Akhila Chandra Padhi
 
Before I saw how many Gods exist in Hindu belief,first of all, we have to know what is the meaning of God or who is God.In Holy Q'ran this is chapter 112, which reads:“ In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Say (O Muhammad), He is God, the One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, nor has been begotten, and equal to Him is not anyone”. If we search in dictionary we may find some different answer, but this is the true meaning of God I believe. There are many other words that are viewed equal with God, namely, 'Deity'. But I see these are different words, in Sanatan Dharma, presently known as Hinduism.Many scholars argue that Sanatan Dharma is 'Polytheism' i.e. belief of multiple gods, also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals. But truely it is not so.Lets see the stages of the world as described in Vedas. The lowest stage is of 'danavas' or 'dasyus' or 'rakhsyas' etc. who are at par with the term' saitan' or 'hevan' used in 'Islam'. Above them are the animals, birds, insects, mammals etc. They are well known to every one. Above them are Human. Then comes 'Gandharva' or 'Jakshya' or 'Yakshya' or 'apsaras'. In Hindu mythology, they are in Heaven live with Devatas, some are dancers, some are singers, some are artists. There is no reference of such lives in other religions. Then comes the most confusing lives, Devatas, whom many consider as Gods and Goddesses. I don't find any classification of Devatas in Hindu books, but I find they are of following classes, namely-
1. Stars, Planets and other Heavenly bodies viz. Surya Dev (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Prithvi (Earth), etc. and their gender is also described.
2. Natural Forces viz. Agni (Fire), Vayu (Air), etc, their gender is also described.
3. Other Super Natural Persons who have control or command over some or all natural forces viz. Indra control rain, Kubera controls Wealth, Saraswati controls Knowledge.
4. Most powerful of all Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. Who is the most powerful of these is not answered in any of the Hindu Holy Books.
Vishnu always pray and say Shiva is his Iswar (God), and Shiva always say Vishnu is his Iswar. Example, in Ramayan, when Prabhu ram started ccnstruction of Ram Setu (also known as Adams Bridge), he constructed a temple too and named it  as "Rameswaram" . When others asked what is the meaning of this term, he said," Ramasya Iswaram" means Iswar of ram. But Shiva said," Rama jasya Iswaram" means whose Iswar is Ram. It is a temple where both Vishnu and Shiva are worshiped. So, both Shiva and Vishnu said one more word, "Iswara". This term has the same meaning as that of "Allah" in Islam. some other words par with Iswara used in Hindu books are "parameswar" or "Paramatma" or "Brahman"Some scholars say "brahman" is the combined name of these three Devatas. But I don't find any such reference in Hindu holy Books.Sanskrit Brahman (an n-stem, nominative bráhmā) from a root bṛh " to swell, grow, enlarge". is a neuter noun to be distinguished from the masculine brahmán - denoting a person associated with Brahman - and Brahmā, the creator God of the Hindu Trinity, the Trimurti. Brahman is thus a gender-neutral concept that implies greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of the devatas. 
So, there is no difference at all of what Prophet Mohammed said for Allah or Prophet Jesus said for his Father.  That is why I say Sanatan Dharma is eternal. It is the first words said by God. later when people started forgetting him and doubted on his existence, he sent his son Jusus and at prophet Mohammed to make people aware and not to indulge in inhuman or bad activities. 

Om.
ABHITESH RANJAN
4/22/2011 04:50:07 pm

i dont understand why do people talk about a person, when refering to religion. in islam its mohammad, in christinity its jesus, in budhism its budha, in jainism its mahavir n in hindu der r many. y dnt ppl talk abt their teachings?? no person has ever claimed to be d god himself. all hav confessed dat dey r jst messenger. even krishna showed his "divya roop" to arjun jst for a few mint, rest he lived lic a human being. d essence of any religion is in dier teachings n philosophy, bt still ppl talk abt dier prophets n criticise any religion by refering d deeds of its prophet. each religion says dat evry prsn is same n equal bt still ppl fight wid each oder in d name of god.

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