God: World Perspective - Part 2

As part of my on going series, this is my second part for God: World Perspective. First series can be found at  God: World Perspective - Part 1.

Hinduism

Hinduism is the dominant religion, or way of life, of the Indian subcontinent, and consists of many diverse traditions. It includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism among numerous other traditions, and a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of "daily morality" based on karma, dharma, and societal norms. Hinduism is a categorisation of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, common set of beliefs. Hinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world, and some practitioners refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal law" or the "eternal way" beyond human origins. It prescribes the "eternal" duties, such as honesty, mercy, purity, self-restraint, among others. The main divisions of Hinduism today are

1.       Vaishnavism

2.       Shaivism

3.       Shaktism

4.       Smartism

1.       Vaishnavism - Vaishnavism (Vaisnava dharma) is one of the major branches of Hinduism along with Shaivism, Smartism, and Shaktism. It is focused on the veneration of Vishnu. Vaishnavites, or the followers of the Vishnu, lead a way of life promoting monotheism, which gives importance to Vishnu and his ten incarnations. Followers worship Vishnu, the Supreme Lord and preserver of the Hindu Trimurti ('three images', the Trinity), and his ten incarnations, including Rama and Krishna.

2.       Shaivism - Shaivism or Saivism is one of the four most widely followed sects of Hinduism, which reveres the God Shiva as the Supreme Being. It is also known as śaiva paṁtha and Saivam. Followers of Shaivam are called "Shaivas" (also "Saivas", "Shaivites" or "Saivarkal"). They believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is. Shiva is sometimes depicted as the fierce God Bhairava. Saivists are more attracted to asceticism than adherents of other Hindu sects, and may be found wandering India with ashen faces performing self-purification rituals. They worship in the temple and practice yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within.

3.       Shaktism - Shaktism or Shaktidharma ('doctrine of power' or 'doctrine of the Goddess') is a denomination of Hinduism that focuses worship upon Shakti or Devi – the Hindu Divine Mother – as the absolute, ultimate Godhead. It is, along with Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Smartism one of the primary schools of devotional Hinduism. Shaktism regards Devi (lit., 'the Goddess') as the Supreme Brahman itself, with all other forms of divinity, considered to be merely her diverse manifestations. In the details of its philosophy and practice, Shaktism resembles Shaivism. However, Shaktas, practitioners of Shaktism, focus most or all worship on Shakti, as the dynamic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine. Shiva, the masculine aspect of divinity, is considered solely transcendent, and his worship is usually relegated to an auxiliary role.

4.       Smartism - Smarta Sampradaya (Smārta, meaning Smarta Tradition), also spelt as Smartha, is an orthodox Hindu "family tradition" or sect composed of Brahmins, c.q. "certain category of brahmins", which follows Panchayatana. The term Smārta is used to denote a specific, specialized category of Brahmins, who specialize in the smriti, c.q. who hold the smriti as the most authoritative texts. Generally Smartas worship the Supreme in one of five forms: Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu, and Surya. Because they accept all the major Hindu Gods, they are known as liberal or nonsectarian. They follow a philosophical, meditative path, emphasizing man's oneness with God through understanding. It is not as overtly sectarian as either Vaishnavism or Shaivism and is based on the recognition that Brahman (God) is the highest principle in the universe and pervades all of existence.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a nontheistic religion that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha ("the awakened one"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering through the elimination of ignorance and craving. Buddhists believe that this is accomplished through direct understanding and the perception of dependent origination and the Four Noble Truths. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is the attainment of the sublime state of Nirvana, by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path (also known as the Middle Way).

There are 3 major denominations of Buddhism which are

1.       Mahayana

2.       Theravada

3.       Vajrayana

1.       Mahayana - which literally means "Great Vehicle" in sanskrit, is mainly the predominant sect in central and east Asia, and is making its appearance in western culture in forms of Tibetan, Zen, and Pure land Buddhism.  The origin of Mahayana Buddhism is now traced to about the beginning of the Common Era.  The Mahayana ideal is the bodhisattva, "one bearing enlightment" who realized it was important to save all others before realizing their own redemption.  In this denomination, they early on acknowledged the pularity of Buddhas that could also act from outside this world.  One of the main goals of Mahayana was to unfold or find the truth or hidden gem of enlightment.  Mahayana has come to be known as the second turning of the Wheel of Dharma.

2.       Theravada - also known as Southren Buddhism, is mainly in South and South East Asia.  It is the only surviving tradition of the 30 original sects and is said to be the closest to the original teachings of the Buddha.  Their focal point is to an order of monks.  Their ideal is to a person's nonattachment to the world and practicing the Buddhist path of renunciation.  The monk’s main task is to live to that ideal to pass on Buddhist teachings and way of life.  Theravada is also known as the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma.

3.       Vajrayana - is the most exotic of the denominations and is the third turning of the Wheel of Dharma.  Around the 3rd century in the Common Era, Vajrayana became the more prominent denomination in India and many other regions of the Buddhist world.  It dominated in the Himalayan region and quite a few other areas.  Vajrayana is the "secret vehicle" of Buddhism, and is also called the diamond or electric vehicle, due to its indestructible and clarity qualities, or in reference to the thunderbolt scepter of Indra, a Vedic god.  The Vajra represents cosmic power and its prongs represent different Buddhas, and the power of enlightment itself.  Vajrayana uses aspects of both Buddhism and Hinduism and uses mantras, which are magical chants and syllables, a lot.  It is also known as Mantrayana because of that.  Tantric Buddhism is another name it is known as due to the great use of Tantric texts and rites.

Now we have a basic idea of some of the world’s popular religions and their beliefs. Who do you think is the real God and who do you think are the man-made god? As I mentioned at the start of this blog, there are more god’s than number of animal species in this world, but there can be only one true God. The rest of them are man-made idols for just creating a group of people who believes in some non-existent God.

I will try to give you the answer to my question of “Who is the real God” in my next blog about God: The only real one with logic and reasoning behind the conclusion.