I have a particular affinity with Hinduism. I find it an incredibly beautiful, diverse and rich religious tradition. It’s theology, philosophy and prescriptions for life are incredibly deep, complex and profound, filled with insights that can shed light on our understanding of God and what it is to be human, regardless of our professed religion.

Around three years ago, I had the privilege to spend several months travelling India and exploring its religious traditions, particularly Hinduism, visiting countless temples and staying in several ashrams (Hindu monasteries) across the country – including one founded by a Catholic priest named Bede Griffiths who made his life goal to find harmony between Christianity and Hinduism. What I discovered in this country was a strange yet incredible religion, filled with inexplicable rituals, practices and philosophies that are fundamentally important to those who practice. India is a country that breathes religion and spirituality, and there’s something simply sacred about that land, which allows you to look into your self and has the social mechanisms to develop your soul.

Hinduism is a religion more ancient than Judaism, shrouded in prehistory yet continues to be practiced by well over a billion people, mostly in India, and has come to be the third largest in the world. It’s thought to be around six thousand years old, yet it could very well be much much older, other estimates having placed it over ten thousand years. Yet despite its size, its not very well understood by most outside of the religion. This is perhaps due partly to the very label Hinduism, which oversimplifies it and misleads one into thinking that the religion is a monolithic entity.

Unlike many other faiths, there is no single founder or prophet who marks its beginning like Jesus, Lao Tzu or the Buddha. What makes it even more different is that there isn’t a single concept of God, and no set theological system or even central authority. Instead, the unifying aspect of Hinduism is based around the goal of reaching the Ultimate Reality of the universe – Brahman. But there still does tend to be several linking beliefs in reincarnation, karma, and seeking liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

As a result of this lack of a central system of ideas beyond a set of loosely held linking ideas, the religion is incredibly diverse and tolerant, seeing action as more important than holding certain beliefs. Within the realm of Hinduism, there are monotheists, polytheists, pantheists, panentheists, and perhaps most surprising of all, even atheists. As long as you’re pursuing a path of righteousness, you could be considered a Hindu in some way. And despite recent news focusing on outbreaks of violence between Hindu and Muslim communities, the country hosts almost countless religions beyond just Hinduism – there are Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and even Mormons residing in the country. All living together rather well, since Hindus generally consider them as simply different paths to God.

To restate, Hinduism isn’t so much about belief, but rather a way of pursuing a holy life and union with Ultimate Reality.

But as far as understandings of God go, there are some ideas that are more prominent than others in the religion. And the most common conception we have of Hinduism is a belief system filled with separate gods like Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, the monkey god Hanuman, and of course the cannabis smoking Shiva. Indeed, there are millions, if not potentially an infinite number of gods in the religion. Yet this explicit polytheism on the surface hides a much more interesting and complex understanding of the divine that many Hindus hold.

Most Hindus are actually monotheistic, but it’s approached in quite a different way than to other religions like Islam and Christianity, where there is a direct, personal relationship to an all powerful God. Ultimate Reality is mainly conceived by Hindus in a panentheistic way – God encompasses the entire universe and is within everything, but it is still greater than all of this.

Because the divine is in everything, Hindus tend to worship things that outsiders would find rather strange or at the very least a little bit primitive. For example, in the state of Rajahstan, there is a temple dedicated to a particular motorbike, who worshippers believe to have quite a lot of God’s essence concentrated in it. The worship of natural features is common (and to me quite understandable), the Ganges River is a god and one of the most sacred places for Hindus, being the life giver of people for millennia. The sun is a god, the moon is a god, and the Himalayas have been deified. Ideally, all is sacred to the Hindu, which is why many are also vegetarians.

When it comes to this polytheistic side of Hinduism, it’s not so much that there are countless separate gods, each shaping the affairs of the universe in their own way, but rather they are different aspects of Brahman. Ultimate Reality is conceived of similar ways to other monotheistic religions, however, it is ultimately impersonal at least in the human sense. But since it is infinite, it has transformed itself in countless ways so that it can be worshipped and united with people who would otherwise find it difficult to be with something that appears utterly indifferent.

The countless gods in this sense, are more manifestations of Brahman in the universe, different aspects and expressions of the divine’s limitless nature. Ganesha is the elephant-headed god of that removes obstacles, yet his image is more an idol to direct worship towards the aspect of Brahman. The primary Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, represent the creating, sustaining and destroying aspects (respectively) of Brahman as it interacts with the universe. It reminds me of the traditional ninety-nine names of God found within the Koran.

Having various representations of the divine through the pantheon of gods therefore allows Hindus to have a direct and intimate relationship with the divine, as well as an accessible indicator towards the divine. A point of concentration so to speak. In some ways, it’s not too different to how Christians may use the cross and other imagery to direct their attention towards Jesus and God.

Although Hindus often focus on many gods to worship, many choose a single one that resonates with their desires and hopes in life. Or choose one that they see as fit to bringing them closest directly to Ultimate Reality and liberation from the cycle of life and death. A god that can be their singular point of worship. This is partly from where the different sects of Hinduism emerge, where they focus on a particular deity (or several deities) on their path towards God, examples including Shaivism and Shaktism. But as mentioned, regardless which god is focused on, all are ultimately masks that can lead the Hindu to Brahman and liberation.

So in sum, Hinduism isn’t one big religion, and it isn’t polytheistic in a strict sense. To me, it has a beautiful conception of the divine, which allows many ways of worship as long it leads one down the path of righteousness. It simply makes sense that an infinite God has the capability to manifest itself in countless ways and provides a path for every day people to come closer to it by focusing on its more personal attributes. I believe that Hinduism, with its ancient traditions, its fascinating theologies and philosophies, should be more widely understood by society and by those from other religions, because in the end, there’ll be more wealth to gain from one another, if the time is taken to learn the ways and knowledge of different paths to God.