(December 5, 2011 at 4:36 am)fractal_mindscapes Wrote:(December 4, 2011 at 10:40 pm)Forsaken Wrote: Hinduism has millions of Gods. So why are Hindu's still so fucked up in their own country?
That's not correct, its an idea that was perpetuated by western scholars who misunderstood the Hindu scriptures. What it was referring to were the Hindu Devas, which are a class of beings that do not have a physical body. However, they do not enjoy eternal existence and end up being reborn at some point just like everything else.
The early Vedic scriptures did reference multiple gods and goddesses, but there number was not even remotely close to the millions - maybe a few dozen or so. While Hinduism today does still revolve around multiple deities they are often reduced to three. There is Brahmā, Vishnu, and Shiva and represent the creation, maintenance, and eventual dissolution of the universe respectively.
When you start probing deeper into Hindu thought you find out that at the fundamental core of the religion it actually becomes monotheistic. Actually, pantheistic would probably be a better descriptor since Brahman, the 'One God', is 'everything'. Where as in the monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam there is a clear distinction between the creator and creation - when it comes to the Brahman in Hinduism such a distinction doesn't exist nor would it make any sense. Its not a figure or an identity, more of the projection of the consciousness that is 'Existence'.
In fact, there are contradictions within the Vedas on who is the 'main' god. Shiv Puran tells us that Sada-Shiv (part of Shiv) is the first god who gave birth to other gods. However, for some reason unknown, Vishnu became the supreme head-god, relegating Shiv to mediate for eternity in the Himalayas. Vishnu also created Brahma to control the working of the universe. However, at any-time, one of these three can become the supreme one and do as he wishes.
Then comes those demi-gods, such as Indra, who are not full-fledged gods but can still kick the ass of those main gods whenever they desire.
I have studied Hinduism at depth and can only conclude that it is one of the most interesting mythological stories of all time (though everything is bull).