or polytheism, the adepts of Hinduism, for example, have multiple gods and even the hierarchy of gods whom they can pray to or whom they can worship but traditionally “each individual worshiper has a chosen deity (ista-devata) and does not usually worship other gods in the same way as his own, as the one he feels nearer to himself. Yet he acknowledges other gods. The Hindu, whether he be a worshiper of the Pervader (Visnu), the Destroyer (Siva), Energy (Sakti), or Sun (Surya), is always ready to acknowledge the equivalence of these deities as the manifestations of distinct powers springing from an unknowable “Immensity” (Flood 1996, p. 43). So, for a Hindu it is extremely difficult to realize the possibility of existence of the only God whom he/she could wThe development of human society is always accompanied by the development of different religious beliefs. Traditional view on the religious progress is regarded as the evolution of a certain religion beginning from the earliest signs and the most primitive forms of religious perception of the surrounding reality, such as animism, through polytheism to monotheism. The latter is considered by many researchers to be the last point of the development of any religion corresponding to the demand of the changing and more and more progressive world. But this thesis cannot be proclaimed as universal and absolutely undeniable because this idea has some opponents which do not agree that monotheism should be treated as the most progressive religious trend or as a symbol of the higher position of certain religion on different levels (spiritual, moral, etc.).

At the same time, the discussion concerning the definition of these two notions is still under the question because if we take Hinduism, as an example, we’ll find out that, despite the fact that this religion is traditionally defined as polytheistic, there are some researchers which estimate that monotheistic traces may be found even in this widely spread religion.

In my work I’m not going to start the argument whether Hinduism is polytheistic or monotheistic but I would rather focus my attention on more traditional side of this religion as well as I would also try to compare and contrast it with a monotheistic religion such as Islam. I strongly believe that it would be not only comparison of two religions but more than that it would be the comparison of two worlds, two philosophies and two ways of life. It would be particularly important if we take into account historical processes that influenced relations between adepts of Hinduism and Islam which resulted in severe contrast and opposition of two religions and now it is still a very serious problem because even modern India has the Kashmir conflict the solution of which is far from being found and one of the principle causes of the conflict is a religious opposition of Muslims and Hindis.

From the very beginning I would like to give definitions to monotheism and polytheism which would serve as the basis for the further analysis of Islam and Hinduism. Traditionally, when we speak about monotheism we mean that people believe in one God whom they pray to and search for. Monotheistic worshipers “usually worship a particularized form of their god and not his casual, unmanifest, formless aspect” (Vidalб 1992, p.12). In the case of Islam such a unique God is Allah. By the way, the uniqueness of this notion is characterized by the word itself which from linguistic point of view doesn’t have any direct correlations as well as it doesn’t have gender. But any monotheism, including Islam has a contradiction by its nature, for denying any other gods but their only God (Allah) monotheistic religions presuppose the existence of false gods opposing to their true one that seems to be a bit illogical.

As for polytheism, the adepts of Hinduism, for example, have multiple gods and even the hierarchy of gods whom they can pray to or whom they can worship but traditionally “each individual worshiper has a chosen deity (ista-devata) and does not usually worship other gods in the same way as his own, as the one he feels nearer to himself. Yet he acknowledges other gods. The Hindu, whether he be a worshiper of the Pervader (Visnu), the Destroyer (Siva), Energy (Sakti), or Sun (Surya), is always ready to acknowledge the equivalence of these deities as the manifestations of distinct powers springing from an unknowable “Immensity” (Flood 1996, p. 43). So, for a Hindu it is extremely difficult to realize the possibility of existence of the only God whom he/she could wo

ol of the higher position of certain religion on different levels (spiritual, moral, etc.).

At the same time, the discussion concerning the definition of these two notions is still under the question because if we take Hinduism, as an example, we’ll find out that, despite the fact that this religion is traditionally defined as polytheistic, there are some researchers which estimate that monotheistic traces may be found even in this widely spread religion.

In my work I’m not going to start the argument whether Hinduism is polytheistic or monotheistic but I would rather focus my attention on more traditional side of this religion as well as I would also try to compare and contrast it with a monotheistic religion such as Islam. I strongly believe that it would be not only comparison of two religions but more than that it would be the comparison of two worlds, two philosophies and two ways of life. It would be particularly important if we take into account historical processes that influenced relations between adepts of Hinduism and Islam which resulted in severe contrast and opposition of two religions and now it is still a very serious problem because even modern India has the Kashmir conflict the solution of which is far from being found and one of the principle causes of the conflict is a religious opposition of Muslims and Hindis.

From the very beginning I would like to give definitions to monotheism and polytheism which would serve as the basis for the further analysis of Islam and Hinduism. Traditionally, when we speak about monotheism we mean that people believe in one God whom they pray to and search for. Monotheistic worshipers “usually worship a particularized form of their god and not his casual, unmanifest, formless aspect” (Vidalб 1992, p.12). In the case of Islam such a unique God is Allah. By the way, the uniqueness of this notion is characterized by the word itself which from linguistic point of view doesn’t have any direct correlations as well as it doesn’t have gender. But any monotheism, including Islam has a contradiction by its nature, for denying any other gods but their only God (Allah) monotheistic religions presuppose the existence of false gods opposing to their true one that seems to be a bit illogical.

As for polytheism, the adepts of Hinduism, for example, have multiple gods and even the hierarchy of gods whom they can pray to or whom they can worship but traditionally “each individual worshiper has a chosen deity (ista-devata) and does not usually worship other gods in the same way as his own, as the one he feels nearer to himself. Yet he acknowledges other gods. The Hindu, whether he be a worshiper of the Pervader (Visnu), the Destroyer (Siva), Energy (Sakti), or Sun (Surya), is always ready to acknowledge the equivalence of these deities as the manifestations of distinct powers springing from an unknowable “Immensity” (Flood 1996, p. 43). So, for a Hindu it is extremely difficult to realize the possibility of existence of the only God whom he/she could w

hat it would be not only comparison of two religions but more than that it would be the comparison of two worlds, two philosophies and two ways of life. It would be particularly important if we take into account historical processes that influenced relations between adepts of Hinduism and Islam which resulted in severe contrast and opposition of two religions and now it is still a very serious problem because even modern India has the Kashmir conflict the solution of which is far from being found and one of the principle causes of the conflict is a religious opposition of Muslims and Hindis.

From the very beginning I would like to give definitions to monotheism and polytheism which would serve as the basis for the further analysis of Islam and Hinduism. Traditionally, when we speak about monotheism we mean that people believe in one God whom they pray to and search for. Monotheistic worshipers “usually worship a particularized form of their god and not his casual, unmanifest, formless aspect” (Vidalб 1992, p.12). In the case of Islam such a unique God is Allah. By the way, the uniqueness of this notion is characterized by the word itself which from linguistic point of view doesn’t have any direct correlations as well as it doesn’t have gender. But any monotheism, including Islam has a contradiction by its nature, for denying any other gods but their only God (Allah) monotheistic religions presuppose the existence of false gods opposing to their true one that seems to be a bit illogical.

As for polytheism, the adepts of Hinduism, for example, have multiple gods and even the hierarchy of gods whom they can pray to or whom they can worship but traditionally “each individual worshiper has a chosen deity (ista-devata) and does not usually worship other gods in the same way as his own, as the one he feels nearer to himself. Yet he acknowledges other gods. The Hindu, whether he be a worshiper of the Pervader (Visnu), the Destroyer (Siva), Energy (Sakti), or Sun (Surya), is always ready to acknowledge the equivalence of these deities as the manifestations of distinct powers springing from an unknowable “Immensity” (Flood 1996, p. 43). So, for a Hindu it is extremely difficult to realize the possibility of existence of the only God whom he/she could w

m. Traditionally, when we speak about monotheism we mean that people believe in one God whom they pray to and search for. Monotheistic worshipers “usually worship a particularized form of their god and not his casual, unmanifest, formless aspect” (Vidalб 1992, p.12). In the case of Islam such a unique God is Allah. By the way, the uniqueness of this notion is characterized by the word itself which from linguistic point of view doesn’t have any direct correlations as well as it doesn’t have gender. But any monotheism, including Islam has a contradiction by its nature, for denying any other gods but their only God (Allah) monotheistic religions presuppose the existence of false gods opposing to their true one that seems to be a bit illogical.

As for polytheism, the adepts of Hinduism, for example, have multiple gods and even the hierarchy of gods whom they can pray to or whom they can worship but traditionally “each individual worshiper has a chosen deity (ista-devata) and does not usually worship other gods in the same way as his own, as the one he feels nearer to himself. Yet he acknowledges other gods. The Hindu, whether he be a worshiper of the Pervader (Visnu), the Destroyer (Siva), Energy (Sakti), or Sun (Surya), is always ready to acknowledge the equivalence of these deities as the manifestations of distinct powers springing from an unknowable “Immensity” (Flood 1996, p. 43). So, for a Hindu it is extremely difficult to realize the possibility of existence of the only God whom he/she could w

or polytheism, the adepts of Hinduism, for example, have multiple gods and even the hierarchy of gods whom they can pray to or whom they can worship but traditionally “each individual worshiper has a chosen deity (ista-devata) and does not usually worship other gods in the same way as his own, as the one he feels nearer to himself. Yet he acknowledges other gods. The Hindu, whether he be a worshiper of the Pervader (Visnu), the Destroyer (Siva), Energy (Sakti), or Sun (Surya), is always ready to acknowledge the equivalence of these deities as the manifestations of distinct powers springing from an unknowable “Immensity” (Flood 1996, p. 43). So, for a Hindu it is extremely difficult to realize the possibility of existence of the only God whom he/she could worship or prayed to. It is beyond his/her understanding because the Hindu perceives other gods, which are not ‘his’/‘her’, as various aspects of the god he/she worships. As a result, nand it is necessary to underline this fact, polytheists, such as adepts of Hinduism, are more tolerant in relation to other religions or gods and they won’t proclaim Jihad (a sacred war) as Muslims sometimes do. Consequently, prosecution or proselytization of adepts of other religions can never exist in such a polytheistic environment as Hindu.

It is also noteworthy that the difference between monotheism and polytheism, particularly between Islam and Hinduism, being evident, concerns not only religious aspect of life but philosophical, social, and, to some extent, economical. For example, when we analyze Islam we will learn that one of the cornerstones of this religion is based on the idea that all human beings are equal or, more precisely, were created equal. It means that there shouldn’t be any superiority of one nation over others. According to norms of Islam, Allah doesn’t favor people or nations due to their wealth, nationality or power. The only way people can deserve Allah’s favor is through their virtue and life that would correspond to the Islamic tradition. Meanwhile, Hinduism influenced the whole social structure. For this polytheistic religion has a hierarchy of various gods which are involved in very complicated relations with each other, in the same manner their society is built and has a very strict, even rigid, social structure based on a caste system that divides people on several principal castes, namely, Kshatriya (ruling or warrior caste), Vaisya (common artisan and agricultural caste), and the Sudras (the low caste people). It is particularly important to underline that the highest caste comprises the Brahmans (priests or intellectual).

Another consequence of monotheistic and polytheistic character of Islam and Hinduism correspondingly is the attitude to life and death and particularly a possible life after a physical death. Both Islam and Hinduism emphasize that each person has a body and soul and during our life they coexist with one another. But at the point what happens after a person’s death Islam and Hinduism have different beliefs. For Muslims a physical death separates a person’s body from soul and only his/her actions and faith in Allah during the life determine whether a person goes to Hell or Heaven and Islamic beliefs also presuppose the coming of a Day of Judgment when “all humans from Adam to the last person, will be brought to a second life, rejoining of their body and soul” (Warraq 1995, p. 112).

Unlike Islam, Hinduism adepts believe that after a physical death the process of Reincarnation takes place. It means that a human soul returns to a body after death and this cycle may be repeated seven times. The status or caste of a person in the next life depends on the person’s actions during the previous life.

Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, I come to the conclu