Page:Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists.djvu/469



Summary of Indian Theology

HE following scheme sets out very briefly the fundamental conceptions of Indian theology and cosmology, as assumed in most of the foregoing myths and legends:

The Gods

The One Absolute Reality is Brahman (neuter), which, by the assumption of attributes, becomes Īshvara, god or overlord. Īshvara has three aspects, viz. Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu, with their Shaktis or energies, Sarasvatī, Devī, and Lakshmi. The sectarian worshippers identify one of these with the highest Ishvara, and regard the two other aspects as merely devas. Hence there appears a certain confusion of status in the legends, according to the particular sectarian standpoint from which they are related. The most important sects are the Shaivas, who worship Shiva, the Vaishnavas, who worship Vishnu (chiefly in his avatārs, as Rāma or Krishna), and the Shāktas, who worship Devī as the Supreme. Almost all Indian worship is monotheistic; there is not for the individual worshipper any confusion of God with gods.

Avatars are special incarnations assumed by portions of the Supreme for helping on the processes of evolution and release. Ten such avatars of the supreme Vishnu are usually recognized, of whom Rama, Krishna, and Buddha are the last, and Kalki is yet to come. "Whensoever," says Shrī Krishna, "the Law fails and lawlessness uprises, O thou of Bharata s race, then do I bring myself to bodied birth. To guard the righteous, to destroy evildoers, to establish the Law, I come into birth age after age." 389