Essence

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Hindu religion is founded, from its very ancient beginnings, on the concept of a timeless, nameless and formless Divine.

 Unlike the exclusive monotheisms of younger religions, the Indian concept of the Divine does not  exclude the One Eternal and Infinite from being represented by many  names;  God cannot be  limited, as is the case with the narrow-minded mono-theisms.

The One is worshipped as the All - to the Hindu the universe is the Divine manifest in multiplicity.  But Hindu religion cannot be regarded as pantheism - beyond  universality is recognition of  That which is above and beyond what is manifest.

Neither is it the popular polytheism of ancient pagan Europe, because the Hindu worshipper knows that the many gods are all  forms and attributes of the One Ultimate Source.


                                                                                        ~~❀~~

Ṛg Veda 1.164 

इन्द्रं॑ मि॒त्रं वरु॑णम॒ग्निमा॑हु॒रथो॑ दि॒व्यः स सु॑प॒र्णो ग॒रुत्मा॑न् ।

एकं॒ सद्विप्रा॑ बहु॒धा व॑दन्त्य॒ग्निं य॒मं मा॑त॒रिश्वा॑नमाहुः ॥४६॥

 Índraṃ mitráṃ váruṇam agním āhur átho divyáḥ sá suparṇó garútmān;

Ékaṃ sád víprā bahudhā́ vadanty agníṃ yamáṃ mātaríśvānam āhuḥ

They called him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni; 

yea, he is heavenly Garuḍa, who has beautiful wings.

That which is One, the sages speak of as Multifarious; 

they called him Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan.

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