When one mentions "Hinduism", the thought of many many Gods and Goddesses comes to mind.
This is a common misconception.
Hinduism is not a Polytheism. It's not even a Monotheism. (It's technically not even called "Hinduism" but that's another topic altogether.)
It is, at its core, a Monism.
Confused yet?
Let's get some definitions aside, so we're on the same page:
- A polytheistic religion believes in many Gods that most likely have human-like qualities and personalities.
- A monotheistic religion believes in one God, but it also runs the risk of superimposing human characteristics upon that God.
- A monistic religion believes in a formless and nameless Supreme Spirit or God-Principle that, by definition, cannot have any human characteristics superimposed on it as it is the source of all things. Most obviously, it's seen in Buddhism, which took away the pantheon and rituals of Hinduism to return to the core beliefs. In this manner, Buddhism did bud off from Hinduism, which is why both describe this formless spirit.
In English, I refer to this spirit as Pure Consciousness. It has also been called OM, the Supreme Self, the True Self, just Spirit, and a variety of other names that are all equally valid. In Sanskrit (the language of the Hindu scriptures), the Pure Consciousness is called Bhraman. Rather than being a describable God, it is an all-pervading God-Principle.
So why does Hinduism have the great big Pantheon?
One word: Symbols.
Each of the 330 million-some Gods are but a facet of Brahman. They are simply man's attempts to put a face and name on the Pure Consciousness that cannot be described by human language. Not everyone can wrap his mind around the concept of an all-pervading Spirit that is everything, thus the Hindus have the Gods that are easily understood.
Each God and Goddess has a plethora of beautiful meanings that help not only connect us to the deities, but also advance on our respective spiritual paths. The best part of this symbolism is that what a certain deity holds, for example, can symbolize one thing for me and something completely different for you, and as long as it helps us progress further on our paths, it is good and true for each of us. There can be multiple 'true' interpretations and whichever helps you cultivate higher, nobler thoughts is the 'true' interpretation for you.
I will be going through many of the major Deities of Hindusim and presenting the traditional and ordinary interpretations, but I'll also add my own interpretations as I try to delve deeper.
