Modified Religion by Maitreya

It is in Hinduism where the hierarchy of Gods is very prominent. Bhrama is the supreme being, akin to Zeus, with a lot of lesser gods, who are still superior to man. I, myself, cannot name all the lesser gods or what each of them specializes in. In terms of their being understandable to us again, they posses the same mystery and unfathomable character like their Superior. They exist not in the sense of helping God, or us, or as intermediaries to God, or as purveyors of good and evil but it so happens that God occupies a place so high in our dimension of knowledge and mankind so low that they happen to be in the middle tiers. They are not the saints of the Christian church, either, who will intercede in our behalf if we have sinned or are courting a favor from God because they, the lesser gods, had not actually lived a material life in our world. The known saints in the church hierarchy had had historical backgrounds and could be traced back to a hundred years or more.

The lesser gods are lower in the hierarchy, yet, no man can claim that he is in communion with any of them. It is also suspect when somebody receives revelations or signs even from the known saints because if they are in the hierarchy (or is it just man who elevated them there?) it is not known exactly where they are. There are more arguments why it is not possible to receive messages from long dead saints and other favored members of the religious community than there are pros.

In the hierarchy, it is man who conceptualizes the different gods as each being specifically of a certain character or trait. As I see it, none of them can readily or even closely be identified to a human activity or natural occurrence. They too are beyond our comprehension and it is here why I am in awe of the Hindu religion: there is an attempt to grasp the meaning of the hierarchy and to classify the saints and lesser gods into simple and understandable beings who can be related with in everyday life.

It is this aspect of a religion which, in my opinion, keeps it fragmented and motley; a group maybe devoted to a particular religious character giving rise to sects and cults in the extreme. Mostly, the presence of many characters in a religion satisfy the different personalities of the followers. We have the god of harvest, god of rain, saint of never answered prayers and lost hopes and others. In Buddhism, there are categories, too, of eternal beings like the Boddhitshava who saves souls, both human and animals. I understand he also saves the fallen souls of insects and worms; of course, this is meant to convey the message that nobody is beyond hope.

This is yet another reason why I go for Buddhism. It offers hope and salvation to all. There is no eternal damnation that is preached. It takes into account the role of the Boddhitshava and other "saints" yet it leaves God out of the equation. In today's lifestyles, the existence of God is a hot topic; is He Yahweh? or Jehovah? Brahma? Since its inception, Buddhism never confronted the subject because, maybe, its taking up a position will just add to the babel. But, people today want to know. Are they not satisfied with their religion, if they have one? If the question is answered, the perennial who, what, where, why, and how follow. The founder of Buddhism laid out the rules of living in his Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path so his followers would not get involved in the controversy during his time, of which the puzzle extends until today.

I consider Hinduism as both an advanced and primitive religion. Hinduism has taken itself to task with its comprehensive array of hierarchy of lesser gods. No other religion can compare to it. No one man can master it because of its complexity. And the subject by its own very nature is ethereal.

It is, at the same time, a primitive religion mainly because of its practices, rites and rituals. Such outlook of mine is not much, however, when Hinduism is to be seen in its entirety and its thought.

I cannot prove the existence of the hierarchy, inasmuch as I cannot prove the existence of God, nor shall I ever. Maybe, believing in the existence of the hierarchy is too much for people who have been brought up believing in only one Supreme God. Logic here says that if He is supreme, why should there be other lesser Gods? According to traditional religions, can we not just get in touch directly? Why all the fuss?

There is one thing I learned from four years of taking up religion and theology as required subjects. One of my favorite teachers was a Jesuit and he asked us this question: "Where does trust in man lead us?" It was only I who knew the answer and he made me repeat it to the class as if he could not believe some words of wisdom came from me. I said that trust in man is a step toward belief in God. Similarly, belief in the existence of the hierarchy is a step toward belief in God.

There is something as "forced" believing. This kind of belief does not take into consideration physical force or a third party intimidation. Rather, it is believing in God by oneself without any regard to the hierarchy. As God is considered supreme, man cannot just try to relate with Him; there are levels to be accepted and be conscious of. Trying to believe in God is just like trying to get near the president; there are departments and channels that must be passed through first. We know that the president exists, his near-circle of officers and friends exist, and so do the different offices, departments, and guards of duty. The difference, of course, is obvious. We can never get to be near God, or maybe even just join His circle of cohorts, because man's mind is limited to understanding only petty things.

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MODIFIED RELIGION
by Maitreya

Hierarchy of Gods

MODIFIED RELIGION by Maitreya

Hierarchy of Gods

MODIFIED RELIGION
by Maitreya