There is quite an interesting piece I read once, and I liked it for its logic more than anything else.
It basically listed out the major religions of the world or influences and pointed out the key elements related to the unity of God - in the sense that all of them were so diverse, but yet, the Bahai Faith in its quest for "unity" put all of them in the same fishbowl.
Take Hinduism for example, it is a religion of extreme dualism (forget dualism, then have over a 36 million "gods" or avatars!
None of the teachings of Hinduism and Islam match. Yet, Bahais are the only one who will believe that they came from the same God! How does one reconcile this?
Regards
Imran
"Avatars" are not Gods. Ask ninety percent of Hindus in the world: "How many Gods are there?" And they will answer: "One".
Hindu Monotheism is explained well in Wikpedia:
"
Truth is One, but sages call it by many names. Monotheistic theology was/is an inherent part of
Hinduism which teach that the many forms of God, i.e., Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi merely represent aspects of a single or underlying
divine power or Brahman (see articles on
Nirguna Brahman and
Saguna Brahman). Claims that Hinduism never taught polytheism
[1], are correct if we read the major texts of Hinduism such as the Vedas,Upanishads and Gita.
Certain sects of Hinduism, the
Smarta view, is an inclusive monotheistic view of monotheism, as discussed later. This Smarta view dominates the view of Hinduism in the West and has confused all Hindus to be seemingly polytheistic. The Smarta division is the only branch of Hinduism that strictly follows this view. After all,
Swami Vivekananda, a follower of
Ramakrishna, along with many others, who brought Hindu beliefs to the West, were all
Smarta in belief. Only a Smartist would have no problem worshiping
Shiva or
Vishnu together as he views the different aspects of God as leading to the same One God. God, thus, according to Smarta theology, can have a multitude of aspects and thus, according to this belief, they hold that Vishnu and Shiva are one and the same God. The Smarta theologians have cited many references to support this view. For example, they interpret verses in both the
Shri Rudram, the most sacred mantra in
Shaivism, and the
Vishnu sahasranama, one of the most sacred prayers in
Vaishnavism, to show this belief. By contrast, a
Vaishnavite considers Vishnu as the only one true God, worthy of worship and other worship of other forms as subordinate or simply incorrect.
Monotheism can be divided into different types on the basis of its attitude towards polytheism: inclusive monotheism claims that all polytheistic deities are just different names for the single monotheistic God;
Smartism, a denomination of Hinduism, follows this belief and holds that God is one but has different aspects and can be called by different names (this belief dominate the view of Hinduism in the West); exclusive monotheism, on the other hand, claims that these deities are false and distinct from the one God, either invented, demonic, or simply incorrect, as
Vaishnavism, a denomination of Hinduism, regards the worship of anyone other than
Vishnu. Exclusive monotheism is a well-known tenet in the beliefs of the
Abrahamic religions. In
Hinduism, views are broad and range from monism, dualism, pantheism, panentheism, alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars, and strict monotheism, but are not polytheistic as outsiders perceive the religion to be. Hinduism has often been confused to be polytheistic as many of Hinduism's adherents, i.e.,
Smartas, who follow
Advaita philsophy, are monists, and view multiple manifestations of the one God or source of being. Hindu monists see one unity, with the personal Gods, different aspects of only One Supreme Being, like a single beam of light separated into colours by a prism, and are valid to worship. Some of the Hindu aspects of God include Devi, Vishnu, Ganesh, and Siva. It is the Smarta view that dominates the view of Hinduism in the West. After all,
Swami Vivekananda, a follower of
Ramakrishna, along with many others, who brought Hindu beliefs to the West, were all
Smarta in belief. Other denominations of Hinduism, as described later, don't hold this belief strictly and more closely adhere to a Western perception of what a monotheistic faith is. Additionally, like Judeo-Christian traditions which believe in
angels, Hindus also believe in less powerful entities, such as
devas.
Contemporary Hinduism is now divided into four major divisions,
Vaishnavism,
Shaivism,
Shaktism, and
Smartism. Just as Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe in one God but differ in their conceptions of him, Hindus all believe in one God but differ in their conceptions. The two primary form of differences are between the two monotheistic religions of Vaishnavism which conceives God as
Vishnu and
Shaivism, which conceives God as Shiva. Other aspects of God are in fact aspects of Vishnu or Shiva; see
Smartism for more information. Only a Smartist would have no problem worshiping Shiva or Vishnu together as he views the different aspects of God as leading to the same One God. It is the Smarta view that dominates the view of Hinduism in the West. By contrast, a
Vaishnavite considers Vishnu as the one true God, worthy of worship and other forms as subordinate. See for example, an illustration of the Vaishnavite view of Vishnu as the one true God,
at this link. Accordingly, many Vaishnavites, for example, believe that only
Vishnu can grant the ultimate aim for mankind,
moksha. See for example,
this link. Similarly, many
Shaivites also hold similar beliefs, as illustrated at
at this link and
at this link."
