Are Hindus Polytheistic?
Satyarth
Prakash - The Light of Truth
By: Swami Dayanand Saraswati
Excerpts (Page 203-205)
Question: Are Hindus Polythesitic?
Answer: No, we are not; as nowhere in all the four Vedas there is written anything that could go to show that there are more gods than one. On the other hand, it is clearly said in many places that there is only one God.
Question: What is meant by the mention of various devatas (Gods) in the Vedas then?
Answer:
Whatsoever or whosoever possesses useful and brilliant qualities
is called a devata, as the earth for instance; but it is nowhere said
that it is God or is the object of our adoration. Even in the above
mantra it is said that He, who is the sustainer of all devatas, is the
adorable God, and is worthy of of being sought after, They are greatly
mistaken who take the word "devata" to mean God.
He is called devata of devatas - the greatest of all devatas, - because
He aloneis the author of Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution of the
Universe, the Great Judge and Lord of all. The Vedic text "The
Lord of all of all, the Ruler of the universe, the Sustainer of all
holds all things by means of thiry-three devatas" has been explained
as follows in the fourteenth chapter of the Shatpatha Brahman:
Heated
cosmic bodies
Planets
Atmosphere
Super-terrestial space
Suns
Says of ethereal space
Satellities
Stars
These eight are called Vasus, because they are abode of all that lives,
moves or exists. The eleven Rudras are the ten pranas - nervauric forces
- enlivening the human body and the eleventh is the human spirit.
These are called Rudras because when they desert the body, it becomes
dead and the relations of the deceased, consequently, begin to weep.
The twelve months of a year are called Adityas, as they cause the lapse
of the term of existence of each object or being. The (all-pervading)
electricity is called Indra, as it is productive of great force. Yajna
(assembly for the purposes of teaching and learning) is called Prajapati
because it benefits mankind by the purification of air, water, rain
and vegetables and because it aids the development of various arts,
and because in it the honour is accorded to the learned and the wise.
These thirty-three aforesaid entities are called devatas by birtue of posssessing useful properties and qualities. Being Lord of all and greater than all, the Supreme Being is called the thirty-fourth Devata who alone is to be worshipped. The same thing is written on the other Shastras. Had people consulted these books, they would not have fallen into this error, viz., the believe that there are more gods than one mentioned in the Vedas.
"By
One Supreme Ruler is this universe pervaded, eve every world in the
whole circle of nature, He is the true God. Know Him, O man! and covet
not unjustly the wealth of any creature existing. Renounce all that
is unjust and enjoy pure delight - true spiritual happiness - by the
practice of justice and righteousness which is another name for true
religion.
YAJUR VEDA 40:1
"God
teaches in the Veda "I, O men, lived before the whole universe
came into being, I am Lord of all, I am the eternal cause of the whole
creation. I am the source and giver of all wealth. Let all men look
up to me alone as children do to their parents. I have appointed different
foods and drinks for all creatures to give them sustenance so that they
may live in happiness."
RIG VEDA 10: 48, 5.
"
I am God Almighty, I am the Light of the world like the sun. Neither
defeat, nor death, can ever approach me. I am the controller of the
universe, know me alone as the Creator of all. Strive ye diligently
for the acquisition of power and wealth such ( as true knowledge). Ask
ye of me. May ye never lose my friendship. I give true knowledge, which
is real wealth, unto men who are truthful. I am the revealer of Vedas
which declare my true nature. It is through the Vedas that I advance
the knowledge of all. I am the prompter of the good and true. I reward
those who devote themselves to the good of humanity. I am the cause,
I am the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn
away from me. May ye never accept another God in my place, nor worship
him."
RIG VEDA, 10: 48, 5.
"God,
O men existed in the beginning of the Creation. He is the Creator, Support
and Sustainer of the sun and other luminous worlds, He was the Lord
of the past Creation. He is the Lord of the present. He will be the
Lord of the unborn universe. He created the whole world, and he sustains
it. He is Eternal Bliss. May ye all praise and adore Him as we do."
YAJUR VEDA, 13:4