Religion Roulette

One of my favorite games to play in India is "guess the god". The autorickshaws and buses here are like traveling temples and usually named for a deity. The mini-altars may be as simple as a sticker or elaborate decorations inside (and often outside) with images of god(s), silk flowers, and dancing lights. When I am walking to the bus stop or rickshaw stand, I like to guess which religious figure will be watching over my wild ride that day. Kind, rotund elephant-headed Ganesha? The blessed virgin Mary? Blue-skinned Krishna? Or maybe even Jesus himself?

The other day we rode a bus called "Holy Mary." When we reached our destination (a mere 11km away, thankfully), the bus pulling in behind us was the "Vishnu Express." Today a took a long walk with a friend from the cultural centre and we spotted a bus called "Shalom" (Hebrew for peace. Lest you think Kerala is just Hindus and Christians, we also saw a shrine to Buddha today). Yesterday we hit the jackpot: a bus called "Lakshmi" and inside there was a Ganesha sticker, a Jesus sticker, a big Jesus poster depicting him with his crown of thorns, and a image of Vishnu surrounding by dancing red and green lights.

People's personal vehicles get named as well. Today on our 6+ hour walk/hike, I spotted a parking lot full of shiny new cars, including a row of three large SUVs (different models than what we get in the US, but SUVs nonetheless). Their names? Ganesha, Gift of God, and El-Shaddai (which I believe is Hebrew).

I'm assuming most of you are familiar with the Christian figures, but now is probably a good time for a primer on the Hindu deities, as they play a major role in life here and I expect I'll be referencing them in a lot of stories.... I'll preface this with a warning: I will hardly do the subject justice as one I am not an expert on the subject and I am summarizing and generalizing. The specific beliefs and practices of Hindus vary widely, but hopefully this will be a starting point.

First is the concept of Brahman, the unchanging, infinite ground of the Universe. The Hindu gods and goddesses are considered manifestations of Brahman. In other words, there aren't really 330 million Hindu gods (one source gives that as the minimum number in the pantheon); they are just different aspects of one thing: Brahman.

So, 330 million deities? Here are the big players:

Brahma (not to be confused with Brahman, as explained above, or Brahmin, the priests or holy men): the creator, spends most of the time sitting on a lotus meditating, rides a swan, usually shown with four heads

Vishnu: the preserver, usually depicted with four arms holding a lotus, conch shell, discus, and mace; rides Garuda (a bird-like creature, Garudasana in yoga is "eagle's pose"); the sacred Ganges river flows from his toes; he has 22 different incarnations

Shiva: the destroyer (but without destruction we can have no creation, right?); he takes many forms, including the fabulous Shiva Nataraja popular in the US (the statue of Shiva dancing-one leg lifted- in a ring of fire), often shown with snakes around his neck and holding a trident, rides Nandi (a bull)

Saraswati: the goddess of learning, consort/wife of Brahma, often shown sitting on a lotus, rides a white swan, usually shown dressed in pure white

Lakshmi: the goddess of wealth, consort/wife of Vishnu, identifiable by the gold coins pouring from the vessel she holds (goddess of wealth, right?), rides an owl

Parvati: has many incarnations, consort/wife of Shiva, mother of Ganesha, often depicted with Shiva, rides a lion

Ganesha: god of good fortune and the remover of obstacles, son of Shiva and Parvati, easy to recognize: he has the head of an elephant and rides a rat

Krishna: an incarnation of Vishnu (see above), blue-skinned and plays the flute, frequently hangs out with the gopis (milkmaids), Radha is his principal consort and true love

Hanumnan: king of the monkeys (makes him easy to identify), represents bhakti (devotion), faithful ally of Rama and star of the Ramayana, has a yoga pose named for him: Hanumanasana (the splits), the story behind the pose is great (maybe I'll tell it someday)

(Check back: it is time for dinner and for the centre's computer to be turned off. I'll finish this later. Edit: Finished!)