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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > Hinduism

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  #1  
Old 06-11-2010, 03:57 AM
WTyler
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A few questions regarding the Dharma.

One thing I have trouble with is understanding the nature of God. I personally enjoy the belief that there is one God and his traits are just shown through other gods, and that is why there are various gods in the dharma.

Though, regarding the Trimurti, I have never understood if it is believed that Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are actual intelligent beings with physical, energetic or astral bodies, or just physical properties of the universe: Creation, Preservation and Destruction.

I assume some believe that and others believe they are physical?

Furthermore, in the religions that believe Shiva, and Vishnu and the Goddess are the supreme Godheads, do they feel as if they are the only "true" gods, or is it more so that the personality of those gods better suit their needs and they can relate to lets say, shiva over vishnu?

Also, in Smarta, do they venerate all gods? If so, what mantras do they use? different ones?

Personally, I believe that God is one, and that he is seen in many, and because of my Christian upbringing, I find it hard to pray to individual gods, because in my mind god is bigger than all of that.. Also, with Mantras, I feel more comfortable using an English mantra, or a mantra to Christ..

Even though I am not Christian I do think he is a god realized man, and maybe an incarnation of God. I also am familiar with his teachings and parables, and love--so mantras such as Om Christave Namaha, I can relate to.

Also, if I do mainly Vishnu mantras, is it okay to say some to Shiva as well? I know some traditionalist tell me that I can only stick to one, and that I must be initiated to a mantra.

When I say my mantras to Shiva I feel as if I am saying it to awaken the potential and God energy within me, when I say a mantra to Christ I feel as if I am asking myself to allowing me to love like Christ.

This is all so overwhelming, but exciting.

Thank you so much, I know this is a bit long.

Om Shanti.

-Tyler
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  #2  
Old 06-11-2010, 06:57 AM
happyfool
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Hi WTyler I dont hav answer to your questions..but I appreciate ur inquisitiveness regarding the matter...

I am not an expert on this matters....though I was born in Hindu household I myself dont have enough understanding to explain these matters to u...

What I can tell u is that God is one...and all these religions and philosopies are just a way to engage peoples towards god...ultimately god can be percieved by an individual...

No doubt Christ was an enlightened being...but incarnation of god may not be true......may be there are no incarnation of god at all....what Hindus believe to be incarnation were also just an enlightened being but the peoples couldnot believe that an ordinary human could have so much potential..so they related that person to God... and the religious books and all were also written by some Human being or many peoples wrote together.....this is what I personally feel...

I myself believe that Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are not physical but different aspect of this existence like creation preservation and destruction..but over time they took the form of human may be due to some artists imagination...OR may be these are all my imaginations..

Let me tell you here that In Hinduism there is no central authority over religion..so peoples are free to believe what they want to believe..so some believe in particular god OR godesses according to their choice OR what their mother and father use to worship OR what most peoples in the particular community or society believe in...and no body cares about the formless god..they are happy with the god of their choice...

I for example relate more with shiva...coz that aspect of existence accepts everything with equal ease..death sexuality destruction meditation love hate etc..etc..that aspect never wants to improve upon the existence ..it happily accepts it as it is...which appeals to me...

As far as I am concerned my frieng there is nothing that u should do or should not do ..It s all about what u want to do or dont want to do...do what u think is best for u...and ask this question to the person whom u trust immensely for ur spiritual matters...

Just like brahma bishnu shiva represents different aspects of this universe..christ to me represents love...and the moment I think about Christ I become calm and happy and peace fills me...

This things are overwelming and exiting as well....

Peace be upon u...
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  #3  
Old 12-11-2010, 08:30 AM
peteyzen peteyzen is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: leicester
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Hi,
The way I see it is this God is like a diamond with many facets (faces). We as humans have many different likes and cultures etc, so God appears in many guises to accomadate our `differentness`.
At times yes, vishnu or shiva can embody , such a being was Krishna and this descent of the divine into human form is known as an AVATAR. Jesus was also an avatar.and ths was what he was trying to explain when he described himself as the son of god.
No, those who follow oneaspect of god, should understand that their focal point be it krishna or shiva or sia baba or jesus, is no more or less relevant than the others, it should be consdiered as their particual `familiar` aspect, that is all. Altho humnas being humans, and ego being ego, not all do.
Sounds like your heading in the right direction my firend god bless and I leave you with one question, which i hope will help
`What is not God`?
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  #4  
Old 12-11-2010, 08:35 AM
tragblack
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peteyzen
The way I see it is this God is like a diamond with many facets (faces).

Or perhaps like a shiny green plumbob above a sim's head...
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  #5  
Old 14-11-2010, 03:05 PM
peteyzen peteyzen is offline
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Location: leicester
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no... not like that LOL
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  #6  
Old 09-12-2010, 02:43 PM
SanathanaDharma
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Dear Friend,

Let me take a simple example to answer your question...

There is a person called X....
- now Mr.X gets up early in the morning, dresses up, takes his car, goes to the market, gets all the groceries, vegetables, etc.....
- the same Mr.X then takes his two wheeler and goes to a few relative's and friend's houses, invites them for lunch.....
- the same Mr.X now wears the dress of a chef, holds different vessels, uses a cooking recipe manual, and cooks food for everyone...
- the same Mr.X when the guests arrive, dresses up as a neat host, invites them inside, makes them feel at home.....
- the same Mr.X serves plates, uses different serving utensils, and with a charming smile, serves the guest's, the delicious food....
- the same Mr.X waits with patience and strength(as he has been working from morning), till the guests finish the food and then bids them farewell in a polite manner....

now comes the interesting part...

a few of the guests start complimenting the grocery getter, saying if he had not got such nice grocery the feast wouldn't have been possible...a few others start complimenting the person who invited them, saying the humble person who invited is the best as he is the one who invited everyone..a few others start complimenting the chef saying its only because of the chef everything was possible and he is the best...a few others start complimenting the host , saying the host was the best as he treated everyone so well..and a few more start complimenting the persons who served, saying they are the most decent ones....a few others start complimenting the person who sent them off, saying it was the best way to treat a guest...

the point that all of the above guests are completely missing is that, all the different persons they think,as the best, is actually the same Mr.X.....its Mr.X who wears different clothes, uses respective instruments, performs his duty...the guests give individual compliments , only because they are under the "illusion" that Mr.X is not a single person...which is not only untrue but also meaningless

Using the above example...

There is one and only Parabramha(the Ultimate Supreme Soul)....He takes up different forms to perform respective duties...
- now Parabramha is the one, who before creation, becomes the Purusha and brings together all the ingredients(Pradhana) together
- the same Parabramha as Sri Vishnu initiates the bramhanda(Universe) and the term life
- the same Parabramha as Sri Bramha starts creation using His Vidya(knowledge) in the form of Sri Saraswathi(Veda)...
- the same Parabramha as Sri Vishnu sustains life, makes living possible with the help of His own form as Sri Lakshmi as the virtue of thhis creation
- the same Parabramha uses a little strength of His to create different devatas(demi-Gods) who are there to help us lead life
- the same Parabramha as Sri Shiva with the help of His own form called Sri Shakthi handles the load of the entire Universe and consumes it at the end....

people without any proper knowledge and those who are under the illusion of ignorance can only imagine that there are multiple Gods ...what is even more futile is to think that praying to some particular God is better than praying to others....as Sri Krishna says(in Bhagavad Gita) even such people are indirectly praying Him alone...but ofcourse in a wrong way...without actually understanding the reality...there is a beautiful subha****a(short meaningful poem) in sanskrit which says

aakashath patitat toyam yatha gachchathi saagaram
sarwa deva namaskaarama Sri Keshavam prati gachchathi...

(very rough meaning) just as the different drops of rain fall down and join different rivers, finally reach the same ocean at the end,
similarly,even if one prays to various Gods, every prayer actually goes to Him alone...

Please do let me know if it answers your question....
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