Deities In Hinduism

Dualistic Hindus try and understand divine reality through their many different gods. With that there is a focus put onto the one god Brahman which Brood describes as, “supreme, unitary reality, the ground of all Being.” (Brood et al., 2016). The monistic viewpoint of Brahman can best be described as the belief that all reality is ultimately one. Brahman is, “treated as a basic cosmic principle.” (Hopkins, 1971). According to Hopkins in the, “Atharva Veda, brahman is said to have the lowest and highest forms and to be ‘the womb of both the existent and the nonexistent.’ In 10.2 it is said that ‘by brahman the earth was disposed, as brahman the sky was set above, as brahman this atmosphere, the wide expanse, was set aloft and crosswise.’” (Hopkins, 1971). Brahman can most easily relate to the Christian, Islam, and Judaism God.Both Brahman and the God of Christianity, Islam,

The Hindus call their supreme reality “Brahman,” a God of infinite being, infinite awareness, and infinite bliss. “Utter reality, utter consciousness, and utterly beyond all possibility of frustration is the basic Hindu view of God” (Smith 1991). Hinduism sees their God as an archetype of supremacy with the noblest crown, a parent, loving, merciful, almighty, eternal salvation, and an understanding companion. There is also a distinction between personal (ramanuja) and transpersonal (shankara) notions of God in Hinduism; “God so conceived is called Saguna Brahman, or God-with-attributes or God-without-attributes, Nirguna Brahman” (Smith, 1991). Also, it is important to realize that God’s relation in Hinduism varies on symbolism and what is embraced: the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer who resolves all finite forms of life. They view the world as “God-dependent.” A personalist in Hinduism “will see little religious availability in the idea od a God who is so far removed from our predicaments as to be unaware of our very existence” (Smith, 1991). Were as a transpersonalist sees God serving as a master in their life to guide them through their struggles and becomes possessed by this

“Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs that developed slowly over a long period of time.” (World History Patterns of Interaction, 2005) Hinduism has been made up of so many different cultures and beliefs that unlike Christianity and Islam it is unable to be traced back. Hindus believe in karma and reincarnation. Karma is good and

Hinduism is commonly thought of as the world’s oldest religion. There are approximately one billion Hindus worldwide. The vast majority live in India, although there are large populations of Hindus in South Asia, United States, Australia, Western Europe, and Canada. Hindus recognize a supreme being that can exist in copious different forms and identities and several local deities as well. Some of the important deities include Vishnu, Shiva and Shiva’s consort. Vishnu is a God that has been depicted to have arrived on Earth in both the forms of a human and an animal. It has been said that his purpose was to

Vishnu, to his worshipers, is all-powerful and supreme. He is believed to be to god from whose navel a lotus sprang giving birth to Brahma, the creator. Vishnu created the universe by separating the heavens and the earth and has rescued it on a number of occasions. As Hopfe and Woodward state “Vishnu is known as a god of love, benevolence, and forgiveness (Hinduism 94).” “ In some incarnations, he has come as a man.” (94). The third popular god is Brahma, the creator of the world.

It is believed that each animal in the universe has the same soul as a human being and that before the soul enters into the human body, it travels through 84 million species and then enters into the human body. They believed that after death the soul enters a new body depending on their karma of past life. This process continues until they become one with the supreme soul. That is also called reincarnation which is another core concept that all Hindus believes in. They believe that the soul is immortal and the death that of the body only.

The Question of Origin – Hinduism offers multiple theories of where mankind began and leaves the question of the universe’s beginning un-answered. Out of the various theories, there is a consensus that mankind began with the deity Brahma, the Creator. Brahma is described as being self- born from a lotus with four heads and four arms. Brahma forms a trinity or triumvirate along with Vishnu, who sustains the creation, and Shiva, the destroyer of the evil. Brahma created all other deities before he split himself into the first man called Svayambhuva Manu and a woman called Satarupa, with whom mankind began. Brahma, out of himself, also created all other living things; animals, plants, the sun, the moon, the wind etc. Their Gods represent Brahma in

Hinduism is the name given to a family of religions and cultures that began and still flourish in India. The word “Hindu,” comes from the name of the river Indus, which flows from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the sea. It originally referred to the people living in that particular region of the world, regardless of their faith. Hinduism has no original founder and is one of the world’s largest religions following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents. Hinduism is henotheistic, which is the devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. Their god is present in everything, and they believe that their soul repeatedly goes through a cycle of being born into a body, dying, and then becoming reborn into another body, whether it is human, animal or spirit. Hindu’s also strongly believe in karma, which is a force that determines the quality of each life, depending on how well one behaved in a past life. Hindu’s do not separate religion from other aspects of their life. Hinduism in India dictates Hindu’s lives in that it involves a caste system which controls their position in society, assists them in earning a living, helps manage how they raise their a family and controls their diets. Hindu’s believe that freedom or liberation is the true goal in life. True freedom is the freedom from all external conditioning influences, whether of body or mind. This is the freedom of Self-realization,

Most Hindus believe in God but what this means varies in different traditions. The Sanskrit words Bhagavan and Ishvara mean 'Lord' or 'God' and implies an absolute reality who, in essence, controls destroys the universe over and over again. Most Hindus believe in a Supreme God, whose qualities and forms are represented by the multiple forms he has. God, being unlimited, can have unlimited forms and expressions, but the belief in one superior being makes this religion monotheistic.

The Hindu religion is one of the world’s largest with over 900 million followers. It is a polytheistic religion with many gods and goddesses worshipped by the faithful. Hindu tradition tells of a divine triumvirate that is responsible for the world’s creation, upkeep, and ultimate destruction. It is represented by Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. Hindus believe in cycles. Shiva’s destruction of the world is another cycle and is seen as beneficial because it is done in order to destroy imperfections to bring about change. He is a paradoxical god that represents the dualities of life. Shiva has many devotees, called Shaivites, and his representations show the complexities of Shiva including Mahayogi, Nataraja, and Ardhanarishvara.

Hindus believe in an everlasting soul (atman) that is reincarnated almost intact from birth to birth, and through spiritual practice Hindus seek release (moksha, also known as liberation) so that the soul can join with the Divine God, known as Brahmin.

Brahma is the god of creation. In today’s world, he is the least worshipped god in India. There are only two temples in all of India dedicated to him (Brahma). Brahma has a unique look, with four heads and four arms. The second god, Vishnu, is the god of preservation. Thus far in creation, he has been said to be incarnated nine times. Worshippers believe that he will incarnate one last time near the end of the world. Similarly, to what Paul thought of Jesus, “Like any major god, Vishnu is involved in a number of colorful stories which illustrate his virtues as the protector of cosmic order” (Vishnu). Vishnu is uniquely depicted by having blue skin, and four arms. In his four hands, he holds objects representing what he is dependable for. Shiva, the last god, is the god of destruction. In Hinduism, destruction is considered necessary for new life forms to appear. Shiva is portrayed by his blue face and white body, three eyes, and four arms.

In contrast to majority of devout religions, Hinduism participates in the worship of many gods – thus making it a polytheistic religion consisting of a Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The Brahma is the The Creator, and a member of the Hindu Trinity. Brahma intimately creates everything in the universe. In addition, Vishnu maintains the balance and harmony of the universe. Last but not least, Shiva perpetually destroys the universe: “it’s the necessary step to make renewal possible” (Hindu Gods and

The Hindu religion and culture is a very complex subject. The Hindu religion combines rich ethnical and standard beliefs. We will take a closer look and try to understand the Hindu religion and culture. The Hindu religion is the oldest religion of the five major religions, which are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism (Major World Religions, 2006). The Hindu religion began to develop about 4.000 years ago in India, but it there was no single founder or system of belief (Major World Religions, 2006). There are many diverse and various Gods in the Hindu religion. One of the most important beliefs is the theory of karma, which holds that all beings, human or animal have karma which determines which soul is for which body and

Another way of thinking about Hinduism deities is through the example of a government. In order for a government to run efficiently, first you need to assign different roles to different people. By putting all these roles together, you end up with the running version of the government. That is the essential concept behind Hinduism. To get Brahman (the government), you need small parts for different parts such as music, wisdom, creation, etc. So the gods and goddesses such as Saraswati, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and millions more take these roles. When you put all of them together, you get Brahman. By worshipping one aspect of Brahman, you are still worshipping the whole