So many Gods. So many festivals. So many rituals.

[Guest guest]

So many Gods. So many festivals. So many rituals. What for?

 

 

 

So many Gods, Goddessess, Festivals, rituals in Hinduism. There is a spiritual

science behind it that few understand. Please read this article that I found on

the net written by A. Parthasarathy who explains why there seems to be so many

and so much multiplicity in Hinduism, which is actually worshipping the same God

in different forms.

 

 

 

 

 

Anish

 

(devishakti_india)

 

 

 

 

 

Article By A. Parthasarathy

 

 

 

 

 

The Hindu scriptures are a unique blend of the subtle philosophy of Vedanta on

one hand and gross worship on the other. Hinduism appears a strange amalgam of

the highest classical literature with gods and goddesses, rituals and festivals,

ceremonies and celebrations. The Hindu themselves are confused and confounded by

this mixture. The Vedas, the very source of Hinduism, authoritatively proclaim

that the Reality proclaim that the Reality is one and one alone. Why then do the

Hindus fall into manifold denominations and follow a variety of conflicting

spiritual practices? Why so many Gods? So many divisions? Sects, creeds and

castes? Why then does not Hinduism concentrate on one practice like other

religions? Such questions have baffled even intellectuals from time immemorial.

 

 

 

The Hindus are not polytheistic. Hinduism speaks of one God that is the supreme

Self in man, Atman, Brahman. The different gods and goddesses of the Hindu

pantheon are mere representatives of the powers and functions of one supreme God

in the manifested world. There is a general misunderstanding that the Hindus

worship innumerable gods and goddesses. The different forms of worship, the

number if superstitions and misleading spiritual practices have all contributed

to the wrong impression that the Hindus are polytheistic. This is far from the

truth. In fact, the Hindu worships one God be it directly as Brahman (Brahman

here is not caste Brahmin) or through his manifested representatives and

expressions.

 

 

 

The Hindu religion is ingeniously designed to treat all types of disorders of

the mind. The human mind is most complex. It suffers from multifold diseases.

Religion is meant to cure these diseases and regain the spiritual health of

individuals. Each individual has to be treated separately according to his

disease. There cannot be one doctor, one medicine, one cure for all diseases.

Hinduism is like a hospital with its many wards, sections and divisions. Each if

them has a distinct purpose to attend to particular needs of a particular

disease. They are taken care of specialists with special equipments. All of them

put together cater to all types of ailments of all sorts of people so that every

one of them can come out of the hospital as a healthy person. So too does

Hinduism have different treatments for different types of individuals to make

them whole and realize their supreme godhead.

 

 

 

The mind of man is in a chaotic state because of his vasanas (desires). As long

as there are desires within, the mind helplessly runs in all directions seeking

fulfillment of its desires. Consequently it is agitated. An agitated mind cannot

concentrate. It is unfit for contemplation and meditation which alone leads him

to the eternal bliss of Self-realization. Religion is meant to help man withdraw

his mind from its preoccupation with the world at large and converge it to the

single-pointed thought of the Self within. When the mind is brought to

single-pointedness it can be directed towards meditation and realization of the

supreme Godhead. Without practicing spiritual courses according to one’s own

constitution, there can be no progress towards meditation and the bliss of

realization.

 

 

 

One cannot stop the mind from its ramblings as long as it possesses desires. To

circumvent this great hurdle Hinduism has thoughtfully brought in gods and

goddesses, rituals and festivals, ceremonies and celebrations. The master plan

of the Hindu Sages is to divinize everything in this world since man’s attention

has always been upon the world. The plan has been drawn logically,

scientifically, practically. By this plan the mind is reminded of the supreme

even as it is engaged in the desires objects of the world. For instance,

Hinduism has personified wealth and riches in the form of Goddess Lakshmi. So a

man who runs after material wealth is made to remember the goddess in all his

transactions. Thus a touch of divinity is lent to his material pursuits. Another

man may pursue knowledge. Knowledge is personified as the Goddess Saraswati. So

his mind is also drawn to the higher even though he is engaged in the pursuit of

worldly knowledge. Thus there are numerous gods covering the

entire sphere of human activities.

 

 

 

The life of a Hindu is a series of prayers and worship. Everything is divinized

from the cradle to the grave. There is a ritual associated with every aspect of

Hindu life. The entire passage from birth to death is nothing but a series of

rituals and religious ceremonies, prayer and worship. The idea is to remind his

dissipating constantly of the purpose of his dissipating mind constantly of his

existence in the world. That is to unfold his Self, to realize his godhood.

 

 

 

The plan of Hinduism is to help the seekers reach the goal of religion. Religion

is derived from the Latin terms of “re” and “ligare”. “Re” means “back, again”,

“ligare” means “to bind, to unite”. Etymologically, religion means “that which

binds one back to the origin”. The origin of man is his real Self, his supreme

Self, to draw out the divinity in man. Hinduism deals with the process of this

union most systematically and scientifically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Join my of Goddess Mahasaraswati Mahalakshmi Mahakali and Hinduism.

 

divyabhakti

 

 

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