Orthodox Christians believe Jesus took on sins of the entire world. (Hindus also believe saints can take on the karma or their disciples.) To access the saving grace of Jesus, it's absolutely essential to have faith in him.
A Hindu would find this idea perplexing. Many Hindu saints devoted every breath of their lives the love of God and service of humanity. Why would someone be sent to hell for eternity because they hadn't heard of Jesus?
In Hinduism, two great principles are at work in the universe : Karma and kripa, justice and grace. Despite huge campaigns and outlay of hundreds of millions of dollars, Christian missionaries have made little headway in converting Hindus. This is largely because Hindus see little justice or grace in a God who would damn all their ancestors for no fault of their own.
Hindus believe very literally that " As you sow, so shall you reap." But in Hinduism there is no eternal damnation. No being can have sown enough bad karma that in the vast stretches of eternity, God can't find a way to bring that lost soul back into the light.
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