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Here we present extensive resources for understanding the concept of God in our sastra By Nannilam Rajagopala Ganapatigal
Our sastra accepts the existence of several Gods
or deities, it accepts only one God, the Supreme.
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. are not three independent and separate deities, but three different aspects of the same Supreme God, while engaged in the processes of creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe, in that order. It is similar to the role played by the same person as the father at home, as the boss in the office and as a customer in a shop. Other deities also should be considered in the same light, as different aspects of the Supreme God, manifesting themselves for specific purposes. The powers of these deities which are inseparable from them - just as the power of fire to burn cannot be separated from fire itself. This power is conceived in the form of their consorts, Sarasvati, Parvati (or Sakti) and Lakshmi. This is not to say that these deities are imaginary creations. All of them, without exception, are different modes and aspects of Paramatman, the Supreme Self or God. Vedic deities are generally referred to as devatas. These Indra, for example is the king of all the devatas and rules the swargloka. Agni and Surya (a planet deity) are also very important Gods of the Vedic era. Yagna or Homa, or the ritual involving fire was a very important sacrament during the vedic period, during the homa, offerings were made to Agni. In this
section, we present a brief explanation of devatas.
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