Any polytheists here?

?

Armsmerchant is pantheistic I believe. Not quite what you're looking for, and I know he rarely posts on totse anymore, but he's the only one I can think of.

*shrugs*

Is it like, A type of sausage?

[malaria]

Why do you ask?

[great_sage=heaven]

Well, Hinduism is the largest polytheistic religion in the world. I'm surprised I haven't heard from any Hindu's yet in this forum.

Thousand headed Bull gods, coooool.

Hey, I am a polytheist.

I pray to gods of many cultures including Celtic, Greek and Egyptian.

quote:Originally posted by great_sage=heaven:

Well, Hinduism is the largest polytheistic religion in the world. I'm surprised I haven't heard from any Hindu's yet in this forum.

Thousand headed Bull gods, coooool.

Ah Hinduism is a bit complicated in that respect. The different gods are all understood as manifestations of brahman. "Brahman" is Sanskrit for "something", and it refers to the divine identity that trancends being and nothingness. The pinnacle of Hindu/Vedantic philosophy is to understand that this identity is the same as "atman", our individual metaphysical identity of self. Hinduism is all about unity really, the Vedic discipline of yoga itself means "to unite". So to call it polytheistic is... a superficial although valid interpretation I suppose.

i am.cernunnos,aradia,boreas.google it.

i believe in the teachings of many different religions. does that count

^ I'm the same, although what I should say is that I believe the core of all religions are the same. This isn't the same as being polytheistic, for an example of that you could look at the religions of ancient Greece and Rome (pre Christianity). They had a god for everything, a god for wine, a god for doorways, a god for the safe storage of crops... But unlike Hinduism which is convergent, all these gods were viewed as entirely separate from each other. A polytheist literally has to believe in "many gods".

Raised a hindu... and it's not polytheistic.

[Siatek]

Hmn... I'm athiest/agnostic, but I believe many of the teachings of religions are good, and if one puts all the good stuff together they can get a kind of truth, even if the actual events didn't take place.

[great_sage=heaven]

Thanks for the info imperfect. Very interesting.

quote:Originally posted by imperfectcircle:

Ah Hinduism is a bit complicated in that respect. The different gods are all understood as manifestations of brahman. "Brahman" is Sanskrit for "something", and it refers to the divine identity that trancends being and nothingness. The pinnacle of Hindu/Vedantic philosophy is to understand that this identity is the same as "atman", our individual metaphysical identity of self. Hinduism is all about unity really, the Vedic discipline of yoga itself means "to unite". So to call it polytheistic is... a superficial although valid interpretation I suppose.

I'll have to look into that because I was certain that the belief that they were all manifestations of one god was something that only some Hindus believe. Like the difference between the divine trinity and the belief in one unified God

quote: Many believe that multiplicity of deities makes Hinduism polytheistic. Such a belief is nothing short of mistaking the wood for the tree. The bewildering diversity of Hindu belief - theistic, atheistic and agnostic - rests on a solid unity. "Ekam sath, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti", says the Rigveda : The Truth (God, Brahman, etc) is one, scholars call it by various names. What the multipicity of deities does indicate is Hinduism's spiritual hospitality as evidenced by two characteristically Hindu doctrines: The Doctrine of Spiritual Competence (Adhikaara) and The Doctrine of The Chosen Deity (Ishhta Devata). The doctrine of spiritual competence requires that the spiritual practices prescribed to a person should correspond to his or her spiritual competence. The doctrine of the chosen deity gives a person the freedom to choose (or invent) a form of Brahman that satisfies his spiritual cravings and to make it the object of his worship. It is notable that both doctrines are consistent with Hinduism's assertion that the unchanging reality is present in everything, even the transient.

http:../../hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa090199.htm

quote: Misconception

A popular misconception is Hinduism is polytheistic - believes in multiple Gods.

Truth

The Vedas tell us this about God - "OM Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaad Poornamudachyate; Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornamevaavashisyate". Translated in English, this verse means "What is Whole - This is Whole - What has come out of the Whole is also Whole; When the Whole is taken out of the Whole, the Whole still remains Whole". The essence of this verse is that the Infinite cannot be measured arithmetically - God is Infinite. The Infinite can be represented in Infinite ways and does manifest in infinite ways. This, in short, is the essence of the Hindu belief in God. That He is everywhere, aorund us and within us. Infact, Hinduism takes the bold step of proclaiming that "we are God".

At the end of the day, Hinduism is monotheistic (Believes in One God). However, Hinduism believes not only in One God, but also in His Infinite manifestations around us and within us perpetually. Realizing that it is impossible for mankind to visualize the Infinite, Hinduism presents us with His forms to help us visualize him. This belief of Hinduism is often confused with polytheism.

http:../../www.geocities.com/athens/forum/9410/hindu1.html

Technically, Mormons are polytheistic and in so not Christians at all. They believe that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are seperate gods, but make up only one god-head.

quote:Originally posted by Kannabis Korbano:

i am.cernunnos,aradia,boreas.google it.

How the fuck can we google it if we have no idea what you said?

To GlitterPunk, no i'm not a polytheist.

I am currently study the hindu religion...... I find its beleifs rather interesting... so yes I am a polytheist