“’O naughty child, now try going from here, if you can.’ Having spoken thus, she returned to her household duties.” (Vishnu Purana, 5.6.15)

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यदि शक्नोषि गच्छ त्वम् अतिचञ्चलचेष्टित
इत्य् उक्त्वा च निजं कर्म सा चकार कुटुम्बिनी

yadi śaknoṣi gaccha tvam aticañcalaceṣṭita
ity uktvā ca nijaṃ karma sā cakāra kuṭumbinī

To anyone even mildly familiar with the tradition, through having read the books, in hearing the lectures, in having studied the words used in the famous shlokas, there is no doubt. In what the rest of the world refers to as “Hinduism”, there is only one God. For sure, there are many administrators, powerful beings, and individuals rewarded for their association with the mode of goodness, sattva-guna. They get promoted to the post of deva, which is like a god. Still, there is someone that the devas look up to. One way to describe that person is deva deva, or the god of the gods.

स्वयमेवात्मनात्मानं वेत्थ त्वं पुरुषोत्तम
भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगत्पते

svayam evātmanātmānaṁ
vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama
bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa
deva-deva jagat-pate

“Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe!” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.15)

With the increasing ease of availability of information, where someone can casually access something thousands of miles away from them in a short amount of time, the images tend to spread more quickly than the knowledge. The images show something different. Association with only the images might lead to the following criticism:

“Come on, man! How can you say it with a straight face? Everyone knows that Hindus worship many gods. There are too many to count. The guy with the poison in his throat. The one decorated with a peacock feather in His hair. The monkey character holding a mountain. The elephant god. Why are you trying to fool people into thinking that there is only one god in this tradition? There is no way. The many gods is what leads people to believe that the system is outdated, that the people are into either mythology or some kind of demonic system. Instead of praying to the gods, they should be praying for eternal life. You know what I mean?”

The words from the sacred texts themselves refute the above argument, which is not rooted in knowledge. The sacred texts are known as shastra. Shastra is what governs. Shastra is what guides. Shastra is what corrects. In this case, we need only look to a few words to correct the misunderstanding.

1. Eka

Hinduism is actually the Vedic tradition. It is sanatana-dharma. In the practical implementation, for maintaining a society to create optimal conditions such that every human advances, it is varnashrama-dharma. You will find many analogies within the teachings of the Vedic tradition. Whether you like it or not, there is one analogy after another, as the human being begins with a clean slate. The entire learning experience is already based on analogy, after establishing a few core principles.

To explain the impersonal side to the Divine, to God, to the Almighty, there is the analogy to fire. We find this in Vishnu Purana. The title itself features the name of an individual. Vishnu is a name for God. Vishnu is a form of God. Vishnu is the origin. Vishnu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर्
ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस्
तथेदम् अखिलं जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.” (Vishnu Purana, 1.22.52)

Just how is it that Vishnu is everywhere? There is that word, “eka.” This refers to one. There is one fire, which then diffuses its heat and light across known space. The “eka” describes the fire, but that fire is like the anchor point for understanding the more complex subject of God. He is also “eka.” He is one, but His influence is everywhere. He is like the original fire. Just as everyone experiences the heat and light of the sun, everyone associates with God through His energies. Despite being linked to everyone, God is still one, or eka.

2. Aham

Vishnu Purana describes how that original fire, “eka”, appears in the manifest realm from time to time. One of those appearances is as Krishna, who is son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Krishna is also the foster son of Yashoda and Nanda. In adulthood, Krishna is the charioteer of Arjuna, the celebrated bow-warrior of the Pandava family. One time, Arjuna falls into distress. He needs help. He needs a pep-talk. Krishna steps in to offer guidance. Their subsequent conversation is known as Bhagavad-gita, which is found within the pages of Mahabharata, which is another esteemed text of the Vedic tradition.

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो
मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते
इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां
बुधा भाव-समन्विताः

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.8)

In their conversation, Krishna uses the word “aham”. He uses this word many times. It refers to an individual. It refers to Krishna. “Aham” is the source of the material and spiritual worlds. As “aham” refers to a single individual, and as Mahabharata is shastra from the Vedic tradition, this means that there is monotheism. Krishna does not say that there are many sources of the many worlds.

3. Mama

Krishna goes on to explain the difference between the two worlds. That original fire, eka, is like the spiritual world. It is different in nature from the place in which we currently inhabit. That eka place is free of anxieties, and so it is also known as Vaikuntha. That place is self-illuminating. There is no dependency on fossil fuels, on a powerful solar body, or an external power source that needs to be maintained and renewed at periodic intervals.

न तद् भासयते सूर्यो
न शशाङ्को न पावकः
यद् गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते
तद् धाम परमं मम

na tad bhāsayate sūryo
na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yad gatvā na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

“That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.6)

Krishna uses the word “mama” to describe that place. “Mama” says that the spiritual world is His. It belongs to one person. It is not run by a conglomerate. It is not an oligarchy. There is one person at the top. He has the rightful claim, and so He can use the word “mama” to describe it. It is His possession. He is kind enough to provide an extra benefit for those who reach that destination. The people attaining the highest realm, which belongs to God, never have to return to the lower realm, which is the material world.

4. Mām

For the people who honestly present Bhagavad-gita to the world, likely the most well-known shloka appears towards the end. This is the one most often presented and discussed, when the commentator actually understands Bhagavad-gita. This verse has the direct recommendation from Krishna to Arjuna. The bow-warrior should abandon all other varieties of dharma, which is like religion, and surrender to Krishna.

सर्व-धर्मान् परित्यज्य
माम् एकं शरणं व्रज
अहं त्वां सर्व-पापेभ्यो
मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

We again see the word “eka.” This means that the surrender is to only one person. The Sanskrit word “mām” also refers to just Krishna. It says that Arjuna should take shelter only in Krishna. “Mām” means “unto me”. The word refers to a person. It refers to only one person.

5. Tvam

This review should naturally ignite inquisitiveness about the way in which that single source is worshiped. If we took only Krishna, not accounting for Vishnu for a moment, we see that there is variety in worship. Someone keeps a picture of a baby Krishna stealing butter. Another person worships Krishna alongside His pleasure potency, the beautiful cowherd girl known as Radha. There might be sole focus on Krishna in His role as instructor to Arjuna.

The explanation is that there is one God, but He appears to people in different ways. There is one Krishna, but He is worshiped according to the mood of the devotee. We can compare it to a celebrated athlete in a professional sport. They might have played for several teams during their career. One fanbase says that the player wearing their city’s uniform was the best. Another fanbase has a different opinion. There might even be controversy over which team’s hat the player wears when posing for their bust when inducted into a hall of fame. Nevertheless, the player is always one. They appear in different fields, in different ways, and at different times, but they are always a single individual.

The Sanskrit word “tvam” is significant in that it can be used to directly address the object of worship. God is Almighty. God is great. God is the original fire. At the same time, God is the young child tied to the mortar in Gokula, by the loving mother named Yashoda. God is the one addressed by the word “tvam”, in a sort of taunting way. As Krishna is so fond of moving around, of causing trouble, of interfering with the duties of the loving mother, who is kutumbini, Yashoda rhetorically asks Krishna to start moving now. “See what you can do, as you are now tied to this mortar.” Of course, this pastime led to the wonderful name of Damodara, which is another way to address the singular source of everything.

In Closing:

While others confused to try,
And on their logic to rely.

And the books carefully to read,
Through contradictions to proceed.

The mother directly addressing,
Such that Damodara blessing.

Taunting the child to move now,
Revealed height of worship how.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry