God in Hinduism#Monotheism

{{Further|History of Hinduism}}

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|quote = To what is One

They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni,

and he is heavenly-winged Garutman.

To what is One, sages give many a title.

|source = — Rigveda 1.164.46
Transl: Klaus Klostermaier{{cite book|author=Klaus K. Klostermaier|title=A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CVviRghVtIC |year=2010|publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-8011-3|pages=103 with footnote 10 on page 529}}See also, Griffith's Rigveda translation: [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_1/Hymn_164 Wikisource]

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{{nowrap|Henotheism}} was the term used by scholars such as Max Müller to describe the theology of Vedic religion.Sugirtharajah, Sharada, Imagining Hinduism: A Postcolonial Perspective, Routledge, 2004, p.44; Müller noted that the hymns of the Rigveda, the oldest scripture of Hinduism, mention many deities, but praise them successively as the "one ultimate, supreme God" (called saccidānanda in some traditions), alternatively as "one supreme Goddess",{{cite book|author=William A. Graham |title=Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzYX0T-ZqTcC |year=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-44820-8 |pages=70–71 }} thereby asserting that the essence of the deities was unitary (ekam), and the deities were nothing but pluralistic manifestations of the same concept of the divine (God).{{cite book|author1=Ilai Alon |author2= Ithamar Gruenwald|author3=Itamar Singer |title= Concepts of the Other in Near Eastern Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1-l66daLgYC|date=1994 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=978-9004102200 |pages=370–371 }}

The idea that there can be and are plural perspectives for the same divine or spiritual principle repeats in the Vedic texts. For example, other than hymn 1.164 with this teaching, the more ancient hymn 5.3 of the Rigveda states:

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You at your birth are Varuna, O Agni.

When you are kindled, you are Mitra.

In you, O son of strength, all gods are centered.

You are Indra to the mortal who brings oblation.

You are Aryaman, when you are regarded as having

the mysterious names of maidens, O Self-sustainer.

|Rigveda 5.3.1-2| Translator: Hermann Oldenberg{{cite book|author=Hermann Oldenberg|title=The Religion of the Veda|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=uKeubCiBOPQC |year= 1988|publisher= Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0392-3|page=51}}See also, Griffith's translation of this hymn: [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_5/Hymn_3 Wikisource]}}

Related terms to henotheism are monolatrism and kathenotheism. The latter term is an extension of "henotheism", from {{lang|grc|καθ' ἕνα θεόν}} (kath' hena theon) — "one god at a time".[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=kathenotheism Online Etymology Dictionary: kathenotheism] Henotheism refers to a pluralistic theology wherein different deities are viewed to be of a unitary, equivalent divine essence.{{cite book|author1=Charles Taliaferro |author2=Victoria S. Harrison |author3=Stewart Goetz |title=The Routledge Companion to Theism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ct7fCgAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-33823-6 |pages=78–79 }} Some scholars prefer the term monolatry to henotheism, to discuss religions where a single god is central, but the existence or the position of other gods is not denied.[https://www.britannica.com/topic/monotheism Monotheism] and [https://www.britannica.com/topic/polytheism Polytheism], Encyclopædia Britannica (2014){{cite book|author = Christoph Elsas|editor=Erwin Fahlbusch |title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaecVMhMWaEC |year=1999|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-90-04-11695-5 |pages=524 }} Another term related to henotheism is "equitheism", referring to the belief that all gods are equal.{{cite book|author=Carl Olson |title=The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVWKClYq4TUC |date=2007 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4068-9|pages=8–9}}

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|quote = Concerning the origin of the universe

"Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards,
with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?"

|source = — Nasadiya Sukta, Rig Veda, 10:129-6{{cite book|author=Kenneth Kramer|title=World Scriptures: An Introduction to Comparative Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RzUAu-43W5oC&pg=PA34|date=January 1986|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=978-0-8091-2781-8|pages=34–}}{{cite book|author=David Christian|title=Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7RdVmDjwTtQC&pg=PA18|date=1 September 2011|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-95067-2|pages=18–}}{{cite book|author=Upinder Singh|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA206|year=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|pages=206–}}

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The Vedic era conceptualization of the divine or the One, states Jeaneane Fowler, is more abstract than a monotheistic God, it is the Reality behind and of the phenomenal universe.{{Request quotation|date=March 2025}} The Vedic hymns treat it as "limitless, indescribable, absolute principle", thus the Vedic divine is something of a panentheism rather than simple henotheism.

In the late Vedic era, around the start of the Upanishadic age ({{circa|800 BCE}}), theosophical speculations emerged that developed concepts which scholars variously call nondualism or monism, as well as forms of nontheism and pantheism.{{cite book |author=Jeaneane D. Fowler |title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C |year=2002 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-898723-93-6 |pages=43–44 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite book|author=James L. Ford |title=The Divine Quest, East and West: A Comparative Study of Ultimate Realities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tk14CwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-6055-0 |pages=308–309 }}{{cite book|author=Ninian Smart|title=The Yogi and the Devotee (Routledge Revivals): The Interplay Between the Upanishads and Catholic Theology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHE2aL8735AC |year=2013|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-62933-4 |pages=46–47, 117 }} An example of the questioning of the concept of God, in addition to henotheistic hymns found therein, are in later portions of the Rigveda, such as the Nasadiya Sukta.{{cite book|author=Jessica Frazier |editor=Russell Re Manning|title= The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eFGYYtfBGFYC |year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-161171-1 |pages=172–173 }}

Hinduism calls the metaphysical absolute concept Brahman, incorporating within it transcendence and immanence.PT Raju (2006), Idealistic Thought of India, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1406732627}}, page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII{{cite book|author=Jeffrey Brodd|title=World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hPiv0w6BDSQC|year=2003|publisher=Saint Mary's Press|isbn=978-0-88489-725-5|pages=43–45}}Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, page 91 Different schools of thought interpret Brahman as either personal, impersonal, or transpersonal. Ishwar Chandra Sharma describes it as "Absolute Reality, beyond all dualities of existence and non-existence, light and darkness, and of time, space and cause".Ishwar Chandra Sharma, Ethical Philosophies of India, Harper & Row, 1970, p.75.

Influential ancient and medieval Hindu philosophers, states philosophy professor Roy Perrett, teach their spiritual ideas with a world created ex nihilo and "effectively manage without God altogether".{{cite book|author=Roy W. Perrett|title=Philosophy of Religion: Indian Philosophy|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=edhYAQAAQBAJ |year= 2013|publisher= Routledge|isbn= 978-1-135-70322-6|pages= xiii–xiv}} In Hindu philosophy, there are many different schools.{{cite book|author=John Bowker|title=Problems of Suffering in Religions of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7IcQL1JBvAC |year=1975|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-09903-5 |pages=194, 206–220 }} Its non-theist traditions such as Samkhya, early Nyaya, Mimamsa and many within Vedanta such as Advaita do not posit the existence of an almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God (monotheistic God), while its theistic traditions posit a personal God left to the choice of the Hindu. The major schools of Hindu philosophy explain morality and the nature of existence through the karma and samsara doctrines, as in other Indian religions.{{cite journal | last=Kaufman | first=Whitley R. P. | title=Karma, Rebirth, and the Problem of Evil | journal=Philosophy East and West | volume=55 | issue=1 | year=2005 | pages=15–32 | doi=10.1353/pew.2004.0044 | s2cid=159781530 }}Francis Clooney (2005), in The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Ed: Gavin Flood), Wiley-Blackwell, {{ISBN|0631215352}}, pages 454-455;
{{cite book|author=John Bowker|title=Problems of Suffering in Religions of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7IcQL1JBvAC |year=1975|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-09903-5 |pages=194, 206–220 }};
{{cite book|author=Chad V. Meister|title=The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8Fm0-SubkUC |year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534013-6 |pages=163–164 }}Francis X. Clooney (1989), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1204034 Evil, Divine Omnipotence, and Human Freedom: Vedānta's Theology of Karma], The Journal of Religion, Vol. 69, No. 4, pages 530-548

Monotheism is the belief in a single creator God and the lack of belief in any other Creator.Bruce Trigger (2003), Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521822459}}, pages 473-474Charles Taliaferro and Elsa J. Marty (2010), A Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion, Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|978-1441111975}}, pages 98-99 Different sects of Hinduism may or may not posit or require such a belief, as religion is considered a personal belief in Hinduism and followers are free to choose the different interpretations within the framework of karma and samsara. Many forms of Hinduism believe in a type of monotheistic God, such as Krishnaism with polymorphic theism, some schools of Vedanta, and Arya Samaj.{{cite book|author=Eric Ackroyd|title=Divinity in Things: Religion Without Myth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bv8o5lGxtgAC&pg=PA78 |year=2009|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-84519-333-1 |pages=78 }}, Quote: "The jealous God who says, "Thou shalt have no other gods but me" belongs to the Jewish-Christian-Muslim tradition, but not to the Hindu tradition, which tolerates all gods but is not a monotheism, monism, yes, but not monotheism."{{cite book|author=Frank Whaling|title=Understanding Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WudXAAAAYAAJ |year=2010|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press |isbn=978-1-903765-36-4 |pages=19 }}{{cite book|author=Hiroshi Ōbayashi|title=Death and afterlife: perspectives of world religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ub8oAAAAYAAJ |year=1992|publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-275-94104-8 |pages=145 }}

Advaita Vedanta, for instance, espouses monism, and holds Brahman to be unchanging and undifferentiated from reality. Brahman is therefore undifferentiated from the individual self, or Atman.{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Ram-Prasad |author-first=Chakravarthi |author-link=Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad |year=2018 |orig-date=2010 |title=Brahman |editor1-last=Basu |editor1-first=Helene |editor2-last=Jacobsen |editor2-first=Knut A. |editor2-link=Knut A. Jacobsen |editor3-last=Malinar |editor3-first=Angelika |editor4-last=Narayanan |editor4-first=Vasudha |editor4-link=Vasudha Narayanan |encyclopedia=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill Publishers |volume=2 |doi=10.1163/2212-5019_BEH_COM_2050070 |isbn=978-90-04-17893-9 |issn=2212-5019}} The concept is thought by some, such as David Adams Leeming and Gavin Flood, to resemble monotheistic conceptions of god to some degree, since all other since are believed to be manifestations of Brahman.{{cite book | last=Flood | first=Gavin Dennis | title=Hindu Monotheism | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2020-07-23 | isbn=978-1-108-58428-9 | doi=10.1017/9781108584289}}

Several medieval Muslim scholars, such as al-Biruni and Amir Khusrau, described Hinduism as fundamentally monotheistic in nature, and attributed polytheistic worship to a lack of education.Friedmann, Yohanan. "Medieval Muslim views of Indian religions." Journal of the American Oriental Society (1975): 214-221.

Madhvacharya (1238–1317 CE) developed the Dvaita theology wherein Vishnu was presented as a monotheistic God, similar to major world religions.{{Sfn|Sharma|1962|p=7}} His writings led some, such as George Abraham Grierson, to suggest he was influenced by Christianity.Sabapathy Kulandran and Hendrik Kraemer (2004), Grace in Christianity and Hinduism, James Clarke, {{ISBN|978-0227172360}}, pages 177-179 However, modern scholarship rules out the influence of Christianity on Madhvacharya,{{Sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=266}} as there is no evidence that there ever was a Christian settlement where Madhvacharya grew up and lived, or that there was a sharing or discussion of ideas between someone with knowledge of the Bible and Christian narratives, and him.{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|pp=609-611}} Furthermore, many adherents consider the similarities to be superficial and insubstantial; for example, Madhvacharya postulates three co-eternal fundamental realities, consisting of Supreme Being (Vishnu or paramatman), individual Self (jīvātman), and inanimate matter.{{Sfn|Sarma|2000}}

Madhvacharya was misperceived and misrepresented by both Christian missionaries and Hindu writers during the colonial era scholarship.{{Sfn|Sarma|2000|pp=19-25}}{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|pp=609-611}} The similarities in the primacy of one God, dualism and distinction between man and God, devotion to God, the son of God as the intermediary, predestination, the role of grace in salvation, as well as the similarities in the legends of miracles in Christianity and Madhvacharya's Dvaita tradition fed these stories.{{Sfn|Sarma|2000|pp=19-25}}{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|pp=609-611}} Among Christian writers, G. A. Grierson creatively asserted that Madhva's ideas evidently were "borrowed from Christianity, quite possibly promulgated as a rival to the central doctrine of that faith".{{Sfn|Sarma|2000|p=20}} Among Hindu writers, according to Sarma, S. C. Vasu creatively translated Madhvacharya's works to identify Madhvacharya with Christ, rather than compare their ideas.{{Sfn|Sarma|2000|pp=22-24}}

In a 2021 nationwide survey Pew Research Center found out that 29% of the self-described Indian Hindus believe "there is only one God" while 61% believed in "there is only one God with many manifestations".{{Cite web |date=22 June 2021 |title=Most Hindus believe there is 'only one God with many manifestations' |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/beliefs-about-god-in-india/pf_06-29-21_india-12-1-png/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318131209/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/beliefs-about-god-in-india/pf_06-29-21_india-12-1-png/ |archive-date=18 March 2025 |website=Pew Research Center}}

{{Main|Brahman|Para Brahman}}

Many traditions within Hinduism share the Vedic idea of a metaphysical ultimate reality and truth called Brahman. According to Jan Gonda, Brahman denoted the "power immanent in the sound, words, verses and formulas of Vedas" in the earliest Vedic texts. The early Vedic religious understanding of Brahman underwent a series of abstractions in the Hindu scriptures that followed the Vedic scriptures. These scriptures would reveal a vast body of insights into the nature of Brahman as originally revealed in the Vedas. These Hindu traditions that emerged from or identified with the Vedic scriptures and that maintained the notion of a metaphysical ultimate reality would identify that ultimate reality as Brahman. Hindu adherents to these traditions within Hinduism revere Hindu deities and, indeed, all of existence, as aspects of the Brahman.James Lochtefeld, Brahman, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0823931798}}, page 122Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521438780}}, pages 84-85 The deities in Hinduism are not considered to be almighty, omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent, and spirituality is considered to be seeking the ultimate truth that is possible by a number of paths.;
{{cite book|author=Harvey P. Alper|title=Understanding Mantras|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8Upy4ApG_oC |year=1991|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0746-4|pages=210–211}}Guy Beck (2005), Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791464151}}, page 169 note 11Bruce Trigger (2003), Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521822459}}, pages 441-442, Quote: [Historically...] people perceived far fewer differences between themselves and the gods than the adherents of modern monotheistic religions. Deities were not thought to be omniscient or omnipotent and were rarely believed to be changeless or eternal." Like other Indian religions, in Hinduism, deities are born, they live and they die in every kalpa (eon, cycle of existence).{{cite book|author=W. J. Wilkins |title=Hindu Gods and Goddesses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I67W9aqtfOwC&pg=PA354|year=2003|publisher=Courier |isbn=978-0-486-43156-7|pages=354 }}

In Hinduism, Brahman connotes the highest Universal Principle, the Ultimate Reality in the universe.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism|last=Lochtefeld|first=James G.|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|year=2002|isbn=978-0823931798|volume=1|pages=122}}P. T. Raju (2006), Idealistic Thought of India, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1406732627}}, page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=49–55 (in Upanishads), 318–319 (in Vishistadvaita), 246–248 and 252–255 (in Advaita), 342–343 (in Dvaita), 175–176 (in Samkhya-Yoga)}} In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, Rodopi Press, {{ISBN|978-9042015104}}, pages 43–44For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199738724}}, pages 51–58, 111–115;
For monist school of Hinduism, see: B. Martinez-Bedard (2006), Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara, Thesis – Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18–35 It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes.{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=53–55}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/worldreligions2000jeff|url-access=registration|title=World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery|last=Brodd|first=Jeffrey|publisher=Saint Mary's Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0884899976|edition=3rd|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldreligions2000jeff/page/43 43]–47}} Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe.{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=50–53}}

Brahman is a Vedic Sanskrit word, and it is conceptualized in Hinduism, states Paul Deussen, as the "creative principle which lies realized in the whole world".Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, page 91 Brahman is a key concept found in the Vedas, and it is extensively discussed in the early Upanishads.Stephen Philips (1998), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Brahman to Derrida (Editor; Edward Craig), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415187077}}, pages 1–4 The Vedas conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principle.{{Cite book|title=Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism|last=Goodman|first=Hananya|publisher=State University of New York Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0791417164|pages=121}} In the Upanishads, it has been variously described as Sat-cit-ānanda (truth-consciousness-bliss){{sfn|Raju|1992|p=228}}Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, {{ISBN|978-0824802714}}, Chapter 1 and as the unchanging, permanent, highest reality.{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=53–55}}{{sfn|Potter|2008|pp=6–7}}{{refn|group=note|"not sublatable",{{sfn|Potter|2008|pp=6–7}} the final element in a dialectical process which cannot be eliminated or annihilated (German: "aufheben").}}{{refn|group=note|It is also defined as:

• The unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe; that is the one supreme, universal spirit.{{cite book | last = Brodd | first = Jeffrey | title = World Religions | publisher = Saint Mary's Press | year = 2003 | location = Winona, Minnesota | isbn = 978-0-88489-725-5 }}
• The one supreme, all pervading Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe.John Bowker (ed.)(2012), The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press.[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-1183]}}

Brahman is discussed in Hindu texts with the concept of Atman (Self),{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=49–53}} personal,{{refn|group=note|Saguna Brahman, with qualities}} impersonal{{refn|group=note|Nirguna Brahman, without qualities}} or Para Brahman,{{refn|group=note|Supreme}} or in various combinations of these qualities depending on the philosophical school.Klaus K. Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791470824}}, Chapter 12: Atman and Brahman – Self and All In dualistic schools of Hinduism such as the theistic Dvaita Vedanta, Brahman is different from Atman (Self) in each being, and therein it shares conceptual framework of God in major world religions.Michael Myers (2000), Brahman: A Comparative Theology, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0700712571}}, pages 124–127Thomas Padiyath (2014), The Metaphysics of Becoming, De Gruyter, {{ISBN|978-3110342550}}, pages 155–157 In non-dual schools of Hinduism such as the monist Advaita Vedanta, Brahman is identical to the Atman, Brahman is everywhere and inside each living being, and there is connected spiritual oneness in all existence.Arvind Sharma (2007), Advaita Vedānta: An Introduction, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120820272}}, pages 19–40, 53–58, 79–86John E. Welshons (2009), One Soul, One Love, One Heart, New World Library, {{ISBN|978-1577315889}}, pages 17–18

The Upanishads contain several mahā-vākyas or "Great Sayings" on the concept of Brahman:{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Constance|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-0816073368|pages=270}}

{{Main|Nirguna Brahman|Saguna Brahman}}

While Hinduism sub-schools such as Advaita Vedanta emphasize the complete equivalence of Brahman and Atman, they also expound on Brahman as saguna Brahman—the Brahman with attributes, and nirguna Brahman—the Brahman without attributes.{{cite journal | url=https://dx.doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1250 | doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1250 | title=Heirarchies [sic] in the Nature of God? Questioning the "Saguna-Nirguna" Distinction in Advaita Vedanta | date=2001 | last1=Rambachan | first1=Anantanand | journal=Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies | volume=14 }} The nirguna Brahman is the Brahman as it really is, however, the saguna Brahman is posited as a means to realizing nirguna Brahman, but the Hinduism schools declare saguna Brahman to be ultimately illusory. The concept of the saguna Brahman, such as in the form of avatars, is considered in these schools of Hinduism to be a useful symbolism, path and tool for those who are still on their spiritual journey, but the concept is finally cast aside by the fully enlightened.William Wainwright (2012), [http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/entries/concepts-god/ Concepts of God] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323084508/http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/entries/concepts-god/ |date=23 March 2015 }}, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, (Accessed on: 13 June 2015)

The Bhakti movement of Hinduism built its theosophy around two concepts of Brahman—Nirguna and Saguna.Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195351903}}, page 21 Nirguna Brahman was the concept of the Ultimate Reality as formless, without attributes or quality.Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1845193461}}, pages xxvii–xxxiv Saguna Brahman, in contrast, was envisioned and developed as with form, attributes and quality. The two had parallels in the ancient pantheistic unmanifest and theistic manifest traditions, respectively, and traceable to Arjuna-Krishna dialogue in the Bhagavad Gita.Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1845193461}}, pages 207–211 It is the same Brahman, but viewed from two perspectives: one from Nirguni knowledge-focus and other from Saguni love-focus, united as Krishna in the Gita. Nirguna bhakta's poetry were Jnana-shrayi, or had roots in knowledge. Saguna bhakta's poetry were Prema-shrayi, or with roots in love. In Bhakti, the emphasis is reciprocal love and devotion, where the devotee loves God, and God loves the devotee.

Nirguna and Saguna Brahman concepts of the Bhakti movement has been a baffling one to scholars, particularly the Nirguni tradition because it offers, states David Lorenzen, "heart-felt devotion to a God without attributes, without even any definable personality". Yet given the "mountains of Nirguni bhakti literature", adds Lorenzen, bhakti for Nirguna Brahman has been a part of the reality of the Hindu tradition along with the bhakti for Saguna Brahman.David Lorenzen (1996), Praises to a Formless God: Nirguni Texts from North India, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791428054}}, page 2 These were two alternate ways of imagining God during the bhakti movement.

{{main|Ishvara}}

{{see also|Iṣṭa-devatā|Parameshwara (god)}}

The Yogasutras of Patanjali use the term Ishvara in 11 verses: I.23 through I.29, II.1, II.2, II.32 and II.45. Ever since the Sutra's release, Hindu scholars have debated and commented on who or what is Isvara? These commentaries range from defining Isvara from a "personal god" to "special self" to "anything that has spiritual significance to the individual".Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120832329}}, pages 38-39Hariharānanda Āraṇya (2007), Parabhaktisutra, Aphorisms on Sublime Devotion, (Translator: A Chatterjee), in Divine Hymns with Supreme Devotional Aphorisms, Kapil Math Press, Kolkata, pages 55-93; Hariharānanda Āraṇya (2007), Eternally Liberated Isvara and Purusa Principle, in Divine Hymns with Supreme Devotional Aphorisms, Kapil Math Press, Kolkata, pages 126-129 Whicher explains that while Patanjali's terse verses can be interpreted both as theistic or non-theistic, Patanjali's concept of Isvara in Yoga philosophy functions as a "transformative catalyst or guide for aiding the yogin on the path to spiritual emancipation".Ian Whicher (1999), The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-3815-2}}, page 86

Patanjali defines Isvara (Sanskrit: ईश्वर) in verse 24 of Book 1, as "a special Self (पुरुषविशेष, puruṣa-viśeṣa)",{{cite book|last1=Āgāśe|first1=K. S.|title=Pātañjalayogasūtrāṇi|date=1904|publisher=Ānandāśrama|location=Puṇe|page=102|url=https://archive.org/stream/patanjaliyoga/yoga_sutras_three_commentaries#page/n113/mode/2up}}

Sanskrit: क्लेश कर्म विपाकाशयैःपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः ॥२४॥

– Yoga Sutras I.24

This sutra of Yoga philosophy of Hinduism adds the characteristics of Isvara as that special Self which is unaffected (अपरामृष्ट, aparamrsta) by one's obstacles/hardships (क्लेश, klesha), one's circumstances created by past or one's current actions (कर्म, karma), one's life fruits (विपाक, vipâka), and one's psychological dispositions/intentions (आशय, ashaya).[https://web.archive.org/web/20150129053310/http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=aparAmRSTa&script=&direction=SE&link=yes aparAmRSTa], [http://spokensanskrit.de/ kleza, karma, vipaka and ashaya] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817204122/http://www.spokensanskrit.de/ |date=17 August 2017 }}; Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, GermanyLloyd Pflueger (2008), Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120832329}}, pages 31-45

Among various Bhakti path practicing sects of Hinduism, which built upon the Yoga school of Hinduism, Isvara only means a specific deity such as Shiva.

{{Main|Svayam Bhagavan}}

Svayam Bhagavan, a Sanskrit theological term, is the concept of absolute representation of the monotheistic God as Bhagavan himself within Hinduism. The theological interpretation of {{IAST|svayam bhagavān}} differs with each tradition and the translated from the Sanskrit language, the term literary means "Bhagavan Himself" or "directly Bhagavan."{{cite book

|author = Gupta, Ravi M.

|year = 2007

|title = Caitanya Vaisnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami

|publisher = Routledge

|isbn = 978-0-415-40548-5

}} Earlier commentators such as Madhvacharya translated the term Svayam Bhagavan as "he who has bhagavatta"; meaning "he who has the quality of possessing all good qualities".{{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] The term is seldom used to refer to other forms of Krishna and Vishnu within the context of certain religious texts such as the Bhagavata Purana, and also within other sects of Vaishnavism.

The theological interpretation of {{IAST|Svayam Bhagavān}} differs with each tradition and the literal translation of the term has been understood in several distinct ways. Translated from the Sanskrit language, the term literary means "Bhagavan Himself" or "directly Bhagavan". Others have translated it simply as "the Lord Himself".{{cite book |author=K. Klostermaier | author-link = Klaus Klostermaier |title=The Charles Strong Trust Lectures, 1972–1984 |publisher=Brill Academic Pub |year=1997 |isbn=978-90-04-07863-5 |quote= For his worshippers he is not an avatara in the usual sense, but Svayam Bhagavan, the Lord himself.|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=F_0UAAAAIAAJ&q=Svayam+bhagavan&pg=PA109 |page=206 | others = Crotty, Robert B.}} p.109 Klaus Klostermaier translates it simply as "the Lord Himself"

Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition often translates it within its perspective as primeval Lord or original Personality of Godhead, but also considers the terms such as Supreme Personality of Godhead and Supreme God as an equivalent to the term Svayam Bhagavan, and may also choose to apply these terms to Vishnu, Narayana and many of their associated Avatars.{{cite book

|author = Knapp, S.

|year = 2005

|title = The Heart of Hinduism: The Eastern Path to Freedom, Empowerment and Illumination -

|publisher = iUniverse

}} "Krishna is the primeval Lord, the original Personality of Godhead, so He can expand Himself into unlimited forms with all potencies." [https://books.google.com/books?id=a2KPChj7lTwC&pg=PA161 page 161]{{cite web

|author = Kim Knott

|year = 1993

|title = Contemporary Theological Trends in the Hare Krishna Movement: A Theology of Religions

|url = http://content.iskcon.com/icj/1_1/knott.html

|access-date = 2008-04-12

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130103122756/http://content.iskcon.com/icj/1_1/knott.html

|archive-date = 3 January 2013

|url-status = dead

}}..."Bhakti, the highest path, was that of surrender to Lord Krishna, the way of pure devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead". It should be however noted that although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avatars, this is only one of the names of 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.{{sfnp|Matchett|2000|p=4}}

{{Main|Krishnaism}}

Within Hinduism, Krishna is worshiped from a variety of perspectives.See McDaniel, June, "Folk Vaishnavism and {{IAST|Ṭhākur Pañcāyat}}: Life and status among village Krishna statues" in {{Harvnb|Beck|2005|p=39}} Krishnaism is a tradition related to Vaishnavism wherein Krishna is considered Svayam Bhagavan, meaning 'God Himself', and this title is used exclusively to designate Krishna as the Supreme God.Gupra, 2007, p.36 note 9.Bhagawan 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], Sahajānanda, [https://books.google.com/books?q=+subject:%22Vedanta%22 Vedanta]. 1981 Krishnaite traditions of Hinduism consider him to be the source of all avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself, or to be the same as Narayana. As such, he is therefore regarded as Svayam Bhagavan.{{cite book

|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

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mBMxPdgrBhoC&q=Vaisnava+monotheism&pg=PA31

|access-date = 2008-04-12

|isbn = 978-0-231-12256-6

}}{{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

}}

In Gaudiya Vaishnava Krishna-centered theology, the title Svayam Bhagavan is used exclusively to designate Krishna.(Gupta 2007, p.36 note 9) Krishna is recognized to be Svayam Bhagavan in the belief of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Dvaita sub-school of Hindu philosophy, the Pushtimarg tradition,{{cite book| author = Flood, Gavin D.| author-link = Gavin Flood| title = An introduction to Hinduism| publisher = Cambridge University Press| location = Cambridge, UK| year = 1996| isbn = 978-0-521-43878-0| url = https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo| url-access = registration| quote = gavin flood.| access-date = 2008-04-21| page = [https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/341 341]}}"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." in the Nimbarka Sampradaya, where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself.{{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 }}{{cite book | author = Dalmia-luderitz, V. | year = 1992 | title = Hariscandra of Banaras and the reassessment of Vaisnava bhakti in the late nineteenth century | journal = Devotional Literature in South Asia: Current Research, 1985-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BE40dp6SCFUC&q=Vaisnava+monotheism&pg=PA281 | access-date = 2008-04-12 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-41311-4}} Gaudiya Vaishnavas and followers of the Pushtimarg tradition and Nimbarka Sampradaya use the Gopala Tapani Upanishad,{{cite book |author=B. V. Tripurari |title=Gopala-tapani Upanisad |publisher=Audarya Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-932771-12-1 }} and the Bhagavata Purana, to support their view that Krishna is indeed the Svayam Bhagavan. This belief was summarized by the 16th century author Jiva Goswami in some of his works, such as Krishna-sandarbha.

In other sub-traditions of Vaishnavism, Krishna is one of many aspects and avatars of Vishnu (Rama is another, for example), recognized and understood from an eclectic assortment of perspectives and viewpoints.{{cite journal| author = Mahony, W.K.| year = 1987| title = Perspectives on Krishna's Various Personalities| journal = History of Religions| volume = 26| issue = 3| pages = 333–335| doi = 10.1086/463085| jstor=1062381| s2cid = 164194548}} Vaishnavism is one of the earliest single God focussed traditions that derives its heritage from the Vedas.

{{cite journal | author = Klostermaier, K. | author-link = Klaus Klostermaier | year = 1974 | title = The Bhaktirasamrtasindhubindu of Visvanatha Cakravartin | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 94 | issue = 1 | pages = 96–107 | doi = 10.2307/599733 | jstor = 599733 }}

When followers of Vishnu-centered sampradayas of Vaishnavism describe Krishna as "Svayam Bhagavan" it refers to their belief that Krishna is among the highest and fullest of all avatars and is considered to be the "paripurna Avatara", complete in all respects and the same as the original.{{cite web

|url = http://www.tirumala.org/sapthagiri/122002/purana.htm

|title = Sapthagiri

|publisher = tirumala.org

|access-date = 2008-05-03

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081121103726/http://www.tirumala.org/sapthagiri/122002/purana.htm

|archive-date = 21 November 2008}}

Parashara Maharishi, Vyasa's father had devoted the largest Amsa (part) in Vishnu Purana to the description of Sri Krishna Avatara the Paripoorna Avatara. And according to Lord Krishna's own (instructions) upadesha, "he who knows (the secrets of) His (Krishna's) Janma (birth) and Karma (actions) will not remain in samsara (punar janma naiti- maam eti) and attain Him after leaving the mortal coil." (BG 4.9). Parasara Maharishi ends up Amsa 5 with a phalashruti in an identical vein (Vishnu Purana .5.38.94) According to them Krishna is described in the Bhagavata Purana as the Purnavatara (or complete manifestation) of the Bhagavan, while other incarnations are called partial.

In Sri Vaishnavism, Krishna is viewed as one of the many avatars of Narayana or Vishnu.{{cite book| last=Bryant| first=Edwin Francis|title=Krishna: A Sourcebook| publisher=Oxford University Press| year=2007| page=18 | isbn=978-0-19-514891-6| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0z02cZe8PU8C&pg=PT32}}{{sfnp|Matchett|2000|p=4}} The Sri Vaishnavism sub-tradition reveres goddess Lakshmi with god Vishnu as equivalent,{{sfnp|Matchett|2000|pp=4, 77, 200}} and traces it roots its roots to the ancient Vedas and Pancaratra texts in Sanskrit.{{cite journal|last= Lester|first= Robert C|year= 1966| title= Rāmānuja and Śrī-vaiṣṇavism: The Concept of Prapatti or Śaraṇāgati |journal = History of Religions|volume= 5| issue=2|jstor= 1062115|pages=266–269|doi= 10.1086/462526|s2cid= 162224010}}

{{Portal|Religion|Hinduism}}

{{div col}}

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• Prajapati
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• Nasadiya sukta
• Names of God
• Conceptions of God
• God in Theosophy
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{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |title=Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity |url={{Google books|0SJ73GHSCF8C |page= |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |editor-first1=Guy L. |editor-last1=Beck |place=Albany, NY |publisher=SUNY Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7914-6415-1}}
• {{Citation|last=Brannigan|first=Michael|year=2009|title=Striking a Balance: A Primer in Traditional Asian Values, Rowman & Littlefield|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0739138465}}
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• {{cite book|author = Flood, G. D.|author-link = Gavin Flood|year = 2006|title = The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion|publisher = IB Tauris|isbn = 978-1-84511-012-3}}
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• {{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1992|title= The Samnyasa Upanisads|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195070453|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fB8uneM7q1cC&pg=PA1}}
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• {{cite book|title = Philosophy of Śrī Madhvācārya|first = B. N. Krishnamurti| last = Sharma| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (2014 Reprint) |isbn = 978-8120800687| year= 1962 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Philosophy.of.Sri.Madhvacarya/Philosophy.of.Sri.Madhvacharya#page/n0/mode/2up}}
• {{cite book|title = A History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature, 3rd Edition|first = B. N. Krishnamurti| last = Sharma| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (2008 Reprint) |isbn = 978-8120815759| year= 2000 }}
• {{cite journal| title= Is Jesus a Hindu? S. C. Vasu and Multiple Madhva Misrepresentations|first= Deepak| last= Sarma| journal= Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies| year= 2000| volume = 13| doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1228 | doi-access= free}}
• {{Citation | last1 = Toropov | first1 =Brandon | last2 =Buckles | first2 =Luke | year =2011 | title=Guide to World Religions|publisher=Penguin }}
• {{cite book|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|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mBMxPdgrBhoC&q=Vaisnava+monotheism&pg=PA31

|access-date = 2008-04-12|isbn = 978-0-231-12256-6}}

• {{cite book|author = Gupta, Ravi M.|year = 2007|title = Caitanya Vaisnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami's Catursutri tika|publisher = Routledge|isbn = 978-0-415-40548-5}}

• [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1195422 The Idea of God in Hinduism], A. S. Woodburne (1925), The Journal of Religion
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081012022829/http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil/1_sanskr/3_purana/bhagp/bhp1-12u.htm GRETIL etext: The transliterated Sanskrit text for the entire work] – Bhagavata Purana (uni-goettingen.de)
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