INTRO TO HINDUISM: Part 2, The nature of God

Nowhere on Earth have religions thrived in such close proximity as in India. For thousands of years, India has been home to followers of virtually every major world religion, the exemplar of tolerance toward all paths.

A common misconception is in the idea that Hindus worship a trinity of Gods: Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; and Siva, the Destroyer. To the Hindu, these three are aspects of the one Supreme Being. Indeed, with its vast array of Divinities, Hinduism may, to an outsider, appear polytheistic.   Depending on which of the four major denominations (Saivism, Shaktism, Smartism or Vaishnavism) a Hindu follows, he may refer to God as Siva, or perhaps Devi, maybe Vishnu or one of His earthly incarnations, Rama or Krishna.

Some venerate God as male, others as female, while still others hold that God is not limited by gender. This freedom makes for the richest understanding of God.

God is unimaginably transcendent yet ubiquitously immanent in all things. He is the creator and He is the creation. He is farther away than the farthest star and closer than our breath.

If His presence were to be removed from any one thing, that thing would cease to exist.
A crucial point is that having one Supreme God does not repudiate the existence of lesser Divinities. Each denomination worships the Supreme God and its own pantheon of divine beings.   The elephant-faced Lord Ganesha is among the most popular and is perhaps the only Deity worshiped by Hindus of all denominations.   There are Gods and Goddesses of strength, yoga, learning, art, music, wealth and culture.

There are also minor divinities, village Gods and Goddesses, who are invoked for protection, health and such earthy matters as a fruitful harvest.

Source: Hinduism Today, www.hinduismtoday.com