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Conceptions of God

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In Hinduism the concept of God is complex and depends on a particular tradition. In majority of traditions of Vaishnavism he is Vishnu, God, and the text identifies this being as Krishna, sometimes referred as svayam bhagavan. The term isvara - from the root is, to have extraordinary power. Some forms of traditional sankhya systems contrast purusha (devine, or souls) to prakriti (nature or energy), however term of sovereign God, ishvara is mentioned six times in the Atharva Veda, and is central to many traditions.^[1] In other traditions concept of God may have identification with person of Vishnu. creator Brahma, and in Shaivism he is Shiva. Less conventional concepts of God, include polytheistic interpretations or impersonal identification with all pervading Brahman.

Ishvara

Main article: Ishvara

The Sanskrit word for God with the root is referring to a being with extraordinary powers,^[1] that is used most commonly, is Ishvara, originally a title comparable to "Lord", from the roots īśa, lit., powerful/lord/owner, + vara, lit., choicest/most excellent). Hindus believe that Ishvara is One. This must not be confused with the numerous deities of the Hindus known as devas, which are said to number up to 330 million. Deva may be translated into English as "god", "demi-god", "deity", "angel" or any celestial being or thing of high excellence, and hence is venerable. The word "deva" is, in fact, cognate to the Latin deus.

In the two largest branches of Hinduism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism, it is believed that Ishvara, Bhagavan and Brahman are identical^{citation needed}, and God is in turn anthropomorphically identified with Vishnu or Shiva. God, whether in the form of Shiva or Vishnu has six attributes. However, the actual number of auspicious qualities of God, are countless, with the following six qualities being the most important.^{citation needed} The ancient Brahmanical traditions in both demoninations perceive Ishvara as the Lord, Creator, Almighty, the Power that we worship and pray to.

The followers of Shaktism conceive the divine power of Ishvara as a female, the Divine Mother called Devi or Lalita. A famous hymn, Lalita Sahasranama, describes the 1000 names of Devi, worshipped as Goddess, the Divine Mother.

Svayam Bhagavan

Main article: Svayam Bhagavan

Svayam bhagavan is a Sanskrit theological term that refers to the concept of absolute representation of the monotheistic God as Bhagavan himself within Hinduism.

It is most often used in Gaudiya Vaishnava Krishna-centered theology as referring to Krishna. The title Svayam Bhagavan is used exclusively to designate Krishna,^[2]. Certain other traditions of Hinduism consider him to be the source of all avataras, and the source of Vishnu himself, or to be the same as Narayana. As such, he is therefore regarded as Svayam Bhagavan.^[3][4][5]

The term is seldom used to refer to other forms of Krishna and/or Vishnu within the context of certain religious texts such as the Bhagavata Purana, and also within other sects of Vaishnavism.

When Krishna is recognized to be Svayam Bhagavan, it can be understood that this is the belief of Gaudiya Vaishnavism,^[6] the Vallabha Sampradaya,^[7] and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself. This belief is drawn primarily "from the famous statement of the Bhagavatam"(1.3.28).^[8]

A different viewpoint, opposing this theological concept is the concept of Krishna as an avatara of Narayana or Vishnu. It should be however noted that although its is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of god of Vaishnavism, who is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names there is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism.^[9]

The theological interpretation of svayam bhagavān differs with each tradition and the literal translation of the term has been understood in several distinct ways. Translated from the Sanskrit language, the term literary means "Bhagavan Himself" or "directly Bhagavan".^[10] Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition often translates it within its perspective as primeval Lord or original Personality of Godhead, but also considers the terms such as Supreme Personality of Godhead and Supreme God as an equivalent to the term Svayam bhagavan, and may also choose to apply these terms to Vishnu, Narayana and many of their associated avatars. ^[11][12]

Earlier commentators such as Madhvacharya translated the term Svayam Bhagavan as "he who has bhagavatta"; meaning "he who has the quality of possessing all good qualities".^[5] Others have translated it simply as "the Lord Himself".^[13] Followers of Vishnu-centered sampradayas of Vaishnavism rarely address this term, but believe that it refers to their belief that Krishna is among the highest and fullest of all avatars and is considered to be the "paripurna Avatara", complete in all respects and the same as the original.^[14] According to them Krishna is described in the Bhagavata Purana as the Purnavatara (or complete manifestation) of the Bhagavan, while other incarnations are called partial.

Brahman

Main article: Brahman

The Vedantic school of Hindu philosophy also has a notion of a Supreme Cosmic Spirit called Brahman, pronounced as / brəh mən /. Brahman is (at best) described as that infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, transcendent and immanent reality that is the divine ground of all existence in this universe. Brahman is actually indescribable. It is at best, "Sat" + "Chit" + "Ananda", ie, Infinite Truth, Infinite Consciousness and Infinite Bliss. Brahman may be called as God, or better, as Godhead or the Supreme Cosmic Spirit.

In dualist Hinduism, adopted by the majority Vaishnavite brahmanical tradition, Brahman is the impersonal aspect of God, sustaining and universal in scope and nature. Brahman is in all of us, according to dvaitas. Brahman is the term used by dualists to describe that aspect of God that makes our soul entwined with the divine, with God being the source but not the substance of both our souls and our interaction with God. Brahman in dualist traditions is identical with Ishvara and Bhagavan, the distinction being one of aspect rather than of nature.

Another major branch of Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta, served as the fertile grounds from which one of the first monistic philosophies of God was developed. According to Advaitins, Brahman is the only Ultimate Reality in this world, and everything else is an illusion. They believe that Māyā is that complex illusionary power of Brahman which causes the Brahman to be seen as the distinct material world. When a human being tries to know the attributeless Brahman with his mind, under the influence of Maya, Brahman becomes God (Ishvara as described as above). God is Brahman with Maya. He is Saguna Brahman or Brahman with positive attributes. He is one and unique. He is omniscient, omnipresent, incorporeal, independent, creator of the world, its ruler and also destroyer. He is eternal and unchangeable. He rules the world with his Maya. However, while God is the Lord of Maya and she (ie, Maya) is always under His control, living beings (jīva, in the sense of humans) are the servants of Maya (in the form of ignorance). This ignorance is the cause of the unhappiness and sin in the mortal world. While God is Infinite Bliss, humans are miserable. God (Ishvara) always knows the unity of the Brahman substance, and the Mayic nature of the world. There is no place for a concept of central evil like Satan or devil in Hinduism, unlike Abrahamic religions. Advaitins explain the misery because of ignorance. God or Ishvara can also be visualized and worshipped in anthropomorphic form like Vishnu, Krishna or Shiva. The Advaita Vedanta philosophy continues with the view that once one becomes aware of the unity of being of Godhead, he will then be able to see beyond the illusions of division and separation from Godhead, and recognize his or her own inherent unity with the Brahman. See Advaita Vedanta.

Characteristics of God

The number six is invariably given, but the individual attributes listed vary. One set of attributes (and their common interpretations) are:

• • Jñāna (Omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously;
  • Aishvarya (Sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara), which consists in unchallenged rule over all;
  • Shakti (Energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible;
  • Bala (Strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue;
  • Vīrya (Vigor), or valour which indicates the power to retain immateriality as the supreme being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations; and
  • Tejas (Splendor), which expresses his self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by his spiritual effulgence; (cited from Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, by Swami Tapasyānanda.)

A second set of six characteristics are

• • Jñāna (Omniscience),
  • Vairagya (Detachment),
  • Yashas (Fame),
  • Aishvarya (Sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara),
  • Srī (Glory) and
  • Dharma (Righteousness).
• Other important qualities attributed to God are Gambhīrya (grandeur), Audārya (generosity), and Kārunya (compassion).

Forms of Worship

In Hinduism there are two principal methods of worship^{citation needed}:

1. To worship God through meditation on a deity (murti).
2. To worship God without deity worship.(eg. non-anthropomorphic symbols such as linga, saligrama, Ayyavazhi, or through meditation)

The early Upanishads presented the conception of the Divine Teacher, guru on earth. Indeed, there is an understanding in some Hindu sects that if the devotee were presented with the guru and God, first he should pay respects to the guru since the guru had been instrumental in leading him to God. Hence many gurus have the epithet of Bhagwan, a term often confused with God.^{citation needed}

Hari Bhakti Vilasa mantra ( 4.344)

Prathamam tu gurum pujya tatas caiva mamarcanam

Kuran siddhim avapnoti hy anyatha nisphalam bhavet

One does not directly worship one's God. One must begin by the worship of the Guru. Only by pleasing the Guru and gaining his mercy, can one offer anything to God. Thus, before worshiping God, one must always worship the Guru.

Chanted prayers, or mantras, are central to Hindu worship. Many mantras are from the sacred Vedas, and in Sanskrit. Among the most chanted mantras in Hinduism are the Vishnu sahasranama^{citation needed} (a prayer to Vishnu that dates from the time of the Mahabharata and describes him as the Universal Brahman), Shri Rudram^{citation needed} (a Vedic hymn to Rudra, an earlier aspect of Shiva that also describes Him as Brahman) and the Gayatri mantra, (another Vedic hymn that initially was meant as a prayer to the Sun, an aspect of Brahman but has other interpretations. It is now interpreted as a prayer to the impersonal absolute Brahman)^{citation needed}.

Sanatana Dharma

Main article: Sanatana Dharma

It is important to add that in Hinduism (Sanatana Dharama) God is considered the Supreme Being, and many views of God range from pantheism to dualism to monism and monotheism. His appearance, in its entirety, cannot be comprehended by the common man. His appearance with form is only a manifestation of certain characteristics. The various forms of God or deities which apparently give Smarta Hinduism a character of polytheism, are regarded as mundane manifestations of One Brahman or Ishvara, only to facilitate his devotional worship.

Ayyavazhi prefers almost a similar theory to Advaita Vedanta. However, Kashmir Shaivism, one notable Saivite branch disagrees and focuses on panentheism. Furthermore, it rejects the Maya (illusion) theory by stating that if God is real, then His creation must be real and not illusory.

See also

• God
• Names of God
• Conceptions of God
• Existence of God
• Guru

Notes

References

• Elkman, S.M.; Gosvami, J. (1986). Jiva Gosvamin's Tattvasandarbha: A Study on the Philosophical and Sectarian Development of the Gaudiya Vaisnava Movement. Motilal Banarsidass Pub. 
• Flood, G.D. (2006). The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion. IB Tauris. ISBN 1845110129. 
• Matchett, Freda (2000). Krsna, Lord or Avatara? the relationship between Krsna and Visnu: in the context of the Avatara myth as presented by the Harivamsa, the Visnupurana and the Bhagavatapurana. Surrey: Routledge, 254. ISBN 0-7007-1281-X. 
• Delmonico, N. (2004). "The History Of Indic Monotheism And Modern Chaitanya Vaishnavism". The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. Retrieved on 2008-04-12. 
• Gupta, Ravi M. (2007). Caitanya Vaisnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami's Catursutri tika. Routledge. ISBN 0415405483. 

External links

• Sri Krishna - Differences in Realisation & Perception of the Supreme (stephen-knapp.com)
• The full text of the Bhagavata Purana (Srimad-Bhagavatam) (srimadbhagavatam.com)
• GRETIL etext: The transliterated Sanskrit text for the entire work - Bhagavata Purana (uni-goettingen.de)
• Srimad Bhagavatam - glories, subjects, dating, concordance to Vedanta-sutra