Vishwaroop or Viratswaroop is the cosmic form of God. Vishwaroop is an iconographical form and theophany of the Hindu god Vishnu or his avatar Krishna. Vishwaroop has innumerable forms, eyes, faces, mouths and arms. All creatures of the universe are part of him. He is the infinite universe, without a beginning or an end. He contains peaceful as well as wrathful forms.
For Hindus, God is the container of all things. All existence is a manifestation of the divine. This understanding of the world makes no room for the notion of ‘evil’. Evil means that which is devoid of Godliness. When everything is God, then nothing, not even things we despise and shy away from, can be ungodly. Good and bad are judgements based on human values. Human values critical though they may be to establishing civilized society are based on a limited understanding of the world. When understanding changes, values and judgements change and with them society. The Sanskrit word ‘maya’ refers to all things that can be measured. Human understanding of the world is limited, hence measurable, hence maya. To believe this maya is truth is delusion. Beyond maya, beyond human values and human judgements, beyond the current understanding of the world, is a limitless reality which makes room for everyone and everything. That reality is God.
For
Hindus, all of creation is divine. Everything in nature is therefore
worthy of worship. There is no discomfort visualizing God in plants,
animals, rivers, mountains, rocks and in man-made objects such as pots,
pans, pestles and mortars. Stories such as the one following transform
rivers into molten forms of God.
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