hinduwoman
Member
https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/fourteen-questions/fourteenq_1
Question One: Why does Hinduism have so many Gods?
A: Hindus all believe in one Supreme God who created the universe. He is all-pervasive. He created many Gods, highly advanced spiritual beings, to be His helpers.
Longer answer: Contrary to prevailing misconceptions, Hindus all worship a one Supreme Being, though by different names. This is because the peoples of India with different languages and cultures have understood the one God in their own distinct way. Through history there arose four principal Hindu denominations—Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism. For Sai-vites, God is Siva. For Shaktas, Goddess Shakti is supreme. For Vaishnavites, Lord Vishnu is God. For Smartas—who see all Deities as reflections of the One God—the choice of Deity is left to the devotee. This liberal Smarta perspective is well known, but it is not the prevailing Hindu view. Due to this diversity, Hindus are profoundly tolerant of other religions, respecting the fact that each has its own pathway to the one God.
As others pointed out, that is one view of Hinduism, though it is becoming more dominant nowadays. That is mostly because it is more a portable concept, extremely useful with Hindus migrating all over the world; and it is a retort to Christianity, a colonial hangover.
But even if that view is true, how does it mean it is the Allah of Islam? In Hinduism, Islam would be just another sect with Mohummad completely mistaken about its nature and demands.