February 27
It is indeed strange that no matter which corner of India you travel to and no matter which person you meet- whether an intellectual or an illiterate villager, you find one thing common in them all --- an unshakable belief in God, who they call BHAGWAN.
And this despite the complex philosophy and the large number of gods and goddesses-- like so many angels of God.
Imagine a Parliament with so many ministers and senators, senior and junior officers, -- with the President being at the Head of them all. We can think of Hinduism in this simplistic manner. The President being an analogy for Bhagwan, God who created everything and who is the one who is really worshiped.
Apparently the concept of a Universal God, Bhagwan has somehow pervaded the heart of every Indian, since thousands of years, that beyond all gods and goddesses, angels and prophets, philosophies and books there is a God who looks after him and cares for him and answers his prayers.
In the small villages and towns in faroff places in the mountains, which have practically no medical aid and people can die before they are transported to a hospital in a large city, if you meet a common villager and ask him how he manages without medical aid in serious illnesses, his reply will always be:
"Bhagwan Bharose..." - "We Depend on God alone!"
As far as the complex philosophy of Hinduism is concerned it accepts God as a Trinity- the Holy Trinity of the three forms of God. It is the same One God who appears in three forms. Like the same person appearing in three different suits! Or the same Actor appearing in three different parts of the drama.
1. God becomes Brahma when he creates = The Creator of the Universe and man
2. God become Vishnu when he preserves his Creation = the Preserver of His Creation.
3. God becomes Mahesh the inevitable face of the destruction of the Universe His Creation= when he comes as Death.
Even then all the Gods are benign and loving and innocent enough to give away anything that anyone prays for, as long as it is not unjust or improper.
Even Mahesh, the God in charge of death and destruction in the Universe, is a benign generous God ever ready to give anything to anyone who prays to him.
Mahesh is also known as Lord Shiva. Or Lord Shanker, Or Bhole Nath.
The "innocent" God, appeased very easily through simple prayers which heal the devotees of all their ailments and troubles.
Despite being the Face of God in charge of Death ad Destruction, He is the most innocent of them all and the one most easily appeased and pleased by simple prayers or righteous actions.
Today is Maha Shivratri dedicated to Lord Shiva, where millions of Hindus all over India are worshiping Lord Shiva in millions of temples dedicated to his name, seeking for various boons for themselves and their families, and receiving miraculous answers to their prayers.
Another remarkable feature of Hinduism is that they do not look upon God as a male alone, but He always has a consort, his wife with him, without whom he is incomplete.
Since the world consists of men and women both, Hinduism envisions God in the form of Male and Female both, every Face of God has his consort, his wife, who aids him in his work or is simply present as a mother figure to all the people of the world who are like erring children. And often the Mother intervenes on behalf of the devotees to make the Lord More Generous and More Merciful towards them.
Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati are believed to live on Mount Kailash in the Himalayan Mountains where they have resided since eternity and where they will reside till the end of eternity...
It is indeed strange that no matter which corner of India you travel to and no matter which person you meet- whether an intellectual or an illiterate villager, you find one thing common in them all --- an unshakable belief in God, who they call BHAGWAN.
And this despite the complex philosophy and the large number of gods and goddesses-- like so many angels of God.
Imagine a Parliament with so many ministers and senators, senior and junior officers, -- with the President being at the Head of them all. We can think of Hinduism in this simplistic manner. The President being an analogy for Bhagwan, God who created everything and who is the one who is really worshiped.
Apparently the concept of a Universal God, Bhagwan has somehow pervaded the heart of every Indian, since thousands of years, that beyond all gods and goddesses, angels and prophets, philosophies and books there is a God who looks after him and cares for him and answers his prayers.
In the small villages and towns in faroff places in the mountains, which have practically no medical aid and people can die before they are transported to a hospital in a large city, if you meet a common villager and ask him how he manages without medical aid in serious illnesses, his reply will always be:
"Bhagwan Bharose..." - "We Depend on God alone!"
As far as the complex philosophy of Hinduism is concerned it accepts God as a Trinity- the Holy Trinity of the three forms of God. It is the same One God who appears in three forms. Like the same person appearing in three different suits! Or the same Actor appearing in three different parts of the drama.
1. God becomes Brahma when he creates = The Creator of the Universe and man
2. God become Vishnu when he preserves his Creation = the Preserver of His Creation.
3. God becomes Mahesh the inevitable face of the destruction of the Universe His Creation= when he comes as Death.
Even then all the Gods are benign and loving and innocent enough to give away anything that anyone prays for, as long as it is not unjust or improper.
Even Mahesh, the God in charge of death and destruction in the Universe, is a benign generous God ever ready to give anything to anyone who prays to him.
Mahesh is also known as Lord Shiva. Or Lord Shanker, Or Bhole Nath.
The "innocent" God, appeased very easily through simple prayers which heal the devotees of all their ailments and troubles.
Despite being the Face of God in charge of Death ad Destruction, He is the most innocent of them all and the one most easily appeased and pleased by simple prayers or righteous actions.
Today is Maha Shivratri dedicated to Lord Shiva, where millions of Hindus all over India are worshiping Lord Shiva in millions of temples dedicated to his name, seeking for various boons for themselves and their families, and receiving miraculous answers to their prayers.
Another remarkable feature of Hinduism is that they do not look upon God as a male alone, but He always has a consort, his wife with him, without whom he is incomplete.
Since the world consists of men and women both, Hinduism envisions God in the form of Male and Female both, every Face of God has his consort, his wife, who aids him in his work or is simply present as a mother figure to all the people of the world who are like erring children. And often the Mother intervenes on behalf of the devotees to make the Lord More Generous and More Merciful towards them.
Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati are believed to live on Mount Kailash in the Himalayan Mountains where they have resided since eternity and where they will reside till the end of eternity...
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