Henotheism literally one god better defines the hindu view. The term pantheism was coined by the irish writer john toland in 1705 some pantheists accept the idea of free will. Apr 28, 2017 pantheism is the only logical position to hold. He distinguishes between god as the being who contains the world and the absolute, who is god in only one aspect. It means the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods. Elements of pantheism is a great wide reaching book. God is everything in the universe, but god also is greater than the universe. Events and changes in the universe affect and change god. Theos, god, also known as monistic monotheism, is a belief system which posits that the divine whether as a single god, number of gods, or other form of cosmic animating force interpenetrates every part of the universe and extends, timelessly and, presumably, spacelessly. There is one god and father from whom all things are, one lord jesus christ through whom all things are, and one holy spirit in whom all things are. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce.
The vedas clearly say everything is brahman, brahman is consciousness brahman is. As such, advaita hinduism is essentially pantheism. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Explain why panentheism isis not heresy philosophy. The trinity from an historically orthodox christian perspective. The term pantheism was coined by the irish writer john toland in 1705. Many schools of hindu thought espouse monistic theism, which is thought to be similar to a panentheisticviewpoint. Thus, each individual human, being part of the universe or nature, is part of god. By me all this universe is pervaded through my unmanifested form. Theos, god is the belief that the divine pervades and interpenetrates every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. One example involves the myth of purusha found in book 10 of. The term was coined by the german philosopher karl krause in 1828 to distinguish the ideas of georg wilhelm friedrich hegel 17701831 and friedrich.
Pantheism stresses the identity between god and the world, panentheism greek en, in that the world is included in god but that god is more than the world. Panentheism across the worlds traditions paperback loriliai. In panentheism the other god of the philosophers, philosopher and theologian john cooper traces the growth and evolution of this intricate theology from plotinus to alfred north whitehead to the this belief system explains that all is in god. This universal arrangement is not pantheism all is god, but panentheism, a term devised by karl c. Sruti consists of four vedas, upanishads, brahmanas, aranyakas, and bhagavadgita while smriti consists of manu smriti, 18 puranas, ramayana, and mahabharata and other hindu holy books.
Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. Pantheism holds that the entire universe with its trillions of immense galaxies is god or in sanskrit brahman. Panentheism is the belief that the divine pervades and interpenetrates every part of the. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world, and hindus refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or the eternal way, beyond human history.
Panentheism meaning allingod, from the greek pan, all, en, in and. The idea is to take from pantheism a natural order and a sacred world, and from theism a transcendent being and higher purpose. Panentheism project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Hinduism is a religion which incorporates diverse views on the concept of god. Smriti literature is considered less authoritative than sruti. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most. Hinduism is highly characterized by panentheism and pantheism. It is a chapter of the immense indian epic, the mahabharata, the saga of the war between the pandavas and the kauravas. Many schools of hinduism are panentheistic and the first and most ancient ideas of panentheism originate in the vedas, upanishads, as well as the bhagavad gita.
Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. Biernacki considers hinduism to be one of the most panentheistic traditions biernacki 2014b. While pantheism says that god and the universe are coextensive, panentheism claims the god is greater than the universe and that the universe is contained within god. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. We are trying to list out here as many hindu scriptures and books as possible. Aum is the concept of brahman, in the philosophy of hinduism, comparable with the ideology of panentheism.
His active presence is necessary in some way for every bit of creation, from smallest to greatest, to continue to exist at all. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Is hinduism pantheistic, panentheistic, polytheistic. Panentheism across the worlds traditions paperback.
Panentheism is characteristic of hinduism which is polytheistic and buddhism, which goes so far as to consider the world an illusion. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward god, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Includes groundbreaking new essays on panentheism in the twentyfirst century. Hindus were never polytheistic, in the sense that there are many equal gods. The adjective pantheist was introduced by the irish deist john toland in the book socinianism truly stated 1705. Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. May 22, 2020 here at the hinduism section of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. Panentheism meaning allingod, from the ancient greek pan, all, en, in and. Also much hindu thought is highly characterized by panentheism and. The use of panentheism as part of orthodox theology and doctrine is problematic to those who would insist that panentheism requires creation to be part of god. It is best known for its use by charles hartshorne and recently by matthew fox. Apr 03, 20 the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading annabran documents, the holy book of pantheism. Finally, wen travels to the holy mountains, where she finds beautiful and devastating answers. Hinduism is widely practiced in south asia mainly in india and nepal. Advaita hinduism was first really systematized by the 8 th century ad indian philosopher adi shankara. Panentheism panentheism is a derivative of pantheism and is defined this way.
Similarly, the sikh tradition typically describes god as the preservative force within the physical world, present in all material forms. Stories attributed to guru nanak suggest that he believed god to be everywhere in the physical world as in pantheism. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies, and entirely new branches of hinduism. Jan 02, 2020 panentheism holds that god is the supreme effect of the universe. Although radhakrishnan had been influenced by western philosophy, including that of alfred north whitehead, later discussed as a modern panentheist, the sources of his thought lie in hindu philosophy. Honestly, though, its difficult to generalise, unless again, the intention behind said generalisation is to put everyone into the same box, so that once everyone is in said same box, everyone can be controlled. Neoplatonist philosophers such as plotinus believed that a world soul animates the cosmos.
Arjuna, hero of the pandavas, is about to confront the army of the kauravas on the battlefield of kuruksetra. Panentheism meaning, from the ancient greek pan all, en in and. Annabran documents, the holy book of pantheism kindle. The christian god, known as the trinity, is a triunity consisting of god the father, god the son christ, the word, and god the holy spirit. Panentheism by branch doctrine the basics of philosophy. Its basic claim is that atman roughly equivalent to soul or self is identical with the allencompassing, transcendent reality brahman. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnostic, humanism, atheism or nontheism. In metaphysics, it utilizes a real distinction between the essence of god and gods existence, or considers god as having accidents really distinct from gods nature. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Panentheism meaning allingod, also known as monistic monotheism, is a belief system which posits that the divine whether as a single god, number of gods, or other form of cosmic animating force interpenetrates every part of the universe and extends, timelessly and, presumably, spacelessly beyond it. Panentheism goodreads meet your next favorite book. Panentheism 1 panentheism this article originally appeared in the encyclopedia of science and religion, 2003.
Pantheism by branch doctrine the basics of philosophy. Panentheism across the worlds traditions biernacki, loriliai, clayton, philip on. Panentheism is also expressed in the bhagavad gita. As the universe grows and learns, god also increases in knowledge and being. The religious beliefs of neoplatonism can be regarded as panentheistic. Nov, 2011 this view of god as existing in and giving life to all things is called panentheism. Hartshorne in his discussion of panentheism included a section on hinduism 1953.
In panentheism, god is viewed as the soul of the universe, the universal spirit present everywhere, which at the same time transcends all things created while pantheism asserts that all is god, panentheism claims that god is greater than the universe. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes. They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. The bhagavad gita is the highest expression of philosophical hinduism. Annabran documents, the holy book of pantheism kindle edition by barbara. Panentheism in hinduism brahman is the transcendent and immanent ultimate reality of hinduism. Sikhism also features elements of pantheism or panentheism. Panentheism is unbiblical since it denies gods transcendent nature, says that god is changing, confuses creation with god, denies miracles, and denies the incarnation of christ along with the atoning sacrifice. This chapter points out that a notion of panentheistic connectivity serves as a foundational component of abhinavaguptas nondual saivism, taking the form of a deep structural relationality embedded in grammatical forms. Panentheism across the worlds traditions edited by loriliai biernacki and philip clayton. The first book to address panentheism across the worlds religious traditions, including asian traditions. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. The actual panentheist viewthe divine ones transcendence and immanence, the divine being beyond all yet within allwas being promoted many centuries earlier, by religious mystics in diverse traditions, going all the way back to the oldest hindu upani. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva.
Related to process theology, panentheism is essentially a combination of theism god is the supreme being and pantheism god is everything. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. By the 10th book of the rigveda, prajapati had become a lordly, monotheistic figure. Hinduism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Pantheism and panentheism in nonwestern cultures britannica. One example involves the myth of purusha found in book 10 of rig.