Q. Do the Hindus worship many gods?
A. It may appear that the Hindus worship many Gods, but the real position is different. Each god when worshipped, is conceived as the manifestation of the one Almighty God. In philosophical term this may be called Henotheism. Propitiation of these divine manifestations who are in human forms assists the worshipper enormously in acquiring godly qualities like, spirit of sacrifice, patience, concentration and then love for God which are absolutely necessary to realise that One.
Without this sort of gradual process one can hardly think of an Infinite God with a finite mind, or like Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapt.xi) the worshipper will be frightened even if the Great God appears before him with His-all-powerful glamour.
Q. What is Shiva-linga Puja?
A. As the Hindu way of life demands propitiation of each Power of God, so is the worshipping of the Generative Power of God.
Q. Is there any other religion where this system prevails?
A. Oxford Dictionary mentions, "Symbol of generative Power in nature is venerated in various religious systems, specially in the Dionysion Festivals in ancient Greece."
Q. Why then some people criticise Hindus for Shiva-linga Puja?
A. Well, it is not difficult to discover evil anywhere if one is determined to see it. Look to the following remarks of Mahatma Gandhi: "It was in a Missionary (Christian) book that I first learned that Shiva-lingam has any obscenity at all..."
Q. Anyway, Lord Siva is god of Destruction, though Creative Force of God is attributed to Brahma, not to Siva. How in the Siva-linga Puja Lord Siva is reversed? Hindu Religion is really confusing.
A. Yes. Hinduism is already confusing, and it will be more so, if you want to understand everything from a booklet like this.
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