How do you manage with so many Gods and Goddesses?

A. L. Venkateswaran

The above question was asked in all earnestness by the leader of a delegation from the West.

A well informed and articulate official of the Tourist Department of Uttar Pradesh was taking the delegation round Fatehpur Sikri. (I was also with the delegation). He waxed eloquent on the broad-mindedness of Akbar who had a shrine dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi for his Hindu wife.

Then came spontaneously the million dollar question -- "How do you manage with so many Gods and Goddesses?"

Since the country was then passing through famine conditions, when I heard the question I smelt an undercurrent of cynicism whether the 'feeding' of so many Gods and Goddesses had in any way contributed to the famine among human beings.

The tourist official was perplexed at the question. After a pause, which was embarrassing, I intervened. "Mr. .. You have asked a pertinent question. But I am on horns of dilemma. If I answer your question, I might be misunderstood in my official role. On the other hand, if I don't you would go back to your country under the mistaken impression that there is perhaps no answer to your question. I am, therefore, taking on your question and shall endeavour to answer it in physical and scientific terms."

"Please do. I am interested," was the response.

The following conversation then followed:

I: You must have seen the vast expanse of water in the Ocean?

Mr. S: Yes, I have.

I: Could you suggest the shape of the water in the Ocean?

Mr. S: Not that I can think of.

I: Would you then say that the water has no shape?

Mr. S: Yes, you could say so.

I: If I fill up a glass tumbler from the ocean, does the water have a shape?

Mr. S: The water has the shape of the tumbler.

I: So, we can have vessels of varying sizes and shapes. In all cases the water takes the shape of the container in which it is kept. Now, would you accept that depending on circumstances, water is without shape and with shape?

Mr. S: Yes, that is understandable.

I: O. K. Let us take another example. See that electric light up there. What is the cause of the light?

Mr. S: Electricity.

I: Can electricity be seen?

Mr. S: No.

I: Do you recognise that the same electric power manifests its presence in the rotation of the fan, the tube light, the heat in the filament of the hot plate; boiling of the water in the electric kettle, etc.?

Mr. S: Yes, very much so.

I: Does this not mean that while electricity by itself has no shape or colour, it manifests itself in different forms of energy -- in other words, electricity is both without form and with form according to the environment.

Mr. S: Yes, this too is scientific.

I: Now we shall approach the answer to your main question. According to Vedanta, which embodies the highest level of spiritual perception evolved in India, the entire Universe is pervaded by a Divine Power known as Brahman which is eternal. To take the analogy of the waters of the ocean or electricity, this Divine Power has no shape or form. It is beyond the comprehension of the physical senses. 

Let me illustrate this. As you know the human eye can perceive light only within a limited spectrum of wave length. It cannot see infra red or ultra violet. Similarly the ears can receive and identify sound only in a limited range. 

In other words, our sensory perceptions are finite in capability. The finite senses cannot perceive the infinite Divine Power. But as in the case of water and electricity, the eternal power can be perceived in the manifested form. The Gods and Goddesses in Hindu religion are manifestations in form of the eternal Divine Power.

These forms are real as the shape of water in the vessel or the manifestation of the otherwise invisible electricity in the filament of the bulb.

Further, a person may look upon or conceive of the Almighty as the ever loving mother and we have Goddess (with different names) accordingly. Some conceive of God as the embodiment of knowledge and we have Goddess Saraswati; we have a Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi; the preserver and protector Vishnu; the remover of all obstacles Vighneswara and so on. All these Gods and Goddesses have been realised by the devotees. What is needed is undiluted faith and devotion. In other words, God can be realised in whatever form man conceives. This is in accordance with the Bhagavad Gita where Lord Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu) has categorically stated that He manifest himself in whatever form He is conceived of.

I may give you one more analogy. The expression Government or State does not produce an impression of any shape or form. But in a concrete form, we have Ministers with specific portfolios. Again we can't explain for example, what infinity in mathematics is, except in relative terms.  If we go on counting numbers we would cross millions and billions and if we then clarify that infinity is still beyond the biggest number one can think of, the intangible concept comes within the realm of comprehension. 

So, in short, there is no contradiction in Vedanta between God with form and God without form. God with form is an aid to understanding the Omnipotent Eternal Almighty and helps to concentrate when one meditates.

I hope it is now clear that various Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu pantheon are integral to, though diverse manifestations of, the eternal divinity which by itself has no shape or form.

-- Courtesy: Bhavan's Journal, June 22, 1975, pp. 43, 45-56.