The Three Gods In Hinduism

Hinduism, Buddhism and Shinto, while vast in differences there is much to learn about these three religions similarities as well. Some facts and history of Hinduism include, Hinduism (being the oldest of the three) is dated back in pre-history before 10000 BC even believed to predate the Indus River Valley Civilization! The Vedas (the holy text of Hinduism) is the foundation for Indian culture and also the basic belief system of Hinduism. The basic belief structure of Hinduism is as follows, the three doctrines; Samsara (1) which means “successive rebirths” indicating the belief in reincarnation started by ATMA or the spark of life given by the god Brahma. This cycle continues until the soul collects enough good Karma (2) to break from the

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,

Upon reading about the historical and religious background of Ancient India, one can clearly assume that the country was strongly influenced by three main religious teachings: Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. These three sects in religious thinking have many similarities as all recognize the life-cycle and the need of liberation, they worship one central deity that used to be a human who gained enlightenment and they all recognize the existence of the eternal soul and after-death re-incarnation. However, they also share a lot of differences that mark the underlying principles of practicing them. I will identify the scope of differences and similarities in these ancient religions in an attempt to understand why each attracted followers, why

The reveal of Brahman, the creation God, comes through seeking and gaining knowledge through experience. This is known as the foundation of Hinduism. A similarity of Hinduism that is seen among other religions is a trinity of Gods, goddesses, or holy figures. Christianity has the trinity made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and Hinduism has a trinity as well. This trinity is made up of Vishnu, Síva and Brahman. Vishnu represents, truth, righteousness, and the preservation of life. Síva symbolizes death. A few other well-known deities include Ganesha and Krishna. Ganesha is the elephant-looking figure that is seen most often in anything dealing with Hinduism. This particular god symbolizes wisdom, success, wealth and knowledge (Schweitzer,

Hinduism is a very broad term that encompasses a multitude of different backgrounds, traditions, beliefs, and practices. Hinduism, as we know it today, has gone through many changes. To fully understand how Hinduism became as it is currently, knowledge of its development over the course of history is essential. This paper will demonstrate the primary shifts of its central beliefs, practices, and goals between periods of Early Vedic, Late Vedic, and Classical Hinduism.

Before I read Stephen Prothero’s God Is Not One, I did not know much about Hinduism. For me, Hinduism conjured the images of bright colors, richly adorned statues, and jovial worship and dance. When we visited the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, that is exactly what I saw. Yet, now I know the reason for all these things. Although Hinduism is a largely varying tradition, it is namely about love and celebration. Given the evidence from Prothero’s book and my observations at the Ganesh Temple, Hinduism is a tradition that aims to gives purpose to human’s wandering souls through devote worship to deities and rituals.

Hinduism is a religion that follows concepts of the Upanishads, which includes the Brahman, Atman, Maya, Karma, Samsara, and Moksha. The concepts provide guidance throughout life and are key to a final death. The Brahman is something one believes in and is experience in the world that surround him. The Atman is who we are the identity of our soul, an understanding we are not just a body we are more. “The term Brahman refers to the experience of the sacred within nature and the external universe, while Atman refers to the experience of the sacred within oneself” (Molloy, 2013, p. 83). Along with understanding the spiritual aspect of nature and one’s soul is understanding how this effects every living thing. The Maya which can be referred to as magic or illusion is an important factor in life and death. “Hinduism, form

Hinduism is an incredibly complex polytheistic religion, with its roots in the Indus River Valley Civilization over 8000 years ago and is still practiced today. Hinduism is typically practiced by the citizens of places such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. As indicated by its wide reaching influences, Hinduism does not have one single founder, but started a shift into its more modern form when Aryan invaders brought the Vedas into India around 1500 B.C.E. At its core Hinduism believes in entities called the Brahman, the source of everything in the universe, from these Brahman emerged over 330 million gods, all of which are different manifestations of the Brahman. The most important gods in Hinduism are Vishnu,

There are numerous gods in Hinduism, in which the most important ones including the Creator Brahma, the Preserver Vishnu and the Destroyer Siva. Brahma created the earth, the mortal world and the heaven, Vishnu safeguards the world and preserves the order and peace in

In what ways is the Holy land an essential site for all three monotheistic Faiths? All three faiths say that Jerusalem was a holy city. For Islam, Jerusalem was where the prophet Muhammed rose to heaven. For Christianity, Jerusalem is the city where Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead. For Judaism, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Each religion has a place that call for practicing same basic ritual worships (although differently in the rituals) as praying, fasting, and etc. The Jews had the second Temple of Jerusalem, where daily prayers are recited and other Jewish rituals are performed. The Christians had the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where it was once a place where Jesus was crucified. The Muslim have the Kaaba, where they

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism, and Christianity are four of the foremost religious ideologies of classical antiquity. Each of these three factions’ beliefs in a higher power widely vary from each other with one believing in many gods, one believing in one god, and one believing in no god. They differ in the delivery of the doctrine as well, with one being read from ancient texts, one from meditation, and one from god himself. Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Judeo-Christian tradition are nearly entirely unique when compared to the other with the only

Hinduism is an Indian phenomena, it is difficult to define, and difficult for the outsiders to understand some of the unusual religious, philosophical and cultural beliefs. It is according to Huston Smith, the…” least dogmatic and most diverse of all religions…” because of the belief that there is a ‘flowing though’ cycle where in samsara ones is born, lives, suffers, dies and is re-born over and over until the ‘moksha’ occurs. This spiritual liberation is achieved by yoking oneself to God then one may reach Atman: the real self that is separate from the physical body. It is unchanging, eternal and a sign of the soul and spread throughout all the parts of and in the earth. This is the God that cannot be understood or always known yet Hindus are encouraged to relate to the God they know best.

Hinduism allows its followers many ways to worship this religion according to their family traditions, community practices, along with other countless reasons. Like mentioned before, Hinduism has many gods and goddesses that are praised for different things. Brahma, the creator, is the first member of the Hindu trinity, second on the Hindu trinity is Vishnu, the preserver, and the third member of the Hindu trinity is Shiva, the destroyer. At times what is unclear to non-Hindus is that Hindus of different sects may call the one God by many different names according to their regional tradition. Hinduism gives their followers the liberty to approach God in their own way, encouraging a variety of paths, not asking for conformity to just

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