Hindus believe there is only one Supreme Being called Brahman, but worship a variety of gods and goddesses who personify aspects of Brahman. Myriad gods and goddesses who personify aspects of the one true God, allowing individuals an infinite number of ways to worship based on family tradition, community and regional practices, and other considerations.
Some words to express GOD:
- PARABRAHMAM is the Supreme Being in his Absolute aspect; one who is beyond space and time. It is the essence of the Universe that is with form and without form. It is the Supreme creator.
- PURUSHOTHAMA means the supreme soul or spirit. The supreme energy of force guiding us. PURUSHOTHAMA can be the energy that incarnates or appears or present in its creation, as an Avatar to help and guide Creation.
- PARAMATMA means the supreme inner energy in every creature and in all beings, living and non-living. It resides formless or in any form, in all creations (desired). It's the force that can come to you whenever you want and wherever you want to guide and help you.
Monotheism: Aikya or Oneness or Unity
- When a theist claims that a god exists, one of the first questions one should ask "what do you mean by god?" Next question should be "which or whose god?"
- Monotheism, means there is ONLY one GOD and everything else is GOD's creations. It does not matter, how each group tries to define that ONLY GOD!.
- Concept of Creator, great force/power, ultimate source is universal, beyond race, language, faith/belief system.
- ஒன்றே குலமும்ஒருவனே தேவனும்|
நன்றே நினைமின் நமனில்லை நாணாமே
சென்மே பகுங்கதி யில்லைநுஞ் சித்தத்து |
நின்றே நிலைபெற நீர்நினைந் துய்மினே. - திருமந்திரம்2104
Only One race/community and one God. Think good, not only for you but also for every one. This is the only way for salvation and to eliminate fear of death. Let your mind be filled with good thoughts only.
- “Truth is one; sages call it by various names” -Rig Veda. Truth comes in numerous names and forms. Paths to the Truth are also Many.
- There is only one Source. Everything is from the same divine source.
- The ocean is not made of single drop of water. But, every single drop in it matters to be what it is.
Hinduism has given much freedom to people in worshiping God in many forms which can be seen as polytheistic.
உருவமும்அருவமும்ஆய பிரான்” - மாணிக்க வாசகர்.
ஒருநாமம்ஒருருவம்ஒன்றுமில்லாற் காயிரந் திருநாமம்பாடி
நாம்தெள்ளேணம்கொட்டாமோ – திருவாசகம்,
God is formless. For One who does not have any name or any form, why not we give thousand different names and hail His greatness]
ஆரொருவார் உள்குவார் உள்ளத்துள்ளே அவ்வுருவாய்
நிற்கின்ற அருளும்தோன்றும்– அப்பர்
God will appear in any form for one who loves God.<>
வானாகி மண்ணாகி வளி ஆகி ஒளிஆகி
ஊனாகி உயிராகி உண்மையுமாய் இன்மையுமாய்
கோனாகி யான் எனது என்று அவரவரைக் கூத்தாட்டு
வானாகி நின்றாயை என் சொல்லி வாழ்த்துவனே. - திருச்சதகம்
திருமால் ஆணுமல்லன், பெண்ணுமல்லன், அலியுமல்லன் |
அவன் தேவனுமல்லன், அசுரனுமல்லன், மனிதனுமல்லன்,
பசுபஷியுமல்லன், பிறப்பிறப்புடையவனுமல்லன், குணத்திற்கும்
கர்மத்திற்குமப்பால், உளதிற்கும் இலதிற்குமப்பால்,
நீக்கமற நிறைகின்றவன் அவன். - நம்மாழ்வார்
உளன் எனில் உளன் அவன் உருவம் இவ்வுருவுகள்.
உளன் அலன் எனில் அலன் அவன் அருவமிவ்வருவுகள்
உளனென இலனென அவைகுணமுடைமையில்
உளன் இரு தகைமையோடு ஓழிவிலன் பரந்தே - நம்மாழ்வார்
[for believers in form, there are deities, non believers formless conceptual entity, supporting both phenomena, ever existing/extending everywhere]
Everything is GOD - எல்லாம் தெய்வம்
உயிர்கள் எல்லாம் தெய்வமன்றிப்பிற ஒன்றில்லை;
ஊர்வனவும் பறப்பனவும் நேரே தெய்வம்;
பயிலும் உயிர்வகை மட்டுமன்றி இங்கு
பார்க்கின்ற பொருளெல்லாம் தெய்வம் கண்டீர்;
வெயில் அளிக்கும் இரவி, மதி, விண்மீன், மேகம்,
மேலும் இங்கு பலப்பலவாம் தோற்றம் கொண்டே
இயலுகின்ற ஜடப்பொருள்கள் அனைத்தும் தெய்வம்;
எழுதுகோல் தெய்வம் இந்த எழுத்தும் தெய்வம் -[by பாரதி]-
Tamil God definitions
ஈசன் means அரசன், ஆள்பவன், இறைவன், மூத்தவன், கடவுள், குரு, தலைவன். கடவுள் or இறைவன் or ஆண்டவன் is முழுமைத்தன்மையுடைய, அனைத்தும் மிஞ்சிய, எங்கும் பரவி இருக்கின்ற, அனைத்தையும் கண்காணிக்கின்ற, எதையும் சார்ந்து இராத ஒரு சக்தி(பேராற்றல்). அப்பொருளானது உருவமற்றதாக, அன்பு கொண்டதாக, அறிவுமிக்கதாக, நிலையானதாக அநாதியாக உள்ளது. Known as “பதி” - படைத்துக் காப்பவர். இறப்பு, பிறப்பு, இன்பம், துன்பம் போன்ற உலக வாழ்வில் தொடர்புடைய அனைத்தையும் கடந்து நிற்கும் மறைபொருள்.
அன்பு, புனிதம், கருணை என்பவற்றின் மறு பொருள் கடவுள்
கடவுளுக்குக் கற்பிக்கப்பட்ட உருவங்களைத் தெய்வம்
Practical Examples
- Electricity is same, but many types of appliances or electric lamps. We can not use only one type of lamp or one colour lamp.
- Same electromagnetic radiation, invisible rays like x-ray to visible light to radio waves. God is infinite energy radiating in dofferent wave lengths
- Same person, but different titles, like son, husband, father, priest and so on
- God has 3 Aspects or functions: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the three aspects of God. Brahma is the creative aspect; Vishnu is the preservative aspect; and Shiva is the destructive aspect. Same person doing 3 jobs and job titles.
- Similarly God has 5 Activities: 'Srishti' (creation), 'Sthiti' (preservation), 'Samhara' (destruction), 'Tirodhana' or 'Tirobhava' (veiling), and 'Anugraha' (grace) are the five kinds of activities of God. 5 can always be expanded to 10 or 100 or 1000 depending on how detailed one wants to go.
The formless Absolute is my Father, and God with form is my Mother.'[by Kabir]
"God reveals Himself in the form which His devotee loves most. His love for the devotee knows no bounds.
Story of the chameleon
Once a man entered a wood and saw a small animal on a tree. He came back and told another man that he had seen a creature of a beautiful red colour on a certain tree.
The second man replied: 'When I went into the wood, I also saw that animal. But why do you call it red? It is green.'
Another man who was present contradicted them both and insisted that it was yellow. Presently others arrived and contended that it was grey, violet, blue, and so forth and so on. At last they started quarrelling among themselves.
To settle the dispute they all went to the tree. They saw a man sitting under it. On being asked, he replied: 'Yes, I live under this tree and I know the animal very well. All your descriptions are true. Sometimes it appears red, sometimes yellow, and at other times blue, violet, grey, and so forth. It is a chameleon. And sometimes it has no colour at all. Now it has a colour, and now it has none.'
"In like manner, one who constantly thinks of God can know His real nature; he alone knows that God reveals Himself to seekers in various forms and aspects. God has attributes; then again He has none. Only the man who lives under the tree knows that the chameleon can appear in various colours, and he knows, further, that the animal at times has no colour at all. It is the others who suffer from the agony of futile argument
Customised God for each region: Tamils
- The people of the Kurinji or the mountainous regions worshipped Muruga, called Velan or lancer.
- God of mullai or forests is Mayon which is actually Perumal.
- The Marutham or agricultural plains people(Mallar/pallar) worshipped Indra or Ventan
- Neithal or sea coast people considered Varunan or Katalon to be their patron deity
- Palai or desert people worshipped Korravai or Kali.
- Yogis and hermits in caves or remote region - Siva, as a satguru. This is known as saivam, known for vegetarianism
Tamil song on many traditions:
பிறவா யாக்கைப் பெரியோன் (Sivan) கோயிலும்
அறுமுகச் செவ்வேள் (Murugan) அணிதிகழ் கோயிலும்
வால்வளை மேனி வாலியோன் (Bala deva) கோயிலும்
மாலை வெண்குடை மன்னவன் (Thirumal and indhiran) கோயிலும்
மாமுது முரல்வன் வாய்மையின் வழாஅ
நான்முறை மரபின் தீமுறை யருபால்.
[இந்திரவிழவூ ரெடுத்த காதை 169- 175 - ilangO atikaL described the festivities to support different local traditions in various temples devoted to deities
Attributes of God
- Satchidananda: Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute and Bliss Absolute.
- Antaryamin or Inner Ruler of this body and mind. God Lives in every one as the silent witness.
- omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.
- Chiranjeevi, permanent, eternal, perpetual, indestructible, immutable and imperishable.
- unchanging amidst the changing phenomena.
- Paramatma, the Supreme Being.
- Sarva-vid, ever-knowledgeable, knows everything.
- Chirashakti, ever-powerful.
- Swayambhu, self-existent.
- Swayam Prakasha or self-luminous.
- Swatah Siddha or self-proven.
- Paripoorna or self-contained.
- Swatantra or Independent.
- Eternal Happiness or Supreme Peace.
- Love, all-merciful
- Life the 'Prana' (life) in all beings
The Name Of God In Different Languages
There is only one, Universal one. Called by different names in each language/tradition/faith or belief system, like some listed below:
- God - English
- Brahmama, Dev, Bhagwan - Sanskrit
- Swami - many south Indian languages
- kadavul, Iraivan - Tamil.
- Dios - Spanish
- un dieu, Deu - French
- Gott - German
- Nkos - Zulu
- Eilah -Chaldaic
- Allah - Arabic
- alaha - Aramaic
- Elohim, Eloha-Hebrew
- Dyw - Cornish
- Dew - Breton
- Prussa-Chinese
“pagan” is used to refer to a practitioner of a polytheistic religion. A polytheist is, by definition, someone who believes in the existence of many deities and worships at least a significant number of those deities. The word pagan lacks a clear and easy definition. This is because pagan comes from the Latin word paganus, a word that early Christians used in late antiquity to refer to anyone who was neither a Jew nor a Christian.
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