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Do all those terms refer to God? If so, how is each word different from the other?

TruthSeeker9
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    Actually its almost impossible to describe GOD by use of mere words even for those who have direct vision of God.BTW, all these terms are synonymous with Lord Shiva.Parameswaram dhyami avahayami is the usual Shiva Puja. – Rickross Apr 22 '16 at 14:21
  • @Rickross - Is God ONE or many? – TruthSeeker9 Apr 22 '16 at 14:36
  • I'm no one to answer such questions.But it is said that God is one but his manifested forms are more than one. – Rickross Apr 22 '16 at 14:38
  • @Rickross - Then how do you know he is Shiva? Who is Vishnu then? – TruthSeeker9 Apr 22 '16 at 14:39
  • I have not said he is Shiva.You specifically mentioned few words like Iswara,Prameswara etc..i just said they(these words) are synonymous with Lord Shiva.For example by Parameswara by default Lord Shiva is meant and not any other Gods.By Narayana Lord Vishnu is indicated. and so on..BTw,since u have asked,Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are one entity not separate entities. – Rickross Apr 22 '16 at 14:42
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    See Differences between “Ishwar” and “Bhagvan”? , What is the relation/difference between Brahman(ब्रह्म) & Parabrahm(परब्रह्म)? and What is difference between Aatma, Jeevatma and Paramatma? – The Destroyer Apr 22 '16 at 14:51
  • "Which term describes God more accurately". The word 'Paramatma' refers to God most accurately, without ambiguity. i.e. if you say Ishvara, from an Advaitin perspective, Ishvara is supreme, but the Absolute entity is Nirguna Brahman. If you say Brahman, it could mean Saguna or Nirguna. however if you say 'Paramatma', it always refers to the highest. In dualisitc sense, it refers to Shiva (if shaivite), Vishnu (if Vaishnavite) or your chosen deity. From non-dualistic sense it refers to Nirguna Brahman. So if you say Paramatma, you're referring to the Highest God always, regardless of philosophy – Sai Apr 22 '16 at 16:35
  • @Rickross - pls check your comment you said "all these terms are synonymous with Lord Shiva". Thats why I asked. Ok, no problem. Is Shiva same as the devata Rudra mentioned in Vedas? – TruthSeeker9 Apr 23 '16 at 03:58
  • Iswara ,parameswara,Brahman(also Om),bhagawan are all synonymous with Shiva.If u use the mantras Parameswaram Dhyamai/Avahaymi in puja its Shiva who will come to the Puja and no one else.Yes same. Sri Rudram is dedicated to Lord Shiva. – Rickross Apr 23 '16 at 04:04
  • @Rickross - Vedas have 33 Devatas.. most prominent of them are Indra, agni, varuna... Vishnu and Rudra were least prominent if you check number of hymns for each devata. No one who studied Vedas can deny this. Its a fact that post vedic period thru mythology (stories written) Vishnu and Shiva were raised by degrading Indra. Saying Vishnu and Shiva are part of Brahman is also part of mythology. Philosophers walked a fine line to propose their philosophies and at the same time including or integrating these sentiments for personal Gods... – TruthSeeker9 Apr 23 '16 at 04:46
  • @TruthSeeker9 You seem to be already knowing a lot more than probably i do.So no point in asking me for opinions.i have just said what little i know of regarding the selection of words in ur question.And what i said is more or less common knowledge for a mainstream & practicing Hindu. – Rickross Apr 23 '16 at 04:52
  • @TruthSeeker9 Your question has been flagged to close as 'primarily opinion-based' by someone. I think you are asking two separate things in question title and body. You should probably rephrase the question in the body to: do all those terms refer to God? If so, how is each word different from the other? – Say No To Censorship Apr 23 '16 at 12:31

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I am not confident to my point, and might need a bit help, still I would like to differentiate and put a more logical perspective to the question.

Eshwar : Its a combination of two words, Esh + War. Where Esh means 'Lord','King' or 'Leader' in more general 'To rule'. And Var means 'to be'. Combining it result as 'the one who rules'. Eshwar can be used to for the Supreme Being ( I will not called him GOD because he's greater than that word, in Hinduism GOD's take birth and die ), but it can also be used for Normal Human Beings who have or are behaving like a King or Lord.

Parameshwar : Combined using Param+Eshwar, meaning The Lord of the Lords or The King of all Rules and Rulers. Well this is very close to what the Supreme Being is and can be used to nomenclate him, but at some places is also used for superior beings like gods.

Paramatma : Combined using Param+Atman, where Param means 'Super','Supreme' or 'Greatest' and Atman meaning 'Soul'. This is the perfect literal which justifies Supreme Being and cannot be used for any thing else.

Bhagwan : Its been beautifully described in this link . But I will go a bit further and brief it out here a bit. Combined using Bhag+Wan, where Bhag meaning Supreme Wealth or Luxury ( Supreme Opulence).

Brahman : Seems this is the only world which is not a combined for in my knowledge and is directly used to address the Supreme Being.

Well above all Paramatman and Brahman are the words which are used striclty to imply supreme being in literal sentences.

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Mr. K
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  • Yes I think your explanation needs corrections:

    According to Geeta, there are two prakritis - apara (materialistic), para (non-material).. description of them is there in verses 7:4,5,6.

    So param means non-material. You are freely translating what ever fits your description. For parameswar you are giving one meaning to 'para' and in paramatma you are giving a different meaning to 'para'.. please be consistent.

     – TruthSeeker9 Apr 23 '16 at 14:44
  • And please quote scriptures as I did above. If we go by individual's understanding then we go no where as everyone has a different explanation.

    Similarly in many books I read Brahman comes from word brh which means to grow...

     – TruthSeeker9 Apr 23 '16 at 14:45
  • @TruthSeeker9, i am not able to understand your logic, para and param are two different words, and if you do a vichchhed ( which i presume you know very well ) we will come up with param+ehswar not para+eshwar, yet please to clarify, and I will correct the same. Secondly thankyou for pointing out for not quoting resources, I will soon in my next edit. – Mr. K Apr 23 '16 at 16:11