Comparing Hinduism And Monotheism

After a superficial glance into the realm of Hinduism, one may make the emphatic and definitive claim that the religion is certainly monotheistic. Surely, the coexistence of 330 million gods and goddesses must be an obvious indication that the faith is the antithesis of monotheism. However, after gaining a deeper understanding of the Hindu tradition, it becomes apparent that the Western constructs and perception of the terms polytheism and monotheism may not be entirely applicable or suitable to approach a religion like Hinduism. Outside of Hinduism, it would be fairly logical to assert the mutual exclusivity of polytheism and monotheism. In Hinduism, on the other hand, the ideas of worshipping multiple gods and worshipping one god manage to

Interestingly, the same Rig Veda proceeds to praise a wide variety of gods, using more or less the same vocabulary: for example, the text addresses the gods Soma, Tvastri, Varuna, and Vishnu as creators of the earth, the sky, and the sun (Doniger 11). However, the Veda, with both its polytheistic and monotheistic attributes, presents the synchronous and harmonious existence of both types of theisms. Hindus believe, then, that the plethora of gods collectively represent all of the different sides of the same ultimate Reality. In that sense, it is difficult to speak of Hinduism in terms of polytheism and monotheism, so long as the terms are used in their strictest sense. Hence, describing Hinduism as both polytheistic and monotheistic is a much more appropriate classification. Doniger effectually consolidates these ideas in a few compact statements: “And so it appears that I asked the wrong question at the start, the either/or question. Monotheism and polytheism are not mutually incompatible. Hindus are both monotheists and polytheists. No argument” (20). An emphasis on the coexistence of multiple deities also makes

Vedanta, a major school of philosophy within the Hindu religion, provides space for both polytheism and monotheism. Swami Vivekananda, who himself worshipped the nirguna Brahman, was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, who worshipped the saguna Mother Kali. Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda both knew from their direct experiences that all of the different forms of gods, though superficially extensively different, ultimately lead to the same Reality. Furthermore Swami Vivekananda knew that “‘all religions are true’ but that the religion of each person’s time and place was the best expression of the truth for that person” (Doniger 18). Hence, with a place for even other religions, Hinduism cannot be reduced to being just polytheistic or just