Pantheism , Idol worship and Polytheism in Hinduism– Why, What & How come?

  

Pantheism is the belief that God manifests in everything , Idol Worship is worshipping of God through images and idols, and Polytheism is the worship of many different deities in the name of God.

Vedic culture has a very sponge like nature and is all incorporating. What it doesn’t incorporate is “Adharma”(unrighteous conduct). So, as long as one walks on the path of “Dharma”(right conduct, right deeds), it doesn’t matter what their beliefs are. The person will attain bliss and blessings sooner or later. The base philosophy is “Unity in Diversity”. A link to it : http://omcultr.blogspot.in/2012/08/hinduism-vedic-culture-basic.html

Pantheism:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead (Om / Brahmaand) is formless, its not a person or a deity, its not male or female; it is actually the source of everything, actually even that would be incorrect, IT IS everything, and it is the only one that exists.  Actually the opposite is the proper way to describe it. Existence(all that exists) is the One.

So you see God in everything that you find helpful and blissful; in nature’s processes, the flow of rivers, the land on which food grows, the cow which gives you wholesome milk, the trees that give you fruits, etc.

 

In India, you could notice it still, that sometimes when a boy breaks a tree’s branch in sport, or kicks a stray dog for fun, their mother would usually come out of the house, scolding the child, telling them it hurts the tree and dog too. She asks her son, how would it feel if someone breaks your finger or kicks you while you are sitting? She tells her son, that everything in nature has God in it, so respect it, don’t hurt it, take only what you need, but never forget to respect it. Since childhood, the mentality to vandalize, hurt and harm is taken out with this kind of teaching. Compassion and tolerance are the values that emerge as a result. That’s Pantheism.

   

Idol Worship :

Once I came across a story which I should tell you. 

A great Indian philosopher – Swami Vivekananda(Swamiji), was once travelling the whole world to know more about people’s cultures and beliefs across the world. One day, he was crossing a kingdom. The king had heard of this great philosopher from India, and wanted to ask him a few questions, so he invited him to his palace. But the king wasn’t inquisitive it seems, rather he wanted to mock at the beliefs of those he called the hindus.

While the king was posing and a painter was making his portrait, he asked Swami Vivekananda to join him. He asked him laughing it out; “Why is it that I see all these Hindus worshipping idols and pictures, sometimes which they make at home out of clay or stone. How could Hindus be so stupid to believe that their Gods reside in them"? Swamiji smiled and got up. He looked at the king who was posing for a painting of his to be put up on the wall. Then he looked at other portraits on the wall. He went to the last one and asked the king; "Who is this"? The king replied proudly, "its my father, the king of this land before me". Immediately Swamiji spit on the picture. Seeing this, the king got furious, drew his sword out and charged towards Swamiji, but something stopped him suddenly. He saw that Swamiji wasn’t afraid; instead he was smiling, and asked the king "why are you so furious"? The king replied; “I was only asking you a simple question, but you had to insult the royal line. He is my father and the respected former king, how dare you disrespect him? How could you spit on him"? Swamiji quickly replied in the form of a question; "How could you be so stupid to think that I disrespected your father. I just happened to spit on a painting, this isn't your father, neither does he reside inside it, he is already dead. Then why are you so angry"? The king calmed down and understood what Swamiji was trying to teach him.

Swamiji meant that worship is actually and only done from our souls, its our method of paying respect to someone; it is our emotion that counts and is called worship. Without the emotion of the worshipper, the worshipped will have no meaning. The idol / image is there to hold our concentration and create relation, and to keep reminding us of virtues, significance and teachings of that personality; just like the pictures of our loved ones do. Frankly, if anyone does what Swamiji did, to my mother’s photograph; I would definitely get very angry, and not because the photo is destroyed, but because spitting signifies that they don’t respect my emotions, the respect I give to her. Am I not an idol/ image worshiper then? Seriously, do I not know that my actual mother isn’t there in the photograph?

In such cases, people wouldn’t like to call it worship, they’ll call it giving respect, but aren’t they the same thing? Can you worship a personality unless you respect them? Can you respect them unless you know about their deeds, their significance, their stories and what they did for humanity, or how they bless us always? To me, worship is like - respect X infinity.

People use an idol or an image mostly, because one in a million humans may have a strong enough divine vision since birth(like saints and sages, like Buddha) to feel the presence of divinity in the universe (in themselves, in the surroundings, etc). Most of us need visual imagery and points of reference to be able to connect to and feel, to thank and complain, to love and respect, to obey and to abide by. Like seeing a photograph reconnects you to that feeling you had with your loved ones, the memories of what they told you. Sometimes you cry and even talk to the pictures. Isn’t that amazing. Those who can surpass this stage and can imagine that supreme consciousness, are the ones we call enlightened.

Try this exercise yourself. Try and visualize consciousness, which you feel all the time through your emotions, 6^th sense, values, virtue, love, compassion, making choices, thoughts, dreams, etc. Try to visualize this Consciousness of yours. Energy can be visualized thru beams of light or sparks, etc, any matter is the easiest to visualize, space can be imagined by possibly blanking out the mind for a moment.

How will you imagine consciousness? Don’t imagine anything visual, coz that would be creating an image.

Goodness cannot be drawn on paper. Yes you can show various drawings which remind of goodness (like people hugging, like a drawing of Jesus Christ, etc), which remind us of goodness, but all these are representations of the feeling of goodness. Goodness is consciousness at work You can't imagine it yet you feel it all the time, explain it, understand it since birth. The same way people represent the this consciousness / goodness through various figurines and idols according to their stories.

Important Note: Try to search for these 3 words in Google images.

1. Matter   2. Energy    3. Conciousness

You'll notice that all sorts of projections and scientific and reflective images of the first two can be found, but when you type the third word, it opens a lot of art and drawings.

This is the essence of Idol Worship.

Polytheism :

Sometimes the question is, where do I find God ?

Vedic teachings indicate that you can’t physically go to a place to find God. Since God is collective consciousness which has transformed into this great illusion called the universe. Thus the life giving waters are divine(so Supreme God in the form of Deity of Water- “Varun Dev”), the food providing land is divine(So Supreme God in the form of Mother Goddess of Earth- “Prithvi Maa ”),, animals are divine(“Gou Mata”, “Nagadev”), and many other forms. You find God everywhere? In fact “Everywhere” itself is a part of God, the only consciousness. 

 

Worshiping all Gods isn't mandatory. The core focus is always on the emotion of worship. Whether you worship a lower deity or a higher deity or Supreme God, or don’t worship any deity at all, but just do good work (good “Karma”), it will all be good.

Vedas are not mandatory, but reflective in its teachings. If you seek the help of a spiritual Guru to understand this knowledge, or any learning for that matter, you could worship your Guru (which basically means to show respect, as we have discussed earlier). You could worship your parents. You could worship all of creation as one entity or as separate entities, whatever you feel comfortable with. Only, when you will be comfortable with your worship, will it be from your heart (for example you feel like swaying and tapping only when you love the music). So generally, people like to worship a particular deity according to their own fondness, favourite story of the deity, or clear understanding of the deity.  Sometimes they worship many deities, sometimes “Param Brahm” or “Om”. Since all these deities are One, it doesn’t matter even if there are thousands of idols or none. Understand that its the emotion and devotion in the worship that matters. That emotion in worship is consciousness itself, in other words, God. Since you are an inseparable part of this universe and woven into this fabric of Divinity itself, your true devotion and good deeds spread and communicate, reciprocate, and spread positive energy (good values & virtues/ happiness) in this divine cosmos, starting from your self, your home, then your neighborhood, country, and then the world; the kind that is required for sustenance of balanced life and a harmonious society.

That, is the true essence of Polytheism.

Fans of Michael Jackson would love him, respect him, hear no bad words about him, support him, listen to his statements or philosophy (on music/entertainment/world peace) and say… “MJ is The God of Pop, I can dance to his music”, rock enthusiasts would say - “Elvis is The God of Rock, his music makes me rock”. Suddenly your Indian friend says – “Lata Mangeshkar is the Goddess of Indian classical music, I only like that.” Does this sound familiar? Different people, different favourites, same emotion of respect towards music and harmony, unified emotion of the endeavor to learn. What is the result? The world is filled with various kinds of good music, for different people, all the time. You can learn other's ways of music, enjoy it if it excites you or not, if it doesn't. But I really haven't heard any musician fight with another musician over who's music is better.

Now, could we say, that polytheism is in our very nature?

Have thoughtful bright days always

Thank You

Saurabh Dey (OMCULTR)

Vedic Culture / Hinduism – Base Philosophy

It could get extremely difficult for a person to understand another culture, whose base values are alien to their own. We should remember, that philosophy is basically human thoughts, so by clear understanding, everybody’s mindset can be analysed. To understand behavior of a particular society, we need to understand its history and belief with an unbiased approach. . 

Different people, different mindsets, different backgrounds, different environments of development lead to differences in understanding. Well obviously. Here we will majorly discuss the base philosophy in Hinduism which sets the tone for any other thoughts and practices.

Base Philosophy – Unity in Diversity

Vedic culture (Hinduism) is not a religion at all.

Since it’s one of the oldest belief systems which are in current practice, in quite the same way as before, you can clearly notice one thing that it wasn't born in competition. Thus people did not even think of it as a religion / community. Various communities would have the same beliefs. It was just imparted as knowledge by the knowledgeable. Quite Simple! That's why, there was never striving towards making more followers. The focus was always on learning, realizing the Ultimate Truth(by those who wanted to), answering questions and developing philosophy. It was quite a personal quest, not a power quest.

The Vedas say that the Supreme Conciousness runs through, and thus connects, every being, whatever they are, wherever they are. Different bodies and minds but the same soul. Once a person realizes this much, he sees no point in distinction and separation. He / She sees "Unity in Diversity"

Since this knowledge is applicable to everyone and everything, it should be left to each individual whether they want to inculcate and understand it or not. It can't be done by force or subjugation.

Vedas have never been dogmatic. They believe in the concept of unity in diversity, not just unity alone. Matter is diverse at every level but is still the same. Everything is changing all the time, nothing is constant in this universe. Your bodies are not your bodies but processes, they keep changing every moment. Only the soul is timeless and is One. The source of all this is Divinity/God. It unites all that is extremely diverse. This was taught and explained in all Gurukuls(shools) of ancient India. It was a tradition and method which is very different from modern education systems.

In this system, it was the student who always decided whether his/her studies and education was complete or not. A good Guru could thoroughly read his students and know what their intellect is demanding. This is the first example of establishing tolerance through "Unity in Diversity". Only when the wise men like Gurus realise the different potentials in students, instead of making all of them give the same exam, will they be able to inculcate the same habbits in their students. What could be more important that developing, unbiased, intellegent and observing students who will later form the society?

Secondly, never did Hinduism consider one thing superior and another inferior. This also began in the schools. Each student was also given their own customized shot at learning according to their own capacities. Every student was important. How? because it is due to the weaker students, that the brighter gets noticed, if everyone was equally bright, then being a bright student would have no meaning. Just like prey doesn't have any meaning without a predator, good has no meaning without bad, and light has no importance without dark, similarly a bright student has no meaning without dull ones. All that exists is with a reason and is thus respectable. By being biased towards what pleases us, we are only filling our societies with hate, jealousy and anger. 

So Vedas / Hinduism says - quit hating and see the beauty and oneness in all diversity- the black and white, the curly and straight, the tall and short, the bright student and the dull student, the one who is among our tribe and the one who is not, they are all respectable, all the same.
So, I think, that maybe the stronger students never bullied the weaker ones back in those days.

Note : The reason why you can find many Hindus going to Dargah(holy shrine of Muslim faith) and to Churches, with mostly no hesitation, is Unity in Diversity, followed in almost a sub conscious manner.

Hinduism / Vedas believe that everything is divine as it is and it has a place in this universe whether it’s a part of my lifestyle and beliefs or not. The reason why you have so many  sub-cultures in India is "Unity in Diversity". So many types of foods, different languages and scripts, variety of spices, diverse clothing styles, hair and makeup, different beliefs, various auspicious items, ways of cooking, musical genres, dance genres, architecture, etc. exist. Its all diverse, its all beautiful, it all coexists, and its all divine. Its inevitable also.

This concept of harmony, is seen in nature. Look at the sea creatures, so different and co existing, look at forests and its creatures, creatures below the earth, in the river. They co-exist in a harmonious system. Nature is like that everywhere.  Its diverse. Diversity is natural and almost defines the essence of existence, the essence of God. We are only a tiny part of nature, a few species of it living in different parts of the world and are bound to be different, and so will our beliefs be different depending on climate, resources, food and other factors. 

Thus, people who have been so respectful of diversity are definitely going to have diverse worship techniques and many diverse deities. The people who so constantly also believe in Unity in Diversity, will also see all deities as beautiful manifestations of the same that is Divine and that is ONE.  This is what Vedic knowledge / Hinduism’s core is.

I think Albert Einstien mentioned that if all bees die, humans would die too in a matter of years. So that makes the bee as important a part of creation as humans. 

That’s why what the western world sees as chaos and confusion, Hindus / people residing in India see as curry, an aromatic blend of differences. Some people also believe, that it is so embedded in the daily life of Indians, that regardless of community and religion, Indians follow the Hindu philosophy of Unity in Diversity subconsciously. Its actually very simple, very pleasing, and could bring a lot of good health, harmony and peace in anyone's life. It could stop the hating and jealousy in the world.

So, "Unity in Diversity" somewhat forms the base of the tonnes of Hindu philosophy. God is ONE but with countless manifestations...

Q. Why is  Unity in Diversity so important as a philosophy?

A. When we believe in Unity in Diversity, we learn tolerance and the ability to see a person’s heart and soul inspite of the obvious differences in thoughts and cultures. Only in this way do we know what’s right and what is wrong in given situations, keeping our mind unbiased. 
"Unity in Diversity" concept teaches us to put down our ego, anger and false pride, to attain knowledge and spread it, to feel love and love back.

Thanks for your time

Saurabh Dey

(OMCULTR)