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*❓Oneness of God in Hindu Scriptures*
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✅Similar to the fundamental faith in Islam, there are many verses in Hindu scriptures as well which teaches the Oneness of God. In the Vedas, the Upanishads and even in the Bhagavad Gita, it is prohibited to worship idols and teaches that God is formless and has no picture!
Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion. Indeed, most Hindus would attest to this, by professing belief in multiple Gods. While some Hindus believe in the existence of three gods, some believe in thousands of gods, and some others in thirty-three crore. However, learned Hindus, who are well versed in their scriptures, insist that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God.
The major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim perception of God is the common Hindus belief in the philosophy of Pantheism. Pantheism considers everything, living and non-living, to be Divine and Sacred and thus as God. Islam, on the contrary, exhorts man to consider himself and his surroundings as examples of Divine Creation rather than as divinity itself. Muslims therefore believe that everything is God’s. In other words, the Muslims believe that everything belongs to God.
*Concept of God According to Hindu Scriptures:*
We can gain a better understanding of the concept of God in Hinduism by analyzing Hindu scriptures.
*1. Bhagavad Gita:*
The most popular amongst all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita. Consider the following verse from the Gita: “Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.” [Bhagavad Gita 7:20]
The Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. ‘gods’ besides the True God.
*2. Upanishads:*
The Upanishads are considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus. The following verses from the Upanishads refer to the Concept of God: “He is One only without a second.” [Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]
“Of Him there are neither parents nor lord.” [Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]. “There is no likeness of Him.” [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]
The following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of man to imagine God in a form: “His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye.” [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]
*3. The Vedas:*
Vedas are considered the most sacred of all the Hindu scriptures. There are four principal Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda.
*3.a. Yajurveda:*
The following verses from the Yajurveda echo a similar concept of God: “There is no image of Him.” [Yajurveda 32:3]. “He is bodyless and pure.” [Yajurveda 40:8]
“They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements” (Air, Water, Fire, etc). “They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti.” [Yajurveda 40:9] Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.
*3.b. Atharvaveda:*
The Atharvaveda praises God in Book 20, hymn 58 and verse 3: “God is verily great” [Atharvaveda 20:58:3]
*3.c. Rigveda:*
The oldest of all the vedas is Rigveda. It is also the one considered most sacred by the Hindus. The Rigveda states in Book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46: “Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names.” [Rigveda 1:164:46]
The following verse from the Rigveda Book 8, hymn 1, verse 1 refer to the Unity and Glory of the Supreme Being: “O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone.” [Rigveda 8:1:1]
*Brahma Sutra of Hinduism:*
The Brahma Sutra of Hinduism is: “There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit.”
Thus, only a dispassionate study of the Hindu scriptures can help one understand the concept of God in Hinduism.
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