6–8). Moreover, Christian experts in occultism note that altered states of consciousness (which occurs in New Age meditation) can open one up to spiritual affliction and deception by the powers of darkness… Christians ought to practice biblical meditation. This involves objective contemplation and deep reflection on God’s Word (Joshua 1:8) as well as God’s person and faithfulness (Psalm 119, see also 19:14, 48:9, 77:12, 104:34, 143:5).

…Human beings are not divine. Contrary to the New Age claim that human beings are God, Scripture portrays them as creatures who are responsible to their Creator (Genesis 1–2; Psalm 100:3). Because human beings are creatures, they are intrinsically weak, helpless, and dependent upon God (you may wish to consult 2 Corinthians 3:5 and John 15:5). The recognition of creaturehood should lead human beings to humility and a worshipful attitude (Psalm 95:6–7). They have confused the fact that we are made in the image of the divine God (Genesis 1:26–27, 9:6) with falsely being equated to the divine God.

One cannot avoid asking, If human beings are God, then why do we have to buy and read New Age books to find out about it? Wouldn’t we already know it? The fact that a person comes to realize he is God proves that he is not God. For if he truly were God, he would never have passed from a state of ignorance to a state of enlightenment as to his divine nature.

Human beings are fallen in sin and need to be saved. Contrary to the New Age claim that human beings are God and merely need enlightenment about this reality, the biblical truth is that human beings have a grave sin problem that is altogether beyond their means to solve. Human beings are sinners (Isaiah 64:6; Luke 15:10), are lost (Luke 19:10), are capable of great wickedness (Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:20–23; Luke 11:42–52), and are in need of repentance before a holy God (Mark 1:15; Luke 15:10). Because of sin, human beings are blind (Matthew 15:14, 23:16–26), enslaved in bondage (John 8:34), and live in darkness (John 3:19–21, 8:12, 12:35–46).

Jesus came into the world to offer a salvation based on grace. The word grace literally means “unmerited favor.” Unmerited means this favor cannot be worked for. Grace refers to the undeserved, unearned favor of God. Romans 5:1–11 tells us that God gives His incredible grace to those who actually deserve the opposite—that is, condemnation. Eternal life cannot be earned. It is a free gift of grace that comes through faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ. As Jesus Himself put it, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” (John 6:47; see also John 3:15, 5:24, 11:25, 12:46, 20:31).

Jesus is the only way. While the Jesus of the New Age is open to all religions, the Jesus of the Bible is God’s exclusive means of salvation. Speaking of Jesus, a bold Peter proclaimed, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). The Apostle Paul affirmed, “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus also warned His followers about those who would try to set forth a different “Christ” (Matthew 24:4–5). Truly, Jesus is the only way of salvation, and the only Jesus who has revealed Himself in the pages of Scripture.

Endnotes:

¹https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVmirUq74Lk | What Sadhguru Says About Jesus | Sadhguru Ramayana | Sadhguru Latest On Lord Rama; 6:39; Published Dec 9, 2018

²Henotheism is the belief in and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or the possible existence of other deities that may also be served.

Panentheism meaning "all-in-God", also known as Monistic Monotheism, is a belief system which posits that the divine – whether as a single God, number of gods, or other form of "cosmic animating force" – interpenetrates every part of the universe and extends, timelessly (and, presumably, spacelessly) beyond it.

Polytheism refers to the worship of or belief in multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals.

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/sanatanhindusite/hinduism-monotheistic

³https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWfmGLtu5lE (Jesus Has to Rise Within You – Sadhguru; 0:56; Published Dec 24, 2018

⁴https://www.cru.org/us/en/how-to-know-god/who-is-jesus-god-or-just-a-good-man.html

⁵https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWfmGLtu5lE (Jesus Has to Rise Within You – Sadhguru; 1:08; Published Dec 24, 2018

⁶https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/

⁷https://answersingenesis.org/world-religions/new-age-movement-pantheism-monism/

Websites last accessed on 21^st September 2019.