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Trimurti (Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva)

Trimurti-Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva

Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva; the Holy Trimurti

Trimurti (Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) or Hindu Trilogy

 The Holy Trimurti whom are commonly also known as the three forms of God personalized, or in religious circles also known as the Hindu Trilogy consist of cosmic powers personalized in the form of Lord Brahma the creator, Lord Vishnu the preserver, and Lord Shiva the destroyer.

The trilogy has been compared to the Christian Trilogy (the Father, Son and Holy Ghost) but are not the same. They are all-powerful entities whose function is limited to our universe, the Christian Trilogy refers to the one  absolute or Supreme God using different names. The Hindi trimurti however are far more practical as they have been born as actual gurus, teaching how to return back to Godhead. Much of the beauty of ancient Indian mysticism has come from them, including the concepts of Karma, Reincarnation, Inner Peace and enlightenment.

Name:

Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer; the trinity make up The Holy Trimurti

Birth, Age, Death:

Since the creation of the physical universe

Nationality:

Mostly Indian

Method/Religion started:

Denomination of Hinduism, meditation

Holy book/teachings:

Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita

Followers:

Hinduism has around 900 Million followers, with so many gods it’s difficult to know how many people only worship one or all of the trilogy.

Lifestyle requirements:

Simple life, vegetarian diet

Form of practice:

Mostly devotion, worship and meditation

Wiki (encyclopedia) link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_gods

 

Lord Brahma the creator; the first member of the Trimurti trinity and the creator of our universe. When the universe is destroyed and recreated, Vishnu sleeps in the causal plane (karmic realm) then Brahma springs forth (not born, more like emerges) in a lotus from the navel of the sleeping Vishnu. The daily alternation of light and dark is attributed to the activity of Brahma.
When Brahma wakes up in the morning the universe is created.  When he sleeps, the universe is destroyed, then recreated again in the morning. One Brahma day (not including night) is equal to 4.3 Billion of our earth human days. During those years we have 1000 cycles of the four main ages.

Brahma is supposed to live for 100 of his years, at that time he dies and the entire causal plane is destroyed, waiting to be recreated again by the great Brahmin, Lord beyond causality. If you think about it, without Brahma we don’t exist. Yet, there are few temples dedicated to him, mostly Lords Vishnu and Shiva are worshipped.

Lord Vishnu the preserver; is the embodiment of mercy and goodness, the self-existent, all-pervading power that preserves the universe and maintains the cosmic order; the Supreme Being. He is the second member of the Trimurti trinity and considered the central and most revered of the Trimurti. He is the God of time, space and life. As the God of Joy he brings great bliss to devotees and the world.
Lord Vishnu is very popular with the followers of Vaishnavism and is also called Vasudeva, Hari, Kesava, Purusottama and Narayana. Lord Vishnu is blue-skinned (symbolic of the infinite, vast like the ocean) and manifests on Earth as an avatar. The following 10 avatars are the most famous in Hindu mythology

  1. Matsya (fish) – recovers the Vedas from demons
  2. Kurma (tortoise) – sustains the earth on his back
  3. Varaha (boar) – brings the earth back from the bottom of the ocean
  4. Narasimha (man-lion) – kills the demon King Hiranyakashipu
  5. Vamana (dwarf) – the first human incarnation of the Lord
  6. Parasurama (the warrior with an axe) – saves Brahmins
  7. Rama (Lord) – kills Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.
  8. Sri Krishna (Lord) – the most popular incarnation
  9. Buddha (Lord) – Hindus accept his teachings, but do not worship him
  10. Kalkin – (a man on a white horse) – this incarnation is yet to come and will mark the end of all evil in the world.

Lord Shiva the destroyer is the god of the yogis, as the third and final member of the Trimurti trinity he instills both fear and love within his followers. Lord Shiva is self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a devoted lover of his spouse Shakti. Lord Shiva is the destroyer of the world, following Brahma who creates and Vishnu who preserves, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on. Shiva is responsible for change both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification with the form. This also includes the shedding of old habits and attachments. He is known by over 1000 names, destroys evil, blesses, provides divine grace and enlightens his followers. That is why the yogis love him and built countless temples in his name.
The Sivalingam is now famous (although a misunderstood phallus symbol), a penis or shaft on the statue of Lord Shiva. It is symbolic of the first linga, made only of light. The story goes that at the beginning Vishnu & Brahma were together and saw this shaft of light without end. For years they tried to find the beginning and end, but failed. When they returned, Lord Shiva appeared and was thus hailed at the greatest of the three. It represents the supremacy of Shiva. At the base of the Sivalingam is a circular base which represents the female part of Shiva (Shakti or divine energy), something like Yin/Yang. All humans have both male and female qualities.

There are endless verses on Shiva, his poetic majestic forms, his dances, his grace and his divine presence.

The main form of practice is Bhakti Yoga or pure spiritual devotion, of love for God which is Love itself, or Love personified in a physical being. The master is the beloved and the disciple the lover. In this yoga, everything is simply a manifestation of the divine and all else meaningless, including our concept of the small self, the Ego. When the Bhakta (devotee) is blessed by divine grace he feels an undivided union and non-dual consciousness prevails.

In a more practical manner, devotees visit temples, make offerings to pay respect, to meditate (although this is no longer common) and must adhere to a pure vegetarian diet.

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