The Upanishads declare that there is only one God! “ ekameva advitiyam brahma” The Vedas again and again emphasize that the Brahman or the Absolute is the reality. India is a land of many faiths. It has been invaded many a time and as a consequence different religions like Islam, Christianity, Zoarastrianism, Buddhism and others have influenced the society. Every religion and sect has its own belief and god and worships him. Different names are given to these divine entities in different religions and faiths. While Rama, Krishna and Siva and various other names are familiar to the Hindus, Allah, Jehova and others are considered as gods by the Muslims and the Christians respectively. By whatever name you worship God, it reaches the Supreme Spirit above all of us like the waters of all rivers that flow into the same ocean. “ akasath patitam thoyam yatha gacchati sagaram sarvadeva namaskaram Kesavam pratigacchati.”
In all our Puranas, each dedicated to a particular deity like Vishnu, Skanda, Siva and others, prominence is given to that particular deity only! In Vishnu Purana Vishnu is the supreme god! In Skanda Purana Lord Subrahmanya is the Supreme Being! In Siva Purana Lord Siva is the greatest! That does not mean there is a conflict between these Gods. In Devi Bhagavatam, Devi or Lalitha Maha Tripura Sundari is considered as the supreme Shakti, the primum mobile capable of creation, protection and destruction! It is described in Lalitha Sahasra Nama Sthothra that the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu manifested out of the nails of Her ten fingers! “ karanguli nakhotpanna Narayana dasakrutyai namonamaha” Adi Sankara, sensing the trend of the society of those days established the six methods of worship for the people of different faiths-----Ganapatyam for the followers of Vinayaka, Vaishnavam for the devotees of Vishnu, Saivam for the followers of Siva, Shaktam for the devotees of Shakti, Kaumaram for the followers of Lord Subrahmanya and Sauram for the devotees of the Sun god. Thus he came to be called “ Shanmatha sthapanacharya” He composed a number of sthothras glorifying these different forms of Gods and goddesses! Sankara, a staunch believer in monism or Advaita gave these six types of worship to enable people to worship Gods of their own choice. !n one of the Upanishads Parashakti establishes her supremacy over Indra and other gods! They are unable to exercise their strength on an ordinary blade of grass! Devi says that it is her Shakti that manifests through them. Bereft of that all of them are powerless!
All deities whom we worship are different forms of the self same Supreme Brahman who has no name and form. But these Gods have name, form and attributes. Through their worship we worship the eternal Reality which is Brahman. We should never argue that Lod Siva is superior to Vishnu or Lord Vishnu greater than Lord Siva! This is utter ignorance and foolishness.A small story to illustrate. Ghantakarna was a bigot who worshipped Lord Siva only and hated all other deities. On a day Lord Siva appeared before him and said that he did not approve of his hatred for other Gods! When Ghantakarna did not change his attitude, the Lord came again to him as Harihara a combination of both Vishnu and Siva! Ghantakarna was half pleased. He placed offerings on the side representing Lord Siva only! He did not care for Vishnu! He did not stop at this. When the incense was offered, he pressed the nostrils of Vishnu lest he should inhale the fragrance! Siva grew angry at his ineradicable bigotry and not learning a lesson. He wanted to convince his devotee that all Gods and Goddesses are but the various aspects of the One Being! He ordained that Ghantakarna should suffer for long for his bigotry and not learning a lesson.
Ghantakarna did not change! He developed into a terrible hater of Vishnu! Knowing his weakness children in the village started teasing him by repeating the name of Vishnu very near him. To avoid hearing the name of Vishnu, he hung two bells on his ears and would ring the bells whenever the children cried out “ Vishnu, Vishnu” He was thus called Ghantakarna—the Bell eared! Bigotry and hatred for other Gods lead to foolish acts like this! Let us remember that God is ONE but we call him by different names!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment