[Prev][Next][Index]
Re: gods
-
To: alt-hindu@uunet.UU.NET
-
Subject: Re: gods
-
From: birlas@blueridge.eecs.umich.edu (Sushil Birla)
-
Date: 16 May 1994 05:58:48 GMT
-
Distribution: world
-
Followup-To: alt.hindu
-
Keywords: Monotheism or polytheism
-
Newsgroups: alt.hindu
-
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept., Ann Arbor, MI
-
References: <2qr830$eq5@ucunix.san.uc.edu>
The explanation I have heard and observed is as follows:
The one and only Supreme Being cannot be comprehended easily by ordinary mortals
like us.
Therefore, each of us thinks of God in terms of some personal image
constrained by the individual predilection or predisposition or preconditioning
or capabilities. Thus, one may say that there are as many images or forms of
God as there are people.
We can think of only a few aspects of God at a time, depending on
what we want to focus on. The focusing of attention and communication with
others becomes easier by thinking in terms of incarnations of these aspects or
qualities. This focus of attention from one "incarnation" to another shifts
according to what is occupying the mind, even among proclaimed monotheists,
though implicitly.
To help people of different abilities comprehend the Supreme Being,
religious leaders help an individuals choose a primary image (Ishta Dev) to
best suit his|her respective situation. The individual uses the other incarna-
tions to compose a more complete concept of the Supreme Being. I have heard even
illiterate (but wise) people articulate that though they talk in terms of different incarnations, in reality there is only one God.
--
----------------------------
Sushil Birla (Su-sheel)
Email: birlas@eecs.umich.edu
