Guest guest Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 Greetings all, I am hoping that some of you might be able to enlighten me a bit. I am curious as to what Ramakrishna or Vivekananda would say about individuals who worship deities such as Indra and Varuna? For that matter, what about an individual who worships such gods as Apollo and Athena?? Are these polytheistic deities just different faces of Ishvara/one supreme anthropomorphic GOD?? Or are these deities the equivalent of angelic messengers/assistants to Ishvara?? I assume that neither Ramakrishna nor Vivekananda wrote specifically about the topic of Greco-Roman paganism and such, but wonder if maybe their general views and those of later disciples might be able to be expanded to cover these matters. Any assistance would be appreciated. Sincerely, Aydan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Ramakrishna , " A. " <xthanex> wrote: > > Greetings all, > > I am hoping that some of you might be able to enlighten me a bit. I > am curious as to what Ramakrishna or Vivekananda would say about > individuals who worship deities such as Indra and Varuna? > For that matter, what about an individual who worships such gods as > Apollo and Athena?? > Are these polytheistic deities just different faces of Ishvara/one > supreme anthropomorphic GOD?? > Or are these deities the equivalent of angelic messengers/assistants > to Ishvara?? > > I assume that neither Ramakrishna nor Vivekananda wrote specifically > about the topic of Greco-Roman paganism and such, but wonder if maybe > their general views and those of later disciples might be able to be > expanded to cover these matters. > > Any assistance would be appreciated. > Namaste, Bhagavadgita Ch.9 - verse 23, gives the answer to this question. Ramakrishna and Vivekananda embodied the very essence of this universality, and would have had no problems at all in dealing with this topic. ye.apyanyadevataabhaktaa yajante shraddhayaanvitaaH . te.api maameva kaunteya yajantyavidhipuurvakam.h .. 9\-23.. Even those devotees who worship other Deities with faith, they also,O Arjuna! worship Me only, though not according to strict rituals. Regards, Sunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 I just wanted to thank Sunder Hattangadi and Swami Yogeshananda for their responses! I appreciate your time. With that in mind I think I can feel comfortable continuing my faith as a polytheist and simply hope that Brahman/God/the Supreme whomever will understand my need to deal with more anthropomorphic representations. Sincerely, Aydan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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