WHAT IS GOD?

God is the word most often used in Western thought to describe the Supreme Being or spiritual reality behind the universe. The term "God" is originally a Germanic word and relates to the idea of the good, what is supremely beneficial in life. "God" in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic sense stands for the Creator, who is generally conceived of as a male figure who resides in heaven. Sanatana Dharma teaches that there is an ultimate spiritual reality, that may be called God, but that this reality transcends all names, forms and actions. Its highest truth is one of monism - not that there is only One God, but that there is in the ultimate reality nothing but God, who includes all creation within a greater Being. Such a Divine Being is not merely the creator, but includes the creation itself, as well as the uncreated which transcends time, space and causation, as pure consciousness, called the Brahman or Absolute. All creatures and all the universe are within the divine. Our soul is intimately related with God and can experience God in consciousness. All creation consists of merely the surface waves, on an infinite sea of consciousness.

While we can call this ultimate spiritual reality "God", one should realise that it is not the same as God of monotheistic beliefs, which is in fact closer to an aspect of the Divine that Hindus call Ishwar or Lord.

THE WORSHIP OF MANY GODS

Human beings through history have formulated many different names and forms for the Divine. Just as we have and accept many names and forms for other things, whether it is food, or types of art, so too in religion a similar (great) diversity has been created. The main western religions have said that only the names and forms with which they choose to refer to God are valid, but those that appear to worship another God, or a multiplicity of Divinities, must be false or unholy. As a universal tradition, Hinduism accepts an abundance of formulations of Truth. There is only One Truth or Reality, but this reality cannot be limited to a particular set of names or a particular form. Though it is One, it is also universal, not an exclusive formulation. It is an inclusive, not an exclusive Oneness, which could be called God, but which transcends all names, including the word God itself. The different Gods and Goddesses of Hindus represent various functions of this Supreme Divinity. Having many names for one thing is not necessarily a sign of ignorance of its' real nature - on the contrary it may indicate an intimate knowledge of it. For example, Eskimos have no less that forty-eight different names for snow! This is not because they do not know snow or are confused about it, but because they know snow intimately in its different variations. The many different deities of Hinduism reflect such an intimate realisation of the Divine on various levels, which non-experiential belief orientated religions seldom even approach.

WHY DOES HINDUISM OFTEN PORTRAY GOD AS A WOMAN?

Hinduism contains many feminine forms of the Divine like Kali, Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati. These represent different feminine aspects of the Divine. For example, Lakshmi portrays the nourishing energy and Sarasvati the creative, while Durga is the Divine Mother in her protective role. The Divine cannot be limited to something simply masculine. As a universal tradition, Hinduism recognises that the Divine contains both masculine and feminine attributes. Each masculine name or form of the divine has a feminine counterpart, in which the feminine is usually addressed first, such as Sita-Rama, Uma-Mahesh or Lakshmi-Narayan. Without giving proper honour to the feminine qualities, a religion must be incomplete and one-sided. If the feminine qualities of the divine were recognised, some of the evils which have occurred in the name of God would not have happened. The world must once again honour the feminine aspects of the Divine to restore wholeness, completeness and universality.

YOU CAN KNOW GOD

Without direct perception of something, our theories and beliefs remain only that - theories and beliefs. Unless a religion provides some way that we can experience the truths of which it speaks, we must accept that we have no real proof of it. Hinduism, like the religions of ancient Greece and China, provided various paths through which the aspirant can achieve perception of the truth, not as second hand knowledge or mere book knowledge, but as one's own intimate experience. Hinduism has never held the belief that only a select few individuals, such as a prophet, can ever achieve direct consciousness and communion with the divine, and that people must forever follow the dictates of such a person, but that any individual can do so, and eventually every individual will do so. However Hinduism does value the teachings and advice of men and women who have already achieved this. The paths that are detailed to help an individual achieve this great goal are called yogas.

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