Home
Assignments
Bookmarks
Denominations in Hinduism: Vaishnavism (Vishnuism)
Upgrade for more content
Which Hindu god is being worshipped above all else in Vaishnavism ?
Within Hinduism there are several big denominations. The differences between them are so great that they are like different religions. This group worships the god Vishnu above all else. Vaishnavism, or Vishnuism as it’s sometimes called, is the biggest of the denominations in Hinduism. Vishnu is very often mentioned together with the world creator - Brahma - and the world’s destroyer and rebuilder - Shiva.
But within Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the only god that is important, he is the ultimate and truest reality: the world soul Brahman. So this is Vishnu. He is easy to recognize: he has blue skin and usually, four arms. He often holds a club and a discus. And now he is accompanied by the goddess of richness and abundance Lakshmi.
That’s Vishnu’s wife. Vishnu is worshiped not only as himself. According to the Hindu myths, he has caused himself to be reborn several times in human form: as avatars. Vishnu has at least ten avatars and they are also worshipped. The two most common are Rama and Krishna.
The stories about Rama are written in one of Hinduism’s sacred texts, the ‘Story of Rama’: the Ramayana. Krishna’s story is told in another text, God’s Song: The Bhagavad-Gita. Wow, she looks totally in love. She might be. In Hinduism there are groups who have a more personal and loving relationship with a god, an avatar or a spiritual leader.
They believe that it is through this love for the god that they will reach knowledge and get free from reincarnation. The Hindu word for this kind of loving devotion is Bhakti. Bhakti movements don’t only exist within Vaishnavism; they are also in the other great denominations. But in the 1960s, one of the largest Bhakti movements appeared, within Vaishnavism: The Krishna movement, or The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, who are sometimes called the Hare Krishnas. This movement was not created in India as you might expect, but was founded by the Indian A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada when he arrived in the USA in the 1960s. Since then the movement has spread throughout the western world, but also back into India. To the Krishna movement, Krishna is the highest reality: Brahman.