In Hindu monotheism, the concept of God varies from one sect to another. Hinduism (by its nature as a regional rather than a doctrinal religious category) is not exclusively monotheistic, and has been described as spanning a wide range of henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism and monism, etc. The philosophical system of Advaita or non-dualism as it developed in the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, especially as set out in the Upanishads and popularised by Adi Shankara in the 9th century, would become the basis of mainstream Hinduism as it developed in the medieval period. This non-dualism postulates the identity of the Self or Atman with the Whole or Brahman, and can be described as monism or pantheism. Forms of explicit monotheism find mention in the canonical Bhagavad Gita. Explicit monotheism in the form of emotional or ecstatic devotion (bhakti) to a single external and personal deity (in the form of Shiva or Vishnu) became popular in South India in the early medieval period. Ecstatic devotion to Krishna, a form of Vishnu, gained popularity throughout India during the Middle Ages and gave rise to schools of Vaishnavism. Ecstatic devotion to Goddess Durga became popular in some parts of India in the later medieval and early modern ages. Vaishnavism, particularly Krishnaism, Shaktism and some forms of Shaivism remain the most explicit forms of monotheistic worship of a personal God within Hinduism. Other Hindus, such as many of those who practice Shaivism, tend to assume the existence of a singular God, but do not necessarily associate God with aspects of a personality. Rather they envisage God as an impersonal Absolute (Brahman), who can be worshipped only in part in a human form. The term Ishvara may refer to any of the monotheistic or monistic conceptions within Hinduism, depending on context. 1 Brahman 2 Nirguna Brahman 3 Saguna Brahman 4 Ishvara 5 Svayam Bhagavan Main article: Brahman In Hinduism, Brahman (ब्रह्मन् brahman) is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe.[5] Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead[6] which is the Divine Ground[7] of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything in and beyond this universe. Brahman is conceived as personal (with qualities), impersonal (without qualities) and/or supreme depending on the philosophical school. The sages of the Upanishads teach that Brahman is the ultimate essence of material phenomena (including the original identity of the human self) that cannot be seen or heard but whose nature can be known through the development of self-knowledge (atma jnana).[8] According to Advaita, a liberated human being (jivanmukta) has realised Brahman as his or her own true self (see atman). The Isha Upanishad says: Auṃ – That supreme Brahman is infinite, and this conditioned Brahman is infinite. The infinite proceeds from infinite. If you subtract the infinite from the infinite, the infinite remains alone. The Rig Veda says that by desire (RV 10.12.94), the initial manifestation of the material universe came into being from Hiranyagarbha (literally golden womb), out of which the world, organisms and divine beings (devas) arose: Great indeed are the devas who have sprung out of Brahman. — Atharva Veda The later Vedic religion produced a series of profound philosophical reflections in which Brahman is now considered to be the one Absolute Reality behind changing appearances; the universal substrate from which material things originate and to which they return after their dissolution. The sages of the Upanishads made their pronouncements on the basis of personal experience (revelation or sruti) as an essential component of their philosophical reflection. Several mahā-vākyas (great sayings) from the Upanisads indicate what the principle of Brahman is: Brahman is real, the world is unreal ekam edvadvitiyam brahmna Brahman is one, without a second prajnānam brahma Brahman is knowledge Brahman knows everything ayam ātmā brahma The Self (or the Soul) is Brahman JivaAtma (soul) is of same eternal spiritual transcendental nature as Brahman aham brahmāsmi I am Brahman I am as eternal as Brahman tat tvam asi Thou art that (You are the Supreme) You are the servant of the Supreme sarvam khalv idam brahma All this that we see in the world is Brahman (everything in this material world is Maya, illusion) Brahman is everything, and all we see are His different energies — material or spiritual sachchidānanda brahma Brahman or Brahma is existence, consciousness, and bliss. Brahman, has sat-cit-ananda-vigraha — eternal spiritual body which is full of bliss, and He is Supreme Person (conscious Absolute Person/Truth) In the Upanisads the sages teach that brahman is infinite Being, infinite Consciousness, and infinite Bliss (saccidananda). It is said that Brahman cannot be known by empirical means — that is to say, as an object of our consciousness — because Brahman is our very consciousness and being. Therefore it may be said that moksha, yoga, samādhi, nirvana, etc. do not merely mean to know Brahman, but rather to realise ones brahman-hood, to actually realise that one is and always was Brahman. Indeed, closely related to the Self-concept of Brahman is the idea that it is synonymous with jiva-atma, or individual souls, our atman (or soul) being readily identifiable with the greater soul (paramatma) of Brahman. The above is a short description of Advaitic philosophy. There is another half in Hinduism which is called dualistic reality (Tattava vada) Hinduism is a term given by the Persians for those who live on the other side of River Indus. The British inherited it. Nirguna Brahman Nirguna Brahman, (Devanagari निर्गुण ब्रह्म, nirguṇa brahman, the supreme reality without form, quality, attribute) signifies in Hindu philosophy the Brahman that pervades the Universe, considered without form (guna), as in the Advaita school or else as without material form, as in Dvaita schools of philosophy. According to Adi Shankara, the famous reviver of Advaita Vedanta, the nirguna brahman is non-different from the supreme personality, God, whatever qualities we attribute to the divine. By the power of Maya (illusion) the supreme lord (Ishwara) playfully creates multiple worlds and deludes all beings, who are in essence non-different from Him. This world is only relatively real and the real self is not affected by it. The lord appears time and again in this world to show the path of liberation: He seems to take birth but that is an illusion because He is birthless. His body is transcendental, unlike our bodies which are created and destroyed. One can worship Him as ones own self or as (fully or partially) distinct from oneself. If one worships any deity one will reach the world of that deity (Hiranyagarbha) but, perhaps after millions of years, deity and devotee will reach para vasudeva or beyond the divinity. The desireless soul can reach this state here and now: this is called Jivanmukta or free while alive. This school essentially advocates God as being immortal and formless. Saguna Brahman Saguna Brahman (lit. The Absolute with qualities came from the Sanskrit saguṇa (सगुण) with qualities and Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) The Absolute, close to the concept of immanence, the manifested divine presence. According to Advaita as taught by Sankara, saguna brahman refers to the lord identical with his own infinite jnanam. Sankara refers to him by names such as Shiva, Vishnu as specified in the vedas and upanishads. This saguna brahman is Paramartha, eternal, undecaying and non-differentiated from nirguna brahman. He is not affected even when he appears in this world as he controls the effects of his own maya shakti. Hiranyagarbha, the collection of deities in the Hindu pantheon of gods, is not saguna brahman as popularly miscontrued. Sankara clearly says that hiranyagarbha is called brahman only because of nearness to brahman. After many millions of years, the devotees who reach the worlds of gods (hiranyagarbha), will reach the state of vishnu. In Yoga,Rājarshi (2001: p. 45) conveys his estimation of the historical synthesis of the School of Yoga (one of the six Āstika schools of Hinduism) which he holds introduces the principle of Isvara as Saguna Brahman, to reconcile the extreme views of Vedantas advandva and Sankhyas dvandva. Saguna Brahman of the various schools of Vaishnavism means Brahman with infinite attributes, including form. Saguna Brahman is immortal, imperishable, eternal, and thus the basis of the impersonal Nirguna Brahman, as clearly stated in the Bhagavad Gita. The personal form indicated is generally Narayana, or Krishna, or Vishnu. Practically all schools of Vaishnavism adhere to this viewpoint. Ishvara The Sanskrit word for God that is used most commonly, Ishvara means a being with extraordinary powers. It is originally a title comparable to Lord, from the roots īśa, lit., powerful/lord/owner, + vara, lit., choicest/most excellent. Some forms of traditional sankhya systems contrast purusha (consciousness, awareness, knowing) to prakriti (agency that acts, nature, matter), however the term Ishvara is mentioned six times in the Atharva Veda, and is central to many traditions. Svayam Bhagavan Bhagavan Krishna with Radharani: Svayam bhagavan is a Sanskrit theological term that refers to the concept of absolute representation of the monotheistic God as Bhagavan himself within Hinduism. It is most often used in Gaudiya Vaishnava Krishna-centered theology as referring to Krishna. The title Svayam Bhagavan is used exclusively to designate Krishna.[20] Certain other traditions of Hinduism consider him to be the source of all avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself, or to be the same as Narayana. As such, he is therefore regarded as Svayam Bhagavan. The term is seldom used to refer to other forms of Krishna and Vishnu within the context of certain religious texts such as the Bhagavata Purana, and also within other sects of Vaishnavism. When Krishna is recognized to be Svayam Bhagavan, it can be understood that this is the belief of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the Vallabha Sampradaya, and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself. This belief is drawn primarily from the famous statement of the Bhagavatam A different viewpoint, opposing this theological concept is the concept of Krishna as an avatar of Narayana or Vishnu. It should be however noted that although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of god of Vaishnavism, who is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names there is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism. The theological interpretation of svayam bhagavān differs with each tradition and the literal translation of the term has been understood in several distinct ways. Translated from the Sanskrit language, the term literary means Bhagavan Himself or directly Bhagavan. Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition often translates it within its perspective as primeval Lord or original Personality of Godhead, but also considers the terms such as Supreme Personality of Godhead and Supreme God as an equivalent to the term Svayam bhagavan, and may also choose to apply these terms to Vishnu, Narayana and many of their associated Avatars. Earlier commentators such as Madhvacharya translated the term Svayam Bhagavan as he who has bhagavatta; meaning he who has the quality of possessing all good qualities. Others have translated it simply as the Lord Himself. Followers of Vishnu-centered sampradayas of Vaishnavism rarely address this term, but believe that it refers to their belief that Krishna is among the highest and fullest of all Avatars and is considered to be the paripurna Avatara, complete in all respects and the same as the original. According to them Krishna is described in the Bhagavata Purana as the Purnavatara (or complete manifestation) of the Bhagavan, while other incarnations are called partial.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 14:45:10 +0000
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