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Question 7. If the Hindus really believe in one God, why do they worship a variety of gods like Siva, Devi, Vishau or Ganapati? Is it not tantamount to accepting many gods and godlings ? As If in approval of this tenet, don't we see these gods competing and conflicting with one another, if we an to believe the stories in our ?
Though Hinduism concedes the existence of several gods or deities, it accepts only one God, the Supreme. Out of these deities, Indra and others are actually ordinary souls like us, who rose to those positions in the cosmic scheme as a result of the extra. ordinary religious merit they had acquired in the previous cycle of creation.
It should be noted here that these deities who rule over certain aspects of the powers of nature, are like the officers of the government, who exercise their powers delegated to them by the Head of the State. Once their merit gets exhausted, they have got to vacate their positions and try for Moksha or liberation.
Next, we take up the case of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. They are not three independent and separate deities, but three different aspects of the same Supreme God, while engaged in the processes of creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe, in that order. It is similar to the role played by the same person as the father at home, as the boss in the office and as a customer in a shop.
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