Hindu Gods and Goddesses

 

In Hinduism, Shiva the Cosmic Dancer, is perhaps the most perfect personification of the dynamic universe. Through his dance, Shiva sustains the manifold phenomena in the world, unifying all things by immersing them in his rhythm and making them participate in the dance- a magnificent image of the dynamic unity of the Universe. (Capra, The Tao of Physics)

The Vedas depict Brahman as the Ultimate Reality, with the personal god and goddesses, called devas as different aspects or manifestations of one Brahman. Brahman (not to be confused with the deity Brahma) is seen as the Universal Spirit. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or ever will be.

Brahman is viewed as without personal attributes (Nirguna Brahman) or with attributes (Saguna Brahman) as God. In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, Saguna Brahman such Vishnu or Shiva is viewed as male. God's power (or energy) is personified as female or Shakti. However, God and God's energy are indivisible, unitary, and the same. The analogy is that fire represents God and the actual heat Shakti. According to Smarta views, God can be with attributes, Saguna Brahman, and also be viewed with whatever attributes, (e.g., a female God) a devotee conceives.

Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal God (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks contact with the personal form of Brahman, which explains the proliferation of so many Gods and Goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people.

Worship of God is often represented symbolically through the aid of icons (murti) which are conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human mind that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the power and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle and according to the understanding of the worshipper, the concept or entity is sometimes presumed to be present in them (in monotheistic doctrines) and sometimes not (in monistic doctrines).

Some of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses worshipped are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Swaminarayan, Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Skanda and Hanuman. Also, the Puranas list twenty-five avatara of Vishnu : Catursana, Narad, Varaha, Matsya, Yajna, Nara-Narayana, Kapila, Dattatreya, Hayasirsa, Hamsa, Prsnigarbha, Rsabha, Prithu, Narasimha , Kurma, Dhanvantari, Mohini, Vamana, Parasurama, Raghavendra, Vyasa, Balarama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.

Ardhanarisvara, the dual God: the union of Shiva and Shakti