hinduism one god or many gods?. the divine reality the brahman
TRANSCRIPT
The Brahman
The one Divine Reality Eternal Creator of all things The Vedas say, “God is One. Men call
Him by various names.”
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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