In Hinduism, the conception of God varies in its diverse religio-philosophical traditions. Hinduism comprises a wide range of beliefs about God and divinity, such as henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, agnosticism, atheism, and nontheism.
Forms of theism find mention in the Bhagavad Gita. Emotional or loving devotion (bhakti) to a primary god such as avatars of Vishnu (Krishna for example), Shiva, and Devi (as emerged in the early medieval period) is now known as the Bhakti movement.June McDaniel Hinduism, in John Corrigan, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Emotion, (2007) Oxford University Press, 544 pages, pp. 52-53 Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, Contemporary Hinduism can be categorized into four major theistic Hindu traditions: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism worship the Hindu deities Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi as the Supreme God respectively, or consider all Hindu deities as aspects of the same, Supreme Reality or the eternal and formless metaphysical Absolute, called Brahman in Hinduism, or, translated from Sanskrit terminology, Svayaṁ-Bhagavān ("God Itself"). Other minor sects such as Ganapatya and Saura focus on the deities Ganesha or Surya as the Supreme.
Hindus following Advaita Vedānta consider ātman, the individual soul within every living being, to be the same as Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi,Mariasusai Dhavamony (1999), Hindu Spirituality, GB Press, , page 129Ganesh Tagare (2002), The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 16–19 or, alternatively, identical to the eternal and formless metaphysical Absolute called Brahman. Such a philosophical system of Advaita or non-dualism as it developed in the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy, especially as set out in the Upanishads, was popularized by the Indian philosopher, Vedic scholar, teacher, and mystic Ādi Śaṅkara in the 8th century CE, and has been vastly influential on Hinduism. Therefore, Advaitins believe that Brahman is the sole Supreme Being (Para Brahman) and Ultimate Reality that exists beyond the (mis)perceived reality of a world of multiple objects and transitory persons.
Hindus following Dvaita Vedānta consider that the jīvātman (individual self) and the eternal and formless metaphysical Absolute called Brahman in Hinduism exist as independent realities, and that these are fundamentally distinct. Such a philosophical system of Dvaita or dualism as it developed in the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy, especially as set out in the Vedas, was popularized by the Indian philosopher, Vedic scholar, and theologian Madhvācārya in the 13th century CE, and has been another major influence on Hinduism. In particular, the influence of Madhvācārya's philosophy has been most prominent and pronounced on the Chaitanya school of Bengali Vaishnavism.
Henotheism, kathenotheism, and equitheism
was the term used by scholars such as Max Müller to describe the theology of Vedic religion.Sugirtharajah, Sharada, Imagining Hinduism: A Postcolonial Perspective, Routledge, 2004, p.44; Müller noted that the hymns of the Rigveda, the oldest scripture of Hinduism, mention many deities, but praise them successively as the "one ultimate, supreme God" (called saccidānanda in some traditions), alternatively as "one supreme Goddess", thereby asserting that the essence of the deities was unitary (ekam), and the deities were nothing but pluralistic manifestations of the same concept of the divine (God).
The idea that there can be and are plural perspectives for the same divine or spiritual principle repeats in the Vedic texts. For example, other than hymn 1.164 with this teaching, the more ancient hymn 5.3 of the Rigveda states:
Related terms to henotheism are monolatrism and kathenotheism. The latter term is an extension of "henotheism", from (kath' hena theon) – "one god at a time".Online Etymology Dictionary: kathenotheism Henotheism refers to a pluralistic theology wherein different deities are viewed to be of a unitary, equivalent divine essence. Some scholars prefer the term monolatry to henotheism, to discuss religions where a single god is central, but the existence or the position of other gods is not denied."Monotheism" and "Polytheism". Encyclopædia Britannica (2014). Another term related to henotheism is "equitheism", referring to the belief that all gods are equal.
Panentheism and nontheism The Vedic era conceptualization of the divine or the One, states Jeaneane Fowler, is more abstract than a monotheistic God, it is the Reality behind and of the phenomenal universe. The Vedic hymns treat it as "limitless, indescribable, absolute principle", thus the Vedic divine is something of a panentheism rather than simple henotheism.
In the late Vedic era, around the start of the Upanishadic age (), theosophical speculations emerged that developed concepts which scholars variously call nondualism or monism, as well as forms of nontheism and pantheism. An example of the questioning of the concept of God, in addition to henotheistic hymns found therein, are in later portions of the Rigveda, such as the Nasadiya Sukta.
Hinduism calls the metaphysical absolute concept Brahman, incorporating within it transcendence and immanence. Different schools of thought interpret Brahman as either personal, impersonal, or transpersonal. Ishwar Chandra Sharma describes it as "Absolute Reality, beyond all dualities of existence and non-existence, light and darkness, and of time, space and cause".Ishwar Chandra Sharma, Ethical Philosophies of India, Harper & Row, 1970, p.75.
Influential ancient and medieval Hindu philosophers, states philosophy professor Roy Perrett, teach their spiritual ideas with a world created ex nihilo and "effectively manage without God altogether". In Hindu philosophy, there are many different schools. Its non-theist traditions such as Samkhya, early Nyaya, Mimamsa and many within Vedanta such as Advaita do not posit the existence of an almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God (monotheistic God), while its theistic traditions posit a personal God left to the choice of the Hindu. The major schools of Hindu philosophy explain morality and the nature of existence through the karma and samsara doctrines, as in other Indian religions.Francis Clooney (2005), in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Ed: Gavin Flood), Wiley-Blackwell, , pages 454-455;;Francis X. Clooney (1989), Evil, Divine Omnipotence, and Human Freedom: Vedānta's Theology of Karma, The Journal of Religion, Vol. 69, No. 4, pages 530-548
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in a single creator God and the lack of belief in any other Creator.Bruce Trigger (2003), Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study, Cambridge University Press, , pages 473-474Charles Taliaferro and Elsa J. Marty (2010), A Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion, Bloomsbury Academic, , pages 98-99 Different sects of Hinduism may or may not posit or require such a belief, as religion is considered a personal belief in Hinduism and followers are free to choose the different interpretations within the framework of karma and samsara. Many forms of Hinduism believe in a type of monotheistic God, such as Krishnaism with polymorphic theism, some schools of Vedanta, and Arya Samaj., Quote: "The jealous God who says, "Thou shalt have no other gods but me" belongs to the Jewish-Christian-Muslim tradition, but not to the Hindu tradition, which tolerates all gods but is not a monotheism, monism, yes, but not monotheism."
Advaita Vedanta, for instance, espouses monism, and holds Brahman to be unchanging and undifferentiated from reality. Brahman is therefore undifferentiated from the individual self, or Atman. The concept is thought by some, such as David Adams Leeming and Gavin Flood, to resemble monotheistic conceptions of god to some degree, since all other since are believed to be manifestations of Brahman.
Several medieval Muslim scholars, such as al-Biruni and Amir Khusrau, described Hinduism as fundamentally monotheistic in nature, and attributed polytheistic worship to a lack of education.Friedmann, Yohanan. "Medieval Muslim views of Indian religions." Journal of the American Oriental Society (1975): 214-221.
Madhvacharya's monotheistic God Madhvacharya (1238–1317 CE) developed the Dvaita theology wherein Vishnu was presented as a monotheistic God, similar to major world religions. His writings led some, such as George Abraham Grierson, to suggest he was influenced by Christianity.Sabapathy Kulandran and Hendrik Kraemer (2004), Grace in Christianity and Hinduism, James Clarke, , pages 177-179 However, modern scholarship rules out the influence of Christianity on Madhvacharya, as there is no evidence that there ever was a Christian settlement where Madhvacharya grew up and lived, or that there was a sharing or discussion of ideas between someone with knowledge of the Bible and Christian narratives, and him. Furthermore, many adherents consider the similarities to be superficial and insubstantial; for example, Madhvacharya postulates three co-eternal fundamental realities, consisting of Supreme Being (Vishnu or paramatman), individual Self (jīvātman), and inanimate matter.
Madhvacharya was misperceived and misrepresented by both Christian missionaries and Hindu writers during the colonial era scholarship. The similarities in the primacy of one God, dualism and distinction between man and God, devotion to God, the son of God as the intermediary, predestination, the role of grace in salvation, as well as the similarities in the legends of miracles in Christianity and Madhvacharya's Dvaita tradition fed these stories. Among Christian writers, G. A. Grierson creatively asserted that Madhva's ideas evidently were "borrowed from Christianity, quite possibly promulgated as a rival to the central doctrine of that faith". Among Hindu writers, according to Sarma, S. C. Vasu creatively translated Madhvacharya's works to identify Madhvacharya with Christ, rather than compare their ideas.
Statistics in contemporary India In a 2021 nationwide survey Pew Research Center found out that 29% of the self-described Indian Hindus believe "there is only one God" while 61% believed in "there is only one God with many manifestations".
Brahman