Hinduism

=== Concept of God ===
{{Main|Ishvara|God in Hinduism}}

Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with a wide variety of beliefs<!--systems listed at 'Definitions' above-->;<ref name="Lipner2009p8" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chakravarti |first=Sitansu |title=Hinduism, a way of life |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1991 |isbn=978-81-208-0899-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA71 |page=71 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=13 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413105302/https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA71 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref group="web">{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Smart |first=Ninian |year=2007 |title=Polytheism |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-38143/polytheism |access-date=5 July 2007 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805040843/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469156/polytheism |url-status=live }}</ref> its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and [[Hindu philosophy|philosophy]] followed. It is sometimes referred to as [[God in Hinduism|henotheistic]] (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralisation.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=xiv}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gill |first=N.S |title=Henotheism |url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egyptmyth/g/henotheism.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317151629/http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egyptmyth/g/henotheism.htm |archive-date=17 March 2007 |access-date=5 July 2007 |publisher=[[About.com|About, Inc]]}}</ref>

{{Rquote|left|"Who really knows?<br />Who will here proclaim it? <br />Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?<br />The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.<br />Who then knows whence it has arisen?"|[[Nasadiya Sukta]], concerns the [[origin of the universe]], [[Rigveda]], ''10:129–6''{{sfn|Kramer|1986|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RzUAu-43W5oC&pg=PA34 34–]}}{{sfn|Christian|2011|pp=[https://archive.org/details/mapstimeintroduc00chri_515/page/n46 18–]}}{{sfn|Singh|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA206 206–]}}}}
The ''[[Nasadiya Sukta]]'' (''Creation Hymn'') of the ''[[Rig Veda]]'' is one of the earliest texts{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=226}} which "demonstrates a sense of metaphysical speculation" about what created the universe, the concept of god(s) and The One, and whether even The One knows how the universe came into being.<ref>{{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=226}}; {{harvnb|Kramer|1986|pp=20–21}}</ref><ref name="3translations">* Original Sanskrit: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.१२९ Rigveda 10.129] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525145645/https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A6%3A_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%82_%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%A6.%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%A8%E0%A5%AF |date=25 May 2017 }} Wikisource;
* '''Translation 1''': {{harvnb|Muller|1859|pp=559–565}}
* '''Translation 2''': {{harvnb|Kramer|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/worldscripturesi0000kram/page/21 21]}}
* '''Translation 3''': {{harvnb|Christian|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7RdVmDjwTtQC&pg=PA17 17]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=7RdVmDjwTtQC&pg=PA18 18]}}</ref> The ''Rig Veda'' praises various [[Hindu deities|deities]], none superior nor inferior, in a henotheistic manner.<ref>{{cite book |last=Muller |first=Max |author-link=Max Muller |year=1878 |title=Lectures on the Origins and Growth of Religions: As Illustrated by the Religions of India |publisher=Longmans Green & Co |pages=260–271}}<br />{{cite book |last=Wilkins |first=William Joseph |year=1882 |title=Hindu Mythology: Vedic and Purānic |publisher=London Missionary Society |location=Calcutta |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBUHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA8 |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328164250/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBUHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The hymns repeatedly refer to [[Brahman|One Truth and One Ultimate Reality]]. The "One Truth" of [[Vedas|Vedic literature]], in modern era scholarship, has been interpreted as monotheism, monism, as well as a deified Hidden Principles behind the great happenings and processes of nature.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Raghavendrachar |first=H.N. |year=1944 |title=Monism in the Vedas |journal=The Half-yearly Journal of the Mysore University |department=Section A – Arts |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=137–152 |url=http://eprints.uni-mysore.ac.in/15675/1/12MONISMINTHEVEDAS.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206070146/http://eprints.uni-mysore.ac.in/15675/1/12MONISMINTHEVEDAS.pdf |archive-date=6 February 2015}}<br />{{cite journal |last=Werner |first=K. |year=1982 |title=Men, gods and powers in the Vedic outlook |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland |volume=114 |issue=1 |pages=14–24|doi=10.1017/S0035869X00158575 |s2cid=163754819 }}<br />{{cite journal |last=Coward |first=H. |year=1995 |department=Book Review |title=The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas |journal=Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=45–47 |doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1116 |quote=There is little doubt that the theo-monistic category is an appropriate one for viewing a wide variety of experiences in the Hindu tradition|doi-access=free }}</ref>

{{multiple image
| caption_align     = center
| total_width       = 300
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| title             = [[Hindu deities|Gods and Goddesses]] in Hinduism
| image1            = Vishnu Avatars.jpg
| alt1              = Vishnu
| caption1          = [[Vishnu]]
| image2            = Brahma on hamsa.jpg
| alt2              = Brahma
| caption2          = [[Brahma]]
| image3            = MurudeshwarStatue.JPG
| alt3              = Shiva
| caption3          = [[Shiva]]
| image4            = Durga idol 2011 Burdwan.jpg
| alt4              = Shakti
| caption4          = [[Shakti]]
}}

Hindus believe that all living creatures have a Self. This true "Self" of every person, is called the ''[[Atman (Hinduism)|ātman]]''. The Self is believed to be eternal.{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1974|pp=20–37}} According to the monistic/pantheistic ([[Nonduality (spirituality)|non-dualist]]) theologies of Hinduism (such as [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita Vedanta school]]), this [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] is indistinct from [[Brahman]], the supreme spirit or [[Ultimate reality|the Ultimate Reality]].<ref name="bhaskaranandaessential">{{Harvnb | Bhaskarananda|1994}}</ref> The goal of life, according to the [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita school]], is to realise that [[Jiva|one's Self]] is identical to [[Paramatman|supreme Self]], that the supreme Self is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.{{sfn|Vivekananda|1987}}<ref>John Koller (2012), ''Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion'' (Editors: Chad Meister, Paul Copan), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-78294-4}}, pp. 99–107</ref><ref>Lance Nelson (1996), "Living liberation in Shankara and classical Advaita", in ''Living Liberation in Hindu Thought'' (Editors: Andrew O. Fort, Patricia Y. Mumme), State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2706-4}}, pp. 38–39, 59 (footnote 105)</ref> [[Dualism (Indian philosophy)|Dualistic]] schools ([[Dvaita Vedanta|Dvaita]] and [[Bhakti]]) understand [[Brahman]] as a Supreme Being separate from [[Ātman (Hinduism)|individual Selfs]].<ref name="R Prasad 2009 pages 345-347">R Prasad (2009), ..A Historical-developmental Study of Classical Indian Philosophy of Morals'', Concept Publishing, {{ISBN|978-81-8069-595-7}}, pp. 345–347</ref> They worship the Supreme Being variously as [[Vishnu]], [[Brahma]], [[Shiva]], or [[Shakti]], depending upon the sect. God is called ''[[Ishvara]]'', ''[[Bhagavan]]'', ''[[Parameshwara (god)|Parameshwara]]'', ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Deva]]'' or ''[[Devi]]'', and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.{{sfn|Eliade|2009|pp=73–76}}{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1967|pp=37–39, 401–403, 498–503}}{{sfn|Monier-Williams|2001}}

Hindu texts accept a polytheistic framework, but this is generally conceptualised as the divine essence or luminosity that gives vitality and animation to the inanimate natural substances.<ref name="Wallin1999p64" /> There is a divine in everything, human beings, animals, trees and rivers. It is observable in offerings to rivers, trees, tools of one's work, animals and birds, rising sun, friends and guests, teachers and parents.<ref name="Wallin1999p64" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Berntsen |first=Maxine |url=https://archive.org/details/experienceofhind00zell |title=The Experience of Hinduism: Essays on Religion in Maharashtra |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-88706-662-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/experienceofhind00zell/page/n45 18]–19 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n301/mode/2up Taittiriya Upanishad] Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Robert Hume (Translator), pp. 281–282;<br />Paul Deussen, ''Sixty Upanishads of the Veda'', Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1468-4}}, pp. 229–231</ref> It is the divine in these that makes each sacred and worthy of reverence, rather than them being sacred in and of themselves. This perception of divinity manifested in all things, as Buttimer and Wallin view it, makes the [[Vedas|Vedic]] foundations of Hinduism quite distinct from [[animism]], in which all things are themselves divine.<ref name="Wallin1999p64" /> The animistic premise sees multiplicity, and therefore an equality of ability to compete for power when it comes to man and man, man and animal, [[man and nature]], etc. The [[Vedas|Vedic]] view does not perceive this competition, equality of man to nature, or multiplicity so much as an overwhelming and interconnecting single divinity that unifies everyone and everything.<ref name="Wallin1999p64">{{Cite book |last1=Buttimer |first1=Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zUHFyGQcJxgC |title=Nature and Identity in Cross-Cultural Perspective |last2=Wallin |first2=L. |publisher=Springer |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7923-5651-6 |pages=64–68 |access-date=30 June 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328162533/https://books.google.com/books?id=zUHFyGQcJxgC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mabry |first=John R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qWVsNYQ5Gh4C |title=Noticing the Divine: An Introduction to Interfaith Spiritual Guidance |publisher=New York: Morehouse |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8192-2238-1 |pages=32–33 |access-date=30 June 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328160602/https://books.google.com/books?id=qWVsNYQ5Gh4C |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Samovar |first1=Larry A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lsYaCgAAQBAJ |title=Communication Between Cultures |last2=Porter |first2=Richard E. |last3=McDaniel |first3=Edwin R. |publisher=Cengage |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-305-88806-7 |pages=140–144 |display-authors=etal |access-date=30 June 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328160746/https://books.google.com/books?id=lsYaCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Hindu texts|Hindu scriptures]] name celestial entities called ''[[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]]'' (or ''{{IAST|[[Devi]]}}'' in feminine form), which may be translated into English as ''gods'' or ''heavenly beings''.{{refn|group=note|For translation of ''deva'' in singular noun form as "a deity, god", and in plural form as "the gods" or "the heavenly or shining ones", see: {{Harvnb|Monier-Williams|2001|p=492}}. For translation of ''{{IAST|devatā}}'' as "godhead, divinity", see: {{harvnb|Monier-Williams|2001|p=495}}.}} The [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, [[Hindu architecture|architecture]] and through [[Hindu iconography|icons]], and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the [[Puranas]]. They are, however, often distinguished from [[Ishvara]], a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping [[Ishvara]] in one of its particular manifestations as their ''{{IAST|[[iṣṭa devatā]]}}'', or chosen ideal.{{sfn|Werner|2005|pp=9, 15, 49, 54, 86}}{{sfn|Renou|1964|p=55}} The choice is a matter of individual preference,<ref name="harman1">{{harvnb|Harman|2004|pp=104–106}}</ref> and of regional and family traditions.<ref name=harman1 />{{refn|group=note|Among some regional Hindus, such as Rajputs, these are called ''[[Kuladevata|Kuldevis]]'' or ''[[Kuladevata|Kuldevata]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harlan |first=Lindsey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7HLrPYOe38gC |title=Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protection in Contemporary Narratives |publisher=University of California Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-520-07339-5 |pages=19–20, 48 with footnotes |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817160746/https://books.google.com/books?id=7HLrPYOe38gC |url-status=live }}</ref>}} The multitude of Devas are considered manifestations of Brahman.<ref name=avatars>* {{harvnb|Hark|DeLisser|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}. "Three gods or [[Trimurti]], [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]], and [[Shiva]], and other deities are considered manifestations of and are worshipped as incarnations of [[Brahman]]."
* {{harvnb|Toropov|Buckles|2011|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}. "The members of various Hindu sects worship a dizzying number of specific deities and follow innumerable rituals in honor of specific gods. Because this is Hinduism, however, its practitioners see the profusion of forms and practices as expressions of the same unchanging reality. The panoply of deities is understood by believers as symbols for a single transcendent reality."
* {{harvnb|Espín|Nickoloff|2007|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}. "The [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] are powerful spiritual beings, somewhat like angels in the West, who have certain functions in the cosmos and live immensely long lives. Certain devas, such as Ganesha, are regularly worshiped by the Hindu faithful. Note that, while Hindus believe in many devas, many are monotheistic to the extent that they will recognise only one Supreme Being, a God or Goddess who is the source and ruler of the devas."</ref>

[[File:Vishnu Surrounded by his Avatars.jpg|thumb|Hindu god [[Vishnu]] (centre) surrounded by his [[Dashavatara|ten major avatars]], namely [[Matsya]]; [[Kurma]]; [[Varaha]]; [[Narasimha]]; [[Vamana]]; [[Parashurama]]; [[Rama]]; [[Krishna]]; [[Buddha in Hinduism|Buddha]], and [[Kalki]]]]
The word ''[[avatar]]'' does not appear in the [[Vedas|Vedic literature]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bassuk |first=Daniel E |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3iwCwAAQBAJ |title=Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: The Myth of the God-Man |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=1987 |isbn=978-1-349-08642-9 |pages=2–4 |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328160747/https://books.google.com/books?id=k3iwCwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> but appears in verb forms in post-Vedic literature, and as a noun particularly in the Puranic literature after the 6th century CE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hacker |first=Paul |title=Zur Entwicklung der Avataralehre |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz |year=1978 |isbn=978-3-447-04860-6 |editor-last=Schmithausen |editor-first=Lambert |pages=424, also 405–409, 414–417 |language=de}}</ref> Theologically, the reincarnation idea is most often associated with the ''avatars'' of Hindu god [[Vishnu]], though the idea has been applied to other deities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinsley |first=David |title=Encyclopedia of Religion |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-02-865735-6 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |edition=Second |volume=2 |pages=707–708}}</ref> Varying lists of avatars of Vishnu appear in Hindu scriptures, including the ten [[Dashavatara]] of the ''[[Garuda Purana]]'' and the twenty-two avatars in the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'', though the latter adds that the incarnations of Vishnu are innumerable.{{sfn|Bryant|2007|p=18}} The avatars of Vishnu are important in Vaishnavism theology. In the goddess-based [[Shaktism|Shaktism tradition]], avatars of the [[Devi]] are found and all goddesses are considered to be different aspects of the same [[Brahman|metaphysical Brahman]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDaniel |first=June |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caeJpIj9SdkC&pg=PA90 |title=Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-534713-5 |pages=90–91}}</ref> and [[Shakti]] ''(energy)''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hawley |first1=John Stratton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DLj1tYmoTQC&pg=PA174 |title=The life of Hinduism |last2=Narayanan |first2=Vasudha |publisher=University of California Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-520-24914-1 |page=174 |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174125/https://books.google.com/books?id=7DLj1tYmoTQC&pg=PA174 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinsley |first=David R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkCsrfghkZ4C |title=Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahāvidyās |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1998 |isbn=978-81-208-1522-3 |pages=115–119 |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328160534/https://books.google.com/books?id=gkCsrfghkZ4C |url-status=live }}</ref> While avatars of other deities such as [[Ganesha]] and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional.<ref>"Shiva" in {{harvnb|Lochtefeld|2002n|p=635}}</ref>

Both theistic and atheistic ideas, for epistemological and metaphysical reasons, are profuse in different schools of Hinduism. The early [[Nyaya]] school of Hinduism, for example, was non-theist/atheist,<ref>John Clayton (2010), ''Religions, Reasons and Gods: Essays in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Religion'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-12627-4}}, page 150</ref> but later [[Nyaya]] school scholars argued that God exists and offered proofs using its theory of logic.<ref>Sharma, C. (1997). A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0365-7}}, pp. 209–210</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reichenbach |first=Bruce R. |date=April 1989 |title=Karma, causation, and divine intervention |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=135–149 [145] |doi=10.2307/1399374 |jstor=1399374 |url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/reiche2.htm |access-date=29 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027070413/http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/reiche2.htm |archive-date=27 October 2009}}</ref> Other schools disagreed with Nyaya scholars. [[Samkhya]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajadhyaksha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihkRAQAAIAAJ |title=The six systems of Indian philosophy |year=1959 |page=95 |quote=Under the circumstances God becomes an unnecessary metaphysical assumption. Naturally the Sankhyakarikas do not mention God, Vachaspati interprets this as rank atheism. |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025131/https://books.google.com/books?id=ihkRAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Mimamsa<ref name=Coward2008p114>{{harvnb|Coward|2008|p=114}}: "For the Mimamsa the ultimate reality is nothing other than the eternal words of the Vedas. They did not accept the existence of a single supreme creator god, who might have composed the Veda. According to the Mimamsa, gods named in the Vedas have no existence apart from the mantras that speak their names. The power of the gods, then, is nothing other than the power of the mantras that name them."</ref> and [[Carvaka]] schools of Hinduism, were non-theist/atheist, arguing that "God was an unnecessary metaphysical assumption".<ref group="web">[https://archive.org/stream/thesamkhyaphilos00sinhuoft/thesamkhyaphilos00sinhuoft_djvu.txt Sāṁkhyapravacana Sūtra] I.92.</ref>{{sfn|Sen Gupta|1986|p=viii}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neville |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThLR13JpCWsC |title=Religious truth |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7914-4778-9 |page=51 |publisher=SUNY Press |quote=Mimamsa theorists (theistic and atheistic) decided that the evidence allegedly proving the existence of God was insufficient. They also thought there was no need to postulate a maker for the world, just as there was no need for an author to compose the Veda or an independent God to validate the Vedic rituals. |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025131/https://books.google.com/books?id=ThLR13JpCWsC |url-status=live }}</ref> Its [[Vaisheshika]] school started as another non-theistic tradition relying on naturalism and that all matter is eternal, but it later introduced the concept of a non-creator God.<ref>A Goel (1984), ''Indian philosophy: Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika and modern science'', Sterling, {{ISBN|978-0-86590-278-7}}, pp. 149–151</ref><ref>Collins, Randall (2000), ''The sociology of philosophies'', Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-674-00187-9}}, p. 836</ref>{{sfn|Klostermaier|2007|pp=337–338}} The [[Raja yoga|Yoga]] school of Hinduism accepted the concept of a "personal god" and left it to the Hindu to define his or her god.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burley |first=Mikel |title=Classical Samkhya and Yoga – An Indian Metaphysics of Experience |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-415-64887-5 |pages=39–41 |author-link=Mikel Burley}};<br />{{Cite book |last=Pflueger |first=Lloyd |title=Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-208-3232-9 |editor-last=Knut Jacobsen |pages=38–39}};<br />{{Cite book |last=Behanan |first=K. T. |title=Yoga: Its Scientific Basis |publisher=Dover |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-486-41792-9 |pages=56–58 |author-link1=K. T. Behanan}}</ref> Advaita Vedanta taught a monistic, abstract Self and Oneness in everything, with no room for gods or deity, a perspective that Mohanty calls, "spiritual, not religious".<ref>Knut Jacobsen (2008), ''Theory and Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson'', Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-3232-9}}, pp. 77–78</ref> Bhakti sub-schools of Vedanta taught a creator God that is distinct from each human being.<ref name="R Prasad 2009 pages 345-347" />

[[File:Khajuraho Ardharnareshvar.jpg|thumb|[[Ardhanarishvara]], showing both feminine and masculine aspect of god in Hinduism]]
God in Hinduism is often represented having both the [[God and gender in Hinduism|feminine and masculine]] aspects. The notion of the feminine in deity is much more pronounced and is evident in the pairings of Shiva with Parvati ([[Ardhanarishvara]]), [[Vishnu]] accompanied by Lakshmi, [[Radha]] with [[Krishna]] and [[Sita]] with [[Rama]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rankin|first=John|date=1 June 1984|title=Teaching Hinduism: Some Key Ideas|journal=British Journal of Religious Education|volume=6|issue=3|pages=133–160|doi=10.1080/0141620840060306|issn=0141-6200}}</ref>

According to [[Graham Schweig]], Hinduism has the strongest presence of the divine feminine in world religion from ancient times to the present.{{sfn|Bryant|2007|p=441}} The goddess is viewed as the heart of the most esoteric [[Shaivism|Saiva traditions]].{{sfn|Flood|2003|pp=200–203}}
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