Isabella Kwiecinski

Mr. Cannuli
World Religions D
11 February 2014
Twin Trinities?
Many religions share a part of their experience with other similar aspects of other belief
systems. Often a significant portion of beliefs in in regards to the deities that are a prominent
feature of multiple religions. The Hindu beliefs encompass, to a degree, hundreds of thousands of
beings that they regard as deities. Of this plethora of gods, three are regarded as the Trinity of
gods. In many ways, this Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva bears a great similarity to the
Christian Trinity that is a main stipulation of the religion. But although the two Trinities contain
this considerable similarity, the difference between them reveals the fundamentals of the
religions that set them apart.
The existence of a trio draws to attention the first set of similarities behind the six gods:
what exactly are the gods to each other? Although seemingly very different entities, the three
gods of the Hindu Trinity (and all of the rest of the gods of the world) are all composed of one
element: Brahman, which is a cosmic essence that makes up the universe. As a result of this
concept, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are truthfully all the same being, only appearing to be
different because of the cosmic illusion, maya, that uses the physical senses to confuse.
Therefore, when these gods act in their own way, they are truthfully representing the whole of
Brahman, while still appearing as separate beings.
In a similar way that the three gods of the Hindu Trinity are one, but still able to be three,
so is the Christian Trinity of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. As
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their titles indicate, these three deities are all God and remain as a single entity, although they act
individually. Each part of the Christian Trinity has individual characteristics that are assigned to
only one of the three parts, but as a collective whole, the three are united as one deity. Both the
Hindu Trinity and the Christian Trinity have three individuals that still are part of a collective
whole.
However, the approach to which each religion takes with their version of the Trinity is the
key the understanding the religions themselves. Although the two Trinities regard the three forms
of the deities as one, the reason behind the Hindu Trinity is the all-encompassing energy that is
Brahman. Brahman is, to an extent, understandable as the force that flows throughout the world,
comprising every thing, living and non-living. It exists everywhere and makes up everything, and
this fact is understood by those that practice the Hindu religion. Brahman means that behind the
visual aspects, the three gods of the Hindu Trinity are made of the same energy that makes up
humans. In fact, Brahman is the a core concept of Hinduism that needs to be known to better
one's understanding of how to see past maya and break free from samsara.
In contrast, the Christian Trinity applies only to the three different existences that make
up a singular God. This Trinity regards God Himself, revealing a sense of greater power that
belongs to Him. He is a being that possesses powers above people; humans are not the same as
God in creation, and this is part of the reason why He deserves such praise in Christianity.
This feature of the two Trinities, showing gods that are one and the same, is actually a
closer look into the driving forces between Hinduism and Christianity. This is a glance into the
matrix of what makes the two religions, although similar in basic concepts, fundamentally
different.
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