Download Hinduism

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Anesa Barton
Writing Assignment 1
February 22, 2011
Hinduism: Visions of God
Within the Eastern religions comes the ideas of polytheism and worshipping of idols.
The religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are all religions based on the ideas
and principle of man. However, the religion of Hinduism is a religion with one God who has
three different images to the people of Hinduism. God, in Hinduism, comes in the three forms
of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The concept of having three different images of God and
exploring these different images may help to realize and better understand the religion of
Hinduism.
It’s interesting to me how Hinduism is a monotheistic religion. The different images of
God in their religion confused me at first. I wondered how they could be considered
monotheistic when they had all these gods such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and revered
them all differently. These three aren’t seen as three different gods, but as images of the one
God. After looking into the three different images, I came up with a better understanding. The
word Brahman, the original name for God, means “to be great”. The basic way that Hindus
view God in the first place is as being infinite. Basically, they view God as being the supreme
person. After finding out about this I wanted to go into the three different images they viewed
of God. With Hinduism, the way they see God, personal or transpersonal, depends on the
symbolism. There is also the belief that God does not come in just one form or name. God is
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referred to Nirguna Brahman, attributeless God, in this case. In the case that God takes forms,
he is referred to as Saguna Brahman, God with good attributes.
God in the form of Brahma is known as the Creator. In Hinduism, this form of God is
only revered as the simplest image of God. This image of God is credited with creating the
world and is compared to the Brahmin class because of vast similarities. Bruce M. Sullivan,
author of The A to Z of Hinduism wrote that the qualities include, “interest in maintaining the
sacred order of Dharma and a this-worldly orientation toward ritual action rather than the
other-worldly values…of renouncers” (Sullivan 43). Hinduism believes and credits this God with
the creation of the other gods and demons in the myths of Hinduism. Unlike Vishnu and Shiva,
Brahma isn’t worshipped as much as the other gods because of the fact that his work as
Creator is already done. The work of Vishnu and Shiva will be never ending.
From the image of God as Brahma comes the image Vishnu which is seen as the
Preserver. This is the second image of God that most people in the Hindu religion revere.
Vishnu is also one of the most popular forms of God. Sullivan says that, “he is said to support
all beings, and may well have been much more important…than the small number of poems to
him indicate…” (Sullivan 242). Whereas Brahma was the image of God that wanted to maintain
dharma, Vishnu is the one that restores dharma and disorder in the world. However, Vishnu is
also just seen as another form of the image Krishna. With Krishna, humans can have one of
four attitudes: servant, parent, friend, and lover. The most powerful of these relationships is
love. This idea plays a role in the Hindu idea of the Four Paths and the duties that a Hindu on
their path has to achieve.
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The last of the three images of God also happens to be known as the Destroyer. Shiva is
considered everything by his followers. This image of God is highly necessary in this religion
because they believe that from destruction comes creation and from creation comes
destruction. Shiva is both the source of good and of evil which makes Shiva a contradictory
image. With Hinduism, the image of Shiva also comes with another image. Kali is the goddess
of destruction. Between Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu, Kali is the most evil deity. She is typically
depicted as fierce in appearance “with a girdle of severed human heads, often holding a
severed head and weapons in her hands, her long tongue smeared with blood” (Sullivan 104).
Kali is the female and portrays the violent and destructive part of Mother Nature. Kali doesn’t
tolerate evil but aims to destroy the ignorance. Vishnu and Kali appear to be the most
contradictory of all of the images because they are seen as the giver of life and also as the
terminator.
Looking at the history and the explanations of the concept of the Trinity in Hinduism
helps to grasp a bigger picture of how it relates to their overall belief system. The image of the
Brahma and the aspect of creation come into play when Hindus think of the path of
renunciation and starting over on the path of enlightenment. Brahma also represents the
highest caste of Brahmins in the system. The image of Vishnu plays a part for those on the
Path through love, bhakti yoga. The final image of God, Shiva (Kali), plays the part of the
destroyer as well as the creator and balances out matters. These three images are all used to
explain and, in a way, humanize The Ultimate, which is God.