This happened quite some time ago, when I was a kid of about 10 years old, in Raipur, India.

I always loved listening to stories. My grandfather knew a lot of ancient stuff (like Ramayana
and Mahabharata) and told these tales very interestingly.

Powercuts in summer are quite common in India. They even specify the powercut timings on
radio and TV. So, these few hours of powercut were our story-times.

One day I asked a very simple question to my grandfather to which I got an answer for a
lifetime!

Me: Muslims have only one Allah. Christians have only one Jesus. Sikhs have only one
Guru. Buddhists have only one Buddha. Then why do Hindus have so many Gods?

To this question, the reply was:

Grandpa: What do you mean by God? We (Hindus) don’t have many Gods either. We have
one God too. You just have to look at the scriptures close enough to understand the meaning
of God. The scriptures (The Vedas) define God as something that is helpful to mankind.
Nature is God because you are alive today due to its mere presence. The rest is all made up
by humans! There’s no God other than Nature.

Me: Are you sure? But we have many Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Rama, Krishna,
etc., and many Goddesses too like Durga, Saraswathi, etc. How about them?

Grandpa: When the Vedas originated, most of the people then were uneducated and mainly
made their living by hunting and eating whatever they found in the forests. We only had a
few scholars who were always in search of knowledge and they initiated the work of Vedas.
Our scholars (who we can also call scientists today) were very smart. They
defined Prakriti (Nature) as God. But later, they thought, if these uneducated and illiterate
people don’t understand the value of the things that are available in nature, they will end up
harming the nature. Hence, let’s give a status of God to each of these so that people will
revere them and not harm the nature.

There’s air in nature. It’s the primary thing which is needed for the survival of human race
and other species. Be it Pavana or Vayu Deva (the God of air). People shall not pollute it
because this will make Pavana or Vayu Deva unhappy.

There’s sun. This is required for all the living beings on earth. It gives heat, warmth and light.
Be it Surya Deva (the Sun God). You shall respect it because it is one of the reasons for your
survival.

There’s earth. She carries the burden of all the living and non-living things that exist on the
planet. She is ‘the planet’ of life! Be it named as Prithvi. Since she bears us and does not say
anything even if we hurt her, she is our mother. She is Prithvi Maata (Mother Earth). You
shall never dig or pollute earth for human causes.

The purpose of future generations must be to acquire knowledge. Knowledge is divine.

Hence, she is Sarawathi (The Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom). You shall never touch
with your legs (or even show legs) to anything related to studies/knowledge because that’s
disrespect.
You are alive because of the food you take. Hence, food is God. Be it Annapurna (the
Goddess of Food). You shall not throw away the food you have. This food is not available to
everyone. You shall pray to Annapurna before and after each meal because she is keeping
you alive.

Water helps the human body in a billion ways. It controls the body temperature and helps in
digestion. Be it Varuna Deva (the God of Water). You shall not pollute or waste it. Use it as
optimally as possible and allow other species to use it as well.

Food, air and water combines in your body and becomes energy. This energy has to be
utilized and should not be misused. This energy shall be called Durga (the Goddess of
Power). You shall seek energy from her and not waste it. You shall use this energy for doing
something that can help all the species on this planet.

There’s no light at night. It’s the fire which gives us warmth and light. Hence, fire is Agni
Deva (the Fire God). Whatever goes into it shall return in it’s purest form (when you put gold
in fire, it turns into its pure form). Hence, He is the purifier of everything. You shall not
misuse it to destroy anything.

Everything in this universe which has taken birth shall die. Nothing lives forever, not even
this universe by itself. Hence, we shall have Brahma-the creator, Vishnu-the preserver
and Shiva-the destroyer.

Trees are the main source of Pranavayuvu (oxygen). Roots are the source of life in trees.
Hence, the roots are Brahma. The trunk is the medium for transfer of energy. Hence, it shall
be deemed as Vishnu. The destruction of a tree begins from its leaves. Hence, leaves shall be
Shiva. They have Trimurthi (the supreme deity of three Gods) in them. Hence, you shall not
cut a tree for your greed.

Space is endless. It gives hope to people, inspiration and opportunity to explore it. Hence, it
is Aakasha (the God of Space). One’s knowledge and goodwill should be like space -
endless.

Rama and Krishna lived their lives in such a way that people during their times looked up to
them. They were the role models. Hence, they were also added to the list of Gods. Vedas
existed way beyond the birth of both.

Now you should have understood the concept of God. The next question is why do you have
to pray to them if they aren’t Gods. You don’t have to pray to them but make sure you never
harm them. Prayer helps you to be humble toward them.

By prayer, I mean, to focus within. You don’t have to chant anything. All you have to do is
thank nature for whatever it has given you. This is the reason why they ask you to observe
breath while you meditate; because breath is the source of life within you.

Hinduism is not a religion. It’s mere science. Finally, we too say God is one despite the
diversity. Just like Allah, Jesus, Buddha, etc., we also have only one God-Prakriti. Because
humans only need one God so they can pray and gain their atma-shakti (self-confidence). If
you are conscious enough of the treasury that you have been given by nature, you don’t need
a God. No religion needs a God. In fact, human race does not need a religion. It only needs
humanity.
Religion is just a belief. Humanity is the goal. All these religions ultimately teach you
humanity. They all teach the same thing in different ways. These ways depend on the time
and location of their origin. You don’t have to follow any religion as long as you respect
nature.

---- END OF THE CONVERSATION ----

From that day, I never looked Hinduism as a religion. Nor did I ever look other religions as
religions. Now I look at them as science. There are scientific reasons why certain things are
practiced in various religions. I started to explore these reasons rather than blindly following
them.

This is one of the best answers I have ever got.

PS: All the names for the Gods have been taken from Sanskrit language in the Vedas.