Brahma
Brahma |
This course point is intended as a continuation of the introduction to Brahmanism given by R. LIOGIER, who had to go quickly over this very dense subject. It will mainly deal with the question of the oneness and plurality of gods and goddesses in Hinduism. But first of all we may remember that this word “Hinduism”, and the concept itself, is a creation from an external point of view.
The word “Hindu” was used by the Persians to name the inhabitants of India, who maybe wouldn’t themselves have considered their religion as a cultural whole, since it displays a very complex and diversified pattern. They even wouldn’t have considered it as a “religion”, separated from all other aspects of life.
Still, we can see Hinduism as a whole. It can be recognised through a social structure: the caste system, and though it doesn’t possess a single unitary doctrine, some of the numerous rituals and deities are universally known among Hindu followers. At the summit of these deities is a triad (trimurti) of gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. In a simple way, we may say that Brahma is a god of creation, Vishnu is a god of preservation, and Shiva is a god of destruction as well as re-creation (death
and birth being linked within a dynamic process). These gods are thus seen to be complementary.
Some trends in Hinduism hold Vishnu to be the supreme deity, while others hold Shiva to be the Great God “Mahadeva”. Brahma, even though he is rarely represented (almost no temples are dedicated to him) , is also known as the Supreme Being, present everywhere in his creation.
Indeed, Hindus consider that the Trimurti represents different aspects of one single Being, which can be called Atman (the Self, “universal soul”) or Brahman or Bhagvan (“the Lord”) and has many other names. But this immense and absolute One cannot be conceived as such, and is thus visualized and praised through its various forms.
The gods Vishnu and Shiva have themselves many names and forms. For instance Shiva can be represented as Nataraja “the King of Dance”, when he performs his cosmic dance, which gives its movement and balance to the universe. It
 Vishnu. |
is said that Shiva has 108 names. Vishnu is said to have appeared in the world through 10 Avatara or “incarnations”. Among them are Krishna and Rama, who are embodiments of the god in human form.
The division of one deity into many forms, multiplicity and oneness “at the same time”, is an important feature of Hinduism. It can be very well observed in the Goddess, “Devi”. She is revered as Durga, Kali, Sheranvali, and many other forms. It is clear for Hindus that all goddesses, despite their differences, are all forms of one and the same goddess. She is the feminine energy of the world: Shakti. But, furthermore, the Goddess and the God, the feminine and the masculine forces, are complementary, and they become one in Shivashakti, their union being the condition for the manifestation of the universe. Again, god and goddess are two aspects of one single Being.
Hindu deities are far more numerous than the main ones mentioned here: they are said to be three hundred and thirty-three millions. A Hindu follower, according to his caste, astrology and choice, has a “personal” deity, which he worships preferentially, but according to the occasion, to the ritual calendar and following a particular demand, he will invoke other deities as well. Natural entities, such as the sun, fire wind, or rivers are also considered as divine. And, even today, new deities are “invented” or “integrated”: the Hindu nationalists have created the cult of a goddess of the Nation known as Bharat Mata “Mother India”; and Gautama Buddha happens to be considered as one more Avatara of Vishnu.
When looking at Hinduism, we see that the contradiction between monotheistic and polytheistic religion is not so radically defined as we might have thought.
Hinduism, which tolerates the worship of many gods, is also a pantheism which holds all these deities to be aspects of one supreme being, seeing ultimately God, the Goddess, and the creation itself, as a whole.