Hindu views on God and gender
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In Hinduism there are diverse approaches to the understanding of God and gender.
While most Hindus focus upon God in the neutral form, Brahman being of neuter gender grammatically, there are prominent Hindu traditions that alleviate God in the female conception, even as the source of the male form of God.
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[edit] Smarta and Advaita
The Smarta tradition, which by and large, follows Advaita philosophy believes all forms, male and female, to be different forms of the impersonal Absolute, Brahman which is of neuter gender and can never be defined. Brahman is viewed as without personal attributes (Nirguna Brahman) or with attributes (Saguna Brahman, equated with Ishvara) as God. In Advaita Vedanta, Ishvara is simply the manifested form of Brahman upon the human mind. Thus according to Smarta views, the divine can be with attributes, Saguna Brahman, and also be viewed with whatever attributes, (e.g., a female goddess) a devotee conceives.
[edit] Vishnu and Shiva
In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, which are exclusive monotheistic religions,like the Judaeo-Christian traditions, God, Vishnu or Shiva is personified as male when, in fact, God transcends gender and gender is simply used for embodied human beings to worship. For example, Shaivites and Vaishnavites worship God in non-anthrormorphic images, the linga and saligram respectively. Furthermore, for example, the principle that God's true nature is sexless is emphasized in the Vishnu sahasranama, a prayer reciting the 1000 names of Vishnu. Just as Muslims focus on (God) Allah's 99 "attributes" that are stated in the Qur'an, the holy book of the Muslims, many Hindus worship Vishnu daily by chanting his names which are also attributes.
Thus, the first few names, of Vishnu sahasranama, in particular, do not describe features of Vishnu in detail and hence are not anthropomorphic in nature and instead focus on His inherent nature or characteristics such as pervading the universe and as destroyer of sin. While Vishnu is commonly portrayed with human features, Swami Tapasyananda, in his book, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, reminds readers that Vishnu pervades everything and is not anthropomorphic. He has no particular material form but can manifest in any form, and is a center of all force, power, will, auspiciousness, goodness, beauty, grace, responsiveness, etc. As Swami Tapasyananda said, "Vishnu is the Indwelling Spirit in all beings and the whole cosmos constitute His body." As Vishnu is the all-pervading Spirit and the Supreme Personality, anthropomorphism is deemphasized in Vishnu sahasranama. Thus, like Judaism and Islam, God's inherent nature transcends gender but Vishnu but has been traditionally referred to using male grammatical gender.
Additionally,the power of God in those religions is anthropomorphically viewed as female, or Shakti. However, God and his power are indivisible, unitary, and the same. The analogy is that fire represents God and the actual heat Shakti. In one example, Lord Śiva assumed a form and split into two halves of male and female indicating the origin of the Ardhanarishvara - the union of substance and energy, the Being and his Shakti (force).
[edit] Shakti
Shaktism, on the other hand, is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, or Devi Mata -- the Hindu name for the Great Divine Mother -- in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity (which are however deemed to be inactive in the absence of the Shakti). In pure Shaktism, the Great Goddess, or Devi, is worshiped as nothing less than the highest divinity, Supreme Brahman Itself, the "one without a second," with all other forms of Divinity, female or male, considered to be merely her diverse manifestations.
In his seminal "History of the Shakta Religion," N. N. Bhattacharyya explained that "[those] who worship the Supreme Deity exclusively as a Female Principle are called Shakta. The Shaktas conceive their Great Goddess as the personification of primordial energy and the source of all divine and cosmic evolution. She is identified with the Supreme Being, conceived as the Source and the Spring as well as the Controller of all the forces and potentialities of Nature. Nowhere in the religious history of the world do we come across such a completely female-oriented system."
Alternative interpretations of Shaktism, however -- primarily those of Shaivite scholars, such as Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami -- argue that the feminine manifest is ultimately only the vehicle through which the masculine Un-manifest Parasiva is ultimately reached. In this interpretation, the Divine Mother becomes something of a mediatrix, who bestows advaitic moksha on those who worship Her. Thus, these Shaivite views often conclude that Shaktism is effectively a sub-denomination of Saivism, arguing that Devi is worshipped in order to attain union with Siva, who in Shaktism is the impersonal unmanifest Absolute. This remains a minority view in Shaktism proper, which considers Siva as an equal and inseparable aspect of Devi.
[edit] Ardhangini: the cornerstone of relationships
The concept of Ardhangini or Ardhanari, of women being an equal part of men and vice versa, and without either, both are incomplete, is extensively proliferated in Hindu society, especially the rituals of Hindu weddings.
While the bride must recognize her husband as her Lord, the husband is to appreciate the wife as the source of his position and strength as provider, protector of his household, which is essentially and practically generated and maintained by his wife.
This relationship is theologically symbolized by the marriage of Shiva and Uma, whose relationship and symbiotic love is a cornerstone of two major Hindu ideologies, Shaivism and Shaktism. Their eternal love-making describes the unity of their form and function.
Shiva and Uma are interlinked and inseparable. Uma is the core of the Goddesses Durga and Kali, who are the female forms of Shiva, the Lord Destroyer.
[edit] In other Indian religions
Buddhism and Jainism recognize no Supreme entity. Sikhism shares its attitude with Islam.
