Beliefs of Hinduism

Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses. Some of them are human (e.g. Krishna, Rama, some animals (e.g. fish, monkey, rat, snake), (some animal-humans as in the case of Ganesh who has the head of elephant with trunk and the body of a human), and some others are natural phenomena (e.g. dawn, fire, sun). Their number is generally believed to be 330 million. According to Hinduism beliefs, god incarnates, i.e., takes the form of human being and other animals and appears in this earth in that form. Gods and goddesses were born like human beings and had wives and children. No god possesses absolute power; some of the gods are weaker than the sages and some others even weaker than the monkey (e.g. Rama).

Another aspect about Hindu gods is that the status of their godhood is not fixed. One finds that some gods were worshipped for a time and then abandoned and new gods and goddesses were adopted instead. The gods and goddesses worshipped now-a-days in Hindu homes and temples are not Vedic. The Vedic gods like Agni (fire), Surya (sun) Usha (dawn) are completely rejected and the gods and goddesses mentioned in the Puranas are worshipped by modern Hindus. Similarly, Rama who is currently receiving increasing acceptance among Hindus in India because of the wide propagation of the official and other media was never worshipped as a deity until the eleventh century

Hinduism's complexity stems from the many forms of three primary deities: Shiva, Creator and Destroyer of all Existence, Vishnu, Protector or Preserver of the Universe and Shakti, the Divine Feminine. Each sect views its deity as the "Supreme Personified Godhead," surrounded by a mythology that includes the texts, rituals and social and cultural observances. Depending on their needs, worshippers may appeal to many different deities, but all acts of devotion have the common goal of summoning the universal.the above facts clearly explains the sacred elements of Hinduism and beliefs of Hinduism