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The Tenth Lesson: The Religions of India. Part II1317
of the conception of Vishnu from that of a separate god of goodness, and
kindness—the beneficent god—to the second person in the Trinity of the
Hindus, as Vishnu the Preserver; and of his subsequent rise to the position
of the Supreme Being Absolute, in the eyes of his followers, the Vaishnavas.
And this latter position he now occupies in India today, at least among his
own followers who compose one of the great two classes of the Hindu
religions; the opposing faction, or Shaivas, refusing this exalted position to
Vishnu, relegating him to a secondary place, and claiming the first place for
their own god, Shiva. It is the custom of many Hindu writers to say that the
worship of Vishnu and Shiva is practically the same, and that the followers
of the one class cheerfully join in the worship of the opposing conception—
both being but different ideals of the One Reality. This statement is true,
when understood correctly, but the fad remains that when a Vaishnava
worships Shiva he qualifies his worship with the belief that he is really
worshiping Vishnu through Shiva the secondary aspect; and the Shaiva
pursues the same policy when he is worshiping Vishnu in company with his
Vaishnava friends. It is true that both agree that they are worshiping One,
but the fact remains that each believes that One to be his own One; that is,
he believes his own Deity to absorb the other, the other being but an aspect
of his own Deity. So that while it may be claimed that there is a “Unity in the
Diversity,” it likewise may be stated that there is a decided difference of
opinion as to the nature of that Unity. There are two classes of worship, in
spite of the kindly attempts to make it appear as one.
The Vaishnavas hold that Vishnu may be considered in both the impersonal
and the personal aspect. As the impersonal Vishnu, he is the Supreme Being,
omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient—exciting everywhere, and being
the Reality or Spirit in all manifestations—having allpower—and possessing
infinite knowledge. In fact, the impersonal Vishnu is considered as Brahman,
that, or the Absolute. But the Vaishnavas consider him in this impersonal
aspect only in their philosophical minds, and when it comes down to
worship the personal aspect is ever in evidence. The personal Vishnu is