Editing Hindu deities (section)

==Ishvara==
{{main|Ishvara}}
[[File:Surya Majapahit Diagram.svg|thumb|Ishvara is, along with Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, one of the 17 deities commonly found in Indonesian [[Surya Majapahit]] Hindu arts and records. However, Ishvara represents different concepts in various Hindu philosophies.]]
Another Hindu term that is sometimes translated as the deity is [[Ishvara]], or various deities are described, state Sorajjakool et al., as "the personifications of various aspects of the same Ishvara".<ref>Siroj Sorajjakool, Mark Carr and Julius Nam (2009), World Religions, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0789038135}}, p. 38</ref> The term ''Ishvara'' has a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism.<ref name=mmwizvara>Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English dictionary, [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ Izvara], Sanskrit Digital Lexicon, University of Cologne, Germany</ref><ref>James Lochtefeld, "Ishvara", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, p. 306</ref><ref name=riepe>Dale Riepe (1961, Reprinted 1996), Naturalistic Tradition in Indian Thought, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120812932}}, pp. 177-184, 208-215</ref> In ancient texts of Indian philosophy, ''Ishvara'' means supreme Self, [[Brahman]] (Highest Reality), ruler, king or husband depending on the context.<ref name=mmwizvara/> In medieval era texts, ''Ishvara'' means God, Supreme Being, personal god, or special Self depending on the school of Hinduism.<ref name=mirceaelaide73>Mircea Eliade (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0691142036}}, pp. 73-76</ref><ref name=riepe/><ref name=ianw>Ian Whicher, The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791438152}}, pp. 82-86</ref>

Among the six systems of [[Hindu philosophy]], [[Samkhya]] and [[Mimamsa]] do not consider the concept of ''Ishvara'', i.e., a supreme being, relevant. [[Yoga (philosophy)|Yoga]], [[Vaisheshika]], [[Vedanta]], and [[Nyaya]] schools of Hinduism discuss Ishvara but assign different meanings.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Early Nyaya school scholars considered the hypothesis of a deity as a creator God with the power to grant blessings, boons, and fruits; but these early Nyaya scholars then rejected this hypothesis, and were non-theistic or atheists.<ref name="John Clayton 2010 page 150"/><ref>G Oberhammer (1965), Zum problem des Gottesbeweises in der indischen Philosophie, Numen, 12: 1-34</ref> Later scholars of Nyaya school reconsidered this question and offered counter arguments for what is Ishvara and various arguments to prove the existence of an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent deity (God).<ref name=fxc>Francis X. Clooney (2010), Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199738724}}, pp. 18-19, 35-39</ref>

Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, as founded by Kanada in the 1st millennium BCE, neither required nor relied on a creator deity.<ref name=klausk>Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York, {{ISBN|978-0791470824}}, p. 337</ref><ref name=":1" /> Later Vaisheshika school adopted the concept of ''Ishvara'', states [[Klaus Klostermaier]], but as an eternal God who co-exists in the universe with eternal substances and atoms, but He "winds up the clock, and lets it run its course".<ref name=klausk/>

Ancient Mimamsa scholars of Hinduism questioned what is ''Ishvara'' (deity, God)?<ref name=fxc3>FX Clooney (1997), What's a god? The quest for the right understanding of devatā in Brāhmaṅical ritual theory (Mīmāṃsā), International Journal of Hindu Studies, August 1997, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 337-385</ref> They considered a deity concept unnecessary for a consistent philosophy and [[moksha]] (soteriology).<ref name=fxc3/><ref name=bilimoria>P. Bilimoria (2001), Hindu doubts about God: Towards Mimamsa Deconstruction, in Philosophy of Religion: Indian Philosophy (Editor: Roy Perrett), Volume 4, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-8153-3611-2}}, pp. 87-106</ref>

In the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, ''Isvara'' is neither a creator-God nor a savior-God.<ref>A Malinar (2014), Current Approaches: Articles on Key Themes, in The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies (Editor: Jessica Frazier), Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|978-1472511515}}, p. 79</ref> This is called one of the several major atheistic schools of Hinduism by some scholars.<ref name=lpfl/><ref>Mike Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga - An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415648875}}, p. 39</ref><ref>Richard Garbe (2013), Die Samkhya-Philosophie, Indische Philosophie Volume 11, {{ISBN|978-1484030615}}, pp. 25-27 (in German)</ref> Others, such as [[:no: Knut A. Jacobsen|Jacobsen]], state that Samkhya is more accurately described as non-theistic.<ref>Knut Jacobsen (2008), Theory and Practice of Yoga: 'Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120832329}}, pp. 15-16</ref> Deity is considered an irrelevant concept, neither defined nor denied, in Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.<ref name=":2" />

In the Yoga school of Hinduism, it is any "personal deity" (Ishta Deva or Ishta Devata)<ref>Orlando Espín and James Nickoloff (2007), An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and [[Religious studies|Religious Studies]], Liturgical Press, {{ISBN|978-0814658567}}, p. 651</ref> or "spiritual inspiration", but not a creator God.<ref name=ianw/><ref name=lpfl>Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory, and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120832329}}, pp. 38-39</ref> Whicher explains that while Patanjali's terse verses in the Yogasutras can be interpreted both as theistic or non-theistic, Patanjali's concept of ''Isvara'' in Yoga philosophy functions as a "transformative catalyst or guide for aiding the yogin on the path to spiritual emancipation".<ref>Ian Whicher (1999), The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791438152}}, p. 86</ref>

The [[Advaita Vedanta]] school of Hinduism asserted that there is no [[dualism (Indian philosophy)|dualistic]] existence of a deity (or deities).<ref name=":2" /><ref>JN Mohanty (2001), Explorations in Philosophy, Vol 1 (Editor: Bina Gupta), Oxford University Press, pp. 107-108</ref> There is no otherness nor distinction between ''Jiva'' and ''Ishvara''.<ref>Paul Hacker (1978), Eigentumlichkeiten dr Lehre und Terminologie Sankara: Avidya, Namarupa, Maya, Isvara, in Kleine Schriften (Editor: L. Schmithausen), Franz Steiner Verlag, Weisbaden, pp. 101-109 (in German), also pp. 69-99</ref><ref name="William Indich 2000 page 5">William Indich (2000), Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120812512}}, p. 5</ref> God (Ishvara, Brahman) is identical with the Atman (Self) within each human being in Advaita Vedanta school,<ref>William James (1985), The Varieties of Religious Experience, Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-0674932258}}, p. 404 with footnote 28</ref> and there is a [[monism|monistic]] Universal Absolute Oneness that connects everyone and everything.<ref name=jkoller>John Koller (2012), Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (Editors: Chad Meister, Paul Copan), Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415782944}}, pp. 99-107</ref><ref name="William Indich 2000 page 5"/><ref name=lance>Lance Nelson (1996), Living liberation in Shankara and classical Advaita, in Living Liberation in Hindu Thought (Editors: Andrew O. Fort, Patricia Y. Mumme), State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791427064}}, pp. 38-39, 59 (footnote 105)</ref>

In [[Dvaita]] sub-school of Vedanta Hinduism, ''Ishvara'' is defined as a creator God that is distinct from ''Jiva'' (individual Selfs in living beings).<ref name="R Prasad 2009 pages 345-347"/> In this school, God creates individual Self (Atman), but the individual Self never was and never will become one with God; the best it can do is to experience bliss by getting infinitely close to God.<ref name=tompad>Thomas Padiyath (2014), The Metaphysics of Becoming, De Gruyter, {{ISBN|978-3110342550}}, pp. 155-157</ref>