The first question is: redemption from what?
If you’re so stuck in a Christian mindset that you think people need to be saved from something (from some person thousands of years ago, who may have been mythological, eating a fruit?) then you’re unlikely to ever understand Hinduism.
When a belief system is that different from your own, you really have to be able to step outside your understanding of how to world is structured or you’ll never be able to see another religion’s structure. I also struggle with this. I have a hard time seeing from a Christian, Jewish, or Muslim perspective. I don’t get it. And it’s a struggle to set aside what seems so obvious and clear to me in order to see the world in an entirely different way.
Hindus don’t believe that people need redemption. We aren’t the naughty children of a God who loves punishment. The Gods are friends and companions who we interact with along our way to full realization of our true nature.
The goal for us is moksha, which is liberation from the bonds of the illusiory world. So let’s substitute “moksha” for “redemption.”
How do we believe people attain moksha?
Mostly through hard work.
There is a place in the tradition for grace. A God may grant you a boon, a gift, an ability to see more clearly, but even that is earned. In the stories, the Gods mostly grant audiences to those who have shown incredible dedication.
We believe in discipline and learning to control our bodies, our minds, our senses. We refine and polish our discrimination and gain mastery over the systems of the body. The mind, which is like a monkey run wild, becomes a tamed servant who can focus as needed. We develop our selves with great care, becoming more and more evolved and more and more able to see through illusion to what really matters.
The Gods can help us, but it is we who put in the hard work and the effort. The reward is entirely up to us.
