HINDU GODS - TRIMURTI

Hinduism

Hinduism is the religion of the majority of people in India and Nepal,

as well as being an important cultural force in all other continents.

There are innumerable wayside shrines to local goddesses or

divinized ancestors, majestic temples to the great deities such as

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, festivals, pilgrimages to rivers and

sacred places.

Hindus will often say that Hinduism also contains developed and

elaborate traditions of philosophy and theology, which can be very

different from those of the west.

Trimurti

Many Hindus believe in one supreme god, whom they call Brahman, but they worship that one god in various forms.

that god may be represented in masculine and feminine ways.

The most important of the Hindu gods who represent some aspect of Brahman are Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva (or Shiva).

The Trimurti…..

By Lynne Gibson, Hinduism (Heinemann Educational Publisher)

Trimuti, the prefix ''Tri'' is mean three and ''murti'' is an image or statue representing a particular deity. (Walter Hazen)

Modern Hindus do not normally worship the Trimurti as a deity, but they prefer to concentrate on individual aspects of god instead.

Brahma

-Brahma is the creator of the universe. All living things and beings are said to

have evolved from him.

-Brahma is also believed to be responsible for the four Vedas, the most important

Hindu sacred writings, which are said to have come from his head.

Brahma is shown with four heads, bearded faces and four arms. His four heads enable him to look in every direction at once and represent the Hindu belief that God is omniscient, or all-knowing. His four arms represent the Hindu belief that God is omnipotent, or all-powerful. A deity is able to do absolutely anything, even the logically impossible

-Vishnu is the preserver of the universe.

-He is said to protect the world from evil, and represents mercy and goodness.

-Vishnu is believed to have come to earth in nine different forms, known as

avatars, or incarnations

Vishnu

Vishnu is shown as blue or dark blue because Hindus believe he is like the sky,

everywhere and everlasting. He has three vertical lines

on his forehead to symbolize that he is

member of the trimurti. In two of his hands he holds a discus and a mace, which are his magic weapons. Vishnu’s other hands

contain a white conch shell and a lotus flower, a

symbol of purity

Shiva - Shiva is the deity of destruction and a reproductive power.

- Shiva has been described as a deity of paradoxes because he is simultaneously a renunciant and a householder, a celibate

yogin and a husband .

- Shiva is described as the supreme deity, equated with Brahman as the source of the universe.

(Shvetasvatara Upanishad)

- In the Shaiva Puranas, Shiva is the Absolute, the God responsible for creation, preservation and destruction of the

cosmos.

Shiva - There are 2 aspects of Shiva which are the masculine

Shiva and the feminine Shakti.

- Shakti is the active power of the divine which is the agent of creation. She becomes manifest in all the names and

forms of the cosmos.

- These two aspects is illustrated in an image of Shiva with the right half is male and the left is female.

Shiva - Shiva is also known as Nataraj, the Lord of the dance.

- It represents creation and destruction, control and abandon, transcendence and immanence.

- The dance is called as the dance of destruction.

- On the cosmic level, destruction is the prelude to recreation.

- On the personal level, destruction is the means to remove the bonds that hold the devotee to the cycle of rebirth.

He is depicted as an ascetic, sitting cross-legged on a tiger skin, deep in meditation. The

tiger skin is a symbol of Shiva’s bravery and his ability to overcome his

enemies. Shiva is shown wearing a simple loin cloth.

He has a crescent moon in his long matted hair and a top

knot out of which comes the Ganges, the Hindus most

sacred river. Snakes are also entwined in his hair and act

as armlets and bracelets.

Shiva has 3 horizontal lines in his forehead, his throat is blue and he has three eyes.

The 3rd eye is always closed and only open in anger.

One of his hand is empty and raised, palm outwards, as a symbol of protection and blessing for his devotee.

His vehicle is Nandi, a white bull which is symbolized the

fertility.

The Consort…Saraswati the consort of

Brahma

The goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowlwedge is the consort of Brahma and is far more popular than he. She is the patron of music, the arts, and culture and often portrayed with a musical instrument in her hand.

lakshmi the consort of Vishnu

Goddess Lakshmi means Good Luck to Hindus. The word 'Lakshmi' is derived from the Sanskrit word "Laksya", meaning 'aim' or 'goal', and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual.

the incarnation of Parvati - Durga and Kali the consort of Shiva

The goddess Durga (inspiring) is frequently represented with ten arms, full of implements used to destroy evil.

Kali (dark) is more fearsome still. She is often shown wearing a necklace of a human skulls, and her fanged teeth drip with blood. Her many arms are full of weapons, which are thought to be dangerous to enemies but protective of her children

CONCEPTS OF GODS IN HINDHUISM ACCORDING TO

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE•The concept of Gods in hindhuism are significantly different with islamic perspective.•Holy Quran : Al-Ikhlas; 1-4•Islam belief that God has no partner but there are contrary with hindhuism.

•According to Tamara Sonn, the mystical belief that all reality is in fact One seemed to be heretical.

•Al-Biruni stated that, the discussion of the concept of God is closely related to the much-discussed issue of the Indian idol worshipping or rather associationism (Shirk). He is aware of the fact that idol worshiping is abominable, and is the greatest sin in Islam.

•Al-Biruni likens the custom of idol worshiping among Hindus to the old Hellenistic belief that the images or representations of divine being have no magical power.

conclusion

briefly, the concept of god in hinduism also regarded as a tribute to the genius of the ancient Hindu sages, that this concept of divine conciousness, which they presented more than five thousand years ago, has now become a key part of the philosophical discussions on religion and God all over the world.