Hello all of you!
Today we will finish up with the Male Hindu Trinity (which included Shiva the Destroyer, and Brahma the Creator) You have learned about Shiva, Brahma and today I want to tell you about Vishnu, Lover of Lakshmi.
Vishnu is the sustainer of the worlds. Whenever evil ascends, Vishnu is there ready to restore dharma, and punish all that have offended or physically wounded the weak and the righteous.
Vishnu is described as having a dark blue skin somewhat like a great storm cloud covering a male human body. The lovely colour of the stormy sky denoting his cosmic dimensions and his connection with the Vedic gods of rain, thunder and his relationship with the earth. He has four arms of which he carries four different objects all representing those things that he is responsible for. The objects symbolize many more meanings, but I will tell you about the four main ones.
The Conch - the sound that this produces “Om”, represents the primeval sound of creation itself.
The Chakra - which symbolizes the mind.
The Lotus flower - an example of our beautiful existence and liberation of our minds and hearts desires.
The Mace – represents mental and physical strength.
Vishnu is usually seen being represented in two ways -
Standing upright on a Lotus flower with Lakshmi, his consort, close by him and
Reclining on the coils of a serpent, with Lakshmi massaging his feet. They are always surrounded by the Milky Ocean, where he created Lakshmi. However, there are pictures of him riding on the King of Birds, Garuda, who is an eagle.
More so than most other Gods that I have researched, they have different incarnations, yet the one's seemed so specific with God Vishnu that I thought I would note all of them for you.
Research says that Vishnu has appeared in varied incarnations nine times so far, with a tenth yet predicted.
Vishnu's Incarnations:
Matsya (fish) – some Hindu's believe that this is the similar to the biblical representation of Noah.
Kurma (turtle) – churning of the ocean.
Varaha (pig/boar) – In this avatar, Vishnu recovered the stolen Vedas.
Narasimha (half lion, half man) – Vishnu managed to vanquish a demon who had gained immunity from the attacks of man, beast or God.
Vamana (dwarf sage with the ability to grow) – In this story, the evil demon Bali had taken over the earth and had pushed all of the gods from the heavens as well. Vishnu took the form of a dwarf, who then tricked Bali into giving him as much of Bali's empire as he could cover in three steps. Vishnu as Vamana grew so large that with one step he had covered the earth, with the second the heavens, thus returning the ownership to the gods.
Parasurama (fierce man/hunter) Vishnu rids the earth of irreligious and sinful monarchs.
Rama (greatest warrior/ideal man) – As Rama, he kills the demon King Ravana, who abducted his wife Sita.
Krishna (mentally advanced man) – Krishna is the hero of the Mahabharata, an epic poem. He also delivered his famous message known as the Baghavad Gita.
Budda (the all-knowing one) – who appeared in the 5th century BCE. In some traditions, Balarama replaces Budda as an incarnation of Vishnu.
Kalki – Expected towards the end of this present age of decline, as a person on earth seated on a white horse.
If you have further interest in the Hindu Gods and Goddesses, I encourage you to look into the Vedas. The Vedas are a large body of knowledge texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruseya, which means “not of man”. This is another interesting scope for me, so I will be studying the Vedas in the future, and if there might be some interest, I could Blog on it for you all as well.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Since March I have begun Kundalini Yoga and it is a life changer, as well as opening up even more avenues of study to me which I adore. Till next time.......
Next up starting on the Chakras.
StormloverWolf
Sources;
www.bbc.co.uk/religion
www.hinduwebsite.com
www.sanatansociety.org
www.wikipedia.com (and image)
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