Do Hindus really believe in more than one god?

Samd Ghost

Banned
Banned
Is it multipie "powers" they believe in or multiple "gods" in the real sense?
If it's "powers" it would be more logical to me.
 
Today, a Hindu can be polytheistic (more than one god), monotheistic (one god), pantheistic (god and the universe are one), agnostic (unsure if god exists), or atheistic (no god) and still claim to be Hindu. (qouting from http://www.indiangods.com/) (time to google search: 4.2 seconds)
 
All HIndu schools believe in deities. Most Hindu schools, however, affirm only one God, that is, a supreme omnipotent being.
 
given that the word "hindu" is defined according to the body of work called the vedas, all such assertions of hinduism have to be asserted through the vedas - unfortunately hinduism has recently (past 500-1000 years) taken the path of an orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy - in other words the issue with hinduism inrecent years has changed from being defined by philosophicak conclusions on the basis of authoratative books, to that of merely doing teh ritual "right" - that is the issue has now moved to not being an assertion on who or what is the most worshippable, but more along reagardless of what temple you go to, make sure you offer incense "like this, a ghee lamp like that, pay or obeisances here, put your flowers there and put your donation here" and thus leave the temple withthe assurance that everything is fully correct and proper
 
given that the word "hindu" is defined according to the body of work called the vedas, all such assertions of hinduism have to be asserted through the vedas - unfortunately hinduism has recently (past 500-1000 years) taken the path of an orthopraxy rather than orthodoxy - in other words the issue with hinduism inrecent years has changed from being defined by philosophicak conclusions on the basis of authoratative books, to that of merely doing teh ritual "right" - that is the issue has now moved to not being an assertion on who or what is the most worshippable, but more along reagardless of what temple you go to, make sure you offer incense "like this, a ghee lamp like that, pay or obeisances here, put your flowers there and put your donation here" and thus leave the temple withthe assurance that everything is fully correct and proper

lol well Indians do love a ritual!
 
Prince James, who is the Hindu's "supreme omnipotent being?"

Brahman
Brahman (Devanagari: ब्रह्म, Tamil: ப்ரம்மம் ) is the concept of the Godhead found in Hinduism. Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all things in this universe. Though its nature is transpersonal it is sometimes considered anthropomorphically as Isvara, the Supreme Lord.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman

Also see this:
http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=58358
 
In Gensis 10, Seba was a son of Cush (Hindu Kush), as was Rama (Rama Empire Pakistan), and Sheba was a son of Rama, so there seems to be a connection to the god ("demigod") Siva, more ancestor worship apparently.
 
As told to me BY a hindu...Vishnu is it. All the other gods are his various manifestations.

"Brahman" seems to be a description of scope of omnipotence rather than an entity.
 
Is it multipie "powers" they believe in or multiple "gods" in the real sense?
If it's "powers" it would be more logical to me.

Why would that be more logical?

Is it the concept of multiple Gods equal in power that bothers you?
What about the belief that there are/were demi-gods and other beings with “supernatural” powers?
Let’s say that there was only one Supreme God and view that god through the Trinitarian lens.
One aspect of this God is the Creator.
One aspect is the Organizer.
One aspect is the Destroyer.

The rest of the lesser gods, think of as Nephilim (Genesis 6).
They are all mortal.
They have human flaws and weaknesses.
They also, however, have supernatural powers.

Please clarify what about that is difficult for you to grasp and see as a logical possibility?
 
As told to me BY a hindu...Vishnu is it. All the other gods are his various manifestations.

"Brahman" seems to be a description of scope of omnipotence rather than an entity.

It's not quite that simple.
It depends...

If a particular Hindu is a Vaishnava, then yes, Vishnu is
Other hindu traditions believe other ideas.
Smarta or Advaitas believe in the Trimurti idea that Vishnu is one aspect of the Supreme God along with Brahma and Shiva.
 
As Rama and Shiva were great grandsons of Noah (Manu), and Vishnu appears to be the Spirit possessed by Manu, the ancient Hindus had the idea that the lead survivor of the Deluge worshipped the creator God.
 
As Rama and Shiva were great grandsons of Noah (Manu), and Vishnu appears to be the Spirit possessed by Manu, the ancient Hindus had the idea that the lead survivor of the Deluge worshipped the creator God.

Oh yeah, Yehweh is Shiva, Holy spirit is MahaVishnu & Christ is Krishna.
 
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