by Carrie Fleharty

Created on: October 20, 2009

The Hindu Religion can be quite complicated and many think that it has way too many Gods. There is one Supreme Being, but there are many forms of that Supreme Being. Within those many forms people become confused and are misinformed of the Hindu Religion. The information given is a brief description and use of two of the Deity forms of Vishnu; The Supreme Being. These two forms are the Avatars and the Devas.

Vishnu is the peace loving deity of the Hindu Trinity. He is the preserver of the universe and the sustainer of life on Earth on the principles of righteousness, truth and order. When the Vishnu becomes visible then he becomes known as an Avatar, and according to all sources there are many Avatars. Some say there is as many as twenty-two. Avatar is based on the premise that whenever ignorance and evil are present and threaten the moral order the Supreme Being, Avatar, incarnates itself in some form. The Avatar descends to Earth to defeat the forces of evil and restore equilibrium. Avatar is often referred to as an integral aspect of Hindu theology.

The incarnations of Vishnu are many. However generally accepted is that there are ten incarnations of Vishnu. These incarnations or Avatars that are universally accepted nine are said to have already manifested themselves on Earth, and the tenth is yet to appear in our world. Each of the Avatars has a related legend which essentially demonstrates the restoration of righteousness and Dharma in the world through divine intervention of Vishnu.

One other aspect is Deva which is the Sanskrit word for God, Deity. This can be interpreted as a spirit, a demi-god, or any supernatural being of high excellence. The Devas are opposed to the demonic Asuras. Basically the Devas are equivalent to angels of the Christian tradition. Devas in Hinduism are celestial beings and control the forces of nature of: Air, Wind, fire, water, and etc. Remember that Hinduism allows God to be worshipped in and anthromorphic form for the sake of devotion. The Devas are not the Supreme Being. They are their own entities, but they are subordinate to Vishnu or God.

According to the Hinduism Religion the Vishnu is the Supreme Being with Avatars as the incarnate of Vishnu upon the Earth. The Devas are the celestial beings, spirit or angles that surround us, and can be called upon at any given time.

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