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In
Hinduism, the Trimurti (also called the Hindu trinity) are three
aspects of God in His forms as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
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Brahma - the Creator |
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Vishnu - the Maintainer |
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Shiva - the Destroyer |
Mother goddesses:
| Shakti |
| Devi |
| Kali |
| Durga |
| Lakshmi |
| Amman |
Some
popular Hindu aspects of God include Devi, Krishna, Ganesh,
Hanuman and Lakshmi. Smarter Hindus believe that God, in whatever
form they prefer, ("Ishta Devata,", i.e., the preferred form of
God) can grant worshippers grace to bring them closer to Moksha,
end of the cycle of rebirth. The great Hindu saint, Ramakrishna, a
monist, was a prominent advocate of this view. He studied and
embraced other religions, such as Christianity and Islam, and came
to the same conclusion proclaimed by the Vedas, "Truth is one, the
wise call it by different names."
Contemporary Hinduism traditionally has four major divisions,
Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and Smarthism.
According to Adherents.com there are 580,000,000 Vaishnavas,
220,000,000 Shaivites and 22,000,000 neo-Hindus and reform Hindus.
Hinduism
is a very rich and complex religion. Each of its four
denominations shares rituals, beliefs, traditions and personal
Gods with one another, but each sect has a different philosophy on
how to achieve life's ultimate goal (moksa, liberation) and on
their views of the Gods. Each denomination fundamentally believes
in different methods of self-realisation and in different aspects
of the One Supreme God. However, each denomination respects and
accepts all others, and conflict of any kind is rare.
Vaishnavism, Saivism and Shaktism, respectively believe in a
monotheistic ideal of Vishnu (often as Krishna), Siva, or Devi;
this view does not exclude other personal Gods, as they are
understood to be aspects of the chosen ideal (e.g., to many
devotees of Krishna, Shiva is seen as having sprung from Krishna's
creative force). Often, the monad Brahman is seen as the one
source, with all other gods emanating therefrom. Thus, with all
Hindus, there is a strong belief in all paths being true religions
that lead to one God or source, whatever one chooses to call the
ultimate truth.
Within
Smarta Hinduism, a variety of forms of God are seen as aspects of
the one impersonal divine ground, Brahman (not Brahma). Brahman is
seen as the universal spirit. Brahman is the ultimate, both
transcendent and immanent the absolute infinite existence, the sum
total of all that ever is, was, or ever shall be.
Brahman
is not a God in the monotheistic sense, as it is not imbued with
any limiting characteristics, not even those of being and
non-being, and this is reflected in the fact that in Sanskrit, the
word Brahman is of neuter (as opposed to masculine or feminine)
gender.
Vedanta
is a branch of Hindu philosophy which gives this matter a greater
focus. Yoga is the primary focus in many ways of a Hindu's
religious activities, being somewhere between meditation, prayer
and healthful exercise.
Some of
Hinduism's adherents are Smarta monists, seeing multiple
manifestations of the one God or source of being, which is often
confused by non-Hindus as being polytheist. It is however properly
seen as one unity, with the personal gods being different aspects
of one Supreme Being, like a single beam of light separated into
colours by a prism, and are valid to worship.
These
deities represent forces of nature or devas and are not equivalent
to Brahman represented as Vishnu or Shiva. The Devas hold a
similar place in relation to God as angels do in Judaeo-Christian
traditions.
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Indra |
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Surya |
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Agni |
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Vayu |
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Varuna |
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Yama |
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Kubera |
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Soma |
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Mitra |
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Kama |
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Gayatri |
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Aditi |
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Ushas |
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Sarasvati |
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Rudra |
source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_gods
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