The main prow of a civilian Maurai trimaran usually bears a figurehead of:
"...the carven Triad, Tanaroa the Creator, Lesu Haristi the Savior on His right, shark-toothed Nan the Destroyer on His left." (2, p. 30)
This Triad corresponds to the Hindu Trimurti ("triple form"): Brahma, creator; Vishnu, preserver; Shiva, destroyer. Back in the Maurai short trilogy, which I cannot consult right now because I am sitting with my feet in water, Lesu Haristi is described as the Son of Tanaroa.
I noticed a curious parallel between the Christian Trinity and Trimurti. In the former, Christ is the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity whereas, in the latter, Krishna is an incarnation of the second member of Trimurti. Because of the activities of Christian missionaries, some Indians felt faced with a choice: Christ or Krishna, Gospel or Gita. I value the Bhagavad Gita for its teaching of karma yoga.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I think some upper caste Hindus, 500 years ago, when seriously confronted with Christian monotheism by Jesuit, Franciscan, and Dominican missionaries, were embarassed and chagrined by the contrast between Christianity and the crude polytheism of Hinduism. I think that was about the time the Sikh movement started, originating as Hindus rejecting polytheism. And other upper caste persons who remained Hindus tried to do the same within that religion.
Such efforts did not really succeed. The Sikhs split away from Hinduism and those who tried to philosophically recast Hinduism did not succeed in weaning the vast majority of Hindus from their more primitive concepts of religion.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But some think it's ok for religion to operate at different levels.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I know, however philosophically inconsistent that is.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But religious practice is not primarily philosophical although philosophical issues are implicit. Religious practice is about the current level of understanding of each practitioner. Practice that is not just superstition or superficial ritual deepens understanding.
Paul.
Trifunctional deities are an old feature of Indo-European religion.
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