The gods in Hinduism

Aadesh and Lina are studying at Aadesh’s place. - How can you tell the difference between all these gods? There are so many. - What? These? These are just a few. There are many more.

Though really there is only the world soul: Brahman, the only god. - This is hard to grasp, Lina thinks. So there is only one god, but at the same time there are many? Aadesh explains that Brahman is everything that exists in all of the universe and beyond. And that is hard for humans to understand. But it can be easier to grasp if you see Brahman as many parts: in the forms of various gods.

The gods are like pieces in a big jigsaw-puzzle. Some Hindus only worship one of the gods, while others worship several. Many believe that these three male gods symbolise the most important parts of Brahman. This god creates the world: the creator god, Brahma. This god takes care of the world: the preserver, Vishnu.

And this god destroys the world and rebuilds it: Shiva. But they also symbolize lots of other things. Aadesh and many others turn to Shiva while doing yoga, or are in need of protection, or are about to begin a journey. And many pray or offer to Vishnu when they need patience, knowledge, or when they want things to turn out well for them. According to Hindu beliefs, humans are born into many lifetimes.

But the gods may also be born in human form: avatars. And you can also ask for help from these avatars. Vishnu has several popular avatars. When Aadesh wants to feel stronger, he turns to Rama, and when he wants to open up to new things and new friends he turns to Krishna. What about the creator god Brahma?

When do people pray to him? Actually, very few do. According to an old story Shiva set up a contest between Brahma and Vishnu. Brahma cheated. Then Shiva got so angry at Brahma that he cursed him and said that no-one would ever worship him, and that there would be no temples to him in India.

And there are hardly any. Brahman and Brahma sound almost the same. Aadesh thinks that maybe that is why Brahma is not worshiped more than he is. He thinks it might be confusing to separate the ideas of Brahman - the world soul, and Brahma - the creator-god. To further complicate things, Hindu priests are called brahmins.

In Hinduism there are at least as many goddesses as gods. These are the five most common. The mother goddess, who is married to Shiva: Parvati or Devi. The warrior-goddess: Durga. The destroyer of evil: Kali.

The goddess of abundance: Lakshmi. And the goddess of wisdom: Sarasvati. Aadesh’s mother turns only to the goddesses. It’s as if she feels them being within her, she identifies with them. She belongs to a Hindu denomination called Shakti, and looks upon the world soul as a feminine power.

The goddesses represent different sides of this power. Sometimes Aadesh’s mother feels like the warrior goddess Durga, who rides on a lion. She fights only for good, and for her children. But when Aadesh’s mother feels like Kali, well then, everyone in the family gets a bit nervous. Kali is kind of scary, Aadesh thinks.

However, when mum feels like Lakshmi, well then, everything is sunny and lovely. Aadesh is fond of this god with an elephant head: Ganesha. Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati. It’s said that Ganesha removes all obstacles. Which comes in very handy when it’s hard to concentrate when studying before a test.