PANTHEISM /

POLYTHEISM: THE
CONCEPT OF Īśvara
God is not Īśvara
‘God’ is an English word. It articulates a
Western idea.

As translation, it is intended to stand for the

Sanskrit Īśvara. But the translation is
erroneous.

In fact, translations of culture-specific

subtleties are impossible. So, God is just the
Western counterpart of the Eastern Īśvara.
Īśvara is the dynamic principle of the one and only Reality,
Brahman, existing in phenomenal form. It is the creative
faculty of that ultimate Reality by which It manifests Itself,
exists, behaves, functions and evolves as the phenomenal
world of activity.

It is the cosmic intelligence, impulse and will that orders,

organizes and structures its own material existence. It is the
infallible universal power immanent in all nature. It is the
fundamentally formless and attribute less energy, Atman, that
imbues all the worlds of forms and attributes.

It is the inherent and integral aspect of Reality by which this

single Reality assumes a specialized existence, a concurrent
altered existence of multiplicity. It is the Self of all selves. It is
omniscience-omnipresence-omnipotence.
If we are insistent on English terminology, then we must
understand ‘God’ in the above senses, and also
distinguish it from ‘god/s’ – God is the whole, and
gods/goddesses are Its particulars, i.e., Its specific power-
aspects, the devatas (deities), that animate the particular
attributes of the worldly phenomena.

Deities such as Ganesha, Subrahmanya, Siva, Vishnu,

Brahma, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati, the Devas, the
Ganga, etc. are visible forms of Īśvara while the
Incarnations such as Sri Rama and Sri Krishna are
human manifestations of the same Īśvara.
Sanatana dharma scriptures are a blend of subtle philosophy and
simple worship; spiritual heights on the one hand, and Devas and
Devis and rituals and festivals and ceremonies and celebrations on
the other.

The Vedas, at the core of all, maintain that Reality is One, and the
One also exists as the many. So, Sanatana dharma is not a
polytheistic religion. Nor is it theistic. It is not even religion.

Theism and religion are western cultural ideas, entirely different

from our unique system. The allegation of polytheism is a
consequence of the west’s misunderstanding of Sanatana dharma
symbology.
Symbols are gross representations of subtle truths. They are a
language that articulates the verbally inarticulable. Our Īśvara-
symbols are links between worlds, material and spiritual, inner and
outer, lower and higher, gross and subtle.

The art of Īśvara-symbolism was gifted to us by the Self-realised

sages. The symbols serve two purposes – they help maintain the
ancient culture and heritage; decoding them and understanding their
inner significance lends greater conviction in the truths they
symbolise.

Behind them is the recognition that the omnipotent Īśvara can appear
as any form (deity); so, the choice of deity is the individual
worshipper’s freedom. The deity dear to the worshipper is called
ishta devata.
 ◦ Prohibition of Idolatry or Idol Worship was a central tenet
What did the and precept of the Colonial Rulers. They strictly prohibited and
despised Idol Worship.
Colonisers/ ◦ According to the Colonizers, it was considered a sin to worship
Colonial Rulers another God other than the Lord.
◦ Historically, the punishment for Idolatry was often brutal
say with death.

reference to What haunts and bleeds India today is a profound historical error.
Indians This error lies in our lack of proper awareness and understanding
of our own nation, its dynamic traditions, culture, customs,
worshipping values, ideals, heritage and history, and our lack of
understanding of different Īśvaras and historical figures.
multiple We have given in, succumbed to adopting Western or
Eurocentric Etymologies/Coinages : to borrowing terms from
Īśvaras(Gods)? Western European History, and unquestionably applied them to
ourselves.
 ◦ As rational beings, it is our natural tendency to seek
patterns, cause and effect is the most common pattern we
can observe in nature. Every event, process, state, or object
is a contribution of some other event, process, state, or
object. These patterns of cause and effect led humans to
another big question, what is the primary cause? To create a
tiny needle to a huge palace, an intelligence is necessary,
so what would be the intelligence behind the creation and
sustenance of this extremely complex and well-ordered
Īśvara/God/Brahman: universe. If there is a primary cause for everything, what is
its nature? Can we discover that primary cause with our
Theological limited intellect and reason? All theologies revolve around
Standpoints these questions.
◦ There are different theological standpoints like monotheism,
which says - there is only one true God, Polytheism with
many Īśvara (gods), Pantheism - the world is either
identical to Īśvaras (god), or an expression of Īśvara’s
nature. Atheism- the doctrine which rejects the idea of
God, Agnosticism, which says that we cannot even know
whether God exists or not! There are countless other
theological and philosophical standpoints.
Below is a very brief account of the symbolism of a few popular Īśvara -
symbols.

The form of Ganesha, with its extraordinary physical features, symbolises

supreme wisdom;
the importance of listening; intellect and discrimination arising from wisdom;
extra strength; the capacity to perform subtle as well as gross activity;

the ability to consume and digest any experience; the destruction of all
vasanas (negative tendencies);
the four-fold inner equipment of the subtle body – manas (mind), buddhi
(intellect), ahamkara (ego), chitta (conditioned-consciousness); the binding
force that frees man from all his worldly entanglements and draws him to the
bliss of his own Self; and the supreme goal of human evolution.

The modakam (sweet) in his hand is the sweet reward of spiritual seeking.
The food placed in front depicts abundance; the rat patiently waiting for its
master’s permission to eat it represents desire which, if oriented towards
Īśvara, can be tamed and purified.
 Subrahmanya (Muruka)

While Subrahmanya represents the fighter

and slayer of negativities, the image of the
peacock, his carrier, in combination with
the snake, its enemy, in its captivity, shows
absolute control over ego.

Sri Murugan Perumal Kovil, Batu caves, Malaysia

Brahma
Brahma is the Īśvara of creation, while Vishnu represents the
sustenance, and Siva the dissolution aspects. That which has
been created exists for a time, and then must dissolve into its
constituent elements in the end.

Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, the Trinity, represent the forces

that govern these phases of phenomenal existence. Brahma’s
four faces represent the four Vedas, the totality of cosmic
knowledge.

Brahma is wedded to Saraswati, the deity of knowledge – the

creative force has to be wedded to the knowledge of how to
create, without which creation couldn’t happen.
 Vishnu
◦Vishnu symbolises the all-pervading reality, infinite in
nature, as his blue hue suggests. His reclination on the
thousand-headed Ananta serpent speaks for mastery over
endless ego-desires (Ananta’s thousand hoods are
introverted, directed unto Vishnu, suggestive of
reclamation and concentration of life forces, otherwise
extroverted and therefore dissipated, into the centre of
life).

◦The milky ocean on which he resides is the ocean of life,

full of possibilities. He is wedded to Lakshmi, the deity of
all forms of prosperity which naturally sit in attendance
on the master of circumstances.

Halebidu, Karnataka
 Siva
Siva, seated in the stable Padmasana posture, is the
personification of the unruffled absolute state, beyond
birth and death, and time and space, and symbolises
Atma Jnani (realized soul). His half-closed eyes suggest
perception of inside as well as outside, and absorption in
inner harmony while involved in outer activity. His third
eye is the extra insight of intuition. His meagre attire in
contrast with the rugged Himalayan landscape suggests
detachment. In the aspect of Nataraja, his dance is the
rhythmic activity of vibrant cosmic phenomena. The
snakes he wears on his person are the life forces that
merge in the absolute. The sacred ash he smears all over
his body signifies the purest and ultimate state of
materiality.

Murdeshwar Temple, Karnataka

Goddess Saraswati

Saraswati is the deity of knowledge and arts.

The texts she holds in her hands are the four
Vedas. The musical instrument in her hands
indicates the melodious dimensions of a life
that has attained perfection, besides also
indicating the path of using music as a
shortcut to awakening the divinity within.
Her seated posture on the lotus shows her
firm establishment in pure Knowledge.
 Goddess Lakshmi

The form of Lakshmi is a portrait in exuberance. It

depicts infinite riches and prosperity, not just material,
but ethical and moral as well. It is also the pure wealth to
be acquired before initiation into spiritual knowledge.
Lakshmi was obtained from churning the milky ocean, so
goes the story. The milky ocean is the ocean of the mind,
a repository of good and bad, which, when ‘churned’ with
spiritual practices, yields negativities first, which will be
absorbed and extinguished by the Siva-aspect, and
subsequently the riches of the mind.
Goddess Parvathi

Parvati is the epitome of

intelligence that discriminates
between the good and the bad,
and the real and the unreal. She
is also Annapurneswari, the
bestower of food, where food
also stands for the sense-objects.
 The Devas
The Devas are spiritually
evolved humans. Celestial
beings. They are power-
positions in charge of
physical phenomena and
elements, who perform the
function of adapting them
for earthly existence and its
protection.
 GANGA

The Ganga is the ultimate truth and reality,

pure celestial knowledge, that flows into
terrestrial realms as a result of great effort and
tapas (spiritual austerities) on the part of the
humans, exemplified by Bhagiratha’s singular
endeavor. She does not land straight from the
celestial heights. She settles on the crown of
Siva, who, in the capacity of the spiritual
master (Satguru), then gently disburses it to
the human realms.

Kashi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Swami Vivekananda and Maharaja of Alwar

The following account is given in Swami Vivekananda’s English biography

authored by Swami Nikhilananda:

... He (Swami Vivekananda) had a sharp exchange of words with the

Maharaja of Alwar (Mangal Singh) who was westernized in his outlook.…
Next, the Maharaja ridiculed the worship of images, which to him were
nothing but figures of stone, clay, or metal. The Swami tried in vain to
explain to him that Indians worshiped Īśvara (god) alone, using the
images as symbols. The Prince was not convinced. Thereupon the Swami
asked the Prime Minister to take down a picture of the Maharaja,
hanging on the wall, and spit on it. Everyone present was horror-struck
at this effrontery. The Swami turned to the Prince and said that though
the picture was not the Maharaja himself, in flesh and blood, yet it
reminded everyone of his person and thus was held in high respect;
likewise, the image brought to the devotee's mind the presence of the
Deity and was therefore helpful for concentration, especially at the
beginning of his spiritual life. The Maharaja apologized to Swamiji for his
rudeness.