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Monotheistic Hindus?
- Thread starter Quakerguy
- Start date
:yes: for me also.
Satyamavejayanti
Well-Known Member
Yes, I'm monotheistic, and the most wonderful part is that being any "istic", in Hinduism is not a problem.
Me Myself
Back to my username
I consider Panentheism monotheistic :ninja:
K.Venugopal
Immobile Wanderer
Hinduism, in what is called its Vedantic Vision (Vedanta Darshanam), encapsulates the entire gamut of man's need for religion or God, starting from Dvaita and capping off with Advaita. Hinduism allows for Hindus to be anything, but no religious or spiritual practice of a Hindu would be untouched by the Vedantic Vision, including its acme of Advaita. That is, it is not in the ethos of either Hinduism or Hindus to be living in water-tight compartments.
internationalist
Member
Hinduism in its original (Vedic) form was polytheistic - many gods like Indra, vayu etc. were worshiped. But after coming into contact with Abrahamic faiths, Hindus changed their religion to monotheism to fit in.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
And you're basing this on what evidence?
That is a common misconception. The Vedas expressed the view that God is One but has many aspects. Indra, Vayu etc. are manifestations of those aspects.
internationalist
Member
The Vedas is evidence. Plus, if you consider Indian history, you'll see that until their contact with Islam/Christianity, Hindus never even considered the possibility of one supreme god. They worshiped all gods, which is why you'll never find 'Vishnu is supreme' or 'shiva is supreme' line of thought in any Hindu scripture prior to their contact with abrahamic faiths.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
Except that Vaishnism dates to about the 2nd century BCE, with the writing of the Bhagavad Gita. And archaeological finds have shown Shaivism to date even earlier than that. Not to mention that Advaita is based on the Upanishads, the earliest of which date back to around the 9th century BCE.
internationalist
Member
Isn't it curious that no Hindu ever said so BEFORE their contact with abrahamic faiths? It is only later on that Hindus used this logic to explain away the existence of multiple gods.
internationalist
Member
You got all facts mixed up. Gita became popular only after sankar in AD commented on it. Until then, no one knew of its existence, so some would contend sankar wrote it.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
The traditional dating of the Gita is the 2nd to 5th centuries BCE. And even the later datings of the Gita don't put it as late as Adi Shankara. However, there's no reason to reject the traditional dating of the Gita.
I don't know why you think this is the case.
What makes you think that ancient Hindus were not aware of the Brahman concepts and the nature of the gods? It's all there in the scriptures.
Breathe
Hostis humani generis
इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान |
एकं सद विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ||
indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇamaghnimāhuratho divyaḥ sa suparṇo gharutmān |
ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadantyaghniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānamāhuḥ ||
They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān.
To what is One, sages give many a title; they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan
.एकं सद विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ||
indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇamaghnimāhuratho divyaḥ sa suparṇo gharutmān |
ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadantyaghniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānamāhuḥ ||
They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān.
To what is One, sages give many a title; they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan
- Rig Veda Book 1, Hymn 164, Verse 46. [Griffith Translation]
त॑म् इदं॑ नि॑गतं स॑हः स॑ एष॑ ए॑क ए॑कवृ॑द् ए॑क एव॑ ||
tám idáṃ nígataṃ sáhaḥ sá eṣá éka ekavŕ̥d éka evá ||
He is the One, the Onefold, the only One.
.त॑म् इदं॑ नि॑गतं स॑हः स॑ एष॑ ए॑क ए॑कवृ॑द् ए॑क एव॑ ||
tám idáṃ nígataṃ sáhaḥ sá eṣá éka ekavŕ̥d éka evá ||
He is the One, the Onefold, the only One.
- Atharvana Veda 13/4/12 Book 13, Hymn 4, Verse 12. [Arya Samaj Translation]
Just saying.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
internationalist also doesn't realize that one of the Upanishads, which dates to the 1st to 3rd centuries BCE, gives a detailed description of Shaivism. And this certainly predates Christianity.
internationalist
Member
I am betting that isn't a principal Upanishads recognized by sankar.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
I'm not sure if it is or not, but does it matter? I wasn't aware that Adi Shankara was the be-all, end-all of Hinduism.