Hinduism Is Neither Polytheistic Nor Monotheistic Religion

This is one of the most frequent misconceptions about Hinduism and it is totally false. Hinduism is not, and has never been, polytheistic, meaning the belief in many Gods. In fact, there is no concept of "god" even in Hinduism, in Abrahamic view. Ishwara as stated in Hinduism is not equivalent to god, simply because Ishwara is not an entity different in outside the world, ruling over it! 

The concept of "creation" in Hinduism is not an external creation, rather it is a manifestation of Parabrahman itself. Hence Ishwara or Paramatma is not an entity different from this world, but rather the world itself is a manifestation of Parabrahman.

According to Hindu thought, there is no separation between the Divine and the world of nature. They are the two aspects of the same reality. The cosmic reality is one like the ocean. Nature or the manifest world is like the waves on the surface of the sea. Brahman or the unmanifest Absolute is like the depths of the sea. But it is all water, all the same single ocean.

Ultimately for the Hindu as the Upanishads say, “Everything is Brahman,” Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma. This does not mean that the informed Hindu mindlessly worships the forces of nature on an outer level out of superstition and fear. The Hindu perceives a Divine and sacred presence working behind the forms of nature as their inner spirit, which is the real object of their adoration.

Hinduism has always been pluralistic, meaning many ways to think of and relate to Ishwara. It is the only religion in the world in which a person is not only allowed, but also encouraged, to relate to Ishwara in the way that suits them best, whatever that may be.

This sense of the Divine in all of nature is the reason why Hindus find sacred places everywhere. The Hindus have sacred mountains and hills, sacred rivers and lakes, sacred trees and groves, sacred flowers and grasses. They can honor the Divine not only in the human form but in all the forms of nature. This Hindu devotional attitude is not mere primitive idolatry as the western religions would like to project. It is not a worship of nature externally. It is a recognition of the Divine reality within all things.

Hindus honor all the forms of the Divine but also recognize the formless Divine even beyond the Creator, extending to the Absolute. Vedanta teaches us that this Absolute or Brahman is the being, self and soul of everything animate and inanimate. It says our very Self is the entire universe and the entire universe dwells within us. To honor nature is to honor ourselves. To honor ourselves, one should honor all of nature.

For the Hindus the Earth is sacred as the very manifestation of the Divine Mother. She is Bhumi Devi, the Earth Goddess. One of the reasons that Hindus honor cows is that the cow represents the energies and qualities of the Earth, selfless caring, sharing and the providing of nourishment to all. Hindu prayers are done at the rising of the Sun, at noon and at sunset, honoring the Divine light that comes to us through the Sun. Nature is always included in the Hindu approach. Even the great Hindu Yogis retire into nature to pursue their practices, taking refuge in the Himalayas and other mountains and wilderness areas where there is a more direct contact with the Divine.

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Are Hindu Gods married?

We are accustomed to listening to stories where God is portrayed having a family with children. For instance Lord Shiva has his family where his wife is Parvathi and His children are Ganesha and Murugan (Kartikeya). Even in temple ceremonies there is the Tirukalyanam or Holy Wedding.

Is this the truth of the matter? No. God is actually not married. Logically God doesn't need to be married. When you understand that God is the Creator of the entire Universe it is obvious that he doesn't need to be married and that all the beings in the Universe are already His (Her) children. God is already the Father/Mother of the Universe.

So what about the stories of God being married and all? Well these stories are fictional. Even the popular story like how Ganesha got his elephant face is fictional. These stories are are contained in a series of secondary scriptures called Puranas. There are thousands of Puranas in Hinduism, like the Shiva Puranas, Vishnu Puranas and so forth. These scriptures were created to record history and also to transmit philosophical truths, practical advise, morals and culture to people through entertainment mainly in the form of fictional stories. Without the stories in the Puranas, Hindu teachings would be too cut and dry, and for most people it would be boring to sit in a lecture about Hindu philosophy. Thus gurus of the past and even today continuously create stories based on truths and certain events to teach Hinduism.

As an example let us go back to the story of how Ganesha got his head. It has all sorts of teachings in it and even today the story is fascinating, though there are a lot of philosophical errors in it. For instance, according to the story God (Shiva) cut the head of His son (later to be replaced by an elephant head) because He did not know that the boy was His son. How can the Omniscient Lord not know His own son, one might ask rightly? Why should God have replace his son's decapitated head with that of an elephant, why not use the original head? The truth on the other hand is rather simple. That is that, Ganesha chose to have an elephant face to represent that he is the Guardian of Earth. Indeed the elephant is such an unique animal and a good choice to represent earth. As you can see the truth is simple. The story is lots more fun.

Even in todays scientific times, we are still enamored with stories of fictitious superheros and superheroins. Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, Spiderman and so forth are adored by their fans and their exploits in the stories are often subjects of conversation even if we know they are all imagination. It is the same with the Puranic stories, however, the superhero personalities in these stories are God and the angles and demons of heaven and hell.

The Puranas were also created to trasmit the perception of God's closeness to His devotees in a more mundane and simpler way instead of a deeper more complex spiritual closeness. That is why there is marriage and family issues, so that devotees can easily relate with God in their day to day life and draw examples and anecdotes of idealism and right action from such stories. The ceremonies in the temple too, such as the Holy Wedding (Tirukalyanam) were created for the pleasure of devotees. It is just like the the ceremonies of waking God in the morning and putting Him to sleep at night. God doesn't sleep nor wake up, but the priests and devotees certainly do. So at the start of the day and end of it God is 'awakened' and ceremoniously 'sent to bed.'

These stories are the basis of much drama, song and dance in Hindusim. They are an essential part of our religion. However, one cannot take the Puranas and claim them to be absolute truth of what had happened. So Gods warring with each other or getting married and so forth should be understood in the light that they are fictional stories meant to transmit teachings of Hinduism indirectly.

The first sloka of one of the great works of KaaLidhaasa, Raghuvamsa Mahaakaavya indicates the unity of Lord Shiva and Shakthi. Lord Shiva is the immortal paramaathman which is always enjoying in the self. When It intends to create the worlds the Shakthi emerges out . When all the worlds that are created are active the Shiva and Shakthi appear to be two different entities, but they are the same Truth. When everything finally become inactive into the Lord during the Mahaa Samhaara time (Destruction) Shiva and Shakthi will become one and the same. There is a nice hymn in the starting of Kaliththokai (A Tamil sangam literature - B.C.) which praises the Dance of destruction that the Lord do, in which he describes the stillness of Shakthi in the Mahaa Samhaara time.

In this hymn KaaLidhaasa describes the inseparability of Shiva and Shakthi with two nice examples. Every word in any language has its sound also. When we look into the word we automatically remember the way it is read. They are always together. Similarly every word has its own meaning. It is not possible to say the word alone and not convey its meaning or without the words trying to say something. When we think of the word automatically its meaning comes into our mind.

"They are inseparable like the word and its sound (the way it is read), and like the word and its meaning. To those Parvathi and Parameeshwara, who are the parents of this world, Salutations. "

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