07-09-2006, 11:05 PM
Hinduism does not have an original, <b>single individual</b> who has seen God.
Why? The answer is simple: The day-to-day practices of Hinduism show that many people down the ages have seen God or felt an immediate experience of God, <b>right down from the ancient pre-RigVedic <i>rishis</i> to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa</b>.
In fact, that is also the reason Hinduism is polytheistic in popular practice. The seers and the great devotees have seen an expression or manifestation of God in multiple forms - each of them has seen God in the form that most touched his/her heart.
So, unlike Islam (where God has been seen only by the Prophet Mohammed, and will never be seen again) or Christianity (where God will never be seen again after Jesus - "no one comes to my Father except through Me"), the great Hindu devotees see God Himself, in multiple forms, helping them in their crises, consoling them in their griefs and chastising them when they are flush with success.
Why? The answer is simple: The day-to-day practices of Hinduism show that many people down the ages have seen God or felt an immediate experience of God, <b>right down from the ancient pre-RigVedic <i>rishis</i> to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa</b>.
In fact, that is also the reason Hinduism is polytheistic in popular practice. The seers and the great devotees have seen an expression or manifestation of God in multiple forms - each of them has seen God in the form that most touched his/her heart.
So, unlike Islam (where God has been seen only by the Prophet Mohammed, and will never be seen again) or Christianity (where God will never be seen again after Jesus - "no one comes to my Father except through Me"), the great Hindu devotees see God Himself, in multiple forms, helping them in their crises, consoling them in their griefs and chastising them when they are flush with success.