The creation does not exist apart from Isvara . In simple words , Isvara manifested as the creation . With this understanding , many fundamental questions about Isvara can be answered .
Q : Where is Isvara (God) ?
A : What exists in the creation is Isvara alone . Since the god is material cause , the material ( panca-bhutas : air , fire , space , water and earth ) is not separate from Isvara .Thus , Isvara is all-pervasive (everywhere) . He is not bound to any particular desa(place) , kala(time) and vastu (form) . He is aparichinnaha ( not limited ) .
Q : Is Isvara male or female ?
A : God is neither male or female . Isvara is formless and thus has no gender . The pronoun " He " is just used conventionally .
Q : How many Gods do Hindus have ?
A : There is only God in the creation . So , Hindus believe in only God . We do not believe in one God or many Gods . We believe and worship only God .
Q : Why do Hindus pray to forms (stones , trees , animals and etc.) ?
A : Since God is the creation , then all forms that exist in this creation is God . Since all forms are the Lord's form , then I can invoke and worship God in any given form because there is divine spark in every form . Hindus do not pray to forms . We invoke and pray to the divinity abiding in these forms . This divinity is God .
Q : Why do you need a form ?
A : The forms serve as a focus or concentration point of our devotion during our prayers and rituals .
Q : Fine , but you can just choose one form and pray to God through that form . Why do Hindus have so many forms ?
A : When you look at the Lord from a given law or function , the Lord becomes the presiding deity , devata of that law or function . For example , from the function of creation , the Lord is seen as the Brahma devata Since there are countless laws and functions governing the creation , so the Lord can be worshiped through countless forms also . For a particular desire to be fulfilled , one invokes a particular deity and worships that deity Just like when you are having a stomachache , a headache medicine will not resolve your problem . Only a stomachache medicine will because its function is to cure a stomachache . However , one has to be clear that prayer to any deity is prayer to the Lord alone .
Q : How were these forms introduced to Hindus?
A : These forms are vision of the Rishis to express to the people who are unable to have access to the Vedas . Every forms represents the power within us .
Q : Who are the Rishis ?
A : As the creation came about , the Vedas were revealed in the form of sound by the Lord . Rishis or seers were capable of receiving the Vedas and handing over the knowledge to posterity for the benefit of humanity .
Signing off ,
~ Dhesegaan ~
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