Top 7 Reasons Why Hinduism Have So Many Gods

 Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world. It is based on moral and cultural values, which all ought to follow. Hinduism is a very diversified religion that changes with culture, geographical placements, language, weather, and other local conditions. There are about 33 types of Gods & Goddesses being worshipped in Hinduism. Each God is a representation of various attributes to concentrate upon. In Hinduism, everyone's free to worship any particular deity of his choice, among the various known Gods and Goddesses. 

However, Hinduism does not propagate the worshipping of only one God. However, they tend to have a firm belief in the concept of having one Supreme Power, but it has different names. Every individual worships one of them, believing that they are superpowers and would remove all obstacles in their life, bring happiness & prosperity and help them attain Moksha after their death. The Hindu belief system is incorporated with a complex structure of deities. 

The seven reasons why Hinduism have so many Gods are :

• India is a multilingual country. Moreover, the culture of the place in India changes from place to place. Hindus worship One Supreme God 'Brahma', in its various forms, but with different names at different places. Through language, culture makes people understand one God differently, yet they worship them in their way and form, according to their culture.

• Hindus are very compassionate people. Unlike other religions, they are compassionate even towards animals, plants, natural habitats and even water resources. They pay respect to everything, which makes their lives comfortable. Therefore, River Ganga and the Yamuna are called 'Gangaji' and Yamuna Ji, respectively, and aartis at their ghats are done regularly. This ultimately led to a lot of Hindu gods idols being worshipped.

• Hindus believe that Gods are derived from nature, and since nature is bountiful, there is a variety of Gods to be revered. There are deities recognised in the plants, the stars, the rivers, the mountains and the planets. Hindus worship the divine in the form that each belief system supports, which is suitable and inspiring. They have even chosen deities from flora and fauna, e.g. Tulsi and Peepal, worship every Hindu.

• Hindus believe that though there is one Supreme Power, every God and Goddesses have different powers. Hence there is an abundance of Hindu god statues, and each one of them represents a certain power. Hindus worship God according to their necessities, i.e. People worship Lord Shiva for austerity, Goddess Laxmi for wealth & prosperity, Lord Vishnu for sustaining their wealth, Goddess Saraswati for knowledge etc. Every person not only worships one God but also has belief in all other Gods. 

• Hindus believe that worshipping God as per the culture shall help them imbibe deeper religious crossover & family roots. Some of the bifurcations are based on the below four ideologies :The first being Vaishnavism, where followers worship Lord Vishnu and his ten incarnations. Among the ten incarnations, Lord Krishna and Lord Rama are worshipped the most.The other is Shaivism, where followers worship Lord Shiva as the Supreme God.Next is Shaktism, where goddesses are worshipped as Mother Shakti, i.e. Goddess Vaishno Mata, Goddess Laxshmi, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Maa Kali etc. Here, the goddess is presented as both the Brahman and the Prakriti.The category of religious ideology is Smartism, where people treat all deities equally. Their temples include all the five deities called the Panch Devta. People here may worship one or more of the five main Hindu Gods, i.e. Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Surya and Shakti. 

• The cultural diversity of India also adds to many Gods being in existence. Every region in India has its heritage, culture, and food habits. Accordingly, there are deities represented in the family and the community. People in ancient times believed that God persists in everything that nurtures life. Hence, with time so many Gods were found and worshipped by them. 

• Since ancient times the Hindus have been worshipping different Gods, and their festivals/birthdays are celebrated with great enthusiasm. People from all parts of the country observe the happiness and joy found in these festivals. Hence, they also participate in these moments and follow the way celebrations are done in favour of different Hindu gods murtis. For example, People celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi (for Lord Ganesha), celebrate Shivratri and Maha Shivratri (for Lord Shiva), celebrate Janamasthmi (for Lord Krishna), celebrate Dusshera (for Lord Rama) etc.   

To sum up, God is Supreme but has many forms. Every Hindu worships one of them but is a firm believer in others too. It has resulted in so many Gods being worshipped in Hinduism, which also signifies unity in diversity. So if you are still looking on whom to worship & when ; then wait no more & start finding your Idol to discover your life path.