The One God Problem
The One God problem. I wonder if anyone can think or say One without considering the numerical system. He who says One is already considering this word as part of a numerical system. Bharat ( India ) did not have this problem of One or Many until the word "God" came into the country. Indeed the Abrahamic concept of the One God came on with the Mughal and British invasions. Does the Sanskrit word, Devata mean God/gods? Not at all. It is the same way that the word atman cannot be translated as soul. Neither is Brhman, really what the Abrahamic religions refer to as God. A simple example is that the soul can get tainted or blemished, but the atman cannot. To understand properly the belief systems of a particular culture one should refrain from superimposing the belief system of another culture. Then with an open mind bereft of one's personal religio-cultural trappings, if another's belief system is viewed than a bountiful harvest of spirituality can be reaped.
2013