Is Hinduism polythestic?
Hinduism is polytheistic. It has three main deities, Brahma (the creator) Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer) but there are many, many more.Hinduism is holistic:Hinduism is a holistic religion. In it there is a smooth transition from Monotheism to Polytheism to Atheism.Polytheistic Hinduism:Hinduism is considered as a religion with 330 million gods, which means a custom made god for every Hindu, There are seven basic Hindu gods viz. Indra, Shakti, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Shani and Yama, from which all other gods and goddesses are derived. The central three gods are known together as Trimurti.This makes Hinduism look polytheistic, without any doubt.Monotheistic Hinduism and Brahman:1. Brahman, the supreme Hindu god, is the equivalent of gods of monotheistic religions. In Hinduism, by god, we mean Brahman because it is the only omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Hindu god.2. Even if a Hindu believes that there are 330 million Hindu gods, Brahman is still his ideal. Every Hindu wishes to attain Moksha and become one with Brahman.3. If we blend all the seven basic Hindu gods the result would be Brahman. It is for this reason that Hindus believe that all gods spring from Brahman.As long as Brahman, the eternal god, exists the other Hindu gods can't be considered as distinct gods.Thus, even though Hinduism has many gods it can't be considered as a Polytheistic religion.Therefore, Hinduism is a holistic religion and should never be considered as Monotheistic, Polytheistic or Atheistic.