The common misconception that is propagated by proselytizers of other faiths is Hindus worship too many gods. This is either due to ignorance of Hinduism, or the inability to comprehend its subtleties. The truth is all Hindus worship one Supreme Being — the Paramatman — which has different names. Just as man is one, but men have different names, the essence of divinity in all makes mankind one.
India is a land of many peoples and many languages and cultures. Hinduism has the plural liberalism to allow each culture to perceive the Paramatma in their own distinct ways. There are four principal Hindu denominations — Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism. The god of Saivaites is Lord Siva. Shaktas worship the goddess Shakti. Lord Vishnu is the deity of Vaishnavites. The Smartas see all gods as reflections of the One God leaving the choice of deity to the devotee. As a denomination, the Smartas are not the majority, but their attitude towards worship encapsulates the overall Hindu perspective. This diversity enables Hindus to be tolerant of other religions, understanding there are many paths to God. Each of these superior deities have angelic beings as astral followers who are called devas. They have specific duties and powers, much like the heavenly spirits or archangels of other faiths. Each denomination worships the Supreme God and its own pantheon of divine beings.
The unique percept of Hinduism sets it apart from other religions which see God as an entity living in a lofty, remote level where he commands his followers to use violence in his name. Hindus believe God is an intimate presence, who lives within each and every soul, in the root of consciousness, waiting to be discovered through prayer. This is also the ultimate goal of every Hindu’s spiritual destiny.
Hinduism is both monotheistic and henotheistic. Hindus are not polytheistic, since many gods have equal powers. Henotheism — belief in one God — defines Hindu belief better. It means the worship of one God without denying the existence of other gods. Hindus are panentheists; they believe in an omniscient God who energises the entire universe, immanent and transcendent. He is the energy that emanates from all beings: human, animal and vegetation. In this highly sophisticated spiritual view, God lives in all things while also giving life to all things. Theism expounds God exists apart and above the world. This freedom makes the understanding of God in Hinduism, the world’s oldest living religion, the richest in all of earth’s existing faiths.
The Hindu belief of reincarnation is based on this understanding of the Supreme Being, that the real purpose of the soul is to know him through the karma of many births until the atman is purified. After the soul leaves the physical body it does not die, but continues to exist as the astral body in the nonphysical dimension called the astral plane — the world living beings go to in our dreams at night. The soul has experiences in this plane until it is reborn again. Each reincarnating soul chooses a home and a family which can best fulfill its next step of learning and maturation. After many lifetimes, the soul is fully matured in love, wisdom and knowledge of god. All lessons have been learned through dharma, and all karmas are fulfilled. The soul is liberated from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. It continues to evolve in refined spiritual worlds.
So, the evolved Hindu understands the ultimate goal of life is not money, sex, power, gluttony or riches. These are natural pursuits in the course of a soul’s evolution, whose real purpose in the world is to know, love and serve god and the gods. This is what eventually leads to enlightenment and spiritual liberation. This Hindu understanding of life’s joys and travails enables answers to complex and ancient questions regarding life on earth. It banishes fear of death because of the awareness that each soul is evolving toward the same spiritual destiny. For the Hindu, karma and reincarnation is the cycle that takes every single soul to God. This is what makes it superior to all other faiths who leave it to God to sort out their destinies even after deaths. Thus, by recognising free will, Hinduism also holds the believer to do action that leads him to liberation from suffering on earth.