| |
PAKISTANI HINDUS
Here we
present extensive resources for understanding the concept of God in Hindu
dharma.
The Hindu
Trinity, forms of Gods
and Goddesses, the
Avatars of Lord Vishnu,
the Devatas, Planet
and Animal
Deities are all presented with their image representation.
If you have ever wondered,
if Hindus worship one God or many Gods, why do Hindus worship images and icons,
why does the God in Hindu dharma have multiple names and multiple forms of God,
then this is the where, we hope, you will find answers. Dr. David Frawley has
answered many of these commonly asked questions quite succinctly. For example,
Why Do Hindus Worship Many Gods?
Human beings through history have formulated many different names and forms for
the Divine or Eternal. Just as we have many names and forms for other things,
whether it is foods, or types of art, so too, in religion a similar great
diversity has been created.
The Western world has prided itself in monotheism, the idea that there is only
One God as the highest truth. Western religions have said that only the names
and forms which refer to this One God are valid but those which appear to
worship another God, or a multiplicity of divinities, must be false. They have
re striated the names and forms they use in religious worship, and insist that
only one set is true and correct and others are wrong or unholy.
As a universal formulation Hinduism accepts all formulations of Truth. According
to the universal view there is only One Reality, but it cannot be limit ed to a
particular name or form. Though Truth is One it is also Universal, not an
exclusive formulation. It is an inclusive, not an exclusive Oneness - a spiritual reality
of Being-Consciousness-Bliss, which could be called God but which transcends all
names. The different Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism represent various functions
of this One Supreme Divinity, and are not separate Gods.
Having many names for something is not necessarily a sign of ignorance of its
real nature. On the contrary, it may indicate an intimate knowledge of it. For
example, Eskimos have forty-eight different names for snow in their language
because they know snow intimately in its different variations, not because they
are ignorant of the fact that all snow is only one. The many different deities
of Hinduism reflect such an intimate realization of the Divine on various
levels.
Why Does Hinduism Portray God as a Woman?
Hinduism contains many feminine forms of the Divine like Kali, Durga, Lakshmi
and Sarasvati. These represent different feminine qualities and functions of the
Divine which contains both male and female energies. For example, Kali portrays
the destructive energy, Lakshmi the nourishing, and Sarasvati the creative,
while Durga is the Divine Mother in her protective role. Hinduism also has many
dual male-female forms like Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama, Uma-Mahesh, and Lakshmi -Narayan
in which the female form is usually addressed first. The different masculine
forms of the Divine in Hinduism have their feminine counterparts.
As Sanatana Dharma or a universal tradition Hinduism recognizes that the Divine
contains both masculine and feminine attributes. Without giving proper honor to
the feminine qualities a religion must be incomplete and one-sided, which must
result in its teachings having negative consequences. Without recognizing the
feminine aspect of Divinity one cannot claim to know God. To recognize the
feminine is necessary to restore wholeness, completeness and universality.
|