धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः

Why does Hinduism have so many Gods? A: Hindus all believe in one Supreme God who created the universe. He is all-pervasive. He created many Gods, highly advanced spiritual beings, to be His helpers. Longer answer:  Contrary to prevailing misconceptions,  Hindus all worship a one Supreme Being, though by different names . This is because the peoples of India with different languages and cultures have understood the one God in their own distinct way.  Through history there arose four principal Hindu denominations — Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism.   For Saivites, God is Siva.  For Shaktas, Goddess Shakti is supreme.  For Vaishnavites, Lord Vishnu is God.  For Smartas—who see all Deities as reflections of the One God—the choice of Deity is left to the devotee.  This liberal Smarta perspective is well known, but it is not the prevailing Hindu view. Due to this diversity, Hindus are profoundly tolerant of other relig...

Hinduism: An Overview Hinduism, also known as the Sanatana Dharma, or "Eternal Way," is our planet's original and oldest living religion, with over one billion adherents.   Today it has four main denominations : Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism, each with hundreds of lineages . They represent a broad range of beliefs, practices and mystic goals, but virtually all concur on certain bedrock concepts. All Hindus worship one Supreme Reality, though they call it by many names.  Hindus believe that the cosmos was created out of God and is permeated by Him--a Supreme Being who both is form and pervades form, who creates, sustains and destroys the universe only to recreate it again in unending cycles. Each soul is free to find his own way, whether by devotion, austerity, meditation, yoga or selfless service. Hinduism's three pillars are temple worship, scripture and the guru-disciple tradition. Hinduism strongly declares the validity of the three wor...