Hindu Dharma: One of the Ancients
Hindu Dharma: One of the Ancients
Hinduism has grown to become the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 72 million followers - 13% of the world's population. It is the dominant religion in India, Nepal and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Hinduism does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality or a central religious organization. Hinduism consists of thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BC.
Like some other spiritual practices, namely the Kemetic (Ancient Egyptian) and Christian practices, Hinduism has its own trinity, although they believe that there is only one God. But in their culture, this one God has many aspects. In this issue, we will expand on this God and his forms, personalities and tasks.
BRAHMA
Brahma is the source, the seed and creator of all beings in this world, according to Hinduism. At the time of creation, he emerged as the first consciousness (the first ego) from the primordial waters (universal consciousness). He is called Syambu because none created him, he created himself.
Brahma has many other names, such as Hiranyagarbha (the cosmic germ), Prajapati (the BRAHMA Lord of the people), Pitamaha (the father of fathers), Vidhi (the ordainer), Lokesa (ruler of the world), Dhatr (sustainer) and Visvakarma (architect of the universe). By the virtue of his Brahma cannot have many devotees because his duty of creation demands introversion, complete concentration and undivided attention. Therefore, as a personal God, he is perhaps the least attractive option.
Since he did not have many followers, Brahma gradually lost his importance in the Trinity compared to the other two Gods. Brahma was the original Narayana (creator of men), a title which was later transferred to Vishnu, another God of the trinity. The incarnations of fish and boar were originally attributed to Brahma and later to Vishnu. One possible reason for these developments seems to be that as the preserver of the worlds, Vishnu alone has the justification to incarnate upon the earth.
Brahma is known as Hiranyagarbha (the cosmic germ) because in the beginning of creation, he was born out of a cosmic egg that emerged out of the primordial waters. Having manifested himself, he created the Goddess Saraswathi (speech or sound). The Goddess was so beautiful and gracious that he decided to make her his consort. The beings of the world is said to have emanated from this union.
Symbolically, Brahma and Saraswathi signify many things. Brahma is the creative will and Saraswathi is the intelligence that executes the will of Brahma. Together, they constitute the human consciousness. Secondly, Brahma is the Vedas (holy text) personified and Saraswathi is the vibration hidden in the mantras as the sound. Together they constitute the spiritual knowldge of the Vedas. Brahma creates life while Saraswathi creates society and civilization and refines the individuals with civiltiy and grace. Brahma is also the primeval silence of the soul and Saraswathi is the noise of life. Saraswathi is said to be the pearl of wisdom that was born in the shell of Brahma from a rain drop. Together, they create the mortal beings.
Brahma is not only a creator, but he is considered to be a great spiritual teacher. In the images, Brahma appears like an old man with four bearded faces that look in four different directions. The beard on each face is suggestive of his old age and wisdom. He is shown in a meditative mood, lost in his thoughts, with eyes that are half-closed, suggesting his spiritual state of mind and his preoccupation with the process of creation. His four faces represent the four directions, the four Vedas, the fourfold social order and the four Maha Yogas.
Brahma is shown as having four arms and holding a rosary, kusaa grass, ladle, spoon, water pot and a leafy manuscript. The rosary indicates his creative nature; the kusaa grass, ladle and spoon show his familiarity with the Vedic rituals. The water pot denotes his spiritual and meditative qualities. His vehicle (transportation) is the swan, a beautiful and graceful bird that represents discriminating intelligence, which is responsible for our discretionary and decision-making abilities.
Brahma is found in almost all of the temples of Vishnu and Shiva (other Gods of the trinity) as an attendant God, receiving his daily share of offerings. But in reality, there are very few temples built exclusively for him.
VISHNU
Vishnu, the second God of the Hindu trinity, means "the giver and provider of things". The Vedas describe him as the God of three strides, upholder of law and giver of boons. Over time, he became Narayana, which means the dweller of waters and human beings. The word "nara" means both water and human. Vishnu resides in the milky waters of Vaikunth on a bed made of the coils of Adishesha, the thousand-hooded great serpent of infinite dimensions. Goddess Lakshmi, his consort, attends upon him. Symbolically, the ocean stands for bliss and consciousness, the serpent for time, diversity, desire and illusion, and the Goddess Lakshmi for the material things and powers of creation.
Vishnu is the color of a dark blue cloud - the color of the sky, denoting his cosmic dimensions and his relationship with the earth. He is usually depicted with one face, four arms, in a standing or resting posture. He wears a necklace made of the famous Kaustubha gem that rests on his left chest. His four arms hold a conch, discus, mace and lotus. The conch stands for the four elements, the sound of aum, salagrama, goddess Lakshmi, the waters, purity and perfection. The discus is the terrible weapon of Vishnu which he used to destroy the evil and protect the righteous. It symbolically represents the light-bearing sun that illuminates and removes darkness, and also for higher consciousness that destroys all illusions. The mace represents the power of knowledge, while the lotus symbolizes beauty, harmony, purity, water element, creation and self-realization.
As stated in the Hindu holy writings, whenever evil gains ascendancy, God incarnates on earth to restore dharma (order), punish the evil and protect the weak and the righteous. Generally, all incarnations of God are associated with Lord Vishnu, because Vishnu is the protector of the worlds, and the purpose for an incarnation is the same. The list of Vishnu's incarnations varies. The number of incarnations generally accepted is ten, of which nine have already taken place, while the tenth is yet to come. The nine incarnations are: the fish incarnation (matsyavatara), the tortoise (kurmavatara), boar (varahavatara), man-lion (narasimhavatara), dwarf (vamanavatara), incarnation Parasurarama (parasuramavatara), the incarnation of Rama (ramavatara), the incarnation of Balarama (balaramavatara) and the incarnation of Sri Krishna (Krishnavatara). The tenth incarnation, the incarnation of Kalki, a ferocious God, is yet to come.
Minor incarnations of Vishnu
These are some of the Gods who descended into this world for a specific task and with an aspect of Lord Vishnu:
Dattatreya - son of Atri and Anasuya, who achieved complete mastery of the Vedas. Dattatreya had perfected the rites associated with soma juice and invoking higher powers through magic and a specific tantra. He also assisted those who were outside of the religion with its teachings and assimilation. Probably for this he was given the stamp of impurity and denied his due honors. However, it seems that subsequently his status as a divinity was recognized and restored. He is described as having three heads, four hands and was always followed by four faithful dogs. The three heads denote his connection with the entire trinity, not just with Vishnu. His four hands signify his divinity and supernatural status and the four dogs represent the four Vedas and his mastery over them.
Dhanvantari - was thought to be a famous physician in ancient India endowed with an excellent knowledge of herbal medicines and miraculous healing powers. In the story of Sagarmanthan (the churning of the oceans), we come across Dhanvantari. After the Gods and demons started churning the ocean in search of immortality, Dhanvantan is said to have appeared before them with a vessel containing the ambrosia in his hands. It is not known whether Dhanvantari is a title given to an expert physician or the name of an individual. Vishnu is a great healer because healing is a part of his work of preservation.
Hayagriva - is believed to be an aspect of Vishnu as the sun God and is described as a deity with the head of a horse. In the images, he is depicted as having eight arms carrying the various emblems of Vishnu.
Mohini - Mohoni deluded the demons and prevented them from partaking the ambrosia. He is regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu because delusion is an important weapon in the armory of Vishnu, for which he is also called Mayavi (the creator of illusion). Mohini deluded even Shiva, resulting in the birth of sage Maya Machchindra.
Nara-Narayana - "nara" means human and "narayana" means the supreme self. Arjuna and Sri Krishna are propuarly referred to as Nara and Narayana. Hindus believe that any human being with awakened divinity in him that works for the welfare of humanity is a nara-narayana, an incarnation of Vishnu on earth working for the preservation of the dharma or righteousness. Nara and Narayana are shown either jointly or separately; when shown separately, nara is shown with two heads wearing a deer skin and narayana 1s on nara's left with four arms, carrying the usual emblems of Vishnu.
Ved Vyasa - he is the author of the famous epic Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Brahmastras. He is credited with the division of the vedic hymns into the present form of the four Vedas. Vedavyas is the codifier and preserver of human memory and knowledge in the form of immortal writings. He is depicted as a seer with knotted hair, slender in form and dark in complexion. He is always accompanied by his four disciples: Jaimini, Paila, Vaisampayana and Sumantu.
SHIVA
If Brahma is the creator and Vishnu the preserver, then Shiva comes as the destroyer. His duty is to destroy all the worlds at the end of creation and dissolve them into nothingness. Modern theories of space suggest the possible ending of the physical universe after billions of years through the expansion of a gigantic black hole that will devour matter from endless galaxies. It is said that Shiva will perhaps be the black hold performing this task.
This does not mean Shiva will remain idle until that time arrives. Before the worlds come to an end, Shiva has many things to do to keep the world going. His first and foremost task is to destroy many things to ensure the order of the universe. His destruction is not considered to be negative; it is positive, nourishing and constructive, and it builds and transforms life and energy for the welfare of the world and its beings. He destroys in order to renew and generate. Through destruction, Shiva facilitates the smooth transition of beings and events from one stage to another. He destroys human imperfections in order to ensure spiritual progress; he destroys illusions, desires and ignorance as well as negative human nature. Shiva destroys old memories so humans can move with time. He destroys human relationships, attachments, impurities, wrongdoings, bad karma, passions and emotions, and many other things that stand between humans and God as obstacles to our progress and transformation.
Unlike Vishnu, who is dark blue, Shiva is white in color except for his neck, which is dark blue. Images of him in dark blue is, however, the norm. He is shown as tall and well-built, and his body is usually smeared with ashes, denoting his frequent rounds to the cremation grounds. He has three eyes; the third eye rests between his eyebrows and is the eye of wisdom. By opening it, he destroys humans' false selves and illusions. He leads a life of severe austerities. In contrast to Brahma, who is shown as old, Shiva is shown as young or middle- aged. He is shown sitting cross-legged in a yogic posture, with his eyes closed in deep meditation. When shown with his eyes open, his face expresses love and compassion.
Shiva is a God of simplicity and humility. Tiger and elephant skins serve as his garments. His long matted hair, symbolizing a spiritual life, is tied into a knot or left flowing. He has four arms; one holds a weapon, the trident (symbolizing sattva, jajas and tamas), another holds a Damaru (small drum denoting Shivas connection with primal sound aum, the creation of the alphabets, language, grammar and music), and the remaining two are held in abhaya and varada mutras (postures). The tiger and elephant skins represent his ability to control and transform animal nature. Shiva also wears a garland of snakes around his neck. Sometimes he is shown with a snake across his body and two as bracelets around his hands, representing his control over desire and sensuality. Sometimes, in his ferocious aspects, he is shown wearing a garland of skulls. The crescent moon adorns his hair and the Ganges River flows from his head into the world below.
Shiva is known by several names and is worshiped in many forms.
Panchanana Shiva- Shiva shown with five faces. Each face has a name and represents a specific aspect. Isana faces southeast and represents an aspect of Shiva known as the Eternal Shiva. Tatpurusha faces East and is Shiva as a deluded ego. Aghora face south and represents t h e destructive a n d regenerative aspect of Shiva that, like fire, devours life and then prepares the ground for renewal. Vamadeva faces north and is the healer and preserver. Sadyojata faces West and is the creative power of Shiva.
Anugrahamurthy - the milder and peaceful aspect of Shiva when he is in the company of his beloved devotees.
Ugramurthy - also known as Raudra, Bhairava, Kankala Samharamurthy - it is the ferocious and angry form of Shiva associated with events during which Shiva slayed the wickets. In this aspect he can take on various forms: Kankala-bhairava (the form he took when he cut off the fifth head of Brahma), Gajasura- vadha-murthy (the form he assumed while killing a demon named Nila), Tripurantakmurth (the form he took while destroying the three cities of gold, silver and iron built by the sons of Andhakasura) and Sarabhesa-nurthy (the form in which he fought and killed Narasimha, the incarnation of Vishnu).
According to the tenents Hinduism, God is one as well as many. He is found everywhere and in everything. He is in the sky, in the rivers, in plants and trees and even in a particle of dust. He is an enigma, invisible and visible, above and below, with form and without form Hinduism recognizes these fundamental truths about God in letter and spirit. For the Hindus, the whole universe is sacred permeated by God's presence, radiating his glory, sustained by him and manifested by him. Everything in it and every aspect of it, without exception, is sacred and worthy of worship. They believe that if God is to be found only in the heavens Sitting on a throne and ruling the worlds or dispensing justice, then he cannot be a God, just an aspect of God. Hindus worship God according to their level of understanding.
In the future, we will attempt to expose the similarities of the diverse deities and the origins of their respective cultures to the line which is directly linked to Kemet. Until then, we will stay vigilant and open-minded in our search for the Gods, and we wish the same for you.