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Hindu views on monotheism
OverviewIn the very first book of the Rig Veda, 1:164:46 states,
The main theme and focus of the Upanishads is Brahman, a monad or universal substrate, which is the divine ground of all being. In contrast to Abrahamic concept of God as a transcendent-only entity and aloof from a one-time 6-day creation, the very basis of Hinduism is God as both transcendent and immanent. Monotheistic theology is an inherent part of Hinduism. Hinduism is not dry monotheism though, and is often characterized as monistic theism, panentheism, and transtheism by scholars, although often misunderstood as polytheism usually in the West for lack of understanding of the depth of philosophies. There are many forms of God, i.e., Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi which merely represent aspects or expansions of a single underlying divinity, Brahman (also see Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman). Krishna says to Arjuna, To deliver the pious and to annihilate miscreants, as well as to reestablish principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium. (Gita 4.8) Thus a poignant argument ridiculing mundane Abrahamic monotheistic belief systems is that if an omnipotent God with infinite capabilities descends in various divine forms millennium after millennium, then it is childish to view the diverse descents as polytheism. Krishna further says to Arjuna, I am all that is unmanifest and manifest. (Gita 9.19) To Hindus, God is One. To say that there is only one God is to reduce God to a unit of measure. God is a Unity, not a unit. God is One, i.e. a Unity inclusive of all things, manifest and unmanifest. God is everything, God is in everything, and everything is in God only. The whole of creation is the body (the manifestation) which cannot be separated from God Who is Satcitananda - The Infinite Eternal Existence Bliss. God is not one as in enumeration, but the Infinite One as in the cause of all causes. The Vedic pantheon comprises clans of anthropomorphic celestial deities as well as deified natural phenomena. The two classes of Vedic gods, Devas and Asuras are celestial gods, and not to be confused with Divine forms of God worshiped by the Hindus. Even in the Vedic period, monotheism was a given along with a panentheistic view in mind. As one scholar has said, "Hinduism includes both monism and monotheism. It is misleading to call Abrahamic religions as 'the monotheistic traditions' trying to imply that monotheism is absent in Eastern traditions". Vedanta includes many monotheistic schools with a strong emphasis on the pre-eminence of a Supreme Deity, while also accepting other forms of a personal God as divine descents, expansions, aspects, or incarnations of the Divine. [1] Monotheism within Hinduism can be categorized as follows:
In Hinduism, views of the spiritual world are broad and range from monism, pantheism to panentheism, aptly termed as monistic theism and even open monotheism by some scholars, but are not polytheistic as outsiders perceive it to be. Hinduism has often been confused to be polytheistic for one sect called the Smartas, which follows the Advaita philosophy of absolute monism, and includes worship of all kinds of personal forms of God. Absolute monists see one unity with all personal forms of God as different aspects of one Supreme Being, like a single beam of light separated into colors by a prism. Thus Smartas consider all personal forms of God as equal including Devi, Vishnu, Ganesh, and Siva. Other denominations of Hinduism, don't adhere to the Smarta viewpoint, but are quite unlike Western perceptions of monotheism. Additionally, like Judeo-Christian traditions which believe in angels, Hindus also believe in less powerful entities, such as devas. Contemporary Hinduism can be categorized into four major sects: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism worship Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi - the Divine Mother, as the Supreme Being respectively, considering all Hindu deities as aspects of the Supreme Being. Other really minor sects like Ganapatya and Saura focus on Ganesha and Surya as the Supreme. The Brahma Samhita 5.45 declares, Lord Vishnu is milk; Lord Shiva is yogurt. Other aspects of God are expansions or aspects of Vishnu or Shiva which is detailed in various Puranas. Vaishnavites, like other Hindus, have tolerance for other beliefs because Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, said so in the Gita. Krishna says: "Whatever deity or form a devotee worships, I make his or her faith steady. However, their wishes are only granted by Me alone." (Gita 7:21-22) Another quote in the Gita states: "O Arjuna, even those devotees who worship other lesser deities (e.g., devas, for example) with faith, they also worship Me, but in an improper way because I am the Supreme Being. I alone am the enjoyer of all sacrificial services (Seva, Yajna) and Lord of the universe." (Gita 9:23). This is in contrast with Abrahamic traditions where one must believe in only one aspect of God and totally reject or disdain other beliefs. Krishna-centered monotheismKrishna-centered theology refers to Krishna with the title Svayam Bhagavan, meaning 'Lord Himself' and it is used exclusively to designate Krishna as the Supreme Lord.[2]. Certain other traditions of Hinduism consider Krishna to be the source of all incarnations,[3] and the source of Vishnu himself or to be the same as Narayana.[4][5][6] The term is seldomly used to refer to other forms of Krishna and/or Vishnu within the context of certain religious texts such as the Bhagavata Purana. Though Krishna is recognized as Svayam Bhagavan by many,[7] he is also perceived and understood from an eclectic assortment of perspectives and viewpoints.[8] When Krishna is recognized to be Svayam Bhagavan, it can be understood that this is the belief of Gaudiya Vaishnavism,[9] the Vallabha Sampradaya,[10] and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself. This belief is drawn primarily from the famous statement of the Bhagavatam[11](1.3.28):[12]
Vaishnavism is one of the earliest implicit manifestations of monotheism in the traditions of Vedas. Svayam bhagavan is a Sanskrit term for the original deity of the Supreme God worshiped across many traditions of the Vaisnavism as the source of all, the monotheistic absolute Deity. [4][5] [13] Within Hinduism, Krishna is worshiped from a variety of perspectives.[8] However it must be noted that the Svayam bhagavan concept refers to the Supreme Being of the Orthodox Gaudiya Vaishnavism,[9] the Vallabha Sampradaya and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, where Krishna is worshiped as the source of all other avatars (including Vishnu).[14] [15] [16] A distinguishing feature of the Vaisnava teachings is that God, Krishna or Vishnu,[5] is a real person and His variegated creation is also real.[5][17] Krishna worshiped in Vaisnava religion as the Supreme came into being as soon as all creatures came into existence. Brahma was the first Vaisnava. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Shiva Mahadeva is also a Vaisnava; in Shaivism, by contrast, Shiva is the supreme God. The ancient Prajapaties are all Vaisnavas. Narada who is the born child of Brahma, is a Vaisnava. Thus pure monotheistic Vaisnava religion began with the beginning of history.[17] In the recent times man arrived once again at the instinctive monotheism of the Aryans and Vaisnavas.[18] A different viewpoint, opposing this theological concept is the concept of Krishna as an avatara of Narayana or Vishnu. It should be however noted that although its is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of god of Vaishnavism, who is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names there is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism.[19] The theological interpretation of differs with each tradition and the translated from the Sanskrit language, the term literary means "Bhagavan Himself" or "directly Bhagavan".[11] Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition often translates it within its perspective as primeval Lord or original Personality of Godhead, but also considers the terms such as Supreme Personality of Godhead and Supreme God as an equivalent to the term Svayam Bhagavan, and may also choose to apply these terms to Vishnu, Narayana and many of their associated avatars. [20][21] Others have translated it simply as "the Lord Himself".[22] Followers of Vishnu-centered sampradayas of Vaishnavism rarely address this term, but believe that it refers to their belief that Krishna is among the highest and fullest of all avatars[23] and is considered to be the "paripurna avatara", complete in all respects and the same as the original.[24] The prime supporters of the Krishna-centered theology, Gaudiya Vaishnavas and followers of the Vallabha Sampradaya Nimbarka Sampradaya, use the Gopala Tapani Upanishad,[25] Vedanta Sutras[11] and other Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, among others, to support their view that Krishna is indeed the Svayam Bhagavan. This belief was summarized by the 16th century author Jiva Goswami in some of his works, such as Krishna-sandarbha.[26][11] While Krishna himself if mentioned in one of the earliest texts of Vedic literature - Rig-Veda.[27] In the sixth book of the Hindu epic Mah?bh?rata, the Bhishma Parva (better known as the Bhagavad Gita), Krishna offers numerous quotations that reaffirm the belief that he himself is the Svayam Bhagavan. Verse 7.7 of the Bhagavad Gita, is often used to support the opinion that Krishna himself is the Svayam Bhagavan, and that no impersonal form of Brahman supersedes his existence, as it is an common view that Bhagavad Gita was propounding Krishna-theism before first major proponents of monism of the Smarta school.[28] Smarta viewThe system prevalent in Hinduism is defined by the Smartha philosophy; this theory allows for the veneration of numberous deities, but on the understanding that all of them are but manifestation of the one divine power (a belief sometimes called soft polytheism). That ultimate divinity is termed Brahman or Atman, and is believed to have no specific form, name or attribute.[29] Only a Smartha, or follower of the Advaita philosophy, would have no problem worshiping every imaginable deity with equal veneration; as the view is that all names and forms of deities are merely manifestations of the same God. Other Hindu sects such as Vaishnavism and Shaivism conform more closely to a Western understanding of what a monotheistic faith is. For instance, a Vaishnavite considers Vishnu as being the one and only true God, an attitude that resonates with that of the Abrahamic religions. However, it is Advaita philosophy that defines the Smartha sect of mainstream Hinduism, and imparts to Indic spiritual and religious traditions their renowned liberalism. Swaminarayan viewSwaminarayan, founder of the Hindu Swaminarayan sect, said in verse 115 of their scripture, Shikshapatri said, "Shree Krishna Bhagwan and Shree Krishna Bhagwan's incarnations alone are worthy of meditation. Similarly, Shree Krishna Bhagwan's images are worthy. And men or devas, even if they are devotees of Shree Krishna Bhagwan or brahmavettaa (knower of divinity), they are still not worthy of meditation - and thus one should not meditate upon them." The Brahma Samhita 5.45 declares, Lord Vishnu is milk; Lord Shiva is yogurt.[30] Followers of Swaminaryan are Vaishnavas, but differ from the viewpoint attested by Gaudiya Vaishnavas who emphasis Shiva as a subordinate demigod expansion of Krishna. For example, in verses 47, 84, 108, Swaminaryan states: [31] Notes
ReferencesSee also
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