Multiple levels of Dreaming (Multiple levels of consciousness) The Indian yogi is able to pierce the veil of "ordinary waking consciousness" (Charles Tart, Ouspensky) also known as the "survival personality" (John Firman) or the ego. When the survival personality is seen through, a new reality opens up -- more subtle, more intricate, detailed beautiful aspects of reality are experienced.

 

 

The Re-creation of the Universe and the Breaking of Illusion (Maya). (Has profound psychological implications). When illusion is seen through, the universe is created anew. In Hindu philosophy, this is symbolized by Vishnu and Brahma. Vishnu (Neo?), himself partially asleep, dreams of Brahma (the guy in the white suit?) who is the actual god who will recreate the world of  "ordinary waking consciousness" (the matrix, which -- as Ouspensky stated -- is similar to the dreaming state). But if Vishu were not at least half-out of the Matrix and in contact with a more subtle reality (Etinger - the Ego - archetype axis) Brahma could not recreate the world. Thus the idea here is that there are multiple levels of gods, multiple, ever more subtle levels of reality which a person (Neo, you, me) can get into contact with. This is known formally as "Monotheistic Polytheism." As one breaks through the multiple veils of illusion (peeling the onion) there are different gods for each level. Vishu is a god, but he dreams of Brahma. In the Matrix, Morpheus is a first a kind of god to Neo (with his super Ju-Jitsu powers), then so is Agent Smith, then the Oracle is god-like. At the end of Matrix I Neo is able to see through the illusion of the invincible (solid, object-like) nature of Agent Smith. And in the Matrix Reloaded we learn that the Oracle is merely a computer program -- another level of illusion  illusion. This is straight out of basic Hindu philosophy.

 

In India, the tripartite nature of Divinity (1-subjective, 2-objective, and 3-both simultaneously) - The Holy Trinity - is represented by Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. And they are popularly shown in this aspect: Shiva, as the ouroboric (self-consuming) World-Serpent, is coiled around the feet of beautiful Vishnu. The serpent which sheds it skin and is reborn anew - like Life which consumes life and is reborn anew, like the moon which is consumed by darkness and is reborn anew, like the earth which is consumed by the solar coil of the seasons and is reborn anew in spring - is symbolic of the cycles of time, which consumes all things, and yet is also the source of their renewal. And from Vishnu's navel grows a lotus blossom upon which is seated a tiny Brahma. But there is an unseen Forth in this Trinity. Where? We know that things do not grow from navels. Navels attach us to that from which we are grown. And so, in this beautifully symbolic representation, it is not the lotus that grows from Vishnu's navel, but rather Vishnu that grows from the Lotus: Devi, Mother of space, time, and the entire universe. She is the source of all things, of all the Gods. And all the Power of the Gods of Space and Time grow from her Transcendent Beauty. We in the west also represent the Trinity with an unseen Forth. Our Lotus is Mary - Mother of God.

 

 

Returning now to the image, the lotus petals expand outward into the composition, and are meant to indicate the transcendent realm that is both within and beyond the material universe. http://www.jonathonart.com/oac-l.html

 

 

 

Here, Vishnu sleeps in between the yugas, or cycles of time, on the cosmic ocean which lies outside space and time. His head is protected by the hood of Shesha, the cosmic serpent, and his feet are massaged by his consort Lakshmi. From his navel emerges Brahma, the creator God, seated on a lotus. His weapons, including the mace and the conch shell, lie relaxed in his hands. The waves beneath him are crowded by the creatures that were churned up when the cosmic ocean was created: the horse, the divine physician, and celestials playing musical instruments.http://www.amarilloart.org/bt_time-eternity.html

 

This is a great site on Hinduism:

 

 

 

 

After the destruction of one universe Vishnu falls asleep, floating on the causal waters. When another universe is to be created, Brahma appears on a lotus, which springs from the navel of Vishnu. Hence Brahma is also called Navel-born (Nabhi-ja) or the Lotus-born (Kinja-ja). When Brahma creates the world it remains in existence for one of his days, which means 2,160,000,000 years in terms of Hindu calendar. 

When Brahma goes to sleep after the end of his day, the world and all that is therein is consumed by fire. When he awakes he again restores the whole creation. This goes on till the hundred years of Brahma's life is completed. When this period ends he himself loses his existence, and he all gods and sages, and the whole universe are dissolved into their constituent elements. 

Brahma seems to have been thrown into shade probably because in Hindu mind he has ceased to function actively after creation of the world, though he will exert himself again while creating a new universe when this present one will meet its end. Understandably, the legends about this god are not so numerous or rich as those centered round the other two of the trinity.

 

 

Shiva

 

Moyers: "There's some image of the god Shiva surrounded by circles of flame, rings of fire. . .

Campbell: "[Those rings are] the radiance of the god's dance. Shiva's dance is the universe. In his hair is a skull and a new moon, death and rebirth at the same moment, the moment of becoming. In one hand he has a little drum that goes tick-tick-tick. That is the drum of time, the tick fo time which shuts out the knowledge of eternity. We are enclosed in time. But in Shiva's opposite hand there is aflame which burns away the veil of time and opens our minds to eternity. . . . He is the archetypal yogi, canceling the illusion of life, but he is also the creator of life, its generator, as well as illuminator."

        - Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, Masks of Eternity

Rene Grousset’s (1885-1952) French art historian, gives a fine interpretation of the image:

 “Whether he be surrounded or not by the flaming aureole of the Tiruvasi (Pabhamandala) – the circle of the world which he both fills and oversteps – the King of the Dance is all rhythm and exaltation. The tambourine which he sounds with one of his right hands draws all creatures into this rhythmic motion and they dance in his company. The conventionalized locks of flying hair and the blown scarfs tell of the speed of this universal movement, which crystallizes matter and reduces it to powder in turn. One of his left hands holds the fire which animates and devours the worlds in this cosmic whirl. One of the God’s feet is crushing a Titan, for “this dance is danced upon the bodies of the dead”, yet one of the right hands is making a gesture of reassurance (abhayamudra), so true it is that, seen from the cosmic point of view…the very cruelty of this universal determinism is kindly, as the generative principle of the future. And, indeed, on more than one of our bronzes the King of the Dance wears a broad smile. He smiles at death and at life, at pain and at joy, alike, or rather,..his smile is death and life, both joy and pain. And as though to stress the point that the dance of the divine actor is indeed a sport, (lila) – the sport of life and death, the sport of creation and destruction, at once infinite and purposeless . . ."

"Wherever there is time, there is sorrow. But this experience of sorrow moves over a sense of enduring being, which is our own true life."

        - Campbell, Power of Myth

 

"The point is that this continuity of in abides thorough all experiences, pleasant or unpleasant, and through all the early developmental changes. . . . Held in being, one finds the strength of self needed to feel fully the pain and joy, the anger and love, the defeats and triumphs, the dependence and independence, which make up the fabric of human existence."

        - John Firman, The Primal Wound

 

 

 

Conclusion

Hinduism is greatly misunderstood in the West. Most occidentals do not realize that Hinduism is a monotheistic belief in one God, who as Creator is beyond time, space and physical form. The entire pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses are merely symbolic representations of different attributes of the One, Unmanifested spirit. 

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan has written: " From the beginning, India believed in the superiority of intuition or the method of direct perception of the supersensible to intellectual reasoning. The Vedic rishis ' were the first who ever burst into the silent sea' of ultimate being and their utterances about what they saw and heard. The Kena Upanishad says: "The eye does not go thither, nor speech nor mind. We do not know, we do not understand how one can teach it. It is different from the known, it is also above the unknown." Hindu thinkers are not content with the postulating a being unrelated to humanity, who is merely the Beyond, so far as the empirical world is concerned. From the beginnings of Hindu history, attempts are made to bring God closer to the needs of man. Though it is impossible to describe the ultimate reality, it is quite possible to indicate by means of symbols aspects of it, though the symbolic description is not a substitute for the experience of God."

(source: The Legacy of India - ed. G.T. Garratt. p. 256 -286).

Hindus believe in the existence of one and only one Supreme Being (the Bramh of the Upanishads), but worship Him in various forms known as deities or gods (note small g). This worship of many deities (gods) is not polytheism, but monotheistic polytheism. The monotheistic Hindu pantheon is an affirmation that the Supreme Being can be known in many ways and worshipped in many forms. Hinduism recognizes the diversity of the human mind and the potential for a different level of spiritual development in each individual. Hinduism does not, therefore, throw everyone into the pigeonhole of a single creed.