The Holy Symbol OM (304 words)
The most sacred symbol in Hinduism is the OM. It is not a name. It represents God The Absolute, which is referred to as Brahman (speak: brám-han). Nothing can be said about Brahman except that Brahman is the only 'thing' that exists, the only thing that has true reality, the only thing that is permanent (eternal) rather than peripheral and transient. The visible world is only a shadow, a reflection, of Brahman's reality.
Brahman has no attributes, but we say that Brahman IS sat - chit - ananda (existence - consciousness - bliss). Brahman does not engage with the visible world, Brahman does not 'act' in any way. Brahman only exists. Brahman is more real than we are. We do not have to believe in Brahman. We have more reason to doubt our own existence than that of Brahman.
We do not pray to Brahman, we merely try to be aware of Brahman and stand in awe and respect of Brahman. (We cannot use the words 'he', 'she', 'him', etc, when referring to Brahman.) It is the ultimate goal of Hindu life to become fully aware of Brahman, and when we have achieved that goal, after innumeracle cycles of birth, death and rebirth (reincarnation), we achieve moksha (liberation of this cycle) and become one with Brahman.
Brahman, the Absolute, manifests as Ishvara, God the Personal. You can not call on Brahman, but you can call on Ishvara. Ishvara manifests in many forms, of which today the most widely worshipped are Vishnu, Shiva and Devi.
The worship of a personal god, and the associated festivals and customs, also help our communities to stay together and to have common points of reference. God can be worshipped in many different forms and manifestations. These manifestations are conveniently referred to as 'gods', and there can be any number of them.
The Holy Symbol OM (142 words)
The most sacred symbol in Hinduism is the OM. It represents God The Absolute, which is referred to as Brahman. Nothing can be said about Brahman except that Brahman is the only 'thing' that exists, the only thing that has true reality.
Brahman has no attributes. Brahman does not engage with the visible world, Brahman IS the visible and invisible world.
We do not pray to Brahman. It is the ultimate goal of Hindu life to become fully aware of Brahman. When we have achieved that goal, we achieve moksha (liberation of the cycle of birth and rebirth) and become one with Brahman.
Brahman, the Absolute, manifests as Ishvara, God the Personal. Ishvara manifests in many forms, e.g. Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. Vishnu incarnates when his presence on earth is required, e.g. as Lord Krishna and Lord Rama.
The Holy Symbol OM (91 words)
The most sacred symbol in Hinduism is the OM. It represents God The Absolute (Brahman). Only Brahman is truly 'real', and Brahman has no attributes.
It is the ultimate goal of Hindu life to become fully aware of Brahman. When we achieve moksha (liberation of the cycle of birth and rebirth), we become one with Brahman.
Brahman, the Absolute, manifests as Ishvara, God the Personal. Ishvara manifests in many forms, e.g. Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. Vishnu incarnates in different forms, e.g. as Lord Krishna and Lord Rama.
The Holy Symbol OM (60 words)
The most sacred symbol in Hinduism is the OM. It represents God The Absolute (Brahman). Only Brahman is truly 'real', and Brahman has no attributes.
It is the ultimate goal of Hindu life to become fully aware of Brahman. When we achieve moksha (liberation of the cycle of birth and rebirth), we become one with Brahman.
