In article <87ps8m9cl6.fsf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, Thomas Lindgren wrote:
>
> Also, note that polytheism normally isn't into following a single god
> out of the bunch. Doing that would be like using the same patron saint
> for all your beseeching. It would be like calling the DMV for your tax
> returns, not to mention everything else that has to do with
> government. The gods get cranky when you do that (except maybe if you
> know someone on the inside). So, people, let's just use the right god
> for the right task.
>
> (Practical tip: those of you in college could always ask your hindu
> class mates for pointers on how to do polytheism. Note that their
> views might differ from this one.)
Most Hindu prayers contain invocations of numerous gods. The ones that
invoke single deities invoke many different aspects of the
god. According to advaita philosophy, the basic idea is that
experience is essentially misleading as to the nature of reality.
Praying to a god is a discipline that helps you understand how things
genuinely are, and hence enables you to act according to dharma (ie,
correctly/ethically), because gods are symbolic representations of
ultimate reality. So when you pray, you should naturally invoke many
different gods, because a prayer has an arc to it. The beginning of a
prayer will normally have an invocation of Ganesha, because he is the
god of positive enterprise, devotion, and beginnings, and those are
the attributes you need to begin a prayer. This kind of wor****p is
usually called karma wor****p.
However, in addition to being abstract symbols, gods are also concrete
beings. When you pray to a god, you can also engage in a devotional
relation****p with that god (in much the same way that an evangelical
Christian might claim a personal relation****p with Jesus). Then, you
will try to emulate the god you look up to and who blesses you, and
since they are benevolent this will help you act rightly. This is
called bhakti wor****p, and is usually directed at the various aspects
of the mother goddess (eg, Durga or Kali), or to incarnations of
Vishnu (in particular Krishna and Rama).
Mythology helps mediate these two attributes. The myths about the gods
both demonstrate the transcendent principles they embody, helping with
karma wor****p, and also color them with understandable personalities
humans can identify with, facilitating bhakti wor****p.
--
Neel R. Krishnaswami
neelk@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|
