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What is difference between saguna Brahman and Abrahamic religion gods like Jehovah , Allah.

Pasham Vishnu Vardhan Goud
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God in Hinduism is both the material and the instrumental cause of the universe. That means God created the universe and is also the source of the fabric of the universe. For example, we find this famous verse in the Mundaka Upanishad (one of the principal Upanishads) -

"As a spider emits and draws in [its thread], as herbs arise on the earth, as the hairs of the head and body from a living person, so from the Imperishable arises everything here." Mundaka Upanishad - I.1.7

Chhandogya Upanishad (one of the principal Upanishads) says -

"In the beginning, my dear, the world was just Being (sat), one only, without a second." Chandogya Upanishad - VI.2.1

"It thought. May I be many, may I grow forth." - Chandogya Upanishad VI.2.3

Thus, you see that the Saguna Brahman is the instrumental cause and the material cause. In simpler words, he becomes the universe.

However, according to the Abrahamic religions, God is like a King who created the universe (instrumental cause). But their God is not the material cause of the universe.

Hindus are critical of this view. Because, as we know from our daily experiences, if you want to create something, you need a person (the creator) and the material. If you say the material was there apart from God, then God is not the ultimate source of everything!

Amritendu Mukhopadhyay
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  • "God in Hinduism is both the material and the instrumental cause of the universe."" This is a purely advaita view. Dvaita clearly states that Brahman can not be the material cause. Madhva denies that he is the material cause, for God cannot have created the world by splitting himself nor in any other way, since that militates against the doctrine that God is unalterable; in addition, it is blasphemous to accept that a perfect God changes himself into an imperfect world. Unfortunately, you can not just quote advaitic philosophies and say it represents hinduism. – GIRIBLR Jul 20 '21 at 04:30
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Regarding Islam, Allah is at the same time nirguna and saguna. He is both the one that you can describe, and that you can not conceive. He is absolute (As-samad), source of everything (Al-awal), end of everything (Al-akhir), the interior (Al-baten), the exterior (Al-zahir), the "one", (Al-wahid), etc. But He also has a "throne over waters" (like Vishnu), he is infinitely/growingly being Great (Al-akbar), the greatest (Al-kabir), far-above (Al-ali) but also closer to you than your jugular vein (Al-qarîb), etc.

Brahman and Allah are very equivalent concepts. Both are at the same time saguna and nirguna. He instantiated the illusion of multiplicity through Maya (Hinduism) and Sheytan (Islam) to allow only the "best" of living creatures to reach him. They have "prophets" which are "Rishis" in Hinduism and "Rasul" (or Nabi) in Islam that receive revelated books/Upanishads/Sutras and Surats, etc.

That doesn't mean Hinduism and Islam are the same. They are two different languages, but what is described is the same. Speaking one language is good, being able to speak more is better as it allows you to order your thought in more nuanced ways.

Islam is a synthesis of Dvaita and Advaita Vedanta. Both are valid in a way. Some scholars will even go full anthropomorphism/Dvaita (tashbīh) and others will go full non-duality/Advaita (taʿṭīl), just like in Hinduism. And, obviously, this leads to controversies and "Takfirism" (excommunication) in both Hinduism and Islam. Usually, sufism/esoterism is advaita, while salafism/exoterism is dvaita, but you can always find exceptions.

Charaf
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