Polytheism and Hinduism

vijaydeep Singh · #10 (**permalink**) 22-May-2006, 23:09 PM

Gurfateh

Atinital stage it is OK toworship idols also but bowing to powers of nature and whole nature itslef is differnt.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/hinduism/649-polytheism-and-hinduism.html

That Saloka of Holy Vedas Talks of Brahmins(ie one whoknows Akal) talking about various attributes of that God.

explanton can be seen of thatin sperate thread of Vedic versefavoirte of bulleshah.

Butagain if worshipping at all part of hindusim or Sanatan Dharama,For Das Hindusim is secualr concept and like Arya Samaj ,coming gneration of Hindutva people is becming Nastikor non beliver,As we say that soem join cadresof MCC in Central India.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=649

Bajrang Dal or VHP although are not displined like that of RSS yet,they do undergo good Comapny with Sants,so they never loose faith.

max314 · #11 (**permalink**) 29-May-2006, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neutral Singh

Is it ever argued within Hinduism that all the gods and experssions of gods are but part of a larger "Oneness of God" - or are Hindu divinities strictly separate identities in their own right?

There were specific aspects of the Hindu scriptures that the Gurus approved of. However, they felt that they went down the wrong path when their focus shifted to convoluted stories of Gods and Goddesses that had no meaning.

Essentially, Vedantic Hindu philosophy maintains that everything is part of a Greater Being referred to as Brahman.

This is a metaphorical analogy for the cosmos entire, and has spawned many a creative story from the minds of bored and corrupt Brahmins.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulleshah

Folks,

Hindus do not believe God has human form or any other form. God is nameless and timeless.
But there is nothing wrong to worship a God with name and form (nama-roopa), since man
cannot conceive anything without any name and form. In fact, in the Shruti scriptures of Hinduism,
God or Brahman has been described as Saguna Brahman (God-Brahman with attributes) as well
as Nirguna Brahman (God-without attributes. In the Upanishads, God is described as Neti-Neti
(not this-not that) method. During the time of Upanishads, when the Hindu Rishis (scientists of that day)
said there is only One God, Brahman, they found out that laymen could not understand that concept.
So they wrote Itihasas (epics) and Puranas [mythological stories] filled with many gods, with the
concept that when you worship any God form, you are actually worshiping one and only God Brahman.
Lord Krishna reiterated that point by saying, "Call me by what ever name you like; Worship me in any
form you like; All that goes to One and Only Supreme Reality." So a Hindu when worshiping any God
form is actually worshiping One and Only God Brahman. In Christianity One God expresses himself
in three forms, Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.

In Hinduism One God Expresses itself in trillions of forms.

Regarding idol worship there isn't really any person [except may be Jews], who does not believe in an idol,
image, or symbol.All religions have some concept of God with name and form, but Hindus alone have
the courage to admit that fact. The Cross in the Christian church, the picture of Jesus Christ, the statue of Mary,
statues of patron saints, even the black stone in Kabba are all idols. If anyone bow in front of any of them,
they are breaking laws of Old Testament [LED . . . 26:1, and EX 20:2-5.] Idol worship is every where
and I never ever met a man who does not worship something or someone. In fact, the first sculpture
of Christ was in the form of a small boy holding on to a sheep. Now, everywhere in the world, people
have pictures of Christ according to their culture. A loving young white man in USA, a tough man looking
like a judge in Russia, a nice black man in Africa and a man looking like a typical man from China with
a sheepish beard in China. I respect all those pictures. Believe it or not, all of them are idol worships.
Once again, God is spirit...No word or image can describe or depict God or can encompass the greatness
of God. God is neither the father nor the mother. Since man cannot conceive anything without name and form,
man has the right to worship God with a form. At the same time, every worship leads to a God without
any name and form in course of the development of the seeker in spirituality.

- -
- -

"...the image in the temple brings to the mind of the devotees their chosen aspect
of God. They do not worship the wood, stone or earth of which the deity is made from.
The idol remains an idol but the worship goes to the Lord". He further says, "A symbol
is absolutely indispensable for fixing the mind.The mind wants a prop to lean upon.
It cannot have a conception of the Absolute in the initial stages. Without the help of
some external aid, in the initial stages, the mind cannot be centralized. The people
of the whole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshipers of idols.
They keep some image or other in the mind".....Swami Vivekananda

We don't need some scholarly tome to convince us that the law of gravity is
an untrue law or that heat from a stove would not burn your hand ?? These
are pragmatic laws we all know. We don't need some scripture to tell us
that idol worship is not really a worship of God. We all know it's the worship
of the image of God. The image that suits 'us'. It helps.

The Christian cross with Jesus hanging on it, or statues of Mother Mary and
Saint Theresa, or the holy Kabaa in Mecca, or the Adigranth enshrined in the
Golden Temple in Amritsar, or the Arc and the Torah of the Jews, the image
of a meditating Buddha, the totems of the indigenous faiths (the so-called
primitive faiths throughout the world), the artifacts of the many holy men of all
religions. All these graven images are stood before in awe by the followers of
these religions. The tooth of the Buddha in Sri Lankan, The juti of Guru Nanak,
in Nanded, the holed jug the Gurudrank from etc. are loved and respected image.
All religions have their symbols of holiness.

- -
- -

Thanks.

"Ekam Sat, Viprah Bahudha Vadanti".
(There is only one truth, only men describe it in different ways).
- - -The Rig Veda - - -

Excellent post.

The human mind is indeed limited to quantifying and classifying the infinite nature of the cosmos. This is why we divide our experiences into science, ar, philosophy, religion...and then subdivide it further still.

We are doomed to a life of simulacrum.

We live by a life of representation, and the purity of a concept is seldom within our grasp.

But to become over-dependent on this is potentially dangerous. The thing is that most people forget the the symbols are indeed just symbols, and instead of using them as a conduit to God, they become God in and of itself.

It is this that is wrong.