POPULAR HINDUISM

Multiplicity in India

• can be seen in geography
• so also in the religious imagery
• but this plurality, this diversity, unites rather than divides. Appreciating another point of view is important in Indian philosophy. (Eck. Pg. 24-25)

Nature of Hinduism

• polytheism? Yes, in that there are multiple deities, but each does not have a limited sphere of influence.
• therefore Max Mueller coins "kathenotheism" - the worship of one god at a time. Each is as powerful, as important as the other.
• But yet there is only one reality and thus, "nama rupa" - different names for one reality.

Nature of Worship

• two way process of seeing and being seen.
• sensuous experience of seeing, touching, smelling.
• understanding Hindu iconography in it's context is important.
• the iconography in mythology and in the powers of the deity. Intense symbolism.
• importance of faith.

Trinity of gods

• Brahma (creator) - very few temples dedicated to Brahma
• Vishnu (preserver) - very popular and worshipped all over India.
• Shiva (destroyer) - also very popular

Vishnu

• worshipped as dashaavatar (ten incarnations). Every time the earth is in peril, Vishnu as the preserver will come and rescue it.
• popular imagery, Vishnu asleep during the period between dissolution and creation
• consort Lakshmi, vehicle Garuda

Shiva

• represents process, time. Unity of opposites.
• forms:
  • as nataraja, the king of dancers doing the dance of creation and destruction
  • as the ascetic/yogi.
  • as Siva and Shakti - Ardhanarisvara
  • as the lord of the beasts.
  • as lingham
• Tantrism
• consort Parvati, vehicle Nandi

Festivals

• Special occasions for worship of particular deities
• Navratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, etc.

Pilgrimage

• ties in with sacred geography
• going on a pilgrimage is like circumambulating the sacred land.

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