Did God Become Man Part 2: The Gods, Man Is God, and God Becomes His Creatures

One belief, however, stands apart from logic and reason while becoming a central element in many religions: the belief that God became a human being.

As the original monotheistic belief gradually declined, many people came to believe that intermediaries were needed between humanity and the Supreme Being. These intermediaries were thought to carry people's prayers or act on God's behalf. Over time, they themselves became objects of worship.

In many ancient societies, these intermediaries were understood as spirits inhabiting different aspects of nature. As a result, people worshipped the spirits of forests, rivers, mountains, the sky, and the earth. Sometimes nature itself was worshipped, while in other cases symbolic representations of nature became sacred.

These forms of religion generally remained local and were practiced by isolated communities. They never developed into a single worldwide religious system.

A different development occurred when God's attributes were personified as separate divine beings represented through images and idols. Instead of worshipping God directly, people worshipped these representations, and God's attributes gradually became individual gods.

Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman religions reflected this pattern but eventually declined after the spread of Christianity. Hinduism, however, survived both Muslim and Christian rule in India and remains the faith of roughly one billion people.

Although Christianity and Islam became dominant across much of Asia, different forms of Buddhism—many of which developed from Hindu ideas—spread widely throughout the Far East. Various Hindu-inspired movements also continue to expand in Western societies today.

Man is God

One of the central teachings of Hinduism is that everything is ultimately divine. According to this belief, there is no essential distinction between the Creator and His creation.

Hindu philosophy teaches that every living being possesses a soul called Atman. This soul is believed to be identical with Brahman, the Supreme Reality. Therefore, the individual soul and God are considered one.

Traditional Hindu society is also divided into castes, each believed to have originated from a different part of Brahman. The Brahmins, regarded as the highest caste, are said to have come from Brahman's head, while the Sudras, the lowest caste, originated from His feet.

Although four principal castes are officially recognized, thousands of sub-castes exist in practice.

Hinduism also teaches reincarnation. When a person dies, the soul does not perish but is reborn into another body. A person's actions in this life determine the status of the next life. Good deeds lead to rebirth into a higher caste, while evil actions result in rebirth into a lower one.

After passing through many reincarnations, a soul that reaches the highest spiritual state is released from the cycle of rebirth and reunites with Brahman. This liberation is known as Moksha, while in Buddhism a similar concept is called Nirvana.

In this worldview, the human soul ultimately merges with God, leading to the conclusion that man is, in essence, divine.

God Becomes His Creatures

Hinduism also teaches that Brahman's attributes appear as different gods.

Brahma

represents creation.

Vishnu

represents preservation.

Siva (Shiva)

represents destruction.

Among these, Vishnu is believed to descend into the world repeatedly in different forms. These divine descents are known as avatars, meaning "descent."

According to Hindu tradition, Vishnu has appeared in many forms, including:

Matsya

(a fish)

Kurma

(a tortoise)

Varaha

(a boar)

Narasimha

“

(half man, half lion)

Vamana

(a dwarf)

Rama (a human king and hero)

Krishna (another human incarnation)

The stories of Rama are preserved in the Ramayana, while Krishna's role is central to the Mahabharata. These epics describe divine incarnations sent to restore order and save the world from evil.

Although Hindu traditions differ regarding the exact number and forms of these incarnations, they all share the belief that God repeatedly enters creation by taking the form of humans or animals.

For nearly one-fifth of humanity who follow Hinduism, the distinction between the Creator and creation is therefore greatly diminished, with humanity viewed as either God or part of God.

The Buddhist Adaptation

Popular Buddhism adopted many of these concepts while modifying them.

It teaches that every conscious being possesses Buddha-nature, making it possible for anyone to become a Buddha.

Historically, Siddhartha Gautama was understood as a human teacher who attained enlightenment. However, later Mahayana Buddhism developed the concept of the Eternal Buddha, who embodies ultimate truth and periodically appears in the world through earthly manifestations.

According to this belief, Siddhartha Gautama became only one earthly appearance of this eternal Buddha.

As Buddhism evolved, it also incorporated ideas from Indian religious traditions, including heavenly beings and divine saviors. Eternal Buddhas and Bodhisattvas came to be viewed as spiritual beings who offer guidance, protection, and assistance to their devoted followers on the path to enlightenment.

Among the most prominent Bodhisattvas are:

Avalokitesvara

, representing compassion.

Manjusri

, representing wisdom.

Among the Eternal Buddhas are:

Aksobhya

(the Imperturbable)

Amitabha

(Infinite Light)

Amitayus

(Infinite Life)

These developments illustrate how the concept of divine incarnation became incorporated into both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, though in different forms and theological frameworks.

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