Yet religious tolerance is more the norm. A man may be devoted to Lord Vishnu, but when his wife moves into the household, she may place her image of Lord Shiva on the family altar. Their daughter, however, may be more attracted to the goddess Lakshmi and place her image in the family shrine. And no one blinks an eye!
In fact, this open attitude can be traced all the way back to the Veda itself. Still, throughout the centuries, Hindu saints and even India's famous divine incarnations had to make the point over and over again : " God is one. Men call Him by various names".
In one very well-known story, the deva rishi Narada got so fed up with the devotees of Shiva and Vishnu squabbling with each other about which of their gods was higher that he decided to resolve the question for once and for all.
No comments:
Post a Comment