Hinduism One God Or Many Gods?

The Divine Reality The Brahman

The Brahman The one Divine Reality Eternal Creator of all things The Vedas say, “God is One. Men call Him by various names.”

Nirguna Brahman Absolute Reality Indestructible Beyond the grasp of human imagination

Saguna Brahman One’s personal God The form in which God appears to you Examples: Shiva, Jesus, Jupiter, Isis, Pele Most humans need to worship God through one of these forms because we cannot relate to or comprehend Nirguna Brahman = The Divine Reality

Gods and Goddesses: Aspects of The Divine

Hindu Mythology Like all mythology, it teaches us something about: The attributes of the God How God interacts with humanity How we should live How we should relate to God They are not meant to be taken literally

Hindu Gods

The Trimurti Trimurti – three aspects of The Brahman Brahma = the Creator Vishnu = the Preserver Shiva = the Destroyer Each is a different aspect of Brahman Most Hindus worship one of these gods

Brahma – The Creator Created by Brahman and the female energy known as Prakriti Created the universe Depicted with four heads – each recites from one of the Vedas Is not popular in modern India and few worship him

Vishnu – the Preserver Maintains law and order in the universe Incarnates himself to protect humanity Avatars = incarnations Most important: Krishna and Rama Many Hindus consider the Buddha and Jesus to be avatars of Vishnu

Krishna Avatar of Vishnu Hero of the Bhagavad-Gita Was most likely an actual person who was later worshipped as a god Advocates dharma – one must always do one’s duty Bhakti = love; devotion – the worship Krishna asks for. It does not demand knowledge.

Rama Avatar of Vishnu Hero of the Ramayana Saved humanity from the demon Ravenna Example of dharma – doing one’s duty no matter what the consequences

Shiva The Destroyer and Liberator One of the oldest of the Hindu deities Ascetic Meditation The Ganges River originates in Shiva

Shiva - Nataraj Shiva as “Lord of the Dance” His dance keeps the universe going When Shiva stops dancing, the universe will be destroyed and then re-created

Ganesh The son of Shiva and Parvati God of prosperity, good luck and wisdom The Elephant head replaced his own after Shiva accidentally killed him – symbol of self sacrifice and love

The Goddesses

Hinduism believes that the Divine is neither male nor female, so Hindus worship the female essence of the Deity through the goddesses. The feminine power of the Divine is called Shakti. Each of the gods of the Trimurti has a female consort = the Tridevi

Tridevi

Sarasvati Wife of Brahma, the Creator Goddess of knowledge and inspiration Patroness of artists In her four hands she holds a book for knowledge, a Hindu rosary for the spiritual knowledge, and a musical instrument

Lakshmi The wife of Vishnu Goddess of wealth and prosperity Provides Vishnu with the resources he needs to keep the universe running Incarnates herself whenever Vishnu does (Krishna’s lover Radha; Rama’s wife Sita)

Krishna and Radha Rama and Sita

Parvati Wife of Shiva Shows that union with God comes both through meditation and doing good works

Durga A manifestation of Parvati Warrior Goddess who fights evil She helps us to fight our own negative qualities

Religious Symbolism

Shiva Nataraj Four arms = mastery of the four directions of the universe Ring of flame & water = universe Drum = creation Flame (in Shiva’s hand) = destructive energy

Snake – mastery over all creation Hand pointing down – release from ignorance and salvation Crescent moon – seasons and changes in life

The Lingam and Yoni Symbols of Shiva as creator Lingam – male creative power Yoni – female creative power Probably the oldest symbols in Hinduism

Shiva Symbols Trident – destroys evil Cobra – control over death Tiger skin (he sits on) – Lord over forces of nature Drum – creation Lines on forehead – ability to see past, present and future

Shiva and Nandi Most gods and goddesses have a “vehicle” = a sacred or mythical animal that transports them Nandi – the sacred bull Represents faith, strength and constancy of belief

Vishnu Conch – water from which all life flows; power to maintain universe Lotus –Divine truth Chakra (discus) – conquering evil and ignorance

Mace – power of knowledge conquering evil “U” on forehead – Vishnu’s sacred footprint Vehicle – Garuda the eagle

The Lotus Symbol of purity, fertility, plenty. Associated with many deities, but mostly with the goddesses Lakshmi and Sarasvati who are often depicted sitting on one

Om (Aum) The first sound made in Creation Symbol of Brahman – the Divine Reality The main symbol of Hinduism