Monotheism

===South Asia===
{{main|Proto-Indo-Iranian religion|Indian religions}}

====Hinduism====
{{Main|Hindu views on monotheism|God in Hinduism|}}
{{See also|Hindu denominations}}
[[File:Vishnuvishvarupa.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Krishna]] displaying his ''[[Vishvarupa]]'' (universal form) to [[Arjuna]] on the battlefield of Kurukshetra]]
As an old religion, [[Hinduism]] inherits religious concepts spanning monotheism, [[polytheism]], [[panentheism]], [[pantheism]], [[monism]], and [[Atheism in Hinduism|atheism]] among others;<ref>{{Citation | last = Rogers| first = Peter|title = Ultimate Truth, Book 1| publisher = AuthorHouse| year = 2009| page = 109| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=e3kf6GtwaT0C&pg=PA109| isbn = 978-1-4389-7968-7}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Chakravarti| first = Sitansu| title = Hinduism, a way of life| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publ.| year = 1991| page = 71| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA71| isbn = 978-81-208-0899-7}}</ref><ref name="EBpolytheism">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-38143/polytheism |title=Polytheism|access-date= 2007-07-05 |year=2007 |encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Online}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Pattanaik| first = Devdutt| title = The man who was a woman and other queer tales of Hindu lore| publisher = Routledge| year = 2002| page = 38| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Odsk9xfOp6oC&pg=PA38| isbn = 978-1-56023-181-3}}</ref> and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed.

Hindu views are broad and range from monism, through pantheism and panentheism (alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars) to monotheism and even atheism. Hinduism cannot be said to be purely polytheistic. Hindu religious leaders have repeatedly stressed that while God's forms are many and the ways to communicate with him are many, God is one. The ''[[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]]'' of the ''[[murti]]'' is a way to communicate with the abstract one god (''[[Brahman]]'') which creates, sustains and dissolves creation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islam101.com/religions/hinduism/conceptOfGod.htm |title=Concept Of God In Hinduism By Dr Naik |publisher=Islam101.com |access-date=2012-06-05 |archive-date=2012-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429092129/http://www.islam101.com/religions/hinduism/conceptOfGod.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Rig Veda]] 1.164.46,
:''{{IAST|Indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇamaghnimāhuratho divyaḥ sa suparṇo gharutmān,}}''
:''{{IAST|ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadantyaghniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānamāhuḥ}}''
:"They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garuda.
:To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan." (trans. [[Ralph T.H. Griffith|Griffith]])

Traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavas, the [[Nimbarka Sampradaya]] and followers of [[Swaminarayan]] and [[Vallabha]] consider Krishna to be the source of all [[avatar]]s,<ref name = jsn>'' Swaminarayan bicentenary commemoration volume, 1781-1981.'' p. 154: ...Shri Vallabhacharya [and] Shri Swaminarayan... Both of them designate the highest reality as Krishna, who is both the highest avatara and also the source of other avataras. To quote R. Kaladhar Bhatt in this context. "In this transcendental devotieon (Nirguna Bhakti), the sole Deity and only" is Krishna. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_Q0YAAAAIAAJ&q=Avatara+Swaminarayan+Krishna+origina%3B New Dimensions in Vedanta Philosophy - Page 154] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420040419/https://books.google.com/books?id=_Q0YAAAAIAAJ&q=Avatara+Swaminarayan+Krishna+origina; |date=2023-04-20 }}, Sahajānanda, Vedanta. 1981</ref> and the source of [[Vishnu]] himself, or to be the same as [[Narayana]]. As such, he is therefore regarded as ''[[Svayam Bhagavan]]''.<ref name = "Delmonico2004">{{cite journal
| author = Delmonico, N.
| year = 2004
| title = The History Of Indic Monotheism And Modern Chaitanya Vaishnavism
| journal = The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant
| isbn = 978-0-231-12256-6
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mBMxPdgrBhoC&q=Vaisnava+monotheism&pg=PA31
| access-date = 2008-04-12
}}</ref><ref name = "Elkman1986">{{cite book
| author = Elkman, S.M.
|author2=Gosvami, J.
| year = 1986
| title = Jiva Gosvamin's Tattvasandarbha: A Study on the Philosophical and Sectarian Development of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Movement
| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Pub
}}</ref><ref name = Dimock1989>{{cite book
| author = Dimock Jr, E.C.
|author2=Dimock, E.C.
| year = 1989
| title = The Place of the Hidden Moon: Erotic Mysticism in the Vaisnava-Sahajiya Cult of Bengal
| publisher = University Of Chicago Press
}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=EAYa1BtUTm0C&dq=Svayam+bhagavan&pg=PA132 page 132] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420040421/https://books.google.com/books?id=EAYa1BtUTm0C&dq=Svayam+bhagavan&pg=PA132 |date=2023-04-20 }}</ref>

When [[Krishna]] is recognized to be ''Svayam Bhagavan'', it can be understood that this is the belief of [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]],<ref name=Kennedy1925>{{cite book
| author = Kennedy, M.T.
| year = 1925
| title = The Chaitanya Movement: A Study of the Vaishnavism of Bengal
| url = https://archive.org/details/pli.kerala.rare.24847
| publisher = H. Milford, Oxford university press
}}</ref> the [[Vallabha Sampradaya]],<ref name = "flood">{{cite book
| author = Flood, Gavin D.
| author-link = Gavin Flood
| title = An introduction to Hinduism
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| location = Cambridge, UK
| year = 1996
| page = [https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/341 341]
| isbn = 0-521-43878-0
| url = https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo
| url-access = registration
| quote = gavin flood.
| access-date = 2008-04-21
}} "Early Vaishnava worship focuses on three deities who become fused together, namely Vasudeva-Krishna, Krishna-Gopala, and Narayana, who in turn all become identified with Vishnu. Put simply, Vasudeva-Krishna and Krishna-Gopala were worshiped by groups generally referred to as Bhagavatas, while Narayana was worshipped by the Pancaratra sect."</ref> and the [[Nimbarka Sampradaya]], where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of [[Vishnu]] himself. This belief is drawn primarily "from the famous statement of the Bhagavatam"<ref name=Gupta2007>{{cite book
| author = Gupta, Ravi M.
| year = 2007
| title = Caitanya Vaisnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami
| publisher = Routledge
| isbn = 978-0-415-40548-5
}}</ref> (1.3.28).<ref name = Rosen>''Essential [[Hinduism]]'' S. Rosen, 2006, Greenwood Publishing Group [https://books.google.com/books?id=VlhX1h135DMC&dq=Krishna+is+the+original+Personality+of+Godhead&pg=PA124 p.124] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403225031/https://books.google.com/books?id=VlhX1h135DMC&dq=Krishna+is+the+original+Personality+of+Godhead&pg=PA124 |date=2023-04-03 }} {{ISBN|0-275-99006-0}}</ref> A viewpoint differing from this theological concept is the concept of [[Krishna]] as an ''[[avatar]]'' of [[Narayana]] or [[Vishnu]]. It should be however noted that although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of the God of [[Vaishnavism]], who is also known as Narayana, [[Vasudeva]] and Krishna and behind each of those names there is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism.<ref name = Krishna4>
{{cite book
|author=Matchett, Freda
|title=Krsna, Lord or Avatara? the relationship between Krsna and Visnu: in the context of the Avatara myth as presented by the Harivamsa, the Visnupurana and the Bhagavatapurana
|publisher=Routledge
|location=Surrey
|year=2000
|page=4
|isbn=0-7007-1281-X
}}</ref>

The Rig Veda discusses monotheistic thought, as do the [[Atharva Veda]] and [[Yajur Veda]]:
"Devas are always looking to the supreme abode of Vishnu" (''tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sṻrayaḥ'' [[Rig Veda]] 1.22.20)

"The One Truth, sages know by many names" ([[Rig Veda 1]].164.46)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vedavid.org/1sb/1.164c.html |title=Rig Veda: A Metrically Restored Text with an Introduction and Notes, HOS, 1994 |publisher=Vedavid.org |access-date=2012-06-05 |archive-date=2012-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425143106/http://www.vedavid.org/1sb/1.164c.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

"When at first the unborn sprung into being, He won His own dominion beyond which nothing higher has been in existence" ([[Atharva Veda]] 10.7.31)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vedah.com/org2/literature/atharva_veda/spritual_hymns.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007123304/http://www.vedah.com/org2/literature/atharva_veda/spritual_hymns.html|url-status=dead|title=Atharva Veda: Spiritual & Philosophical Hymns|archivedate=October 7, 2008}}</ref>

"There is none to compare with Him. There is no parallel to Him, whose glory, verily, is great." ([[Yajur Veda]] 32.3)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vedah.com/org2/literature/yajur_veda/the_transcendent.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011220748/http://www.vedah.com/org2/literature/yajur_veda/the_transcendent.html|url-status=dead|title=Shukla Yajur Veda: The transcendental "That"|archivedate=October 11, 2008}}</ref>

The number of auspicious qualities of God are countless, with the following six qualities (''bhaga'') being the most important:
* ''Jñāna'' (omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously
* ''[[Aishvarya]]'' (sovereignty, derived from the word [[Ishvara]]), which consists in unchallenged rule over all
* ''Shakti'' (energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible
* ''Bala'' (strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue
* ''Vīrya'' (vigor), which indicates the power to retain immateriality as the supreme being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations
* ''Tejas'' (splendor), which expresses His self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by His spiritual effulgence<ref name= Tapasyananda>{{cite book
 | author = Tapasyananda
 | year = 1991
 | title = Bhakti Schools of Vedānta
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_VtAAAACAAJ
 | isbn = 81-7120-226-8
 | publisher = Sri Ramakrishna Math
 | location = Madras
}}</ref>

In the [[Shaivite]] tradition, the ''[[Shri Rudram]]'' ([[Sanskrit]] श्रि रुद्रम्), to which the Chamakam (चमकम्) is added by scriptural tradition, is a Hindu ''[[stotra]]'' dedicated to [[Rudra]] (an epithet of [[Shiva]]), taken from the [[Yajurveda]] (TS 4.5, 4.7).<ref>For an overview of the Śatarudriya see: Kramrisch, pp. 71-74.</ref><ref>For a full translation of the complete hymn see: Sivaramamurti (1976)</ref> Shri Rudram is also known as ''Sri Rudraprasna'', ''{{IAST|Śatarudrīya}}'', and ''Rudradhyaya''. The text is important in [[Vedanta]] where [[Shiva]] is equated to the Universal supreme God. The hymn is an early example of enumerating the [[Names of God|names of a deity]],<ref>For the {{IAST|Śatarudrīya}} as an early example of enumeration of divine names, see: Flood (1996), p. 152.</ref> a tradition developed extensively in the [[sahasranama]] literature of [[Hinduism]].

The [[Nyaya]] school of Hinduism has made several arguments regarding a monotheistic view. The Naiyanikas have given an argument that such a god can only be one. In the ''Nyaya Kusumanjali'', this is discussed against the proposition of the ''[[Mimamsa]]'' school that let us assume there were many demigods (''[[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]]'') and sages (''[[rishi]]s'') in the beginning, who wrote the Vedas and created the world. Nyaya says that:

{{blockquote|[If they assume such] omniscient beings, those endowed with the various superhuman faculties of assuming infinitesimal size, and so on, and capable of creating everything, then we reply that the ''law of parsimony'' bids us assume only one such, namely Him, the adorable Lord. There can be no confidence in a non-eternal and non-omniscient being, and hence it follows that according to the system which rejects God, the tradition of the Veda is simultaneously overthrown; there is no other way open.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} }}

In other words, Nyaya says that the polytheist would have to give elaborate proofs for the existence and origin of his several celestial spirits, none of which would be logical, and that it is more logical to assume one eternal, omniscient god.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yP-fIislexUC&pg=PA161|title=The Arian Christian Doctrines: The Origins of Christianity|editor-last=Levy|editor-first=Charles D. |date=2010-08-30 |publisher=Metaphysical Institute|isbn=9781453764619|pages=161}}</ref>

Many other Hindus, however, view polytheism as far preferable to monotheism. The famous Hindu revitalist leader [[Ram Swarup]], for example, points to the [[Vedas]] as being specifically polytheistic,<ref>{{cite book|last=Goel|first=Sita Ram|title=Defence of Hindu Society|year=1987|publisher=Voice of India|location=New Delhi, India|url=http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|quote="In the Vedic approach, there is no single God. This is bad enough. But the Hindus do not have even a supreme God, a fuhrer-God who presides over a multiplicity of Gods." – Ram Swarup|access-date=2011-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181337/http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> and states that, "only some form of polytheism alone can do justice to this variety and richness."<ref>{{cite book|last=Goel|first=Sita Ram|title=Defence of Hindu Society|year=1987|publisher=Voice of India|location=New Delhi, India|url=http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|access-date=2011-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181337/http://voi.org/books/hindusoc/ch5.htm|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Sita Ram Goel]], another 20th-century Hindu historian, wrote:

{{Blockquote|I had an occasion to read the typescript of a book [Ram Swarup] had finished writing in 1973. It was a profound study of Monotheism, the central dogma of both Islam and Christianity, as well as a powerful presentation of what the monotheists denounce as Hindu Polytheism. I had never read anything like it. It was a revelation to me that Monotheism was not a religious concept but an imperialist idea. I must confess that I myself had been inclined towards Monotheism till this time. I had never thought that a multiplicity of Gods was the natural and spontaneous expression of an evolved consciousness.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goel|first=Sita Ram|title=How I became a Hindu|year=1982|publisher=Voice of India|location=New Delhi, India|page=92}}</ref>}}

====Sikhism====
{{Main|Sikhism}}
[[File:Sikh Temple Manning Drive Edmonton Alberta Canada 01A.jpg|thumb|A Sikh temple, known as ''Nanaksar [[Gurudwara]]'', in [[Alberta]], Canada]]
[[File:Ek onkar.svg|thumb|upright|left|[[Ik Onkar|Ik Onkār]], a [[Sikh]] symbol representing "the One Supreme Reality"]]
Sikhi is a monotheistic<ref>{{cite book
|last=Mark Juergensmeyer
|first=Gurinder Singh Mann
|year=2006
|title=The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|location=US
|isbn=978-0-19-513798-9
|page=41
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|last=Ardinger
|first=Barbara
|year=2006
|title=Pagan Every Day: Finding the Extraordinary in Our Ordinary Lives
|publisher=Weisfer
|isbn=978-1-57863-332-6
|page=13
}}</ref> and a [[revealed religion]].<ref name="Nesbitt2005">{{cite book
|last=Nesbitt
|first=Eleanor M.
|title=Sikhi: a very short introduction
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fvTK_CfkeasC&pg=PP6
|access-date=19 July 2010
|date=15 November 2005
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-280601-7
|page=136}}</ref> [[God in Sikhism]] is called [[Akal Purakh]] (which means "The Immortal Being") or ''[[Waheguru|Vāhigurū]]'' (Wondrous Enlightener). However, other names like [[Names of God in Sikhism|Rama]], [[Brahman]], [[Khuda]],  [[Allah]], etc. are also used to refer to the same God, who is [[Nirankar|shapeless]], [[akaal|timeless]], and [[Alakh Niranjan|sightless]]: ''niraṅkār'', ''akaal'', and ''alakh''. Sikhi presents a unique perspective where God is present (''[[sarav viāpak]]'') in all of its creation and does not exist outside of its creation. God must be seen from "the inward eye", or the "heart". Sikhs follow the Aad Guru Granth Sahib and are instructed to [[Naam Japo|meditate]] on the [[Nāma|Naam]] (Name of God - ''[[Waheguru|Vāhigurū]]'') to progress towards enlightenment, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings.<ref name="p252">{{cite book
|last=Parrinder
|first=Geoffrey
|author-link=Geoffrey Parrinder
|year=1971
|title=World Religions:From Ancient History to the Present
|publisher=Hamlyn Publishing Group
|location=USA
|url=https://archive.org/details/worldreligions00edwa
|url-access=registration
|isbn=978-0-87196-129-7
|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldreligions00edwa/page/252 252]}}</ref>

Sikhism is a monotheistic faith<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.religionfacts.com/sikhism/beliefs.htm |title=Sikh Beliefs and Doctrine |publisher=ReligionFacts |access-date=2012-06-05 |archive-date=2012-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612050928/http://www.religionfacts.com/sikhism/beliefs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.multifaithcentre.org/sikhism/71-a-short-introduction-to-sikhism- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727101929/http://www.multifaithcentre.org/sikhism/71-a-short-introduction-to-sikhism- |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-27 |title=A Short Introduction to Sikhism |publisher=Multifaithcentre.org |access-date=2012-06-05 }}</ref> that arose in the [[Punjab]] region of the [[Indian subcontinent]] during the 16th and 17th centuries. [[Sikh]]s believe in one, timeless, omnipresent, supreme creator. The opening verse of the [[Guru Granth Sahib]], known as the [[Mul Mantra]], signifies this:

:{{lang-pa|ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥}}
:[[Transliteration]]: ikk ōankār sat(i)-nām(u) karatā purakh(u) nirabha'u niravair(u) akāla mūrat(i) ajūnī saibhan<small>(g)</small> gur(a) prasād(i).
:One Universal creator God, The supreme Unchangeable Truth, The Creator of the Universe, Beyond Fear, Beyond Hatred, Beyond Death, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent, by Guru's Grace.

The word "ੴ" ("Ik ōaṅkār") has two components. The first is ੧, the digit "1" in [[Gurmukhi]] signifying the singularity of the creator. Together the word means: "One Universal creator God".

It is often said that the 1430 pages of the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] are all expansions on the Mul Mantra. Although the Sikhs have many names for God, some derived from [[Islam]] and [[Hinduism]], they all refer to the same Supreme Being.

The Sikh holy scriptures refer to the One God who pervades the whole of space and is the creator of all beings in the [[universe]]. The following quotation from the Guru Granth Sahib highlights this point:

{{blockquote|Chant, and meditate on the One God, who permeates and pervades the many beings of the whole Universe. God created it, and God spreads through it everywhere. Everywhere I look, I see God. The Perfect Lord is perfectly pervading and permeating the water, the land and the sky; there is no place without Him.|Guru Granth Sahib, Page 782}}

However, there is a strong case for arguing that the Guru Granth Sahib teaches [[monism]] due to its non-dualistic tendencies:

{{blockquote|
{{lang-pa|ਸਹਸ ਪਦ ਬਿਮਲ ਨਨ ਏਕ ਪਦ ਗੰਧ ਬਿਨੁ ਸਹਸ ਤਵ ਗੰਧ ਇਵ ਚਲਤ ਮੋਹੀ ॥੨॥}}
<p>You have thousands of Lotus Feet, and yet You do not have even one foot. You have no nose, but you have thousands of noses. This Play of Yours entrances me.|[[Guru Granth Sahib]], Page 13}}

Sikhs believe that God has been given many names, but they all refer to the One God, [[VāhiGurū]]. Sikh holy scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) speaks to all faiths and Sikhs believe that members of other religions such as Islam, Hinduism and [[Christianity]] all worship the same God, and the names [[Allah]], [[Ar-Rahim|Rahim]], [[Al-Karim|Karim]], [[Names of God in Sikhism|Hari]], Raam and [[Brahman|Paarbrahm]] are, therefore, frequently mentioned in the Sikh holy scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) . God in Sikhism is most commonly referred to as [[Akal Purakh]] (which means "The Immortal Being") or [[Waheguru]], the Wondrous Enlightener.