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Transcript
LESSON3 GODINHINDUISM rom its beginning, Hinduism has been undergoing evolution. At a veryearlystageoftheircivilizationtheancestorsoftheHindusare believedtohavebeenpolytheistic.Earth,water,fire,wind,sky,sun, dawn,night,thunderstorm—allweredeifiedandadoredasgods.Butwhile being praised by the Vedic hymns, each of these gods was addressed or referredtoastheSupremeGod,theLordofallgods,andtheCreatorofthis universe. According to the famous German Indologist Max Muller, the earliest ancestors of the Hindus were, therefore, not polytheistic; they werehenotheistic. F Gradually the Indo‐Aryan mind discovered some common ground behind this multiplicity of gods. The Ndsadiya Hymn, or the "Creation Hymn" of the Rig‐Veda tells us in beautiful and poetic language about a single primordialandextremelyabstractprincipledesignatedTAT(THAT),from whichtheentireworldhasevolved.ThisprincipleisPureConsciousness orPureSpirit. Itisbeyondtheworldofspaceandtime,beyondmultiplicity,unfathomable andunknowablebyordinaryhumanminds.Thatprinciplewastherewhen neitherthegods,normen,noranythingelseincreationexisted.Fromthat One and Only principle the world of many has evolved. The Indo‐Aryan geniusatlastarrivedattheOneandOnlycauseofeverything,theOneand Only God, who in Vedic Sanskrit is called Brahman. After that divine revelation the Vedic texts echoed the truth of the Oneness of Brahman againandagain.Vedicstatementslike"Ekamsadviprabahudhdvadanti”— "One alone exists, sages call it byvariousnames," not only emphasizethe onenessofGod,butalsoformafirmfoundationofcatholicityandtolerance inHinduism.Theideaofharmonyofreligionsisafundamentalingredient ofHinduism. The great sage Manu declared,"OneoughttoknowtheSupremeSpiritWho istheRulerofall,subtlerthanthesubtlest,ofresplendentglory,andcapable ofbeingrealizedonlybythemeditationofpure‐mindedones.SomecallHim 1 Agni (Fire); others call Him Manu (Thinker); and others Prajapati (Lord of creatures). Some again call Him Indra (the Glorious); others Prana (the Sourceoflife);andstillotherstheEternalBrahman(theGreat)." NIRGUNABRAHMAN If we ask, "Who was there before creation?" then the logical reply will be thatonlythecreator,orGod,wasthere.Butifweask,"WhatwasGodlike before creation?" then Hinduism's reply will be that God was in a transcendental state of existence before creation. The word "transcendental"meansthatGod'sexistencewasbeyondourtime,space andcausation.HinduismholdsthatwhenGodcreatedtheworldhecreated time and space along with it. His pre‐creation existence must, therefore, havebeenbeyondtimeandspacesincetheypertainonlytothisworld.To make this idea clear, let us take the help of an analogy. Let us consider a personwhohasfallenasleepandisdreaming.Inhisdreamworld,heexists in dream space and dream time, both of which he created with his mind when he created his dream world. He no longer belongs to the time and spaceofhiswakingstate.Inthedreamstatehehastranscendedthetime andspaceofhiswakingstate. In the same manner, God's pre‐creation existence must have been transcendentalexistence,becauseGodthendidnotbelongtothetimeand spacepertainingtothisworld.God'sexistenceinthatstatemaybecalled the True State of the Existence of God. In that state God is beyond all limitations imposed by time, space and causation. God in that transcendentalstateiseternal,infiniteandchangeless. InHinduism,GodinthistranscendentalstateofexistenceiscalledNirguna Brahman, the Supreme Spirit, the Supreme Brahman, or the Impersonal and Attributeless God. Nirguna Brahman cannot have a personality. Personalityisalimitation.Beingdevoidofapersonality,NirgunaBrahman is also beyond sex. Neither the pronoun "He" nor "She" can be used to denoteNirgunaBrahman. The Vedas use the Sanskrit neuter pronoun Tat, the counterpart of the 2 EnglishwordThat,indicatingthatNirgunaBrahmanisneithermalenor female. Transcending space, Nirguna Brahman is Infinite. Transcending time, Nirguna Brahman is Timeless or Eternal. Free from the ceaseless changegeneratedbycausation,NirgunaBrahmanisChangeless.Attribute orqualityisafactorofseparation.Forexample,thepowerofburningisa quality of fire. It separates fire from water, which lacks that quality. As Nirguna Brahman is One, Indivisible and Infinite, It cannot accommodate anykindofseparationwithinItself.Therefore,NirgunaBrahmanmustbe attribute‐less,orfreefromallqualities. Hinduism also uses the expressions "Absolute Truth," "Consciousness," and "Infinite Bliss" to mean Nirguna Brahman. But no matter what epithetsareused,NirgunaBrahmancanneverbeadequatelydescribedby the finite words and expressions of our world of limitations. Nirguna Brahman is indescribable. The great Hindu saint and philosopher Shankarachdrya says that Vedic statements such as Sat‐Chid‐Anandam— "Brahman is Eternal Existence, Absolute Knowledge and Infinite Bliss"— are only hints about the nature of Nirguna Brahman. They are never the descriptionofNirgunaBrahman. ISHVARA When man tries to think of the infinite Brahman with his finite mind, he unknowingly projects the limitations of his finite mind on Nirguna Brahman. As a result, Nirguna Brahman appears to become finite to him. The human mind can never think other than in human terms. It unknowingly projects human characteristics or qualities on Nirguna Brahman. Thus impersonal Nirguna Brahman acquires a personality very muchresemblingahumanpersonality,nomatterhowglorified.Impersonal Nirguna Brahman appears to become Personal Brahman or personal god. In reality Nirguna Brahman doesnot undergo any change or modification whatsoever. personal god is no other than impersonal god or Nirguna Brahman experienced through the veil of time, space and causation. It is like a person looking at the blue sky through three pairs of glasses, red, greenandpink.Whenheuseshisredglasses,theskylooksreddish;when heusesgreenglasses,theskylooksgreenish;andwhenhelooksthrough 3 his pink glasses, the sky appears pinkish. In reality these colors are projected by the viewer's colored glasses on the sky. The sky does not changecoloratall. Similarly, the finite minds of people, like so many colored glasses, project theirlimitationsonNirgunaBrahman.ThechangelessandinfiniteNirguna Brahmanappearstoacquirelimitationslikepersonality.InrealityNirguna Brahman does not undergo any change whatsoever. From Nirguna Brahman's standpoint Nirguna Brahman remains changeless. The idea of PersonalGodisthereforenottheultimatetruthaboutGodaccordingto Hinduism. It is a relatively lower concept of God. Nevertheless, Personal God and Impersonal God are not essentially different from each other. Just as the reddishskyandthegreenishskyarereallythesamesky,soalsopersonal godisnootherthanImpersonalGod.Theyareessentiallyoneandthesame. PersonalgodinHinduismiscalledSagunaBrahmanorIshvara.Fromthe standpoint of man posited in the world of time, space and causation, IshvaraorSagunaBrahmanisthecreatorofthisworld.Heisomnipotent, omniscientandall‐pervading.ByHismerewillHemanifestsHimselfasthe manifolduniverse.Althoughformless,byHisdivinemagicalpower,maya, he assumes various forms. By His maya He has created the world with goodandevilinit.Eventhoughtheworldisinhim,heisbeyondthegood andeviloftheworld.Heislikeacobra,whichisnotaffectedbythepoison itsmouth.Itspoisonaffectsothersonly. Ishvara is not only the creator, but the preserver and destroyer as well. Creation, preservation and destruction go hand in hand in this world. Ishvara,therefore,hasthreebasicaspects:(1)thecreatoraspect,(2)the preserveraspectand(3)thedestroyeraspect.Thesethreebasicaspects of Ishvara are given the names Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. When Ishvara creates, he is called Brahma; when he preserves, he is calledVishnu;andwhenhedestroys,heiscalledShiva.Ishvaraissexless. YettheHinduscanlookuponIshvaraasbothfatherandmother.According to the devotees' mental attitudes they can establish other relationships 4 with lshvara as well. They can look upon Ishvara as friend, child, or even husband or sweetheart, for such relationships are nothing but mental projectionsonIshvara.ManygreatwomensaintsofHinduismconsidered themselvestobespirituallymarriedtoGod. Theylookedupongodastheirdivinehusbandordivinesweetheart.Some women saints looked upon god as their divine child. Many saints of Hinduism like Kamaldkanta, Rampraskl, Shri Ramakrishna and others looked upon god as the divine mother. Such relationships were purely mentalandcompletelydevoidofanykindofassociationwiththephysical body. AccordingtoShriRamakrishna,thefamous19thcenturysaintofIndia, suchattitudestowardgodcangeneratefeelingsofgreatclosenessbetween god and the devotees, and thus hasten god‐realization. Ishvara is also the originator and upholder of the eternal moral order in this world. This moral order or basic law, which is called R’ta in Sanskrit, maintains the regularityandorderlinessofeverythinginthisuniverseincludingthestars andplanets. DEITIESINHINDUISM Asidefromthethreebasicaspects,Ishvarahasendlesspowersoraspects. OneormoreoftheseaspectscanbepersonifiedasadeityinHinduism.For instance, when a Hindu thinks of Ishvara as the giver of knowledge and learning,thataspectofIshvaraispersonifiedasthedeitySaraswati.Inthe same manner, the deity Lakshmi personifies Ishvara as the giver of wealthandprosperity.Itshouldbeclearlyunderstoodthatthedeitiesare not so many different gods, they are the personifications of various aspectsofoneandthesameIshvara. DEVASANDDEVIS:BEINGSWITHSHININGBODIES Certaincreatedbeingswhohavedonealotofmeritoriousworkwhileon earth are promoted after their death to hold various exalted positions. These exalted beings acquire special bodies which give out light. The 5 Sanskritworddivmeans"toshine." These beings, therefore, are called Devas (masculine) or Devis (feminine) dependinguponwhethertheyaremaleorfemale.ThegreatestoftheDevas isHiranyagarbha,whohasinfinitepowers.Hewasthefirstbeingcreated by god (Ishvara). Even though a created being, Hiranyagarbha has almost God‐likepowers.Heiscosmicintelligence. By Ishvara's will, Hiranyagarbha created this world. Hiranyagarbha is the firstmanifestationofgod(Ishvara),therefore,hedeservestheadorationof all. All other devas and devis exist in Hiranyagarbha, because Hiranyagarbhaisinfiniteandcomprisestheentireworld.Adorationofany one of them, therefore, is like adoring Hiranyagarbha himself. Sometimes the Puranas deify Hiranyagarbha and raise him to the level of Ishvara. Then he is called Brahma, the creator. Except for Hiranyagarbha, these beingsarenotspirituallyilluminedorliberatedsouls.Theyacquireexalted positions as a result of their meritorious deeds done on earth. When the effectoftheirmeritoriousdeedsiswornouttheyhavetobebornagainas humanbeings. DIVINEINCARNATIONS AccordingtoHinduism,whenreligiondeclinesandirreligionprevails,god outofhiscompassionincarnatesonearthtorevitalizereligion.Thenheis calledadivineincarnation,oravatarainSanskrit.Sincethebeginningof creation god has incarnated many times and he will again do so in the futurewheneversuchnecessityarises.Thefirstfewtimesgodincarnated in the form of subhuman beings. He incarnated first as a fish, then as a turtle, and after that as a boar. Then he incarnated as a combination of beastandman.AllHissubsequentincarnationswereinhumanform. Sciencetellsusthatearlylifeformsonearthwerefishoraquaticanimals. Thencameamphibianssuchasturtles.Theywerefollowedbylandanimals like boars. After them the first ancestors of man made their appearance. They were not quite human; they were a combination of both man and animal. Gradually they evolved into human beings. The resemblance 6 between the divine incarnations of the earlier period and evolving life formsonearthisindeedquitestriking. One may wonder why god incarnated in forms other than human. To explain this, Hinduism draws our attention to the fact that all creatures were created by one and the same compassionate god. God's infinite compassion, which causes his descent on earth as a divine incarnation shouldbethesameforbothhumanandsubhumanbeings.Otherwisegod becomesbiasedandpartial,anideawhichisnotacceptable. A Pauranic scripture of Hinduism, the Shrimad Bhagavata, mentions the possibility of innumerable divine incarnations. Some other scriptures mentiononlyten.TheVedas,however,donotspeakofdivineincarnations. They speak of the Rishis or sages. But not all sages were of the same spiritual caliber; a few of them outshone the others in their spiritual attainments. In a later period when the different schools of Hindu philosophy were developed, these exalted sages came to be known as Adhikari Purushas—persons endowed with superhuman power or authority. The Adhikari Purushas, though human, could not be put in the categoryofotherhumanbeingsbecausetheywereextraordinary.Sankhya, the most ancient school of Hindu religious philosophy, would call an AdhikdriPurushaIshvarakotiorKalpaniyamakaIshvara. Thephenomenonofadivineincarnationhasalwaysbeenpresent,butwas notinterpretedcorrectlyduringtheVedicperiodorwhentheSankhyaor otherschoolsofphilosophyweredevelopedinIndia.Onlyinthemuchlater Pauranic period was the phenomenon correctly interpreted. The post‐ Vedic Adhikari Purusha, Ishvarakoti, or Kalpaniyamaka Ishvara was no otherthanthedivineincarnationofthePauranicperiod.Thisistheviewof someHinduscholars.Godincarnatesonearthtofulfilltwopurposes:(1)to inspire and (2) to liberate. He inspires mankind through example. He willingly takes upon Himself human limitations. Then through intense spiritual practice he goes beyond them and manifests his spiritual perfection.Itshouldbeunderstoodherethatasheisperfectfromhisvery birth,thedivineincarnationdoesnotreallyneedanyspiritualpracticeto attain perfection. Nevertheless, to inspire others he goes through various 7 spiritualdisciplinesandtherebymanifestshisperfectiontosetanexample for mankind. Just as a hen, which itself is not hungry, may pick up and gobble up birdseed to teach its young ones how to eat, so also a divine incarnation, for the sake of mankind, goes through various spiritual austerities in order to teach them how to attain the divine incarnation liberatesfromtheirsinsthosewhocompletelysurrendertoHim,andhelps them attain perfection. Shri Krishna, a divine incarnation, says in the BhagavadGita,"Abandoningallritesanddutiestakerefugeinmealone. Donotgrieve;forIshallliberateyoufromallsins.”BhagavadGita18:66 ReviewQuestions: Answer the following questions in your notebook. Please write down the questionsalsoasyouranswerthem. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Statethedifferencebetweenpolytheisticandhenotheisticreligious beliefs. What is the difference between Nirguna Brahman and Ishvara? Explain. Which account of God is supported by the monotheistic religions (Christians, Islam, Jews)—Nirguna Brahman or Saguna Brahman? Why? How is an Divine Incarnation or Avatar different from general reincarnation?Explain. CanaprophetbecalledanAdhikariPurushas?Why?Explain. Can God use someone to do a specific job or task for Him without transformingthepersontoagodstatus? AccordingtoHinduism,whydoesgodincarnates?Givetworeasons. What are the three forms of Saguna Brahman? What is the specific dutyofeachform?Explaineachforms. WhydoHindushavesomanydeities?Explain. ListfewsynonymsofNirgunaBrahma. 8 NEXTLESSON:LORDBRAHMA‐LESSON4 9