Essay on The Unique Hindu Gods

Hinduism is a religion practiced all over the world and has gained a large following. Hinduism got its start in the Indus Valley civilization and since then has evolved into a open and tolerant religion upon which every and anybody from all walks of life are welcome. In Hinduism there is a divine reality which can best be described as all reality is ultimately one for monistic Hindus or that there is no distinction between the divine reality and the rest of reality for dualistic Hindus. Either way it is put Hindus try to understand divine reality through their different gods, images, nature, and avatars.

Ganesha, the Elephant-Headed God, is the most worshipped god in the Hindu religion most commonly practiced in India. He represents Wisdom and the distinction between good and bad and is the leader of ganas, also known as beings.

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.

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,

Most Hindus revere one Being of extreme unity (Brahman) through boundless representations of divine beings and goddesses. These different signs of divine beings and goddesses get to be incarnate inside of symbols, sanctuaries, masters, streams, creatures, and so on.

     Many people believe Hinduism to be a polytheistic religion. This is due to the fact that there is so many gods that they can worship in. But in all actuality it is really a monotheistic religion that spawns off of one god to form many different gods or ideas to worship. The entire religion of Hinduism is based off of Brahman. Brahman is the idea that all reality is a unity. I will explain the concept of Brahman and four others and hopefully make Hinduism easier to comprehend.

It is a polytheistic religion who's gods are called Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapati, Saraslati, Lakshmi, and Durga Devi. The scripture of Hinduism is The Vedas and Upanishads. The Vedas are an unending scripture that contain revelations discovered by saints and sages a long time ago. Hinduists worship in a temple and they practice meditation. Gurus and Sages are their clergy.

Hinduism advanced from Vedism, the religion of the early Aryan intruders. While it perceives multitudinous divine beings, they are generally viewed as differing signs of one extraordinary all inclusive soul. Hinduism has no standard, universal frame. It is, in actuality, what individuals who call themselves Hindus do in doing their Dharma, or religious commitments. This changes extensively starting with one locale and social gathering then onto the next.

Many will argue that Hinduism is polytheistic because there are these gods, goddesses and avatars that are prayed to and worshiped. Hindus would normally have a shrine with a specific god or goddesses that they worship to daily or when they feel is needed to at their homes. Hindus will also go to a Hindu temple and pray to completely different gods and goddesses.

There is still a debate within the religion if there is one god or multiple gods. The faith has been exceeding accommodation and inclusive because if the reincarnation capability. Prophets or other religious messengers become reincarnates from Vishnu or another god or goddess making them a part of the Hindu faith as well. It is often described to contain the belief in a trinity with Braham, Vishnu, and Shiva but just like humans cycle so do the cosmos as well. According to Smith, some would add the Mahadevi, the great goddess as a more accurate third part of the Trinity. Few Hindus celebrate Brahman, the creator therefore

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and it is a dominant religion is South Asia. The word Hindu comes from the Indus River and was used to name the people who lived beyond this river. Although Hindus adore many Gods, Hinduism is considered a monotheistic religion. In this sense, all Gods are part of one main God, the supreme spirit, Brahman. In its article "Hinduism: Beliefs about God," the BBC News website states that, “Brahman has many forms, pervades the whole universe, and is symbolized by the sacred syllable Om (or Aum)” (BBC News).

What is the Hindu and Christian concept of God? The Hindu concept of God is polytheistic and pantheistic while the Christian concept is monotheistic. Polytheism is the belief in, not one but, many Gods. The oldest sacred texts called the Vedas and Upanishads many mythologies, which include multiple 9Gods. Gods like Shiva, Ram, Krishna and Goddesses like Saraswati, Kalimata, Laxmi and may more are all worshipped through out India by people of different casts and sects. There are over 33 million Gods and Goddesses. It is really hard to choose who is to be worshipped or not. “To think of foundation of Hindu theism, people believe in the Upanishads, with the later or gnostic part of the Vedas. They teach the art of worship and contemplation” (Tatt-Vabhushan). “The theism of the Upanishads is never tired of saying that God can be seen by every one who diligently seeks him … The blind worship of the letter of the Vedas, is an after-growth, and is not due to the teachings of the founders of our religion. That the more eminent of their commentators and expounders were also not subject to it, we shall show by and by” (Tatt-Vabhushan). This statement clearly states that it is due to blind faith that people believe what the Vedas suggest. In the last sentence of this statement it points out that even the founders of the teachings of the Vedas and Upanishads were not always following them. “The Hindu polytheistic view,

The god Vishnu is the creator, and Shiva is the destroyer. One is not looked upon as better than the other. This shows the ultimate realism that the Hindu culture possesses. These are not the only gods in Hindu culture. There are many others and all have special skills and talents. The gods themselves also give birth to the idea of avatars, or the form of god when he or she comes to earth.

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

Although, Hinduism might be regarded by some as a polytheistic religion in its most basic form Hinduism is based around one deity. The Brahma is the god that all of the other gods are derived from and each god is a manifestation of the one being. There are four other main deities, aside from Brahma,