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Hindu God Vishnu

Among the Hindu trinity, Vishnu is the Preserver. He is the guardian of dharma, the principle that orders the Universe and protects all that is good in the world. In Hindu iconography, Vishnu is often depicted reclining upon Adi Shesha, an enormous serpent with multiple hoods, floating upon primordial waters.

According to Hindu belief, when the balance between good and evil forces tips in favor of the latter, Vishnu assumes an earthly avatar to destroy evil and reestablish the moral order. The nine incarnations that have manifested to date each correspond to an era in life on earth. Of these avatars, three are animal forms: Matsya the fish, Kurma the tortoise and Varaha the boar. Narasimha is half-man and half-lion. The human avatars are Vamana the dwarf, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna and Balarama (some versions replace Balarama, Krishna’s half-brother, with the Buddha). Of all avatars, Rama and Krishna are the best known, with dedicated followings. They are also the protagonists of the two great epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Kalki the Destroyer is the tenth avatar, yet to come. The stories of the Dashavatar, the collective term for these incarnations, are among the earliest myths Hindu children hear from their elders; they are also ever popular subjects for films, plays and dance dramas.

One myth in the Rig Veda speaks of Vishnu’s ability to stride across the Universe in three steps. Mankind knows two of those positions – the places where the sun rises and sets. Only Vishnu however, knows the third, the highest point in the sky where the noonday sun blazes. As he strides forth, the dust flying up from his steps become the sun’s rays that cover the world.

As Narayana, Vishnu is the final abode of souls. He lives in Vaikunta, the heaven that his devotees aspire to reach after death. Vaishnavism is the cult dedicated to Vishnu, wherein He is revered as supreme among gods. It is an intensely personal form of worship which recognizes absolute devotion and surrender – rather than ritualism – as the means to attain God.

Vishnu’s divine vehicle is Garuda the eagle. He is four-armed (some representations show more arms), with each hand holding a conch shell, a club, discus and a lotus. Vishnu’s consort is the radiant Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity. Their benevolence towards devotees is legendary and their rewards lavish – one reason perhaps, for their enduring and ever increasing popularity in a material minded world!

Pictured above: Hindu God Vishnu Statue from Om Etc.

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Hinduism, a Philosophy?

The ancient Vedic faith of Hinduism is perhaps the oldest organized surviving religion today – so old that it predates history. Thought to have originated around 3000 BCE, it cannot be attributed to any single founder, does not worship any single God, and does not follow any single philosophy. The term “Hindu” originated as a secular term; coined perhaps by Persians and Arabs to refer to the people who lived beyond the River Indus, and only acquiring communal overtones after the 17th century. Hinduism therefore refers generally to the (rather disparate) ways of life of those people.

The inherently diverse, complex nature of Hinduism makes it near impossible to state a defining philosophy. There is general agreement on the significance of the immortal soul (as against the triviality of the body, which is nothing more than a vehicle for the soul). The soul must stay on earth (albeit in a succession of different bodies through rebirth) until all its misdeeds have been nullified. The purpose of a Hindu’s life, then, is to attain liberation (Moksha) from this cycle of life and death.

Broadly, there may be said to be three schools of thought regarding the path to attaining Moksha – Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita.

• Advaita, defined by the Sanskrit phrase “Tat Tvam Asi” (That Thou Art) argues that all life and the “Brahman” or God, are one and the same, and the pursuit of knowledge is the way to merge with the Brahman.
• Vishishtadvaita states that all life forms are part of, and make up the supreme whole, as drops of water make the ocean. The path to liberation is knowledge and devotion.
• Dvaita is dualistic, and much like Christianity, Judaism and Islam, believe in the superiority of God over his followers, and that the path to Moksha is self-surrender, devotion and worship.

Some believe that these are but references to stages of realization, with the soul progressing from Dvaita, the basic stage, to Advaita through the acquisition of knowledge and the practice of meditation.

Hinduism 101

Is it a religion?  Is it a faith? Is it a tradition?
No, it is Hinduism!

What you see are lamps, flowers, fire, incense… what you do not see are the Vedas, the Vedanta and abstract concepts such as Dharma (righteousness), Karma (duty) and many others that make Hinduism what it is. 

A quest

Hinduism was never meant to be a mere religion. It does not restrict itself to just one facet of human belief or one sphere of human activity. It goes beyond being a philosophy, a religion and a set of beliefs, rituals and practices. It is a quest which seeks to give rationality to reality by questioning it and seeking to explain ‘what is’, in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting enough to uphold. It is an entity whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

A way of living

Hinduism was initially called ‘Sanātana Dharmā’ which means ‘the eternal law that supports and sustains those who practice it’. It is based on the principles of Sāmānya Dharma (ethical values common to all) and samskāras (rituals). Ethical values train people to discipline their lives to be in harmony with the society while prescribed rituals serve to fine tune daily living.   Dr. Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer said “The Hindu religion is the only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to those of modern scientific cosmology”. Modern science is able to explain many Vedic prescriptions only now! 

The Vedas – A Knowledge Bank

At the very base of Hinduism lie the four timeless Vedas, which have been handed down by the Supreme Being, to a chosen few who proved themselves worthy enough to absorb it. These four Vedas, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda and the Atharva Veda form a vast and deep ocean of knowledge. They answer many questions and prescribe courses of action.

The Vedas lay down the varna (caste) system, a broad structure for the society based on the division of labor, the asramās or four stages of life that cater to the basic tendencies that surface at each  stage of life and the codes of conduct and duty so that both the individual and the society flourish.

Over five thousand years, Hinduism has been interpreted, reinterpreted, modified, customized, deified, vilified, assaulted, reinvented and it still remains Hinduism, alive and thriving with all its warts and moles! Go ahead and Google the term Hinduism; there are 6,840,000 plus links for you to make the journey from the ritual to the spiritual and from the temporal to the sublime!