Hindu Gods & Goddesses Read online

  Published by Jaico Publishing House

  A-2 Jash Chambers, 7-A Sir Phirozshah Mehta Road

  Fort, Mumbai - 400 001

  [email protected]

  www.jaicobooks.com

  © Stephen Knapp

  Published in arrangement with

  Stephen Knapp

  180 Lenox Street

  Detroit, Michigan

  48215, USA

  HINDU GODS & GODDESSES

  ISBN 978-81-8495-366-4

  First Jaico Impression: 2012

  Second Jaico Impression: 2014

  No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

  Contents

  INTRODUCTION

  CHAPTER ONE

  WHY SO MANY GODS?

  CHAPTER TWO

  SRI KRISHNA

  CHAPTER THREE

  THE AVATARS OF LORD KRISHNA

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LORD VISHNU

  CHAPTER FIVE

  LORD BRAHMA

  CHAPTER SIX

  THE IDENTITY OF LORD SHIVA AND GODDESS DURGA

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE GODDESSES

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  GANESH AND MURUGAN

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE REMAINING DEMIGODS

  CONCLUSION

  APPENDIX ONE

  SRI CAITANYA MAHAPRABHU THE MOST RECENT AVATAR

  APPENDIX TWO

  THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DEITIES AND DEITY WORSHIP

  APPENDIX THREE

  DEITY WORSHIP FROM THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO

  REFERENCES

  GLOSSARY

  Introduction

  The reason why I decided to write this book was because of a series of incidents that happened to convince me of the need for such a book. First, I was approached more than once by people who wanted a book that explained all about the Divinities of Vedic culture. They asked if I knew of a good book that would answer all of their questions. Well, of course, I knew of some, but they were the books I had gotten while in India. Or there were a few others that were large photographic books, and a little out of the budget of most people. So, such books were not so readily available.

  Then I gave a lecture and presentation to an interfaith group about how the Divine appears through Vedic art and in the deities in the temples, and explained the various personalities in the Vedic pantheon. These were people of all faiths, and many came up to me afterwards to expressed how much they liked the presentation, how they felt drawn to the various Vedic Divinities, and if I had anything more on that topic. Obviously, a book such as this one would have been most appropriate to further their knowledge about the topic I had spoken. So, what to do? Obviously, a book should be written in a manner to make the information easily understood, and published in a way and priced so that it can be easily available. That is how I decided to present a book that focused on this topic.

  Plus, it was to show that there are reasons for the various Divinities, and that it is not so complicated to understand when it is put into proper perspective. This is a complaint that is sometimes heard from those who are not familiar with Vedic culture: Why are there so many gods? They do not understand that actually there is only one God. And by understanding the Vedic Divinities appropriately, that becomes clear. This book will do that.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Why So Many Gods?

  The four primary Vedas, namely the Rig, Sama, Atharva and Yajur Vedas, represent the accomplishment of a highly developed religious system. The primary function and goal of these four Vedas was to encourage satisfaction of material desires through worship of the demigods, or those Divinities called the Vedic gods. Therefore, the Vedas contain many directions for properly performing the necessary worship and particular sacrifices or rituals in worship to these devas (demigods) to get the blessings that would help increase one's power and position, or for reaching the heavens in one's future, or other goals.

  The point is that the devas affect or assist in all levels of universal management and activities, including the weather, or who is bestowed with particular opulences such as riches, beautiful wife or husband, large family, good health, etc. For example, one could worship Agni for getting power, Durgadevi for good fortune, Indra for good sex life or plenty of rain, or the Vasus for getting money. Such instruction is in the karma-kanda section of the Vedas which many people considered to be the most important part of Vedic knowledge. But this is for helping people acquire the facilities for living a basic material existence. There are, of course, various actions, or karmas, prompted by our desires to achieve certain results. This is the karma-kanda section of the Vedas. However, this is not the complete understanding of the karma-kanda segment, which is meant to supply the rituals for purifying our mind and actions while in the pursuit of our desires, and not to limit ourselves merely to live with the intent of acquiring all of one's material wants and necessities from the demigods. By having faith and steadiness in the performance of the ritual, one establishes purification in one's habits and thoughts. This provides a gradual process of acquiring one's needs and working out one's desires while simultaneously becoming purified and free of them. Such purification of our consciousness can then bring one to a higher level of spiritual activity. This was the higher purpose of the karma-kanda rituals. Without this understanding, one misses the point and remains attached to rituals in the pursuit of material desires, which will drag one further into material existence.

  Therefore, as different Vedic literature was compiled and presented, the goal of such texts changed from focusing on rituals and prayers and became more directed toward understanding one's spiritual identity and relationship with the Supreme. These included such texts as the Upanishads, and then on to the Mahabharata and Bhagavad-gita, and further to include the Puranas and other texts, to name a few. Thus, such Vedic shastra or spiritual books elaborated on the spiritual truths in the Vedas and also emphasized different Gods, such as Vishnu or Krishna, who were the Divinities who could bring one to a higher spiritual consciousness and help one attain moksha or complete liberation from material existence. The other demigods cannot provide for such liberation. Thus, the whole library of Vedic texts includes information on all levels of spiritual understanding, the heights of which direct a person to become free from the desires for material facilities, or the need to worship the demigods for such blessings, and for attaining entrance into the spiritual domain, which is the highest of all spiritual goals.

  TWO WAYS TO VIEW THE VEDIC DIVINITIES

  There are generally two ways that followers of the Vedic tradition view the Vedic Divinities. For some, who are swayed toward the impersonalist view, they feel that the Supreme is not a being but an impersonal force from which everything is created, like the great Brahman effulgence. They usually feel that all of the Vedic Divinities are but different forms or representations of the same Supreme or Absolute Truth. Thus, it does not matter whether a person worships Shiva, Krishna, Ganesh, Murugan, or any other of the Vedic gods or goddesses, because they all represent the same Absolute Truth or God in various forms. This is true with the avatars of Lord Krishna, but there are differences with the other devas, which will become clear as we go through this book.

  On the other hand, there are those who feel that the Absolute Truth is, indeed, ultimately a personality. They hold the view that it does make a difference in which of the Vedic Divinities you worship, because they offer varying blessings and results from such worship. So, each one has a specific purpose.

  This is the reason why some people ask why there seem to be so
many gods within Hinduism or Vedic culture, and, such being the case, which one is best to worship? Yet, if we properly analyze the situation, we will understand that all of the Vedic Divinities have different purposes, and there is, indeed, but one Supreme Being who has many agents or demigods who assist in managing the various aspects of the cosmic creation and the natural forces within. And, like anyone else, if they are properly approached with prayer or worship, they may help facilitate the person by granting certain wishes that may be within the jurisdiction of that demigod. So, let us begin to explain.

  First of all, in some places in the early portions of Vedic literature it is described that there are 33 Vedic gods, or even as many as thirty-three million. The 33 gods are calculated as being the eight Vasus, eleven Rudras (forms of Shiva), twelve Adityas, along with Indra and Prajapati (Brahma). Then there are also other positions that are considered major or minor devas. According to the Vedas, the devas are not imaginary or mythological beings, but are agents of the Supreme Will to administer different aspects of the universal affairs. They also represent and control various powers of nature. Thus, they manifest in the physical, subtle or psychic levels of our existence both from within and without. In this way, a transcendentalist sees that behind every aspect of nature is a personality.

  The names of these gods are considered offices or positions, rather than the actual name of the demigod. For example, we may call the president of the country by his personal name, or simply Mr. President. It's the position itself that allows for him to have certain powers or areas of influence. In the case of the devas, it is only after accumulating much pious credit that a living being can earn the position of being a particular demigod. Then a person may become an Indra, or Vayu, or Brahma, or attain some other position to assume specific powers, or to control various aspects of material energy. Thus, such beings are not a God, but are demigods, they merely have a position within this material creation, as long as it remains in place, though some people may call them the Vedic gods for ease of conversation.

  Another example is that when you walk into a big factory, you see so many workers and all that they are doing. You may initially think that these workers are the reason for whatever goes on in the factory. However, more important than the workers are the foremen, the managers, and then the executives who oversee and direct the activities and flow of work. Amongst these you will find people of varying degrees of authority. Someone will be in charge of designing the products. Another may be the Chief Financial Officer or main accountant. Another may be in charge of personnel, while someone else may be in charge of maintenance in the factory itself. Finally, a chief executive officer or president of the company is the most important of all. Without him there may not even be a company. You may not see the president right away, but his influence is everywhere since all the workers are engaging in projects according to his decisions. The managers and foremen act as his authorized agents to keep things moving accordingly. The numerous demigods act in the same way concerning the functions of nature, all of whom represent some aspect or power of the Supreme Will. That's why it is sometimes said there are 33 million different gods in Hinduism. It has also been referred that every living entity holds a form of God within them, as Supersoul. Right now there are over eight billion human beings that populate this planet, which means that just within the human species there are over eight billion gods that circulate through this world, if you look at it that way. Actually, there may be many forms, avataras, or aspects of God, but there is only one ultimate God, or one Absolute Truth. God means one, the predominate source from which everything else is created.

  Another view of the Vedic devas or demigods is that they represent different aspects of understanding ourselves, especially through the path of yoga and meditation. For example, the god of wind is Vayu, and is related to the practice of yoga as the breath and its control in pranayama. Agni is the god of fire and relates to the fire of consciousness or awareness. Soma relates to the bliss in the samadhi of yoga practice. Many of the Vedic gods also represent particular powers of yoga and are related to the different chakras in the subtle body. It is accepted that as a person raises his or her consciousness through the chakras, he or she will attain the level of awareness and the power and assistance that is associated with the particular divine personality related to that chakra.

  The reciprocation between the demigods and society is explained in Bhagavad-gita (3.10-12). It is stated that in the beginning the Lord of all beings created men and demigods along with the sacrifices to Lord Vishnu that were to be performed. The Lord blessed them saying that these sacrifices will enable men to prosper and attain all desirable things. By these sacrificial duties the demigods will be pleased and the demigods will also please you with all the necessities of life, and prosperity will spread to all. But, as explained, he who enjoys what is given by the demigods without offering them in return is a thief.

  In this way, it was recommended that people could perform sacrificial rituals to obtain their desires. However, by the performance of such acts they should understand their dependent position, not only on the demigods, but ultimately on the Supreme Being.

  As further explained in Bhagavad-gita (3.14-15), all living beings exist on food grains, which are produced from rain, which is produced by the performance of prescribed sacrifices or duties. These prescribed duties are described in the Vedic literature, which is manifest from the Supreme Being. Therefore, the Supreme is eternally established in acts of sacrifice.

  Although the demigods may accept worship from the human beings and bless them with particular benedictions according to the sacrifices that are performed, they are still not on the level of the Supreme Lord Vishnu (who is an expansion of Lord Krishna). The Rigveda (1.22.20) explains: "The demigods are always looking to that supreme abode of Vishnu." Bhagavad-gita (17.23) also points out: "From the beginning of creation, the three syllables om tat sat have been used to indicate the Supreme Absolute Truth (Brahman). They were uttered by brahmanas while chanting the Vedic hymns and during sacrifices, for the satisfaction of the Supreme." In this way, by uttering om tat sat, which is stressed in Vedic texts, the performers of the rituals for worshiping the demigods were also offering obeisances to Lord Vishnu for its success. The four Vedas mainly deal with material elevation and since Lord Vishnu is the Lord of material liberation, most sacrifices were directed toward the demigods.

  In Bhagavad-gita, however, Lord Krishna points out that men of small knowledge, who are attracted by worldly desires, take delight in the flowery words of the Vedas that prescribe rituals for attaining power, riches, or rebirth in heaven. With their goal of enjoyment they say there is nothing else than this. However, Krishna goes on to explain (in Bhagavad-gita 7.21-23) that when a person desires to worship a particular demigod for the temporary and limited fruits he or she may bestow, Krishna, as the Supersoul in everyone's heart, makes that person's faith in that demigod steady. But all the benefits given by any demigod actually are given by Krishna alone, for without whom no one has any power. Furthermore, Krishna explains that the worshipers of the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but worshipers of Krishna reach Krishna's spiritual abode.

  Thus, as one progresses in understanding, it is expected that they will gradually give up the pursuit for temporary material pleasures and then begin to endeavor for reaching the supreme goal of Vedic knowledge. For one who is situated in such knowledge and is self-realized, the prescribed duties in the Vedas for worshiping the demigods are unnecessary. As Bhagavad-gita (3.17-18) explains, for one who is fully self-realized, who is fully satiated in the self, delights only in the self, there is no duty or need to perform the prescribed duties found in the Vedas, because he has no purpose or material desires to fulfill.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Sri Krishna

  DIFFERENCES IN REALIZATION AND PERCEPTION OF THE SUPREME

  Out of all the Divinities of the Vedic culture, Lord Krishna is considered one of the most important, and eve
n the pre-emanate of all the Divine personalties. He is considered the God of love, unconditional and ever-flowing love, which is freely given to His devotees. Yet, different people see Him in different ways, the reason for which is given as follows:

  It is described that there are three aspects of the Supreme that must be understood in order to have a complete realization of the Absolute Person. These are the impersonal and all pervasive Brahman aspect, the localized expansion of the Lord known as the Supersoul or Paramatma, and then the Supreme Personality or Bhagavan aspect. Bhagavan means the Supreme Being who is the originator of all qualities and who possesses them to the fullest degree. He is especially full with the qualities of wealth, strength, beauty, knowledge, opulence, and renunciation to the maximum. All three of these aspects of Brahman, Paramatama and Bhagavan must be understood if one is to have a complete understanding and realization of God.

  When one follows the basic process of yoga, a person will naturally attain the Brahman and then the Paramatma realizations sequentially. Of course, this depends on how thoroughly one follows the process. In essence, the Brahman realization involves perceiving the spiritual energy behind all aspects of the creation, opposite to the mundane world. Brahman is the passive aspect of the non-dual substance of the Absolute Truth. It is the realization of the Supreme Being without any of His potencies or qualities. If one goes no further, he will naturally conclude that realization of the Brahman is the ultimate perception and understanding of the Absolute.

  The Paramatma realization is to perceive the Supersoul within all material forms, within all living entities and even all material elements. Paramatma is the partial expansion of the Lord in the material world. Perceiving the Paramatma is one of the prime goals of most yoga systems. But to go further and attain the Bhagavan realization, one needs to attain a totally spiritual vision without any material conceptions or conditionings to perceive the completely transcendental form of the Supreme Lord, Bhagavan--as He is. The formless aspect of the Supreme Person is Brahman. But when that Supreme Brahman is endowed with His natural potencies and qualities, then the Brahman aspect is transformed into the more complete Bhagavan aspect. Therefore, Bhagavan is the original nature of the Absolute Truth with full qualities and potencies, while the Brahman is merely the impersonal, transcendental bodily effulgence.