Hinduism :: essays research papers

I decided to read about Hinduism because this was the only religion I had not been familiar with. Hinduism was originated in India and is still practiced by most of the people in India today. Hinduism is a major world religion with more than 700 million followers. Although all Hindus acknowledge the existence and importance of many gods, most worshipers are devoted to a single god or goddess. The most popular are Shiva and Vishnu. Shiva embodies the apparently contradictory aspect of a god of ascetics and a god of the phallus. Shiva is said to have appeared on earth in various human, animal, and vegetable forms, establishing his many local shrines. To his worshipers, Vishnu is all-encompassing and supreme. It is said that a lotus sprang from his belly giving birth to the creator, Brahma. Vishnu created the universe by separating heaven and earth. He also is said to have rescued the universe on a number of occasions. He is worshipped in a variety of descents including animals, dwarfs , the man-lion, the Buddha, Rama, and Kalki. The most popular descent of Vishnu is Rama, even though he was a human hero. Vishnu and Shiva are two primary gods of worship. There is a primary goddess of worship called Devi. In some myths it is said that she commands the male gods to do work of destruction and creation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hinduism is different from Christian theology in respect to the fact that we have only one god. Hinduism has many gods and goddesses even though most Hindu worshipers are devoted to one of these gods. In some ways it is the same when comparing how Hindu worshipers acknowledge different forms of the same god. Christians believe in the Trinity, which is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hindus believe in different forms of their god too. They believe that some of their gods can be found in animals, artifacts, or even some mystical creatures. Hindus also believe in one creator even though they give credit for the creation of the universe to the father of this creator. They believe Vishnu gave birth to Brahma who is the creator of humans and trees and everything else on earth. Christians believe that there is only one creator and this creator made heaven and earth and all things on earth. Hinduism also has goddesses in the religion where as Christian theology only really ever teaches about the importance of Mary, the mother of Jesus.