Source: Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly: "Feature: Hindu Temple Dedication"
This video from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly shows Hindus in the state of Maryland worshipping two highly revered deities, Vishnu and Shiva, in the same temple. Generally, Shiva, the creator and destroyer, and Vishnu, the preserver, are worshipped and adored in separate temples. Maryland's Sri Shiva Vishnu Temple is constructed in the shape of a reclining human being to highlight the Hindu concept of unity in diversity.
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While Hindu temples differ in their architecture, customs, rituals and traditions, one commonality is that they are dedicated to the worship of a single deity. In the Sri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Maryland, one side is dedicated to Vishnu and the other to Shiva . The temple’s single 56-foot tower represents the two gods as one. The temple has combined the worship of both deities to highlight unity in diversity, a unique aspect of Hinduism. The unity in diversity concept holds that while a community may worship one or many deities, all devotion is a journey toward a single divine reality.
Hinduism has long been the exemplar of polytheism, the worship of multiple gods. It is only fairly recently that Hindus have begun to describe themselves as monotheistic, or worshipping only one God. Most scholarly texts have offered “monism” (all things are one) as a more accurate interpretation of this philosophical vein of “oneness” in the many gods of Hinduism.
In the Upanishads, a text dating to 500 BCE, Brahman is presented as a divine or supreme reality that is the sacred source of all things, with all things being one. Brahman is also described in three words: sat, reality itself; chit, pure consciousness, and ananda, bliss. Although it is possible to experience Brahman in the everyday world, Brahman has the transcendent qualities of being beyond time and space.
Three highly revered deities or gods in the life of Hindus are linked in the Trimurti: Brahma (different from Brahman) is the creator or the source for all life; Vishnu is the preserver; and Shiva is the destroyer and re-creator. Specifically, the Trimurti is a projection of the supreme reality, Brahman, through the three gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
While Brahma is the creator of the universe, Vishnu is the force of preservation, returning to earth to restore balance. Reincarnated nine times, it is believed Vishnu will return for a final time at the end of the world. Shiva’s role as destroyer is considered divine energy at work bringing the world from creation through destruction and back again to creation.
Dr. SIVA SUBRAMANIAN (Sri Siva Vishnu Temple): To us, the temple itself is God. It is as though God is in a lying-down form. And the feet represent the front towers, or the Rajagopuram.
DERYL DAVIS: But Sri Siva Vishnu is different from most Hindu temples. It is dedicated to two major gods, Siva and Vishnu, who represent rival Hindu traditions. Dr. Siva Subramanian is one of the temple's founders.
Dr. SUBRAMANIAN: It is not common in India to find a united Siva and Vishnu temple under one roof. And so, one of the things that has been accomplished here in Sri Siva Vishnu temple in Maryland is to bring the concept of unity in this diversity here.
DAVIS: One side of the tower depicts Vishnu, preserver of life, and his many forms. On the other side are the forms of Siva, destroyer and re-creator. At the top of the tower, both gods become one -- illustrating what worshippers here say is their religion's fundamental monotheism.
Dr. SUBRAMANIAN: Hinduism believes in one god, called Brahma, and all the gods and goddesses are reflections of this one god.
DAVIS: Many of these "reflections" illustrate human ideas or attributes. Ganesha is the remover of obstacles. Dancing Shiva represents the endless and recurring cycle of time, part of the Hindu concept of reincarnation.
Many Hindus worship more than one "personal deity." Salvia Giridhar says this helps her see the divine in everything.
SALVIA GIRIDHAR (Hindu Devotee): If I can look at the books and look at people, look at money, look at trees, and look at animals in the form of lords and gods and goddesses, it helps me to realize that God is all around me, whether it's man, woman, Christian, Muslim, Hindu.
DAVIS: Matoin says the concept of numerous deities enables Hinduism to transcend regional differences.
MATOIN (Hindu Devotee): The different gods are specifically set up for the purpose of identifying with different cultures, different ethnicities, different groups of people.
DAVIS: With its altars to many different deities, Sri Siva Vishnu temple has become a meeting place for American Hindus of all traditions. And with no weekly services or set liturgy, adherents are free to worship when and how they choose.
MATOIN: We give everybody an opportunity to see God the way you like it, or like God.
DAVIS: Dr. Siva Subramanian says that idea extends to other religions too.
Dr. SUBRAMANIAN: We believe that all religions are different paths to the same god, but also within Hinduism there are multiple paths to reach God.
DAVIS: Hindus here say when they escape the cycle of reincarnation, there'll be no need for words, chants, and outer forms of worship. But until then, they'll keep their doors, like their altars, open.
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