The One God becomes an
abstraction to which actual people are sacrificed. He becomes
jealous, wrathful and communal and promotes such action among his
special followers. He is opposed to any creativity or spirituality
and insists upon his law, ritual and theology as the unquestioned
truth.
While this may not have been
the intention of the mystics who emphasized the One, it has often
become the behavior of his literal-minded followers. Such monolithic
views are out of harmony with the cultural diversity of the modern
world, and represent a medieval and authoritarian standard that
usually has a patriarchal bias.
Hinduism, on the other hand,
contains the diversity needed for a global age. Hinduism as Sanatana
Dharma cannot be limited to belief in One God, but it acknowledges
monotheism as an important approach to the spiritual life. In this
regard Hinduism is also a monotheistic religion but not exclusively
so and has created a number of wonderful monotheistic approaches
including that of the Divine Mother.
While accepting monotheism
as one major approach, Hindus do not always regard it as the
highest. Many Hindu teachings regard monism, or the idea that there
is only One Truth, as the highest truth and as transcending any
monotheistic or personal God.
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