God is one, but he has many
forms and appearances. Lord himself says in Gita :
YADA YADA HI DHARMASYA, GALANIRBHAVATI BHARAT |
ABHUUTHANAM ADHARMASYA, TADATMANAM SRIJAMYAHAM ||
Meaning : O, Arjuna (Bharat) whenever
the Dharma (religion) diminishes and the Adharma (Sinisterism)
rises, I appear on the earth in various incarnations.
In the words of Tulsidas :
JAN JAN HOMI DHARAM KAIHANI
BARHAHIA SURADHAM ABHIBHANI ||
TABO
TABO DHARI PRAPHU VIVIDHASHARIA,
HARAHINATH SAJJAN KAI PIRA ||
From the
above citings it is clear that God takes incarnation for
very special; reason only. That is, it has some special
purpose. When all the incarnations (Avataras) and forms
have special purpose of their own, it is not necessary
then to clarify all of these reasons. It can be
understood with one-or two examples alone, such as
Narashima Avatara. To preserve the sanctity of Brahmas
boon, God had to appear in form of half lion and half
human in order to protect the life of Prahlad.
Similarily, to free the earth from the terror of the
demon king Ravana, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu had to
appear as monkey (Hanumana) and human (Rama) forms
respectively, Because Ravana had asked for the boon.
NARA-VANARA JATI
DVIVARE..MARMI NA MARE |
Meaning
: Except the human being and the monkey, nobody
else could kill me.
From these two examples, it becomes clear that God,
appears in different forms (incarnations) on earth in
order to run the universe in religious way and protect
their devotees and establish the rule of religion. Lord
Rama, Lord Krishna, Hanumana, Ganesh, Durga, Laxmi,
Saraswti, Parvati etc. are different appearances of God.
For the fulfillment of desires there are direction for
worship of various gods and goddesses. All these will be
described in the Karma-Kanda section. Suffice it would
be here to say that faithfully worshipping the gods
desired results can be got!
JANAMI DHARMAM NA CHA ME PRAVRITIH |
JANABHYADHARMAM NA CHE ME NIVRITIH ||
Meaning : I know the religion, but am
not inclined towards it. I also know their religon, but
I can not get rid of it either. MONOTHEISM :
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD
God is one but his forms are many. As per this
principle, all the gods are present in the form of
Ganesha. Scriptures even say that in a single idol you
can worship your tutelary God. It means to say that if
you have an idol of Ganesha, you can worship in it
Vishnu, Shiva etc, or any other god of your desire, the
main thing is the feeling of Devotion. In Ganesh Purana
is written :
SHAIVESTVADIYAIRUT
VAISHNAVAISHCH,
SHAKTAISHCHSAVRAIRAPI SARVA KARYE |
SHUBHASHUBHE LAUKIKAVAIDIKE CHA,
TVAMARCHANIYAH PRATHAMAM PRAYATNATA ||
Meaning
: After killing of Tripura Lord Shiva said ; O
Ganapati, people of all the sects - Shaiva, Vaishnava
and Shakta will worship you first in their all worldly
or non-worldly, auspicious and inauspicious deeds.
From this evidence it is certain that the scriptures
assume the Paramatma, who has no beginning, no end; who
is formless, but who has created the world and who is
the raiser and destroyer of the world, as Ganesha is the
base of everything. Hence in the beginning of every task
He is worshipped first of all.
EKAM
SAD VIPRAHBAHUDHA VAPANTI
Meaning
: The knowledgeous people explain the single,
almighty Paramatma in many different ways. Such as by
the token of various relations and places, a single man
becomes father, son, uncle etc. and at other place he
becomes singer, warrior, guardian etc. and comes to be
addressed with various nouns, still he is the single and
same person. Similarily, inspired by their feeling
people call the same God by different names. This is the
spirit of Ekeshwaravada or Monotheism.
The
OM Symbol
"The
goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities
aim at, and which men desire when they lead the life of
continence . is OM. This syllable OM is indeed Brahman.
Whosoever knows this syllable obtains all that he
desires. This is the best support; this is the highest
support. Whosoever knows this support is adored in the
world of Brahma."
~ Katha Upanishad I~
The Om (or
Aum) sign is the main symbol of Hinduism.
Most religions indicate that creation began with sound--
In the beginning was the word...
For the Hindus & Buddhists, Om is the primordial
sound, the first breath of creation, the vibration that
ensures existence. Om sign signifies God, Creation,
& the One-ness of all creation.
The Om
symbol is a sacred syllable representing Brahman, the
impersonal Absolute - omnipotent, omnipresent, and the
source of all manifest existence. Brahman, in itself, is
incomprehensible; so a symbol becomes mandatory to help
us realize the Unknowable. Om, therefore,
represents both the unmanifest (nirguna) and manifest (saguna)
aspects of God. That is why it is called Pranava, to
mean that it pervades life and runs through our prana or
breath.
Aum is said
to be the essence of all mantras, the highest of all
matras or divine word (shabda), brahman (ultimate
reality) itself. Aum is said to be the essence of the
Vedas.
By sound and
form, AUM symbolizes the infinite Brahman (ultimate
reality) and the entire universe.
A
stands for Creation
U
stands for Preservation
M
stands for Destruction or dissolution
This is
representative of the Trinity of God in Hindu dharma
(Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva)
The three
portions of AUM relate to the states of waking, dream
and deep sleep and the three gunas (rajas, satva, tamas)
The three
letters also indicates three planes of existence, heaven
(swarga), earth (martya) and netherworld (patala)
All the
words produced by the human vocal organ can be
represented by AUM. A is produced by the throat, U &
M by the lips
In the
Vedas, AUM is the sound of the Sun, the sound of Light.
It is the sound of assent (affirmation) and ascent (it
has an upwards movement and uplifts the soul, as the
sound of the divine eagle or falcon.