Brian’s Reflection: Monday, April 27, 2009

Hindu Trinity (Trimurti)
Three Faces of Divine
Three Cosmic Functions of the Supreme Lord
Creation + Preservation+ Dissolution
Generator (Brahma) + Operator (Vishnu) + Destroyer (Shiva) = GOD

- The Hindu Trinity


Well, I guess we are all trying to sort out the whole business of who we are and where we came from and how we manage Life and Death and what blessings there are in living Life and what we need to know in order to manage this whole enterprise, right?

The Hindus aren’t the only ones besides Christians to have a “Trinity” to try and sort out the nature and working of “God”. The Egyptians had one too. And some other World religions have a kind of Trinity, or multiples of Trinities in a hierarchy of Gods/Goddesses. Christianty has tried to maintain that its Trinity “makes more sense” than others. I find that to be grasping at straws. Unnecessarily.

I have been re-reading “Siddhartha”, by Herman Hesse. (Read through in one go; I recommend it.) After his long journey and search, in which Siddhartha disagrees with the Buddha in His teachings, Hesse has Him say to Govinda: “… here is a doctrine at which you will laugh. It seems to me, Govinda, that love is the most important thing in the world. It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to love the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and respect. ….. [Govinda says] ….. that is just what the Illustrious One called illusion ….. he preached benevolence, forbearance, sympathy, patience – but not love ….. [but Siddhartha said] ….. how could he not know love, he who has recognized all humanity’s vanity and transitoriness, yet loves humanity so much that he devoted a long life solely to help and teach people?”

It is, I think, impossible for the Western mind remotely to understand the Asian mind. I’m not sure Hesse did, or wanted to. He had been raised in Swabian piety, which he somewhat rejected; and he later studied Buddhism. Some would say that he was “rejecting” the Buddha’s teaching in the character of Siddhartha. I don’t think so. I think he believed that the message was the same in the Buddha and the Christ: Words mean little; how you act is critical. The Buddha gave His life over to helping people achieve full compassionate humanity; Jesus' life and death pointed to the same end.

I don’t pretend to understand Hesse well enough to know precisely what he was saying. He was, however, proposing that Love is at the core. I agree. Love is what we need to understand. And do.

Brian+