01-13-2006, 12:32 AM
http://www.friesian.com/gods.htm#note-4
The Devotionalistic
Gods in Hinduism
While the old gods of the Vedas (Indra, Agni, Dyaus, Mitra, Varuna, etc. [note]) eventually were demoted by Hinduism to a position inferior to the Vedas themselves, in the Upanis.ads Brahman came to be conceived as the Supreme Being, or just Being -- the One. According to the Dvaita Vedânta interpretation of the Upanis.ads, Brahman is a personal God, distinct from individual souls (atmans) and from matter.[1] Such a personal Brahman, whether formulated philosophically or not, comes to be identified in popular religion with either Vis.n.u or Shiva. Since different gods are thus proposed as the One God, Hinduism is an unusual kind of monotheism: it contains virtual sub-religions consisting of the devotees of Vis.n.u, the Vaishnavites, and the devotees of Shiva, the Shaivites. It is best to see this as an instance of the "multiplicity of explanations."
On the other hand, the earlier (and perhaps more faithful) interpretation of the Upanis.ads is found in the Advaita Vedânta of Shankara [2], where Brahman is identical with the Ãtman and is an impersonal Absolute beyond any devotionalistic Gods.[3] Since the personal Gods could all be seen on the same footing in relation to an impersonal Brahman, an attempt was made, we know not by whom, to tidy up things through the doctrine of the Trimûrti:
<img src='http://www.friesian.com/images/tri.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<img src='http://www.friesian.com/images/newtri.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<img src='http://www.friesian.com/images/devi.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
The Devotionalistic
Gods in Hinduism
While the old gods of the Vedas (Indra, Agni, Dyaus, Mitra, Varuna, etc. [note]) eventually were demoted by Hinduism to a position inferior to the Vedas themselves, in the Upanis.ads Brahman came to be conceived as the Supreme Being, or just Being -- the One. According to the Dvaita Vedânta interpretation of the Upanis.ads, Brahman is a personal God, distinct from individual souls (atmans) and from matter.[1] Such a personal Brahman, whether formulated philosophically or not, comes to be identified in popular religion with either Vis.n.u or Shiva. Since different gods are thus proposed as the One God, Hinduism is an unusual kind of monotheism: it contains virtual sub-religions consisting of the devotees of Vis.n.u, the Vaishnavites, and the devotees of Shiva, the Shaivites. It is best to see this as an instance of the "multiplicity of explanations."
On the other hand, the earlier (and perhaps more faithful) interpretation of the Upanis.ads is found in the Advaita Vedânta of Shankara [2], where Brahman is identical with the Ãtman and is an impersonal Absolute beyond any devotionalistic Gods.[3] Since the personal Gods could all be seen on the same footing in relation to an impersonal Brahman, an attempt was made, we know not by whom, to tidy up things through the doctrine of the Trimûrti:
<img src='http://www.friesian.com/images/tri.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<img src='http://www.friesian.com/images/newtri.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<img src='http://www.friesian.com/images/devi.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />