in hindu mythology why there are those many gods and godesses?

Question

I DO NOT WISH TO HURT ANYONES SENTIMENTS!!!!!!!......is it because we see ourselves differently at different times in life......may be?why not?it fulfills our requirement at that specific time......like all people we have imagecast Gods too.....

Answer 1

I think its simply because hinduism is a polytheistic religion.

Answer 2

Yes, hinduism is a polytheistic religion, which means that they believe that many different phenomenons are controled by many godlike deities. Also, the people of India is made of many different groups, and this you can see trough the languge - I think there are about 250 dialects in the country. Regarding this, it is quite normal that every group of people has it's own interpretation of mythology - this means that everyone added some new deity to it.
India is vastly populated, so there are more then enough people to support it's religion - this is why it has been lasting so long.
I wouldn't know why they choose polytheism in the first place - it's just the way it is.

Answer 3

well, there is the opinion that those people are richer spiritually. they do believe god is everywhere and that the holyland is everywhere.

imagine that? God is not an absent thing. The holy land is not something that must be sought. it's right here. and it is everything. why are their so many faces of god? why are there so many gods? because there are so many different things/experiences/moments?

that seems like a corny answer but one of the Goddeses is always pictured with a thousand arms. and I asked a buddhist thanka painter why that is? why so many arms. And the guy answered that a thousand is an artistic rendering of infinity. And that She has as many hands to offer as have ever been needed and will ever be needed.

once this man, that I hardly knew but was getting to know, and i, were walking down a street having a conversation about study habits or something equallly inane and he kept breaking into song in the lulls of the conversation. And my original explanation for this was that " oh isnt that sweet, he must be singing or coming up with a song for his girlfriend" (such was the feeling I was being reminded of by his voice). Later, however, after I had noticed dozens of people doing this, breaking into song, I asked about it. He answered he was talking to god. others have answered that their conversation with god is constant. the conversation has been going on for as long as they can remember. So I asked "you're telling god what is happening?" and they all answer "no, we are talking just like you and I are talking."

Admittedly I don't know my bible very well, but wasn't Abraham the last judeo-christian person that god talked to? Are we just boring with our single-mindedness? yes of course there was Jesus and he talked to a lot of people. I've met a lot of Jesus's. (why is that guy always after your girlfriend!)

but I guess I would rather pose a question back, why do judeo-christians only have one god?
and what discourse on god isn't complete without paraphrasing Siddharta "why are you wasting your time thinking about god when god is unthink-about-able. spend your energy instead, on breaking out of your karmic cycle you pinhead!"
here's to all the Buddha!

Answer 4

there are godesses. i think u need to do u research then ask questions. u see lord shiva is neither male or female. lord vishnu is neither male or female and same with brahma these are the 3 main supreme forces. however the u see more gods because vishnu came down as an avatar and since males were listened more in society back then, lord vishnu took like as a male, so he could be listened to by ppl

Answer 5

The same way is in all old religions (polytheistic ones)
Greek, Roman, Nordic, Celtic, Slavic, Aztec, Maya...

I think that the only difference is that Hindu gods still have lot of people to believe in them. Nothing more.

Answer 6

According to Hindu mythology ,they believe that in everything resides god and hence they worship so many gods and goddesses.But, I wonder that when people believe that there is god and He is who has created everything then why people begin to consider all the things as god.
What I mean is that we should worship GOD and not the materialistic things because I believe that by looking at things one should try and understand the greatness of GOD and his creations and NOT BEGIN WORSHIPPING THINGS BUT GOD ONLY WHICH I BELIEVE THAT IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE EXISTENCE OF GOD THEN I SAY THAT "GOD IS EVERYWHERE BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS GOD "

Answer 7

Well, technically, "Hinduism" isn't a single religion. It basically refers to religions practiced "over there." There are over 300 religions encompased in what we think of as "Hinduism" - Hare Krishnas, Vivekananda, Jainism, etc. Many of these religions are polytheistic, hence the abundance of gods.

Answer 8

The same reason why Christians believe a young virgin gave birth to a boy who became God and rose from the dead. Humans are full of themselves.

Answer 9

These gods and goddesses actually fall into two different categories: actual incarnations and symbolic of aspects of God. The actual incarnations are Sri Krishna and Lord Rama. I'm sure there are more, but that is all I know for now.

The others represent symbolic aspects of God. Like for example: Goddess Kali is symbolic of the fierceness of the Divine Mother. It is Her fierceness that helps "scare" the ego into letting go and surrendering to God because it is both our ego and mind that imprisions us in this illusion of reality that we are "separate" from God when in reality we are not ever separate from God. So Kali helps us with facing our fears, letting go, becoming humble and surrendering to God.

India is a very spiritual country with hundreds of different religions, and a very long, long history, so you're liable to have hundreds of gods and goddesses. Everybody has a different mental affinity for who they worship to to help them become closer to God. These gods and goddesses are just "forms" for our mind to focus on because we live in the physical, 3D world, so worshiping a formless, attributeless, aspectless of God may be hard for many to feel a relationship and connection with God because we are human, when we feel love, we need to see the form in order to feel it, to feel like we have a relationship.

So these "forms" help us as intermediaries, as bridges towards God. They help us every step of the way until we no longer need the "form". Some people feel deep, intense love for Krishna, and some don't feel anything for him and yet feel intense, devoted love towards Kali.

Even enlightened Masters, Gurus are also worshiped like one would worship a god or goddess whether deceased or still living, because they too are intermediaries. They have found the way and are here to help show the way to God. I look up to Amma as if she is a Goddess. She is actually an incarnation of Divine Mother. It is truly a blessing to be guided by a living Goddess just like as it was a blessing to be guided by Jesus, Buddha and Krishna when they once walked Earth. Now they are worshed as an actual god.

God would not want to deny every single one of its children the opportunity to know itself, so God makes sure everybody has a form that they could connect with because us humans are so diverse all over the globe, culturally, emotionally, mentally, and so on. I mean is everyone on this planet going to feel something for Jesus only? Surely God knows that a Chinese isn't going to feel a connection to a white god like Jesus.

All rivers but lead to the same ocean.

Answer 10

Hindu religion is based on pre historic beliefs ....they themself donot know where these beliefs have come......... If you have visited India you will find after every 200 km hindu beliefs changes..... For Hindus every day is a festival..... They have N number of Gods and Godess..............

Answer 11

According to their philosophy, there are many manifestations of God's creations and those creations are, God Himself. They serve guests, humans, and animals, too, remembering that the living spirit in those creatures, is none else, but God, and, therefore, serving these creatures too, is kind of service to God Himself.