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Why do Indian Gods have weapons in their hands?

First thing first, people who we perceived as Gods understood the strategic importance of weaponry! India had a former President who was known as a rocket as well as a missile scientist. If you look at this a bit closer you will realize that very peaceful person are involved in the production of weapons because they realized that only if you have the necessary weaponry, can you maintain peace for the nation. Otherwise, anybody and everybody will walk over you.

In other religions, their Gods are unarmed but their people are armed. We are not living in a world where is such that weaponry is unnecessary and self-protection is no longer an issue. Even if you look at some of the most successful nations on the planet, they have survived by producing weapons. Even the biggest business on the planet is arms and armaments have not reached that point yet.

So our Gods had sense. They are very strategic. Because people are always going to Gods mostly seeking protection and well being, an unarmed God was seen as useless, so they armed him. But you also need to understand that they have other symbols of peace. It is like an olive branch and a gun at the same time.

Now you might think that, Well I understand that it is strategic, a type of symbolism. But why are actually Gods seen carrying weapons, what is it they are trying to convey, what's the ultimate point. You know one thing that even most of the Indians did misunderstand is that God is meant for either peace or violence but the truth is it is neither. Ultimately it is just to make us understand that what we symbolized as God is just the highest aspect of life. Life is neither peace nor violence. It is a complex mixture of many things. And both peacefulness and violence are very much involved in it.

This is why so much inner exploration happened as to knowing the essential nature of life. If you look at the surface of your garden or the forest, you generally thought a forest is a peaceful place. I think that is a very immature idea. A forest is a very violent place. Have you noticed, when something gets violent, you say it is like a jungle – because you realize that somewhere. A jungle is a very violent place. Every moment, somebody is trying to kill somebody. Small and big, it is constantly happening. If you think a jungle is peaceful, your vision is very superficial.

In Hindu culture, peace is not seen as what happens outside peace always tends to what is happening within you. That is the reason why so much of inner exploration such as Yoga meditation for explore, to know the essential nature of life. If you look at the forest, people always thought the forest is a peaceful place but is it really? In fact, a forest is a very violent place. Have you noticed, when something gets violent, you say it is like a jungle – because you realize that somewhere, a jungle is a violent place Every moment, somebody is trying to kill somebody. Small and big, it is constantly happening. If you think a jungle is peaceful, your vision is very superficial.

If you look a little deeper into life, you understand there is no such thing as peace or violence. The life process involves both creation and destruction. It is always on. Within yourself, you can be either peaceful or in turmoil. But outside, you have no choice. Life involves all aspects, so Gods were depicted with all aspects. If you observe in the ten hands, not all the hands are carrying weapons. This is just to symbolize the peak of all aspects of life, not just for violence or for peace.

 

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