Hinduism - Why are there thousands of Gods and Goddesses?
Hello all,
Namaste! Before proceeding with this post, I would like to clarify something. I am of the outlook that each person should choose the religion he/she feels comfortable with or relate to. If they feel they don't need a religion to express themselves, that also is an individual's choice. I am writing this post about Hinduism, only to write my thoughts on the title. It is never my idea or intention to propagate Hinduism.
Another fact, I want to put forward is, the original name of Hinduism was 'Sanatana Dharma' or the 'Eternal way'. It is not a religion, more of a way of life and I like to view it that way. In Vedic scriptures, there is not a term called 'Hindu'. It has been thought that people who had traded with or invaded India started calling the culture as the 'culture of the people near the river Sindhu', which later transformed into Hindu and the culture they practiced to Hinduism. Sindhu is now known as the river Indus. Here is another reference given by Stephen Knapp where it says that “The country lying between the Himalayan mountains and Bindu Sarovara (Cape Comorin sea) is known as Hindusthan by combination of the first letter ‘hi’ of ‘Himalaya’ and the last compound letter ‘ndu’ of the word ‘Bindu.’”. This could later have become Hindu.
So now let us proceed with the post. Why does Hinduism (in truth 'Sanatana Dharma') have so many Gods and Goddesses? Many times my friends from other cultures have raised this question to me. Do we really need so many deities? I will try to throw some light on this matter according to my understanding.
Consider a scenario. You have an uncle or an aunt in the family, about whom you have heard of, who left for another country before you were born and you haven't even seen a picture of him/her. Whenever there are family conversations, you try to put a face to that person and you are not able to. Now assume that you have seen that person in a picture and then any time your family has conversations you are able to put a face to that person, think how he/she would have interacted and felt close to him/her.
Why don't we expand this example to praying or meditating? We sit for praying, close our eyes and try to pray. But if there is no 'rupa' or form is it easy to pray or meditate? We are asking our mind to concentrate on 'nothing'. Suddenly the mind is like a raging monkey trying to go to thousand different places at the same time. But if we put a form of a God or Goddess or a deity in front of that mind and ask it to concentrate on it, won't it be much easier to concentrate? Of course, the mind will still try to act like a monkey, but it may be easier to bring it back to the object of concentration. Mind comes under control with less effort when it is given a form to concentrate on.
We have tried to come to terms with having a God or Goddess to concentrate on, but still, the question remains why so many of them? For that, my viewpoint is each of us is very different in our outlook, attitude, and personality. So for every kind of personality and outlook, there is a God or Goddess in 'Santana Dharma'. One can take the deity one feels close to and pray or meditate upon them. In the case of Goddesses, you can choose the brave one ( Durga), the gentle one ( Lakshmi) or the enlightened one (Saraswathi) and the same way there are Gods who speak to our personality. Once we feel that deity is the appropriate one as per our personality; praying, meditating or contemplating on that form brings much more satisfaction and contentment. Of course, one has the freedom to pray to any God or Goddess one choose.
But with every type of deity, I am of the opinion that one will be guided to one's appropriate place in the world and later once a person has reached the utmost concentration that 'worship with form' gives way to the 'worship without a form'. Sanatana Dharma extols the 'worship without form' as meditating on 'Brahman', which is the Universal Self or Supreme Cosmic Spirit. Every deity finally guides a being to the meditation on the Universal Cosmic spirit. An atheist may find the same peace one gets with meditation or praying when going for a walk in nature or having a close communion with Self.
So in this way, 'Sanatana Dharma' has found a way to make praying or meditating easier for people who practice this Dharma. People choose the deity they feel a connection with and start praying or meditating to that particular God or Goddess. It is up to the person to choose the deity they want to pray to and later go in their particular custom built path to finally reach the ultimate reality. Whether it is Durga, Lakshmi, Vishnu or Shiva, the path converges to a place of Cosmic spirit (or is it the Cosmic reality?) where we realize all of us are a part of that grand Universal Self.
This is my humble interpretation of why there are so many deities in 'Sanatana Dharma'. I will conclude with a quote from a Hindu (Sanatana Dharma) proverb:
I wish you a good weekend and I'll see you next Friday! 😉
Next week: Vedic astrology - My perspective!
Note: Image by Swaroopa.
Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance ; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried".
All rights reserved to the author (SwaroopaStargazer) and SwaroopaBlog.
To my Blog readers: As all of you know, the European Union has passed laws regarding collection of the user data. This is just to inform all my EU blog readers, I just use Google Analytics, which Google provides, to look at from where readers are reading my blogs. I also use Specific feeds to use their service for subscription. I don't collect or intend to collect user data to sell or provide to third-party applications. Regards,
SwaroopaBlog.
Disclaimer: This is a personal blog. The opinions and viewpoints shared here are that of the author/owner only. Even though the author/owner will try to research well before posting the information, the author/owner of this blog does not make any portrayal of the accuracy or correctness of the content on this blog or the links provided. The author/owner will not be liable for any omissions or inaccuracies occurred. The author/owner will not be liable for any damages or losses due to the use or display of this blog. These terms and conditions can change at any time. This blog is purely for informational purposes only.
© SwaroopaStargazer and Swaroopa, 2017.
Namaste! Before proceeding with this post, I would like to clarify something. I am of the outlook that each person should choose the religion he/she feels comfortable with or relate to. If they feel they don't need a religion to express themselves, that also is an individual's choice. I am writing this post about Hinduism, only to write my thoughts on the title. It is never my idea or intention to propagate Hinduism.
Another fact, I want to put forward is, the original name of Hinduism was 'Sanatana Dharma' or the 'Eternal way'. It is not a religion, more of a way of life and I like to view it that way. In Vedic scriptures, there is not a term called 'Hindu'. It has been thought that people who had traded with or invaded India started calling the culture as the 'culture of the people near the river Sindhu', which later transformed into Hindu and the culture they practiced to Hinduism. Sindhu is now known as the river Indus. Here is another reference given by Stephen Knapp where it says that “The country lying between the Himalayan mountains and Bindu Sarovara (Cape Comorin sea) is known as Hindusthan by combination of the first letter ‘hi’ of ‘Himalaya’ and the last compound letter ‘ndu’ of the word ‘Bindu.’”. This could later have become Hindu.
So now let us proceed with the post. Why does Hinduism (in truth 'Sanatana Dharma') have so many Gods and Goddesses? Many times my friends from other cultures have raised this question to me. Do we really need so many deities? I will try to throw some light on this matter according to my understanding.
 |
| Pantheon of Hindu Gods! |
Why don't we expand this example to praying or meditating? We sit for praying, close our eyes and try to pray. But if there is no 'rupa' or form is it easy to pray or meditate? We are asking our mind to concentrate on 'nothing'. Suddenly the mind is like a raging monkey trying to go to thousand different places at the same time. But if we put a form of a God or Goddess or a deity in front of that mind and ask it to concentrate on it, won't it be much easier to concentrate? Of course, the mind will still try to act like a monkey, but it may be easier to bring it back to the object of concentration. Mind comes under control with less effort when it is given a form to concentrate on.
We have tried to come to terms with having a God or Goddess to concentrate on, but still, the question remains why so many of them? For that, my viewpoint is each of us is very different in our outlook, attitude, and personality. So for every kind of personality and outlook, there is a God or Goddess in 'Santana Dharma'. One can take the deity one feels close to and pray or meditate upon them. In the case of Goddesses, you can choose the brave one ( Durga), the gentle one ( Lakshmi) or the enlightened one (Saraswathi) and the same way there are Gods who speak to our personality. Once we feel that deity is the appropriate one as per our personality; praying, meditating or contemplating on that form brings much more satisfaction and contentment. Of course, one has the freedom to pray to any God or Goddess one choose.
But with every type of deity, I am of the opinion that one will be guided to one's appropriate place in the world and later once a person has reached the utmost concentration that 'worship with form' gives way to the 'worship without a form'. Sanatana Dharma extols the 'worship without form' as meditating on 'Brahman', which is the Universal Self or Supreme Cosmic Spirit. Every deity finally guides a being to the meditation on the Universal Cosmic spirit. An atheist may find the same peace one gets with meditation or praying when going for a walk in nature or having a close communion with Self.
So in this way, 'Sanatana Dharma' has found a way to make praying or meditating easier for people who practice this Dharma. People choose the deity they feel a connection with and start praying or meditating to that particular God or Goddess. It is up to the person to choose the deity they want to pray to and later go in their particular custom built path to finally reach the ultimate reality. Whether it is Durga, Lakshmi, Vishnu or Shiva, the path converges to a place of Cosmic spirit (or is it the Cosmic reality?) where we realize all of us are a part of that grand Universal Self.
This is my humble interpretation of why there are so many deities in 'Sanatana Dharma'. I will conclude with a quote from a Hindu (Sanatana Dharma) proverb:
There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn’t matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.
I wish you a good weekend and I'll see you next Friday! 😉
Next week: Vedic astrology - My perspective!
Note: Image by Swaroopa.
Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance ; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried".
All rights reserved to the author (SwaroopaStargazer) and SwaroopaBlog.
To my Blog readers: As all of you know, the European Union has passed laws regarding collection of the user data. This is just to inform all my EU blog readers, I just use Google Analytics, which Google provides, to look at from where readers are reading my blogs. I also use Specific feeds to use their service for subscription. I don't collect or intend to collect user data to sell or provide to third-party applications. Regards,
SwaroopaBlog.
Disclaimer: This is a personal blog. The opinions and viewpoints shared here are that of the author/owner only. Even though the author/owner will try to research well before posting the information, the author/owner of this blog does not make any portrayal of the accuracy or correctness of the content on this blog or the links provided. The author/owner will not be liable for any omissions or inaccuracies occurred. The author/owner will not be liable for any damages or losses due to the use or display of this blog. These terms and conditions can change at any time. This blog is purely for informational purposes only.
© SwaroopaStargazer and Swaroopa, 2017.
Enjoyed your post Jaya. Sadguru has also emphasized this that Hinduism is not a religion, rather a way of life.
ReplyDeleteThat is correct, Sumedha. It was transformed into a religion during recent times. Only many times Hindus don't realize that. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading this week's post! I like your interpretation of the deity as a focal point. I have some things around the kitchen or my office desk as a reminder to complete a task, otherwise out of sight is out of mind. I also like the addition of next week's topic...makes it more interesting to wait to read next week's post. Well done, keep going Jaya!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Abi.My cousin sister and aunt urged me to put next week's topic, so that readers have an idea what I would be writing next. Do please let me know, if any particular area you like me to tackle.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting.I have so much to learn. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Me too. There is so much Wisdom and guidance in all the ancient cultures. Only has to search for true gem in between a pile of unnecessary stuff.
ReplyDelete