If Hindus believe in one God, why do people worship so many Gods? There are 33,000,000 Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism.+

 

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God, there is no truth."

Chandogya Upanishad: ~ Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God in truth) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object, as It is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not the distinction of substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitute the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.

Who introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless gods, when Yajur Veda says: ~ those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness.

Therefore, all these add-ons proves that the form and attribute based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conducts in the name of Vedas.

Thus, it proves that the Hinduism is nothing to do with the ancient Santana Dharma or Vedic religion.

The Hinduism does not consist in struggles and attempts to believe a certain doctrine or dogma. From the high spiritual flights of the Vedanta philosophy, of which the latest discoveries of science seem like echoes, to the low ideas of idolatry with its multifarious mythology, the agnosticism of the Buddhists, and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hinduism.

The vast ocean of Vedic religion or Santana Dharma was consistently steady and calm for a very long period. It appears that as a consequence of the rage of Buddhist revolution, it got suddenly disturbed and flowed down to us in disorder. Even today, Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has not recovered from the onslaught of Buddhism and Jainism and is not able to settle in people's heart in its original form in the same old measure.

That is why Swami Vivekananda~ The masses in India cry to sixty million gods, and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? - Swami Vivekananda (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

As indicated in ISH Upanishads: - By worshiping Gods and Goddesses, you will go after death to the world of gods and goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spend there is wasted, because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards ‘Self’-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of gods and goddesses you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

It clearly indicates that:-If the human goal is to acquire ‘Self’-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual gods, goddesses and gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead, spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.

Since it is eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that the consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman.

The Vedic pantheon of gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be only higher manifestations of Brahman. For this reason, "ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman.

One must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, that part of the Puranas is to be rejected without mercy.

If Hindus believe in one God, why do people worship so many Gods? There are 33,000,000 Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism.

The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which were introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism which contains diverse beliefs castes and creeds.

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols, then why so many gods and goddesses with different form and name are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

Vedic religion was modified and reintroduced with new add-ons by Sage Sankara a great Advaita Master to uplift the Vedic culture and Santana Dharma, which were in ruins in the clutches of Buddhism. 18 puranas are introduced in the name of Sage Veda Vyasa not by Sage Sankara but someone else because the Puranic gods are non-Vedic Gods. Worship of Such gods are barred in Vedas.

As one goes deeper in the annals of the history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the puranas in the name of Sage Veda Vyasa the grand master of Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Sage Veda Vyasa authored and introduced puranas which has all conceptual gods because:~

The Buddhist influence is seen in a great measure in the Vedic philosophy, which is followed by the majority of Indians. Thus, it is clear that Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has not retained its original form, but been influenced by other religions has undergone a sea change. Thus, the influence of Buddhism on Santana Dharma is extraordinary. Even Kumarila Bhatta, who fought with great heroism for the revival of Santana Dharma or Vedic religion, was so much influenced by Buddhism that he established for the first time in the country, an atheist Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. There is no room for any doubt to assert that the Kumarila Bhatta School was influenced by the atheist Buddhism because the school which is based on the validity of the Vedas and rituals refutes the existence of God.

Sage Sankara endeavored towards establishing Vedic religion, overthrowing Buddhism. But even he was not able to avoid the influence of Buddhism. The influence of the revolutionary atmosphere of Buddhism has reappeared in the Advaita of Sage Sankara. His inability to revive Vedic religion that flourished before the Buddhist revolution in its pure form is discernible.

Many thinkers since his time have said about Sage Sankara that he made use of many important tenets of Buddhism and presented to the people the very Buddhism in the guise of Santana Dharma or Vedic religion. Though the Santana Dharma or Vedic religion represented by Sage Sri, Sankara is like a conglomeration of many things he deserves the credit of having turned the Hindu mind which was once averse to Vedas -the root of Hinduism, towards the Vedas once again. For this, the followers of Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion should be grateful to Sage Sankara.

The brilliance shown by Sage Sankara, a man of wonderful genius, a matchless speaker and an extraordinary dialectician is really a great spectacle in history. In his time, there was a severe conflict between Buddhism and the atheist Santana Dharma or Vedic religion of Kumarila Bhatta. Utilizing this opportunity, Sage Sankara intervened in the conflict and making use of some concepts and methodology of both the Kumarila Bhatta School and Buddhism presented a new coalition religion before people.

Sage Sankara gave an extraordinary charisma to this religion with the help of his methods of logic and style of exposition. Its influence was so much that both the Bhatta School and Buddhism had to flee from India without leaving a trace. The absence, even today, of a single follower of the Kumarila Bhatta School as well as of Buddhism, is a proof enough for the great achievement of Sage Sankara. This indeed is a historical miracle.

One can see in the Santana Dharma or Vedic religion expounded by Sri Sankara a different version of the Kumarila Bhatta School and Buddhism. That is why the tradition of following Kumarila Bhatta methodology in expounding the Advaita thought at the empirical level gained ground in the Advaita School. Different types of methodology of Buddhism were absorbed into the Advaita thought, of course, under new labels. There is very clear similarity between the Vedic religion of Sage Sankara and Buddhism and the Advaita School have given the world a common message. The essence of both the schools is:-

The entire world which man perceives is illusionary; it is just an appearance of unreality, and there is only one indeterminate and attributeless Sat at the root of this world".:~Santthosh Kumaar