Aeryk 6
The Hindu Religion
Please follow the link to visit the website
WWW Link">Linkhttp://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/9410/hindu1.html
quote from the above website
The Religion
God or Gods?
Misconception
A popular misconception is Hinduism is polytheistic - believes in multiple Gods.
Truth
The Vedas tell us this about God - "OM Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaad Poornamudachyate; Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornamevaavashisyate". Translated in English, this verse means "What is Whole - This is Whole - What has come out of the Whole is also Whole; When the Whole is taken out of the Whole, the Whole still remains Whole".
The essence of this verse is that the Infinite cannot be measured arithmetically - God is Infinite. The Infinite can be represented in Infinite ways and does manifest in infinite ways. This, in short, is the essence of the Hindu belief in God. That He is everywhere, aorund us and within us. Infact, Hinduism takes the bold step of proclaiming that "we are God".
At the end of the day, Hinduism is monotheistic (Believes in One God). However, Hinduism believes not only in One God, but also in His Infinite manifestations around us and within us perpetually. Realizing that it is impossible for mankind to visualize the Infinite, Hinduism presents us with His forms to help us visualize him. This belief of Hinduism is often confused with polytheism.
To illustrate this point - We all observe the unending processes of birth, existence and death, which seem to be continually taking place around us. We constantly witness these processes and are yet ignorant of them, living as we do in the comfort of our illusory lives. Hinduism gives form and shape to these "works" of the Infinite with the Hindu Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. "Brahma" creates, "Vishnu" sustains, and "Shiva" destroys or consumates everything in the Universe.
That the Supreme can be worshipped in any form is a concept unique to Hinduism. Such worship is truly a tribute to His greatness.
Idol Worship
Misconception
Another popular misconception is that Hinduism promotes idol worship.
Follow the link to see the websote this quote came from.
[link="http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/9410/hindu1.html"]WWW Link