A mail on Hinduism

This is a reply to a mail forwarded to me regarding monotheism & polytheism and it's ensuant result on assuaging the anxieties/depressions of it's belivers. I really enjoyed writing this, so thought i'll put this up.... And many of ideas here are not original, infact most of it is inspired from Vivekanada's works & also from Srimad Prabhupada's ideals.
..... well just in case... i am a bit scared after the KaavyaGate scandal-"How Opal Mehta got kissed.. " Don't want the Ramakrishna Math suing me ;-)

Dear Mr Rosmarin,

A friend of mine forwarded me regarding your question on polytheistic Hinduism and it’s effect on it’s believers. I hope the below my views on the same could be of some use to you.

Foremost, Hinduism is not in essence a polytheistic (nor idolatrous) religion as is commonly believed. Because the Vedas (the most sacred book for Hindus) say that God is one absolute Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnivolent entity (as you put it). The most important interpretation of the Vedas called the Advaita (which means “not two”); says all existence (the body & soul) is not two, but one indivisible supreme entity- “The Atman”.

Now coming to common perception regarding polytheistic and idolatrous Hinduism. It is true that we have about 33 million Gods being worshiped. The ancient proponents of Hinduism believed that paths to God should be different for different people. A poor illiterate man seeks God not for his “Moksha”*. For him God is something which will ensure that he doesn’t go hungry that night. For him esoteric concepts like Omnipotent all-pervading power called God would make very less sense. He better relates to an entity that is much closer to him, a God to which he can talk to just like he would talk to his father or mother, but one that is still Omnipotent for him. One with which he can cry to, when down with pain & suffering and one which he feels will empathize with him. One which he can visualize. Can any living human ever perceive or visualize a infinite God. For a Christian perceives it as the Christ we adore, the Father in Heaven, mother Mary, a Bible or even the Holy Cross in front of a genuflecting Christian. For a Muslim , he perceives it as the Holy Koran, or Prophet Mohammed or even the visual of Mecca. This is in spite of Islam & Christianity being monotheistic religions. For, monotheism & polytheism in essence are one and same.

From my personal experience (which I assume can be extrapolated to others), when I am down with some illness, it’s not a nebulous Omnipotent God that comes to my mind ( though consciously I believe in esoteric all-pervading formless God ). It’s a form of a female maternal form that comes to mind, one which I feel will help me out. One which like my mother is all-powerful, all capable for me. One which I trust can cure me come what may. We call such a form of maternal Goddess, a “Devi or Parvati or Lakshmi or Durga”.

Now finally, the greatest potency of faith worship in Hinduism is the fact that it’s a religion where the religious offertory plays a very important role. A Hindu believes the absolute (which he perceives through his personal deity & calls out by a name he is most at ease with) can help him more than any scientific medicine, for the evanescent body can be easily cured by a more potent soul.

Hope the above information could be of use/relevant to you. I tried to put up a lot of disparate ideas of Hinduism together .. Pls tell me if you need more clarification, maybe I could try find out.

Regards,
Harikrishnan

-----Original Message-----
From: David Hillel Rosmarin [mailto:drosmarin@jpsych.com]
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 11:19 PM
Cc: 'Daniel Goldenholz'

Subject: A Question about Hinduism

Hi,

Dr. Daniel Goldenholz gave me your contact info (thanks Daniel!). I have a question about Hinduism and I was wondering if you could help me. I'm currently studying the impact of specific beliefs about God on anxiety/depression. My hypothesis is that people who believe that God is Omniscient (All-Knowing), Omnipotent (All-Powerful) and Omnibenevolent(All-Good/Just) will have increased psychological wellbeing and not suffer from anxiety/depression as much as people who lack these beliefs. From my elementary knowledge of world religions, I believe that my model works well for members of monotheistic faiths. But I'm not sure how it would work with Hinduism, which, to my limited knowledge, is not monotheistic. As soon as one introduces multiple deities into the picture, it appears to me that the concept of Omnipotence cannot apply - Omnipotence implies that a single force has TOTAL control, while the existence of multiple gods seems to inherently assume that complete control of a god is unattainable. I'm sure your time is limited, but I would be most grateful for any insights you could share with me about this issue.

All the best,
David
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David Hillel Rosmarin, MA
Clinical Psychology PhD Candidate
Department of Psychology, Room 242
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
(419) 902 7248
www.jpsych.com