To find out about God’s abode, one has to know what He is. Let alone other religions, even when Hindus fight against each other about the name or importance of what they think is God and condemn and criticize in a vindictive way, how can this be established?

Vaishnavites(those who worship Lord Vishnu) think His abode is Vaikuntham and Saivites(Those who worship Lord Siva)think it is kailaasam. I wonder what do Saktheyas(worshippers of Parvathi or the female version of the Holy trinity) think. I have seen people who worship Parvathi condemning Siva. Is it not paradoxical? How can Parvathi who is well known for her devotion to her husband Lord Siva, forgive them? Is it not an irrational concept? I have heard from my Aachaaryadeva once that He had seen people admonishing somebody for saying Venkateswara while going on Tirumala hills because that name contains Eeswara. How narrow minded is this? Do Hindus need any other religion to destroy Hinduism or the ancient Vedic knowledge? Nobody has seen Vaikuntham or kailaasam but why to fight about when they don’t know about them?

Vedas are the source of the knowledge that forms the foundation of Sanathana dharma or the modern day Hinduism. Each of the four Vedas is divided into four parts: Samhitas, the core part of the Vedas consisting of mantras heard by sages directly from the gods. Brahmanas, or commentaries on the Samhitas which give stories and tell how to do common rituals. Aranyakas, which tell how to do esoteric(enigmatic and understood only by few people) rituals. and Upanishads, which clarify the philosophical teachings of the Vedas. Now the question comes, are the names Vishnu and Siva mentioned in Vedas. The name Rama is mentioned before Ramaavatar came about. Siva is mentioned as Rudra in the Rig Veda. The hymn 10.92 of the Rigveda states that deity Rudra has two natures, one wild and cruel(Rudra), another that is kind and tranquil(Siva). Also Rudram is explained in Vedas. The cruelty is to demolish the demons and to establish peace and tranquility for the world and the so called destruction is to end the creation at the appropriate time forming a foundation for the new Universe. Why should there be a vindictive criticism about Siva except to show one’s ignorance in these matters? In Puranaas, which are also important part of religious text in Hinduism state that Vishnu considers the people who hate Siva as his enemies and Siva says those who hate Vishnu are considered by him as his enemies. The supreme lord of Siva is Vishnu(Siva is constantly meditating on the name Rama) and the supreme lord of Vishnu is Siva(Vishnu once wanted to pray to Siva with a thousand Lotus flowers which he picked himself. But when he was at it, Siva makes the number one short to test him. But Vishnu tried to take his eye out and offer in its place, at which point Siva appears in front of him and says that he is pleased with Vishnu and gives him the Sudarsana chakra to protect the world, according to Siva puranaa). The same lord is moving in the world always in two forms. Shiva is in the form of Vishnu and Vishnu is in the form of Siva. There is no difference between them and both provide Auspiciousness.

Sivananda Swami states: "Siva and Vishnu are one and the same entity. They are essentially one and the same. They are the names given to the different aspects of the all-pervading Supreme Parabrahman, the Supreme Being or the Absolute.”

According to the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna is termed Svayam Bhagavan which means God Himself. “Vasudeva sarvamiti”

Trinity and their Avatars are no different from each other. They are one but have manifested in different divine bodies. People consider divine bodies as Supreme God because they wrongly identify divine bodies of trinity. Again this ignorant basis comes from some selfish people promoting the first part or the karmakanda(vedic rituals) and ignoring the vedantha or the upanishads which are the last part of vedas(Jnana kanda). If people probe into it then they will understand it is supreme Brahman that is important, while the Holy Trinity is dealing with the creation, sustenance, and resorption of the cyclical creation for which there is no beginning and no end. The supreme Brahman or otherwise called Paramaatma has no structure or the form and it is all pervasive, and all powerful and all knowing, also described as Truth, Knowledge and Bliss. Because this formless consciousness needs some form to start and run the creation, he is manifested as the Holy Trinity. This all pervading consciousness exists in all the living beings of the universe or multiverse(universe may be just one minuscule region of a much larger multiverse, within which many Universes, perhaps even an infinite number, are contained).

This is very well explained in Purusha Sooktham, which is in the 10th chapter of Rigveda, 19th chapter of Sukla yajurveda, 31st chapter of Adharvana veda. The Purusha is explained as everything that exists is nothing but Parabrahman(Purushaath na param kinchith which is also repeated in Kathopanishad). It also says “Saakashtaa saa paramamgathi” meaning you in this world are existing as Him. This explains the great mahavakya of Chandogya Upanishad, chapter 6 Tattwamasi. The description states He has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet. Thousand in Vedic language means unending(Infinite) number. The thousand heads indicate he is the creator(Brahma), thousand eyes as the one who is sustaining the world(Vishnu), a thousand feet describing Siva. Also when it comes to the universe at an individual level, the thousand heads indicate the Parabrahaman is in everybody as Prathyagaathma thus concluding that there is no difference between the two. Also it describes “atyathista dasangulam” meaning how ever big you think the universe is, it(Paramatma) is still bigger, indicating when the creation or the universe no longer exists, Paramatma still exists showing the timelessness or his eternal presence. So the so called God’s abode is in everybody and in the entire universe and not particularly in Vaikuntham or Kailaasam.

People can pray in any form they choose or meditate on Nirguna Parabrhama when they understood that they are none other than Parabrahma. If this fundamental is understood by every person born to be a Hindu, then there will not be fights, arguments and discord between the so called Hindus. There will not be so many changes from Hinduism to other religions. Also, the fact that the abode for God is the human heart(not the anatomical heart!!, but the mind of the person) will be understood by one and all.

Statistics can be right or wrong but worth noticing them periodically. Here are some of them.

World statistics

Indian statistics

According to the 2011 census:

79.8% of the population of India practices Hinduism, 14.2% adheres to Islam, 2.3% adheres to Christianity, and 1.7% adheres to Sikhism. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in India. Growth rate of Muslims has been consistently higher than the growth rate of Hindus, ever since the census data of independent India has been available.

India is expected to have 311 million Muslims in 2050(11% of the global total), making it the country with the largest population of Muslims in the world.

The figures are collected from Pew research centre.

Where is the Sanathana Dharma and Hindus are going to be in the next millennium if the bickering continues amongst the Hindus and propaganda of karmakanda for selfish reasons. An ordinary mortal like me cannot do anything as in the congregation of mice, they wanted to put a bell in the neck of the cat, so that when they hear the sound they can run away but not one of them could do. The idea is good but the implementation is difficult for one person. But all the heads in the spiritual sectors or Peethas can do something. If only every teacher of Advaitha philosophy prepares a handful of prodigies to carry on the traditional teaching of Upanishads, then we can look at the salvation of Sanaathana Dhrama which is the breath of India and well admired by various philosophers of other nations. Otherwise Lord Siva has to come like another Sankaraachaarya Swami or Krishna(Lord Vishnu) has to take another Avatar(Reincarnation) to put the things right or make amendments. Where do we as true Hindus go from here?

May be it is worth remembering what Arnold Toynbee said “It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a western beginning has to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in self destruction of human race, at this supremely dangerous moment in history the only way of salvation to the mankind is the Indian way”. - Arnold Toynbee - British Historian and philosopher 1889 - 1975

I may please be forgiven by any reader if he/she thinks that this article looks as though there are some religious connotations. I am an Advaithi who fundamentally believes the oneness and the unity in the diversity. But looking at India and the changes in the religious attitudes in the Hindus, my heart was aching since I was in my thirties. I felt helpless then and I feel helpless now. It is my persistent heartache and sorrow that made me write this. I hope the readers understands this with some sympathy.