Hindu - God and Goddess

Hinduism world’s oldest religion with no specific founder with billions of followers makes it’s the third largest religion of the world. Unlike other religions, Hinduism is a way of life, a Dharma, that is, the law that governs all action. It is a beautiful religion revolving around karma (one's deeds). Hinduism is a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions, in which the prominent themes include:

* Dharma (ethics and duties)
* Samsara (rebirth)
* Karma (right action)
* Moksha (liberation from the cycle of Samsara)

Hinduism believes that there is only one supreme Absolute called "Brahman". However, it does not advocate the worship of any one particular deity. In total, there are 330,000,000 (33 crores or 330 million) of these supernatural beings in various Hindu traditions. Hinduism, such as Vaishnavism and Saivism, teach that occasionally, God comes to Earth as a human being to help humans in their struggle toward enlightenment and salvation (moksha.) Such an incarnation of God is called an avatar (or avatāra.). Gods are called devas (or devatās) and goddesses are called devis. The most fundamental of Hindu deities is the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - creator, preserver and destroyer respectively. Hindus also worship spirits, trees, animals and even planets. Some main Hindu deities are:

• Brahma - The God of Creation.
• Vishnu - The God of Maintenance (Lord Rama and Lord Krishan are believed to be avatar’s of Vishnu)
• Shiva - The God of Destruction
• Saraswati - Goddess of Wisdom - Consort of Lord Brahma
• Lakshmi - Goddess of Wealth, Consort of Lord Vishnu
• Parvati - Goddess Sakti, Consort of Lord Shiva
• Ganesha - Son of Shiva & Parvati. Lord Who Removes Obstacles
• Muruga - Son of Shiva & Parvati
• Anjaneya also known as Hanuman
• Venkateshwara (Venkateshwer or Venkatachalapathi) is another form of Lord Vishnu who is also very popular as a Hindu deity. He is also known as Balaji or Bithala.

• Goddess Durga, also known as Parvati or Lalitha is the wife (consort) of Lord Shiva and exists in various divine (both friendly and fearful) forms. Two of her fierce but very powerful forms are Durga (goddess beyond reach) and Kali (goddess of destruction). Parvati was called Sati in her previous divine incarnation. The family of Lord Shiva, Parvati and their sons Ganesha and Kartikeya is an ideal example of family unity and love.
• Lord Satyanarayana is another form of Lord Vishnu who is commonly worshipped by Hindus in their homes along with family and friends.
• Kartikeya, the second son of Lord Shiva, and Goddess Parvati is also known as Subramaniam, Skanda, Guha, Shadannana or Sanmukha (because he has six faces). While Ganesh removes all obstacles, Skanda bestows all spiritual powers, particularly the power of knowledge.