Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions; Hindus can be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.

According to Mahatma Gandhi, “a man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu”. 

Because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. 

The religion “defies our desire to define and categorize it”. 

Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and “a way of life”.

Basically, what is it?

Well, it’s salvation by law. Except it’s not a law that God has given.

It’s a law that the founder of this religion has made about how you should act, and if you follow that law successfully, then you’ll get to moksha ( nirvana / merging with brahma ). 

Christianity is the only religion where salvation is based on faith and not law.

Every other religion, Islam, Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, they all follow the principle of salvation by some form of law or rule keeping.

Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many practising Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular denomination or tradition.

Hinduism makes few demands of its followers; for that matter, there are atheists who practice Hinduism. Hinduism is riddled with contradiction, so devotees are not bound by a strict set of doctrines.

Though Hinduism is often understood as being polytheistic, supposedly recognizing as many as 330 million gods, it also has one “god” that is supreme—Brahma. Brahma is an entity believed to inhabit every portion of reality and existence throughout the entire universe. Brahma is both impersonal and unknowable and is often believed to exist in three separate forms: Brahma—Creator; Vishnu—Preserver; and Shiva—Destroyer.

Hinduism views mankind as divine. Because Brahma is everything, Hinduism asserts that everyone is divine. Atman, or self, is one with Brahman. All of reality outside of Brahman is considered mere illusion. The spiritual goal of a Hindu is to become one with Brahma, thus ceasing to exist in its illusory form of “individual self.” This freedom is referred to as “moksha.” Until moksha is achieved, a Hindu believes that he/she will be repeatedly reincarnated in order that he/she may work towards self-realization of the truth (the truth being that only Brahman exists, nothing else). How a person is reincarnated is determined by karma, which is a principle of cause and effect governed by nature’s balance. What one did in the past affects and corresponds with what happens in the future, past and future lives included.

According to the site linked : here : 

Paramhansa Yogananda often stated: 

1. One of his missions was to revive “Original Christianity” as taught by Christ.

But The Bible Says : 

[Col 2:8 KJV]

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

2. He proclaimed that it was Babaji and Christ together who had, through him, sent the teachings of Self-Realization to teach men to attain direct personal contact with God through divine meditation. 

But The Bible Says : 

[Jhn 14:6 KJV]

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

3. According to Yogananda, Jesus Christ himself taught his disciples a technique similar to Kriya Yoga. 

But The Bible Says : 

[Jhn 6:29 KJV]

“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

The Three Wise Men

‘Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Sri Yukteswar,’ Yogananda dictated, ‘were the three wise men who came to visit the Christ child in the manger. .

But The Bible Says : 

It was the shepherds that were in the field that saw him in a manger : 

[Luk 2:8 KJV]

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

[Luk 2:16 KJV]

“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”

[Luk 2:17 KJV]

“And when they had seen [it], they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.”

Jesus was likely a young toddler, or when the wise men came….approx 2 or less…

[Mat 2:8 KJV]

“And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found [him], bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”

[Mat 2:16 KJV]

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.”

Next Claim: 

When Jesus became old enough, he returned their visit. The account of his trip to India was removed from the New Testament centuries later by sectarian prelates, who feared that its inclusion might lessen his stature in the eyes of the world.’ – From ‘The New Path’

That claim is simply a claim.  No proof.

Christ’s Assurance to Yogananda : Yogananda once prayed to Jesus Christ for reassurance that he was interpreting the Gospels correctly. 

CLAIM : Jesus appeared to him in a vision, along with the Holy Grail, and the Grail passed from his lips to Yogananda’s.  Jesus then, Yogananda later told us, spoke the following words of heavenly assurance: ‘The cup from which I drink, thou dost drink.’ – From ‘The New Path’

But The Bible Says : 

[2Pe 1:20 KJV]

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

[Isa 28:13 KJV]

“But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”

WHY IS JESUS ON THE ALTAR?

“Was it for political reasons,” a newcomer asked, “that you put Jesus Christ on your altar – because this is a mostly Christian country?”

“No, that was not the reason,” Yogananda replied. “Jesus Christ is one of our line of five gurus.”

“In what way?” pursued the newcomer. “And why have you placed him at the center?”

“It was Jesus Christ,” the Master explained, “who appeared to Babaji in the Himalayas and asked him to send this message to the West. ‘My followers,’ he said, ‘are doing good work, but they are forgetting inward communion with God. Together let us send someone to the West to teach them the art of meditation.’

“That is the reason I was sent. Jesus is at the center because this message to the West began with him. To the left of him is Babaji, then Babaji’s disciple Lahiri Mahasaya. To the right is Swami Sri Yukteswarji, then his disciple – whom, as my Master told me, Babaji had sent to him for training.”- From ‘Conversations with Yogananda’

Some thoughts on Sadhguru : 

• SAID HE KNOWS BETTER THAN GOD

• SELLS PRODUCTS – YOU CAN BUY ENLIGHTENMENT – EVERYTHING SOLD FOR A FEE / SPIITUAL PROGRAMS & COURSES / LABOR / 

• FAITH BASED BUSINESS MODEL