Why Does Hinduism Have So Many Forms of Gods and Goddesses?

[Smt. Priyanka Seethepalli asked: One of my Christian friends asked me this question. “Why does Hinduism have so many forms of Gods and Goddesses? We have only Jesus Christ. Muslims have only Allah. Buddhism has only Lord Buddha and so on. How can one keep up with so many forms? Are you supposed to just pick whom you like and focus on them”? What should I answer when such a question is put forward?]

Swami replied: The question (about the multiplicity of God in Hinduism) itself contains the answer because the question mentioned “Is it picking up the form you like and focus on it?” Hinduism is a micro-model of the macro universe. If you are in the world, you are in Hindu religion also in a micro level. In the world, you have picked up the form of Jesus since you liked it and hence, you are focusing on it. Have you put the question to the world “Why are so many forms of God existing in the world because Jesus alone is God?” Some other person has picked up Allah, who has no form. Some other person picked Buddha. Even Allah is a mediated God because the unimaginable God got mediated Himself in a formless light. As per the personal taste, the external form is selected. External form does not mean the physical features of the body. External form means the internal qualities. Both body and qualities become external form because the internal form existing in any human incarnation is the same unimaginable God. The human incarnations differ in external forms (physical features and colour of the body along with the qualities) whereas the internal unimaginable God is one and the same. If you take two human beings without God in them, in their case, the body is external whereas qualities are internal. But in a human being when God exists, God is internal and both body and qualities become external medium only. Of course, the noble qualities are one and the same in all incarnations, but, their modes differ. There are three modes, which are Sattvam (peaceful), Rajas (active) and Tamas (dormant). The human beings differ in their tastes to the modes of same quality. When I said that the internal qualities in the incarnations also differ, it means that the modes differ. Rama is very calm and peaceful whereas Krishna is very dynamic and both have the same divine qualities.

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