I Went to a Hindu Temple
Introduction
This spring, I visited the Hindu Temple of Kentucky. I had often heard of the Hindu religion, but was the least acquainted with its teachings and practices out of all the religions I had studied. For this reason, I sought to educate myself up close and personally with adherents of this faith. In this paper, I will introduce the reader to what Hinduism is, what I personally experienced visiting their worship service, and will conclude with a rationale on how to witness the Christian Gospel to Hindu followers.
What is Hinduism?
Hinduism, amongst the major world religions, is sometimes said to be the oldest (yet only from a secular standpoint, since the first religious beliefs began with Adam and Eve in the garden worshipping Yahweh). The word Hindu comes from the Persian term Hindu, and also from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means river and refers to the Indus River Region.[1] The religious authority of Hinduism rests upon the Vedas, which are said to have been recited orally from around 2500- 200 B.C. The Vedas include four books: The Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva. Within each of these, there are four types of literature: Mantras, which are like Hymns, Brahmanas, which include ritual duties, Aranyakas, which are advice on meditation, and Upanishads, which are composed of philosophical discourses from seers and sages. To Hindus, these scriptures are revealed, a concept known as shruti.[2]
Hindu beliefs can be summarized in nine points. The belief in one all-pervasive Supreme Being called Brahman, who is both transcendental and immanent. The divinity of the four Vedas, the endless cycle of the universe consists of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Karma is the law of cause and effect by which people create their own destiny by words, thoughts, and deeds. The belief in reincarnation until the soul attains moksha, which is liberation. The belief in divine beings and the communion with these devas through temple worship, rituals, and devotion. The belief that a satguru is needed for one to know the transcendental absolute. Hindus believe all life to be sacred and thus work for ahimsa, or to not injure life through any means. Lastly, they believe that all religions are different paths to god and that tolerance should be practiced.[3]
The key theological point to understand is that, in one sense, Hinduism affirms one god, but then that one being manifests itself in millions of ways. This is why it is common to hear of Hinduism’s 330 million gods. These gods can be worshipped in three different ways called Yogas, which means to yoke one’s atman (self) to Brahman (god). One way is karma yoga, which focuses on performing right actions; another is bhakti yoga, which focuses on devotion to a deity; and the third is jnana yoga, which focuses on the intellectual and philosophical approaches to reality.[4] Hindus worship at various times in temples and sometimes even in their homes through the practice of puja, which means reverence, and it is directed to various gods whom they feed, clothe, and worship called murtis, which means embodiment. The problem, according to Hinduism, is ignorance; it is seeing the illusion (maya) of diversity in the world rather than our true oneness with Brahman. Through the practice of yoga, one seeks to liberate oneself from samsara into moksha, which is knowledge of one's oneness with Brahman.
My Visit to The Hindu Temple of Kentucky
On Thursday, April 2, 2026, I visited the Hindu Temple of Kentucky for an evening service. When I walked in, I met a man at a table who directed me to remove my shoes. I introduced myself as an observer for an assignment for my seminary class at Liberty University. He connected me with the Temple director, who was a middle-aged woman who showed me around the Temple and answered many of my questions. She was very helpful. I walked around and observed roughly fifteen different sanctums set up with statues inside them. There was a priest there named Kannan who would sprinkle the devotees with water and feed them fruits. He offered a banana to me, and I received it (because my conscience was clear). The devotees were walking around to the various sanctums and bowing before them, laying cash money before them, offering food to them, and reciting prayers and hymns to them.
The director informed me that they were performing bhajham, which is praise to the deities. A couple of the deities’ names were Sri Andal and Sri Venkateswara. The praise language used in the temple consisted of both Hindi and Sanskrit. Bells were rung, some were singing, spinning in circles, and lighting candles. The director informed me that on the day of the full moon in April, it is a special day called Poorinma and is dedicated to Lord Hanuman. She said the devotees chant Hanuman Chalisa one hundred and eight times on that day at home.
About halfway into my visit, I went into another room where worship was being made to a deity called Shridisai Bhajhans. There were about twenty people in the room singing and offering food to a picture on the wall with candles lit before it. They were ringing bells and singing hymns according to the handout sheets that each one had. The text on the hymn sheets was transliterated into English letters. People, young and old, were present; all had a red mark on their forehead. The devotion of all seemed to be sincere.
Witnessing to a Hindu
When we seek to witness to a Hindu, we need to remember that the Bible says that they are creatures made in the image of God, who are alienated from God because of their sin (Genesis 1, Romans 1-3 ESV). They are no different from us in that sense. What they need is to come to know and trust in Jesus. Only through hearing the Gospel and responding in repentance and faith can they be reconciled to God.
One of the ways to reason with a Hindu would be to ask them questions that expose the folly of their religion (Proverbs 26:4-5). Given the impersonal and transcendental nature of Brahman, how can one come to know the truth about Brahman?[5] The communication of propositional truth requires personal beings. How can an impersonal being tell you anything? I once asked a Hindu this, and they noticed very quickly the difficulty here. Another question plays off this issue, which is the grounding of moral distinctions. As the Bhagavad Gita in 13.17 states that Brahman is within all things, by what standard can a Hindu know what is morally good from evil?[6] This view of god annuls all distinctions between what is sacred and what is not. According to this view, the thoughts, desires, and actions of the sadist are equal to those of the worker of charity. The beliefs of the lunatic are equal to those of the sane. Vishal Mangalwadi points out this critique of monistic Hinduism in his book The World of Gurus. He shows how the problem with following gurus is that, as alleged revealers of knowledge of the absolute, they often contradict one another at best, and even at worst contradict themselves.[7] “Which guru should one follow?” “How do you know that your guru is correct in his teachings?” A final line of reasoning with a Hindu could be in light of their belief in maya, which views our current experience of distinctions as illusory. I would ask a Hindu something like, “If all of our present experience is illusory, does not that make the teachings of Hinduism illusory, since they are relayed in this illusory state?” Questions like this challenge the Hindu to question why he believes his religion is true, which can help set up a compelling presentation of the Christian Gospel, as Paul did at the Areopagus (Acts 17:22-31 ESV).
The Gospel can then be presented showing that, on the Biblical view, God is personal and made us in His image. God chose to reveal Himself to us in ways we can understand, which is through men and written down in the scriptures. The Bible tells us that the problem we have is moral; we have sinned against God by breaking the Ten Commandments. This makes us enemies of God. But God, being rich in mercy, sent His son Jesus to live righteously for us and to die in our place to forgive our sins. Jesus was crucified, was dead, and was raised up on the third day. His call is for us to repent and trust Him. All who do this will be reconciled to God.
Conclusion
We see that Hinduism is a vast religion spanning from ancient times to antiquity. The view of one god manifested in millions of ways leads many Hindus to have an array of practices and beliefs. Modern Hindus can be welcoming to outsiders who are interested in their religion.
Ultimately, Hinduism is another perversion of the truth of God found in the Bible. Man’s problem is not primarily ignorance, but rather moral. Hinduism offers no foundation for knowledge and ethical living. It is philosophy that is internally destructive. Christians have the answer Hindus need, which is Jesus Christ and His atoning work on behalf of sinners. This is the message the Church must take to our Hindu neighbors.
Citations
[1] Brad Scott, "Hinduism” in Evangelical Dictionary of World Religions, ed. H. Wayne House and Rodney L. Reeves (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), 225.
[2] Ibid., 226.
[3] Derek Cooper, Christianity and World Religions: An Introduction to the World's Major Faiths (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012), 15-16.
[4] Ibid., 19-21.
[5] David G. Burnett, The Spirit of Hinduism: A Christian Perspective on Hindu Life and Thought (Oxford: Monarch Books, 2006), 66.
[6] Laurie Patton, trans. The Bhagavad Gita (London: Penguin, 2008), 150.
[7] Vishal Mangalwadi, The World of Gurus (Chicago, Ill: Cornerstone, 1992), 163.
Author: Troy Goldsmith, founder of Aletheia Ministries. Husband to Elisha and father of four. (B.S. University of the Cumberlands, Current Graduate Student at Liberty University.)
