Similarities Between Hebrew And Egyptian Religion

The Hindu Concept of the World

When reading the Hindu writings about reality, there were many apparent similarities when compared to Egyptian and Hebrew ideas. Along with these similarities however, came many distinct differences. While reading A Hindu Creation Story: Rig Veda, I saw that the idea the Hindus had about there being nothing in the beginning, not even existence, until the One arose from the power of heat, was similar to Egyptian thought about the beginning of Ra, their sun god. From Purusa the world was fashioned, each of his body parts were made to represent sacrifices to create heaven, the sun, and the wind, ect. Ra was worshipped in Egyptian religion as creator and sustainer of the cosmos. He was said to have traveled in a bark along the sky by day and the underworld by night. These two similar ideas about Purusa and Ra being creators of these separate universes also help to compare them against one another, the reason being that both of these two creators could not have existed at the same creation, or they would have been the same god.
A similar trait of creationism could be found among the Hebrew religion as well.
In the book Genesis, it tells of God creating the universe and man. The way in which God creates man is similar to how Purusa was sacrificed to make man, and the things man needed. Instead of Egyptian and Hindu ideas, Hebrew religion was monotheistic. The Hindu stories tell of multiple gods that sacrificed Purusa and the controlled various aspects of human life. Egyptians also had many different deities, each representing different parts of life, objects, and even cities. Hebrew was the first religion besides the time of Akhenaton that started the idea of
monotheism. The story of The Essence of the Universe helps me compare Hindu ideas of essence in the world without seeing it, to the Hebrew ideas of god’s influences all around us. When asked to find the salt in the salt-water, the son could not find it for his father. When he tasted it however, there was undeniably salt in the water. This lesson taught the boy that although you do not see something being, it does indeed and persists in the world. This same lesson could help compare to most religions Egyptian and Hebrew, which aim to perceive god in their world, although god cannot be seen. One concept Hindus believe in, samsara, is the endless cycle of existence, or reincarnation. Another concept that plays a vital role in samsara is karma, which affects the way in which you are reborn in the next life. It is the belief that good deeds brings good results and that evil deeds bring consequences. A similar belief system was encompassed by the Egyptians. They believed that when they died their ka, or soul, would pass on to the afterlife and live on. At one time this belief was only allotted to the mighty Pharaohs, but soon anyone who could make the correct preparations, such as proper mummification and tomb burial, were thought to live on in the afterlife. Like karma, Egyptians believed that upon dying their ka was weighed against the weight of a feather by Osiris. If so they were allowed to pass to the afterlife, if not they would be lost forever. Unlike Hindu thought however, Egyptians ended in the afterlife, taking along possessions that were buried with them (mummified animals, chariots, clothing, ect..) The Hindu concept samsara suggests being re-born again, so no worldly possessions could follow you into your next life.