Hindu God Concept and Beliefs

Om• Sacred syllable and

mantra• Made of three sounds a-

u-m, making an “o” sound• Sound is believed to be

the first and most sacred sound, containing the essence of true knowledge

• Chanted at the beginning of prayers blessings and meditation

God Concepts

Nirguna

• Without attributes• The Divine is an invisible and incorporeal

Being (“neti-neti”, “Not this, not that”)• The Divine is an impersonal absolute• The Maker of Rules (Karmic Law)• The Divine is fair and shows no preference

(can’t just say sorry and be forgiven)

Saguna

• With attributes• The Divine has different

forms and qualities• Many gods and

goddesses • 330 million?

Diamond Analogy

• Each devi or deva is like a facet of a diamond.

• Part of a larger whole, but a distinct “image”

Hindu Trinity/Trimurti

• Brahma – The Creator• Vishnu – The Preserver • Shiva – The Destroyer

Avatars of Vishnu

• The god Vishnu comes to save humanity.• He has come nine times and will come again.• His most popular incarnations are:– Rama– Krishna

Shakti

Female energy (active)• Goddesses:– Saraswati (Brahma) – goddess of learning and the

arts– Parvati (Shiva) – mother goddess– Lakshmi (Vishnu) – goddess of prosperity

Scripture• Hinduism has many

sacred texts, added over the many years of development

• The most significant are:– The Vedas– The Upanishads– The Ramayana– The Bhagavad Gita– The Puranas

The Vedas

• Oldest sacred texts in Hinduism, believed to be revealed to priests through meditation.– Rigveda: Hymns to the gods, stories of the gods– Samaveda: Mantras for Soma ritual– Yajurveda: Mantras for ritual, commentaries– Atharvaveda: Incatations against enemies or disease,

spiritual content

The Upanishads

• Literally: “sitting near, laying siege to a teacher”

• Discuss early philosophy and debates between priests and sages

• Contain revealed truths about the nature of reality

• 200 Upanishads, but first 13 are considered most important

The Bhagavad Gita• 700 verse epic, part of the

Mahabharata• Conversation between Krishna

and a prince named Arjuna on a battlefield.

• Arjuna is filled with doubt about the rightness of the battle

• Krishna - who acts as his guide and charioteer, before revealing himself in his universal form – explains Arjuna’s dharma to the prince, and through him, to the reader

The Puranas

• Stories about the gods, creation of the universe, heroes, sages

• 18 Mahapuranas (or “Great Puranas”), as well as other many other lesser puranas.

Religions of the World Documentary