Do hindus believe in Angels??
Do hindus believe in Angels??
"My spiritual father is Swami Vivekananda" Canibus
Vanakkam Sage:
I cannot speak for others, but I most certainly do. Devas is the term I use. Most are, according to what I've heard, souls between births who like to help. There are other ones, like gurus or swamis who have reached moksha, but still hang out to help.
I've sensed their presence many times. There are certain places I know where they hide out, so to speak. Perhaps a better way would be to say there are places where I can feel the energy created by them.
This is beyond the intellectual realm completely, so it may lead into the age-old discussion that pits rationalism versus mysticism. From my point of view, just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean its not a reality.
Aum Namasivaya
I don't believe in angels in the Christian sense of the word (just mentioning that because we're on the Christianity forum). I do, however, believe in supernatural beings. There are the Devas, i.e. the Hindu pantheon of gods, which EM mentioned. Whereas Christians believe angels are God's messengers, Hindus typically regard the Devas as manifestations of God rather than mere messengers, and we pray to/worship them as God.
This makes for a wide disparity between devas and angels because angels do not accept worship. Angels could be considered a manifestation of God in the message they bring but perhaps that is too broad a concept. The question then becomes whether Devas fit in the broad concept or a more specific concept of the presence of God (in the sense of active will and word as opposed to second hand will and word).
I suppose that means the beings are not natural to our presence on earth. They certainly are natural enough in their own realm. On the other hand I suppose it could mean any being human or otherwise that could do supernatural things. As such Christians could consider themselves supernatural beings.
If Devas are gods then they are not manifestations of God. Take Greek gods for instance. One of then eats his children. This is highly unlike God and certainly not a manifestation of Him.
Hello Jaggin. Yes you are right, there is a pretty vast disparity between the Hindu devas and Christian angels. I specifically mentioned our worship of devas to highlight this, because I know that the Bible forbids worship of angels in the letter to the Colossians. I also know that your Bible says, "he makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire." In the Bible the angels are messengers of God. With the exception of the "angel of the LORD," who may possibly be the theophany of Yahweh, angels are never the recipients of worship, and only do God's will.
Now as to your question of whether Hindu devas have an active will, or are subject to God's will, this question assumes a very Western, Christian context, however I will try to answer it as best I can. In some sense even Hindu devas are subject to some higher power. As the Sadhu said in the Sri Satyanarayana Story, "O Lord, even Brahma and other devas drowned in your Maya cannot comprehend your form completely." One might be quick to compare the devas to the seraphim in the Bible, who veil their faces so as to not look directly at God. However, elsewhere in Hinduism we see that the devas are in fact manifestations of God. For example, in the Mahabharata when Bhishma was about to die, Sri Krishna told him that by repeating the 1008 names of Vishnu, one can receive salvation. Some of our creation stories also have Vishnu and Shiva present at the beginning of the universe. Clearly the devas are manifestations of God. Perhaps in a Christian context you could compare this to the theophanies of God (such as when Joshua bowed before the Commander of the Lord's Army). Obviously this is a rough comparison at best.
Hinduism does say that we all have an element of divinity. But I would not be so arrogant as to say that I am God. In Hinduism God is described as "he whose wishes are always fulfilled." Obviously this does not describe most mortal people. However, we do believe that a person can gain great power by fully surrendering himself to God. In Hinduism we have many rishis and saints. Rishis are people who have devoted themselves entirely to the worship of God and who have forsaken all worldly desires. When a person attains such an enlightened state, God will grant him anything he asks, and even God cannot reverse the rishi's decrees. But again, I would not say that an ordinary man is the same as God.
I think that here we've run into a small East-West divide. When I use the term "gods," it is natural for you to interpret this term in a Greek context, because the New Testament is written in the same Greek context. We d not think of our "gods" the same way the Greeks do. Whereas the Greek gods are individuals with competing goals and ambitions, the Hindu devas are manifestations of the same God. Indeed it was the Greek logicians (Plato, if memory serves) who identified the logical fallacy of polytheism. But Hinduism is not polytheistic. The stories about our gods don't make much sense when interpreted overly literally. Indeed, even the Vedas are written from a monotheistic perspective, and with the understanding that the gods are different manifestations of God. A person praying to Vishnu or Shiva is praying to the same God, and ideally both worshipers know this. Perhaps Sri Krishna sums it up best:
Whosoever desires to worship whatever deity — using any name, form, and method — with faith, I make their faith steady in that very deity. Endowed with steady faith they worship that deity, and obtain their wishes through that deity. Those wishes are, indeed, granted only by Me. (7.21-22)Anyway, there's some difficulty in describing an Eastern religion with Western language, but I hope that at least some of what I said made sense.
Namaste Sanjaya,
Vishnu/Shiva are not Devas but Saguna Brahman. Advaitins consider the Nirgunam Brahman higher but all Hindus consider Vishnu/Shiva God. Paramesvara is not a deva, -- no way equatable to angels, who are equivalent of gandharvas and apsaras.
Devas and asuras both are children of Creator from Aditi and Diti respectively. Devas are those who stick to the truth of spirit Atman and asuras to the falsehood of I-Me-Mine ego.
Christians commonly do not have dominant idea of the all pervading witness consciousness, which is immanent as well as transcendent, as the Lord. But dominantly they have some idea of God standing apart -- just as Sun stands apart and controls the earth and its beings. In Hinduism also we have something similar but such belief is for the starters.
jaggin should not carry and further perpetuate this idea that Hindus worship devas and not God.
Om Namah Shivaya
That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.
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