Hinduism

Hinduism has grown to become the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.
PLEASE NOTE!!! The purpose of this article by me is not to "sell" Hinduism or to seek conversions. As a matter of fact, Hinduism does not believe in conversions. I am just trying to simply and give a high-level overview of the religion and the culture that continues to fascinate a lot of people in the West and in America not just in the dominant countries of India, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri-Lanka. Swami Vivekananda also mentioned in Chicago Meeting, “I have come to this religious fair not to promote and convert you brothers and sisters to Hinduism, if it is the religion to be promoted that religion should be destroyed than to live long”

Hindu dharma is also called as Sanatana (always existed) Dharma hence it has no founder. Unlike other religions, Hinduism doesn’t ask anyone to convert or rules to serve the GOD. It claims about 762 million followers - 13% of the world's population.

According to the "Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches," there are about 1.1 million Hindus in the U.S. The "American Religious Identification Survey" is believed to be more accurate. They estimated smaller number: 766,000 Hindus in 2001. Still, this is a very significant increase from 227,000 in 1990. Statistics Canada estimates that there are about 157,015 Hindus in Canada. Around 98,473 Hindus are estimated who currently living in Australia.

Hinduism is generally regarded as the world's oldest organized religion. Over 85000 years old started in 5000 BC.

God is one though the wise call him by various names just as human face of living. The many forms of Hinduism are henotheistic religions. They recognize a single deity, and view other Gods and Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God. GOD is divided just like a human being relationship is divided. E.g. a guy has his parents, his grandparents, cousins, nephews, brothers and sisters, girl friend, friends, close friend and many more. He is called in different forms through these relationships but still he is just one person (one life).
This is what HINDUS believe in; they divided the duties of god and call him in various forms. Hinduism does not promote idol worship. For steady progress, the religion asks us to start with physical aids such as temples and idols, and through practice and devotion, ultimately succeed in visualizing God without the aid of temples and idols.


We are asked not to worship idols, but worship God in the form of idols. This is done to facilitate contemplation of the Infinite with our finite capabilities. To quote none other than the great intellectual, Swami Vivekananda on this matter - "If a person wants to drink milk, he uses a cup as he cannot drink it directly. For the quivering and unsteady mind, there should be a visible form or a symbol, the idol, so that it becomes a foundation for his adoration. The idol form of God is akin to a vessel which enables a man to drink the milk. Through the instrumentality of an idol, a devotee comprehends divinity." He was the scholar who was a reason for the spread of Hinduism through out the world mainly in USA and UK.

The ‘Vedas’ are the primary scriptures of Sanatana Dharma. The Vedas shaped ancient Indian society and governed ethics and morality. The Vedas can be divided in terms of their origin into “Shruti” and “Smriti”. “Shruti”, which constitutes the majority of the Vedas, represents the unwritten form, passed by word of mouth from generation to generation. Naturally, it is not known who authored the Shruti. The Hindu belief is the Vedas are transcendental, because they represent the Absolute Truth and therefore, have neither beginning nor end. Smriti, on the other hand, represents the portion of the Vedas that were authored by various Hindu seers.
As mentioned earlier, "Smriti" represents written texts. Of the written texts, the most important and the founding pillars of Hinduism are the "Itihasas" or Epics, and the "Bhagavad Gita". The two greatest epics, "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", are also known as the "Mahakavyas" or "Great Poems". The Mahabharata contains the "Bhagavad Gita".

Are the Vedas a book of several thousand pages like the Bible and must be read word by word by everyone? No. In fact, a significant majority of the Vedas are not written but memorized and passed by word of mouth from generation to generation.


The 3 Hindu Trinity of Divine are Brahma (Creation of All/Creator), Vishnu (Preservation of All/Protector), and Shiva (Dissolution of All bad/Destroyer). They can be interrupted as Generator + Operator + Destroyer = GOD.

Om most sacred symbol of Hindu Dharma means "That which hath No Beginning or End". The chanting of Om and meditation on the symbol are believed to bring health, prosperity, and longevity to the spiritual aspirant. This is representative of the Trinity of God in Hindu Dharma.

Navagrahas (Nine Planet Gods) are considered to play major role in deciding the destiny of man. Surya(Sun) – Good health, Chandra(Moon) – Victory, Angaraka(Mars) – Family Prosperity, Budha(Mercury) – Wisdom, Guru(Jupiter) – Honour, Sukhra(Venus) – Vocal Skills, Sani(Saturn) – Joy & Happiness, Rahu – Strength and Kethu – Personal Opulence.

Gayathri Mantra is greatest of all mantra. It is the crest-jewel or king of al Mantras in Veda. It’s the divine power that transforms the human into the Divine and blesses man with the brilliant light of the highest spiritual illumination. “Om, Bhur Bhuvah Svah, Tat Savitur Varanyam, Bhargo Devesya Dheemahi, Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodhayaat”. While chanting this mantra you should pause after every part indicated and the meaning is “We meditate on the glory of the Creator who has the universe, who is fit to be worshipped, who is the embodiment of knowledge and light, who is the remover of all sin and ignorance. May he enlighten our intellect!”
God Structure:

Lord Brahma & Wife Sri Saraswathi
They both don’t have any other avatar as well as no temples. Brahma who lied for a false reason as made him to face this consequence.


LORD VISHNU
Lord Venketeshwara Vishnu
Goddess Mahalakshmi Wife
Goddess Andal Wife
avatar of Mahalakshmi

Sri Krishna avatar of Venketeshwara, Rukmani avatar of Mahalakshmi

Sri Rama avatar of Venketeshwara, Sita avatar of Mahalakshmi, Lakshmana his brother, Hanuman greatest devotee of Lord Rama

Sri Visvaksena Commander-in-chief of Vishnu

Garudalavar – Lord Vishnu rides in this bird (half man/half eagle)

LORD SHIVA
Lord Chandramoulishwarar Shiva
Goddess Thiripurasundari Wife
avatar of Parvathi
Goddess Durga Wife
avatar of Parvathi

Sri Ganesh Son of Parvathi and Siva
Sri Murugan Son of Parvathi and Siva
Nandhi Devathi – Lord Shiva rides on this cow
Natarajan Bharadanatiyam Dancer,avatar Siva


Deities Meaning:

Lord Venketeshwara
Venketeshwara, another form of Lord Vishnu, is one among the Trinity, representing the power of Sustenance. He is regarded as "Kaliyuga Varada". In the "degenerate" age of Kali, He is always close to devotees and ever ready to bless and protect them. He is also called Balaji and Govinda

Goddess Mahalakshmi
Lakshmi is the consort of LORD Vishnu. She is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Wealth includes nobler values of life, power of mind and intellect, moral, and ethical qualities which constitutes the spiritual wealth. The eight forms of Lakshmi, called Ashta-Lakshmi are: Santhanalakshmi (wealth of progeny), Gajalakshmi (wealth of animals), Dhanalakshmi (wealth of gold and other material wealth), Dhaanyalakshmi (wealth of food grains), Veeralakshmi (wealth of valor), Vijayalaksmi (wealth of victories and success), Mahalakshmi (wealth of greatness) and Aadhilakshmi.

Goddess Andal
Andal is the author of Tiruppaavai and became consort of LORD Ranganatha. Avatar of Mahalakshmi. She got this name because she conquered him by her sheer love and devotion. Lord Vishnu didn’t wear fresh flowers; he insisted the garland which was worn by Kothai (Bhooma Devi). It is believed that Andal left her mortal body and merged with Ranganathar.

Lord Krishna & Sri Rukmani
He commands love, respect, and adoration from all Hindus of all walks of life. Rukmani bestows one form of wealth to her devotees. His lover Radha devoted herself to him.

Lord Rama & Sri Sita
The Vedas say that simply by regularly hearing of Rama’s activities one can achieve perfection and happiness in life, and ultimately attain spiritual emancipation. His famous consort Sita was an incarnation of the Goddess of Fortune, Sri Lakshmi devi

Lord Chandramoulishwarar
Siva has the power of annihilation or destruction of evil. He is also an ideal for simplicity in our life to renounce attachments to worldly objects. Other common names of Siva are Nataraja, Dakshinamurthi and Chandrasekara, Kabaleshwara.

Goddess Thiripurasundari
Consort of LORD Shiva. Parvathi, the daughter of Himalayas, is the consort of Siva. She represents the Universal power (Sakthi) that is the primary activating energy in the self-revelation of the Absolute. Other common names of Parvathi are Sakthi, Parvathavardhini, Rajarajeswari, Meenakshi, Kaamakshi, Visalaakshi and Lalitha.

Goddess Durga
Consort of LORD Shiva. Avatar by Parvathi.Goddess Durga represents the power of the Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the creation. Durga, also called Divine Mother, protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces such as selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, and ego.

Sri Ganesha
the Lord of Ganas.The elephant faced God, represents the power of the Supreme Being that removes obstacles and ensures success in human endeavors. Ganesha is also known as Ganapati, Vigneswara, Vinayaka, Gajamukha and Ainkaran.

Sri Muruga
Created out of six sparks from the central, third, eye of Lord Siva.The special purpose of destroying the demon Soorapadma, Lord Subrahmanya has six faces. The Vel (spear) is His Divine weapon; it is also regarded as the source of all Knowledge and as the dispeller of ignorance. Other common names of Muruga are Subrahmanya, Karthikaya, Kumara, Skandha, Shanmuga and Guha. Tamil Language GOD.

Lord Brahma
The first plane, dimension or demigod created at the beginning of manifestation (manvantara), and the last one to disappear at the time of cosmic dissolution (pralaya). The first person of the Hindu Trinity, the Creator and first member of the trinity in Hinduism.

Sri Saraswathi
Consort of the LORD Brahma.The ethereal, the elegant one; feminine alter ego, a later form or aspect of Vach (voice or the Word) goddess of speech and learning to provide wisdom and knowledge. Goddess of river.

BY VIV