Hindu Tenets Part 2
Who am I and how am I related to GOD?
When we say my body, it means I am different from the body. I am the consciousness (atman) — part of the brahman — or actually brahman in itself. Hence the famous quote from vedanta — tat tvam asi. The Jiva is a layer of gunas, prana, karma and desires around it, making it Jeevatma, which continues to love across many births. Body is made of material and is merely a vessel for Jeevatma to perform karma. Body will get discarded when useless and Jeevatma continues to live through the attainment of the next body. Atma is one with the brahman — the true self. When this realization happens to the Jeevatma, the layer of karma and desires are shredded and atma becomes one with brahman, having no need to acquire desires anymore, attains the moksha (freedom).
How many GODs are there in Hindu religion?
In Hindu philosophy, there is nothing but God. Hindus call it the ultimate truth — the brahman. It is gender less, timeless, cosmic principle that manifests the whole universe and yet exists before and after the universe. It can be worshiped, prayed to or realized through many methods. Because everything is God, it can be worshiped in any form that is dear to you. So technically although there is only God, there can be several forms of that God — denoting plurality of the singularity.
Vedas worship different qualities or aspects of brahman — calling them Devta (or deities or gods). There are 33 kinds of main Devta (33 Koti Devta) in Vedas such as rudra, aditya, indra etc and many more.
Puranas describe that incarnations of these Devtas mainly Vishnu and Rudra can also be worshiped individually to the same effect thereby adding Krishna, Rama, Parashurama and many more to this pantheon.
Lastly one can also worship trees, mountains, rivers, tools and living individuals such as yogis and realized men as Gods. Hence although we believe there is only one single God, it can be worshiped in countless forms.
What is Karma Yoga? What am I getting out of it, if I follow it?
Karma Yoga is an attitude with which one should perform his/her karma. The reverential acceptance of the brahman and performing the action to its best without keeping the desire (the negative emotions) are central to the Karma Yoga. An apt summary of Karma Yoga is that one must only perform his/her karma, not keeping an attachment towards the outcome of the karma; for it is not under your control (कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते).
Understanding how karma works through kriyamana, sanchita and prarabdha and then developing an attitude for karma yoga is a significant step towards moksha. It reduces one’s grief and helps maintain sukha — the inner state of bliss — in happy as well as das situations. It gives the ability to accept fate (prarabdha) as it is presented to us and develops complete devotion towards doing the best of what we are doing. Karma Yoga not only improves the quality of karma but also the happiness we gain out of the journey of performing that karma, without keeping any expectation of outcome. Karma Yoga also reduces fear of death.
Additional Read: Hindu Tenets Part 1
