RELIGIONS OF THE
WORLD ( Page 4) |
|
| The Impersonal God: |
| Among the Oriental philosophic circles of 1000 to 400
B.C. the idea of an impersonal God, a spiritual being transcending
all human attributes is very common. Some of their views are given
below. First let me cite what the Encyclopaedia Britannica has written
on the Hindu view. “The uncreated, eternal, infinite, transcendent,
and all-embracing principle, which comprising in itself being and
non-being, is the sole reality, the ultimate cause and foundation,
source and goal of all existence. This ultimate reality is called
Brahman.” This could be from one of the many Upanishads –
ancient texts that deals in a very philosophic manner, with the metaphysical
aspects of our existence. Here is another one from Taittiriya Upanishad;
“That from which all these entities are born, that in which
they live, that into which they enter in the end, know that: that
is Brahman”. |
| The Japanese view of ‘Kami’ the spirit
that underlies all matter is explained in one of their ancient texts
like this, “The nature of kami cannot be fully explained in
words as kami transcends the cognitive faculty of man. Devotees are
however able to understand kami through faith.” |
| Lao-tzu, a Chinese philosopher, one of the masters
of Taoism, a contemporary of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates, explains
the concept of God like this: “It is something formlessly fashioned,
that existed before heaven and earth. Its name we do not know. Tao
is the byname we give it. Were I forced to say to what class of things
it belonged I should call it immense.” |
| The concept of the impersonal God is not for the common
man, only for the thinkers and the masters. For common man to relate
to this Creator, to pray and worship the Hindu masters conceived two
aspects of the Brahman. The Saguna Brahman is God with human attributes.
We can conceive him as loving and merciful, as fair and just, as a
father or mother, as a king or judge. Nirguna Brahman is the God of
philosophy, the impersonal God with no human attributes. Atman is
another term used in Hindu literature to describe the Cosmic Soul
or God. Kena Upanishad has something interesting to say about the
personal and impersonal aspects of God, on what God is to the thinker
and the common man. “To the man of true knowledge, It is the
unknown, while to the ignorant It is the known.” |
| Hinduism |
| The major religion of India, Hinduism is a collection
of the religious beliefs and practices of many cultures extending
over six or seven millennia, if not more. The main reason for the
present polytheistic nature, the presence of so many gods, goddesses
and forms of worship and belief can be attributed to this way of mixing
of faiths and cultures. Known as the mother of all religions, Hinduism
is considered to be the oldest known religion and its origins are
shrouded in the mists of distant past. Yet we can make the following
observations about the earliest inhabitants of the subcontinent, which
cannot be far from the truth. |
| Pre-Aryan Cultures |
| A turning point in the story of these people is the
Aryan invasion or migration that happened about 4000 years ago. We
can identify three separate groups of people who migrated here before
the Aryans. During the course of the past millennia there could have
been several migrations to the subcontinent. The fertile regions of
the Indo-Gangetic plain had always been a magnet that attracted people
from the earliest humans. The earliest of these, were there for tens
of thousands of years. Today we call them Aadivasis and they are found
in various parts of India as hill-tribes. Certain groups of the so-called
untouchables also belong to this early people. Even these Aadivasis
seem to be of two separate groups in origin, if not more. The most
ancient and most effective form of herbal medical treatment for certain
ailments is practiced by some of these even today. |
| To the Aadivasis God was a mother, the source of life.
7000-year-old terra cotta figurines of female deities attest to this
assumption. Kaali (as in poly) is the name they give to their God
the Mother. These people were monotheistic from time immemorial. Even
today, in spite of the galaxy of Indian gods and goddesses being worshipped
all round them and in spite of the fact that they do not deny or disclaim
any of these, to the Aadivasis still there is only one God, Kaali,
the mother.Kaali or Bhadra Kaali is often pictured as an incarnation
of terror, a murderess, and one who delights in blood sacrifices.
How can such a being be associated with divine nature? Wouldn’t
the terms beastly or devilish suit her more, one may wonder? True,
Kaali is pictured as destroying some one. That someone is the demon,
the personification of evil. In other words, what Kaali represents
is the victory of good over evil. |
| These were followed by the Dravidians who now occupy
most of south India especially the Tamilnadu. Tamil is considered
by many scholars as the oldest of all the world languages spoken today.
Many scholars point out that there are two distinct groups among the
Dravidians – those with Negroid features and those with Mediterranean
features. Both these groups were present in India before the Aryans
but I do not think that we can classify these two into one group –
the Dravidians. I would rather consider them as two distinct groups.
|
| The Dravidians were also monotheistic. They had only
one God Siva, also known today by a host of other names such as, Rudra,
Sankara, Mahesa (the great ruler), Parameswara (the supreme God).
Later mythology assigned to him a consort, Parvathy and two sons,
Ganesa of the elephant face and Subrahmanya with the spear (Vel Murugan).
The Dravidians of today try to distance themselves from the Aryan
gods and their religion is devoted to the worship of Siva or his sons.
Temples for worship of Ganesa and Muruga can be found all over Tamilnadu
but the worship of Siva is not limited to that region. Siva’s
temples are found all over India. In spite of the numerous gods and
deities brought by the Aryans, Siva still holds in India the position
of the Supreme God. |
|
