Understanding the Many Gods in Hinduism-1

Understanding the Many Gods in Hinduism-1

“Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti” – “God is One, whom the sages call by various names.” – A Sanskrit verse from the Rig Veda that beautifully captures the idea behind the many Gods in Hinduism.

Why do Hindus worship so many Gods? Is Hinduism a polytheistic religion? Why is the cow sacred? Why is the river Ganges considered so holy? Why is the sun worshiped?

These are some of the questions that naturally arise in most people’s minds when they look at Hinduism from the outside.

For those of us who have grown up in the rich Hindu tradition of India, when someone asks us these questions, often we too are puzzled, because these form such an integral part of our daily existence that we have never really stopped to think about it.

So here is a beautiful and profound explanation, for those of us on the inside, as well as the outside, gathered from the spiritual works of the great modern-day gurus of India.

The Worship of Many Gods in Hinduism, Has its Genesis in the Discovery of the Ultimate Reality, the Source of all Creation, by the Ancient Sages of the Vedas

The religion of the Hindus has its roots in the Vedas, the sacred books whose philosophy forms the firm foundation upon which it rests. Of the 4 Vedas, the oldest is the Rig Veda, whose hymns date to at least 4500 BC or earlier.

Besides detailing ceremonies and worships aimed at refining a person’s inner character, the Vedas contain records of stupendous truths concerning the nature of our Universe, as witnessed by the ancient rishis (sages) in the super-conscious states of meditation.

The sections of the Vedas that detail these transcendental truths are called the Upanishads, and the philosophy that they propound is called Vedanta.

Apart from chronicling facts about our world that are strikingly congruent with the discoveries of modern science, such as evolution, the theory of space, time and causation, as well as the atomic structure of matter; the sages of the Vedas speak in tremendous detail, of the presence of an Ultimate Reality, which is the source of all Creation.

They call this Reality, Brahman or God and describe it to be an extremely subtle, all pervading and infinite ocean of consciousness.

It is From This Ocean of Consciousness, That Both Matter and Living Beings Originate

Om Namah Shivay