- More Writing Assignments ...

- what follows is an assignment handed in, Wednesday; 10/14/09

both posts, from yesterday (10/13/09), and today are expamples

of the work I've been doing for school, not meant to be fun reading

by any stretch of the imagination, hope it's at least, "me' ...

Polytheistic vs. Monotheistic

An Opinion of the Hindu Religious Tradition

Is Hinduism polytheistic or monotheistic? I don’t know that that there is a short answer to this question. While it is certainly true that I have a great deal to learn about the Hindu tradition, the few short chapters we have studied thus far lead me to believe that this Religious Tradition, and it’s rituals are as vast as those people that practice it. Something that jumps out at me is the idea of one person as the representative of an entire faith, dictating theology, and making finite decisions that govern practice & worship tradition. In my opinion, this is the very point that makes the Hindu Tradition as rich and varied as it has become. The tradition has survived with no one individual, wholly in governance over it. As various, and sundry are the needs of its people, so have become the distinctives that define it as a Religion.

In The Rig Veda we’ve met Agni, Indra, Soma, Vishnu, and Rudra, just to name a few. These are Gods of fire and sacrifice, The King of the Gods, Gods of asceticism and minor Gods who at the very least, are relatives at best! When trying to answer the question, one might be tempted to look to this part of Hinduism’s history and refer to the Gods of the Rig Veda, as the end all, be all answer. I think this would amount to selling this vast tradition short. From the Upanishads we learn of the law of Karma, Reincarnation, and that the cycle of birth, death and re-birth is to be regarded as some sort of tortuous existence. The Laws of Manu give us a path to follow, that eventually lead to a oneness with Brahman, or the Truth. In the Epics we see the Gods coming to the rescue of earth bound creatures, saving us from ourselves, and our fallen humanity. Through the Puranic texts, the Gods Visnu, Shiva and Brahma take on a hierarchy, and whether you follow Shiva or Visnu, by this time one of them is in charge of it all.

My own experience leads me to compare this tradition with the one that I know best, Christianity. In my forty years, I’ve had some very difficult dealings with organized Religious Tradition, and have come to regard much of it as corrupt in every way. To see something as free to interpretation, as The Hindu Tradition seems to be, is refreshing to say the least. In The Christian Tradition we have a monotheistic faith that recognizes God in three forms, “The Holy Trinity”. Yet one could argue that the Catholic Christians’ have raised Christ’s mother Mary to the level of deity, or that the “Saints”, as appointed by the Vatican, are raised to the level of deity. Good grief, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention those childhood memories where I witnessed members of my parish praying at the feet of a statue of Joseph, so much for no Idol worship!

In any light, if the Christian Tradition is monotheistic, by definition, then how can I, as a lifelong practitioner of this faith, in one form or the other, recognize the Hindu Tradition as anything less? Conversely, having witnessed the practices of those Christians I’ve seen, over forty years, how do I define one tradition as polytheistic and not the other? Hopefully I’ve not led you too far off course, and by this point you can see my dilemma. To answer the question I would have to refer back to my original point, that being the people who practice Hinduism as a tradition. Thus the question is posed, is Hinduism polytheistic or monotheistic? Through its history, it seems that there has always been one truth. Be it Indra, the King of the Gods, defeating Vrtra and freeing the waters, or the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Brahman. This one truth stays consistent throughout.

In this same way, it seems that each individual journey is one that leads to this same, cosmic, individual truth; therefore I would have to surmise that, while the number and history of the God’s in Hinduism would suggest a polytheistic tradition, it seems more likely that a monotheistic journey in faith is likely here. I arrive at this conclusion simply by recognizing that no one experience seems to be taken lightly. As was pointed out in lecture; there was no one person correcting the version of any given idea, or interpretation. Each new addition to the experience was accepted and eventually added to the tapestry. As problems arose, solutions were offered and accepted, as valuable. Whether you worship, Visnu, Shiva, Brahma, or a combination of the three, it seems like Brahman is the destination. I feel that if we’re looking for an answer to a monotheistic or polytheistic question, we need look no further than the Abrahamic Faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. If a commonality links these three, than certainly, there is a commonality in the vast root system of the Hindu Tradition.

- if you made it this far, Thanks !!!

- Love, S.