India, the land is abundant with Gods, Goddesses, Deities, Devas, Devis, et al. If speculations are to be believed then there are more than 30 million Gods in this land. Traveling through the country is a simple way to get introduced to the unique deities. If in Himachal Pradesh, for example, which is also known as ‘Dev Bhoomi’ or the land of Gods, you will invariably cross some of the sacred spots even if you try not to. Devi Baglamukhi, Jwalaji, Tara Devi, Hidimba devi, and it continues. Some really unique temples across India are The Konark Sun Temple, Karni Mata or The Temple of Rats, Nag Devta Temple, Chilkur Balaji or Visa Balaji Temple, Kal Bhairav Nath Temple, Bullet Baba Shrine and many more. These are not the quintessential temples of Krishna, Hanuman, Ganesha, Kali or Shiva.
Non-believers, sceptics, atheists may mock idol worship or the unbounded display of devotion. The natives may be following the rituals as have been passed on by the ancestors as tradition without questioning the raison d’etre. However, there could be deeper interpretations or a method to this so-called madness.
Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world. Its true essence lies in Sanatam Dharma, the eternal duty or oneness. It is open to individual interpretation and flexibility. In the Hindu philosophy, Param Brahman is the Supreme Creator which is formless, nameless, beyond all descriptions and all pervasive. As humanity was in its infancy, it would not have understood the formless aspect of God or just pure energy which cannot be seen, touched or imagined.
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit.
“the spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for he abides with you and will be in you”
John 14”17
When the trinity or the triple aspect of the creator was brought down; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, these gave some tangible handle to the concept of God. Interestingly, it is just not a preserve of Hinduism. In Christianity, the three subsets of that eternal God are The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Is this a coincidence? Is there a correspondence with other religions?
Further, from the triad various forms of God emerge. Think about white light going through a triangular prism, splitting into colours. There are three primary colours and then moving onto seven, so on and so forth.
The aspects or forms can be understood as various qualities of the universal energy. That is what the myriad, over 30 million Gods disseminate. Devotion to a particular God fills up the devotee with that particular quality. Jwalaji Mata represents the fire within, Baglamukhi stands for justice and truth, one surrenders vices to Kal Bhairav, Krishna has always been for the eternal love for all irrespective of gender, colour, caste, age, nation or economic status. Thousand names of Vishnu represent the crown chakra and thousand and more levels of truth which humanity still has to understand. Nag Devta may bring out the need to awaken the kundalini for higher knowing. Kali balances the yin power within. Even the cross in Christianity is a symbol of sacrifice and forgiveness. Shirdi Sai baba and Christ, both are still remembered and prayed to for their healing powers
The Shunya, nothingness or formlessness would not be understood without knowing the form. The plethora of deities and devas are symbols handed down from eternity for us to imbibe a particular quality and not really the form of the idol. It is a limitation that most, in remembering the rituals and rules have lost the meaning to understand the attribute of energy behind the idol. A deeper look at the deity, the paraphernalia around the image will help us be intuit the trait. Further with dharna and dhyaan or awareness and concentration we can connect to the energy and fill us within. Prayers help fill the gap in the personality with the characteristic one is praying to.
Paramahamsa Yogananda in his Lessons in Self-Realisation advises “Learn to pray to God in some aspect that most appeals to you and arouses your devotion”
यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्त: श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति |
तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् ||
Bhagawad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 21
Whatever celestial form a devotee seeks to worship with faith, I steady the faith of such a devotee in that form.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
Next time you cross a Temple, Church, Mosque, Gurudwara, Shrine or a Sacred Space, be curious. Be aware of the symbols, rituals, architecture, hymns, texts, etc and delve deeper into the reason behind it. Ofcourse don’t take blind faith as an answer or as a reason to put you off. If we don’t find the reason behind all the madness, who else will? And we can’t let the golden truth hidden behind die because of sceptics.
There are no coincidences. Only Light. If you wish to know, find, follow and radiate.