Transcendent Immanence: Embracing the Hindu Worship of the Divine The preservation of sacred texts, rituals and ideals is crucial for the survival of a religion. Holy books are filled with hymns, parables, rules and regulations for the order and maintenance of a religion, ensuring that the core concepts of belief stay pure no matter how many millennia may pass. When one studies Judaism, Christianity and Islam, one is immediately versed in their holy books, which are comprised of teachings and rituals of devotion that were transcribed almost immediately upon reception. Millions of devotees participate in organized religion, hoping to fulfill the messages in their respective holy texts, which dictate how to lead a noble life. However, what is interesting to note, is that for hundreds of years, Hinduism, one of the world’s largest religions, existed and preserved solely by world of mouth, yet has stayed completely faithful to the original message. The safeguarding of Hindu ideals is impressive and an example of the fierce devotion that is exemplified in every Hindu believer. Eventually, tales of Hindu Gods and monsters are recorded in multiple volumes of text, outlining an immanent perspective for followers to associate with brahman, as well as a transcendent perspective that relies on the belief that brahman occurs through knowledge. Through the manifestations of image and temple based worship, domestic worship and the woman’s religious experience, one can clearly see how Hinduism embraces both the transcendence and the immanence of the divine. Foremost, the ways in which the divine is viewed as transcendent in Hinduism is through the Vedanta’s. In essence, the Vedanta’s are the most popular form of accessible theology to Hindu followers and are often described as, “the philosophical paradigm of Hinduism par excellence” (Flood 238). Moreover, the Vedanta’s are a mish-mash amalgamation of theological and philosophical tradition that is, “concerned with correct knowledge (jnana) of brahman” or fundamentally, that the path to brahman, is knowledge (Flood 236). Over the next few centuries, many philosophers will come to put their own personal spin on brahman, yet none are as successful or as well received as the teaching of Sankara (Flood 239). Roughly between 788 and 820 CE, the Hindu philosopher Sankara coins the concept of Advaita Vedanta, or non-dualism (Flood 239). This concept relies heavily on, “the tradition’s absolute monism which, put simply, maintains the reality of the one over the many” (Flood 239). Sankara believes that “spiritual ignorance or illusion is caused by the superimposition of what is not the self onto the self” (Flood 241). This false superimposition clouds knowledge and thus alters the human ability to view “the nature of the self’s pure subjectivity” that is “ontologically identical with” brahman (Flood 241). For Sankara, it becomes crucial that one learns how to dispel the ‘illusion’ that fogs up the path to brahman, and this “knowledge is liberation” (241). Despite this, Sankara does not eliminate the concept of devotion to the divine as a form of knowledge (Flood 242). As Flood describes: Brahman, in its timeless essence as identical with the self, is beyond all predicates and qualities [transcendent], but in its temporal mode as the Lord it has attributes [immanent], and so can be approached through devotion as an object of consciousness (242). The alternate view that brahman can be attained through devotion plays into image and temple based worship. The Hindu temple, as defined by George Michell, “is designed to bring about contact between man and the gods” (61). The temple itself is a structure that is built around the image of a deity and is a place where “man may progress from the world of illusion to truth and knowledge” (Michell 61). Both the transcendent and immanent are present at the temple, for worshippers are praising iconic images of deities while the structure of the temple itself is constructed to “symbolically represent” the quest for liberation from samsara (Michell 61). For instance, in Saivism, Siva is considered to be the representation of Brahmin. Saivian followers then worship an aniconic representation of Siva called the linga (Eck 35). The linga is a large, phallus shaped stone that is comprised of two sections, a protruding cylindrical stone and a circular base that is called the yoni (Eck 36). Together, the linga and the yoni represent cosmic unity, as well as represent both the male and female aspects of the divine simultaneously (Eck 36). With that being said, Saivan worshippers believe Siva to be both the creator and the dissolver of life on a macrocosmic level, and that paradox, while strange to western ideologies, is a natural and easy to grasp concept by Hindus. As Eck states, “the one who is commonly called Siva is seem on the linga as both Siva and Sakti, male and female, divine spirit and divine smatter, transcendent and immanent” (36). Hinduism is in no way shape or form black and white and in fact, it is in the shades of gray that the concepts of the divine are formed and believed in. Also, Hindu followers worship anthropomorphic representations of their gods. Intricately carved marble sculptures, colorfully drawn pictures and ornate shrines of various gods and goddesses are not only inside the temple, but also decorate the exterior walls as well (Michell 74). These statues and pictures are crucial in temple-based worship and are also the most common form of worship for the average Hindu. As C.J. Fuller emphasizes, “worship is the core ritual of popular theistic Hinduism” (57). Temple priests perform daily puja by cleaning and dressing the images, burning incense and singing sacred texts for the gods and goddesses (Fuller 57). Fuller continues on to say that puja is so important for a Hindu because: At its heart, [puja] is the worshippers’ reception and entertainment of a distinguished and adored guest. It is a ritual to honor powerful gods and goddesses, and often to express personal affections for them as well; it can also create a unity between deity and worshipper that dissolves the difference between them (57). The images of the gods and goddesses, while multiple and everywhere, are all considered to be living embodiments of the divine and are treated with the utmost care and respect. Whether it is rock, river or sculpture, the images of the divine and temple-based worship simultaneously assist in leading devotees down the path of knowledge where they can attain brahman through both the transcendent and the immanent. After Sankara’s theories on Advaita Vedanta came Ramanuja and his theory of Visistadvaita Vedanta or qualified non-dualism (Flood 243). Ramanuja challenges Sankara’s monistic way of reading the sacred texts and stresses that Advaita Vedanta goes against the scriptures (Flood 243). Instead, Ramanuja puts forth a theory that is largely based in Vaisnava theology that “draws upon the wide textual resources of the Epics and Puranas” (Flood 243). Whereas Sankara argues that there are two distinct levels to brahman (one revolving around “the higher truth of the unity of brahman” and the other in “representing brahman as a personal Lord”), Ramanuja discards the division as well as Sankara’s concept of illusion (Flood 243-44). He furthers his argument by claiming that both “one and the many are real” (Flood 244). Visistadvaita Vedanta is thus used as a way to describe Ramanuja’s claim that God is comprised of “his inner nature or essence” and “his outer nature or accessibility” (Flood 244). Essentially, humankind experiences God “through the accessibility of his love” (Flood 244). For Ramanuja, devotion and grace are extremely important in working to attain brahman. Of all the Vedanta-based, sacred texts in Hinduism, the Bhagavad Gita remains and contains some of the most widespread and commonly cited tales of the Gods and Goddesses. The texts are ripe with stories of anthropomorphic deities and the lessons and teachings that they impart on humans. These narratives parallel Ramanuja’s belief in focusing on textual recounts of the epics and sacred literature (Flood 243). As Peter Heehs explains, “Ramanuja stresses the devotional side of the [Bhagavad Gita]” (150). The Bhagavad Gita itself is infamous for the recount of the conversation between the God Krishna and the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield just prior to the start of a war (Heehs 157). Krishna calms Arjuna’s anxiety to do battle, by reminding him that, “the surest way to attain the vision of the Supreme [brahman] is by means of love and devotion” (Heehs 157). In essence, fulfilling dharma is one way in which one can find liberation from samsara. With this in mind, one can look at the ways in which the woman’s religious experience and domestic-worship of the divine. The Ramayana, the other epic narrative in Hinduism, deals with the tale of the dharmic king Rama and his devoted wife Sita (Kinsley 78). Rama is so dutiful, that he is considered to be one of the avatars of Visnu, the maintainer God in Hunduism (Soneji, September 22, 2006). Although the tale of Rama is a perfect representation of dharma, his wife Sita is the one that embodies the true duties of a Hindu woman. In the Ramayana when Rama is banished from his palace, Sita stays true to her dharmic responsibility as a wife and begs Rama to take her with him to the forest, foregoing all the wealth and comfort palace life entails (Kinsley 72). It is there, in the forest that the beautiful Sita is kidnapped by the evil demon Ravana who is enthralled by her beauty (Kinsley 72). Ravana demands that Sita become his wife, yet Sita, refuses to betray Rama and denies his request (Kinsley 73). When Ravana announces that he has killed Rama, Sita, grief stricken, pleads for Ravana to kill her (Kinsley 73). As Holly Reynolds states, Sita blames herself for Rama’s supposed death, due to the fact: Women are credited with the power to control and alter the course of events in order to save their husbands from death and provide their families with wealth, health and prosperity. Some say that the power of the married woman is so great, in fact, that no being, animate or inanimate, human or divine, can match it (36). Furthermore, when Hanuman, the “loyal monkey ally of Rama” finds Sita, she declines his help for that would mean, “touching another male besides her husband” (Kinsley 72-73). Finally, when Rama manages to rescue Sita, he refuses to take her back, for he believes she was unfaithful to him and Sita then despairingly begs Agni, the God of fire, to burn her (Kinsley 74). It is only when Agni refuses to harm one as pure as Sita, that Rama rejoices and takes her back to be his queen (Kinsley 74). Sadly, when Rama banishes Sita to the forest once more, she again fulfills her final duty as wife giving birth to twin boys (Kinsley 76). Sita, through her exemplary dharma becomes a representation of Devi, once again outlining how duty and devotion can lead to brahman. Moreover, if one is to believe that dharma can lead to ultimate reality, then a surefire way to carry out dharma, in through puja. Puja literally translates to ‘worship’ and can “create a unity between deity and worshipper that dissolves the difference between them” (Fuller 57). Domestic-based puja is always performed by a woman, to a household shrine that consists of miniature statues or pictures of a selected God or Goddess (Fuller 63). Unlike temple-based worship, domestic worship need not happen every day (although it can), and is often times performed weekly or monthly (Fuller 63). The main goal of domestic puja is to pray for protection of the household and those who reside in it (Fuller 63). Fuller argues that ritual power belongs to females because, “women have more [shakti] because they do more rituals and fasts” (63). By respectfully honoring deities, women gain an immeasurable amount of power, which truly does “dissolve the difference” between the human and the divine. As one can see, the Hindu religion exhibits both aspects of the transcendent and immanent in the worship of the divine. Through temple-based worship, domestic worship and the woman’s religious experience, Hinduism continues to flourish and mystify with its almost oxymoronic views on how the divine in represented. Encompassing both the spiritual and the intellectual, Hinduism offers followers a very real and very attainable version of liberation and emphasizes the ability to free oneself from the cycle of life and become one with divinity. Additional Sources: Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Devine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. Berkley: University of California Press, 1988, 65-78; 95-115.