On Hinduism

Hindus have a very modern relationship with Divinity. We know that the one single divinity, that pervades everything and everyone, can be known to our hearts in our own unique ways.

I will answer your question, but first I must ask–what is the color of your car? (assuming the answer isn’t “Black”. If they say Black, just ask another person that doesn’t have a black car).

So you have a Silver colored car? Did you pick it yourself? Why? Because you liked it!! Surely you liked the Black car as well?

Hindus have many expressions of divinity. You may translate these roughly into “gods”, but that is just a mis-translation. We have many expressions of divinity, and so you can say that Hindus are poly-theistic. That would only be partially right because usually, polytheism relates to the Roman/Greek pantheon of warring gods that are always at odds with each other. The Hindus don’t approach divinity in the same manner.

Now let me tell you the story of Mister Ford. He invented the modern factory, making automobile cars cheaply through his use of the conveyor belt. He was very famous, as I am sure you know, but he had some detractors. You see, some people didn’t want black cars. Why did they have a problem with our Mister Ford? He didn’t want to sell them colored cars. His Model-T car was only available in Black because he didn’t want to stop his conveyor belt to change the color of the car. So he declared that “people can have ANY color of car they want, as long as the color is BLACK”.

This Model-T-ism is the state of today’s monotheism. “You may have only one God as-long-as he is a white-bearded old man who is somewhat grumpy and gets angry at times”. That monochrome monoculture may work for those religions that spring from sparse ecologies but denies the obvious richness and variety that all creation represents.

To recap, Hindus have a much more modern relationship with God. We know that the one single divinity that pervades everything and everyone can be known to our hearts in our own unique ways. Whatever conception of divinity is dearest to us, Hindus believe that the idea of their chosen deity (Ishta devata) is the god (or deva) they will pray to.

Some hearts want a silver car, and they should have the ability to drive a silver car, wouldn’t you agree? Why should all of us have to deal with the Model-T-ism of divinity?

Other reading material:

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand , Dilip Amin,

Contributor: Gaurav Rastogi

Location of this post (1c): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/is-hinduism-a-polytheist-religion/

Absolutely Yes, and Absolutely Not, with a definitely Maybe inserted in there, I think. (laughter)
This is not a trivial question, because much depends on the intention and perspective of the person asking the question. If you are looking for a white-bearded gentleman about 60 miles in a geospatial orbit, then you are very likely to be disappointed, and many Hindus would agree with you that THAT God does not exist.
Hindus approach the idea of Divinity by exploring the true nature of reality, the same underlying motive that drives modern Physics and Biology, but the Hindu seers worked to identify events and their causes down the chain of causation. There is something, but where does it come from? That underlying Truth (capital T) must be the closest that the western mind can come to the idea of “God”.
However, if you are looking for proof that there is an order to the Universe, then you will agree with those Hindu sages who looked for Rta (Sanskrit ऋत), the cosmic order, and then inferred that the order must be maintained through some processes and an organizing principle. We can see evidence that the Universe is not random, and that laws of physics seem to be followed. That’s your indication that there is a divine order.
If you are looking for physical proof, then just open your eyes and close them. What you see with open eyes is a Universe that seems to exist materially, even though scientific microscopes seem to find only probabilities and space between. A ball that retains all colors except red, but still you will call it a red ball. This is all a play of consciousness, and we say “Jagan Mithya, Brahm Satya”…the material world is an illusion, only the knowing Self is the Truth.
So when you close your eyes, YOU still exist. When you die, your body exists, but not YOU. And if YOU exist, then surely there is SOMEONE that exists (even if it’s just you). Recognizing the self, or the Self behind all subjective experiences is the recognition of God.
Words can be limiting in experiencing the Limitless. “God” is a small word, and that which has created everyone cannot be constrained into it. The vocabulary of spiritual experiences can be broader, and the subjective experience of causeless bliss is proof of divinity to all those that have tasted it.
For Hindus, all-seeing is the Seeing of God, and all Tasting is the tasting of God. Raso-vai-Sah (“He is taste”).

Other reading material:

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand Hinduism Q & A: Does God Really Exist

Contributor: Gaurav Rastogi

Location of this post (1h): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/does-god-really-exist/

Swastika is a symbol of divinity for Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. It is a symbol to represent well-being, the good, and the auspicious. While the use of this symbol has existed for at least 10,000 years across ancient Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China and the Indian Subcontinent, today it is primarily found in active use in India, China, Korea, and Japan. 

This is a universal symbol that exists in every culture of the world. It represents many of nature’s phenomena; blooming of flowers, rotation of the Big Dipper constellation around Polaris as viewed from mid-northern latitudes.

The word Swastika originated from the root word Swasti which means may you be well. The four arms of the Swastika symbolize the four main directions: North, South, East, West. Also the four Vedas: Rig, Atharva, Yajur, and Sama, the four aims of human life (Purusharthas): Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha, and the four stages of life (ashramas): Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and Sannyas.

In a 2008 Hindu-Jewish leadership summit the Chief Rabbinate of Israel had recognised that the Swastika has been sacred to Hindus for a millennia prior to its misappropriation. Swastika should not be confused with Nazi’s Haken Kreuz (hooked cross).

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Other reading material: What is meaning of the Swastika?

Relevant videos: BBC Podcast: Reclaiming the Swastika, Importance of Swastika in Hinduism-Artha, 

Contributor: Rajeev Singh

Location of this post (18f): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-swastika/