Day 10: The Big Three

I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that the number 3 is “a mystical, magical number.” Lots of things do come in threes. There’s Neapolitan ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry; time: past, present, and future; and even sex: ménage à trois. Naturally, the power of 3 carries over into religion, too.

From the limited amount of research I’ve done so far on different world religions, it does seem like the number 3 is a recurring theme. You’ve got the Holy Trinity of Christianity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and the three aspects of the feminine divine in neo-paganism (Maiden, Mother, Crone). Hinduism has its own trinity of sorts, usually called the Hindu triad.

We all know that there are a lot of gods in the Hindu pantheon. As the old joke goes, when a non-Hindu asks a Hindu, “How many gods are there?”, the Hindu replies, “How many do you want?”

But three particular gods are generally considered supreme, the Big Three: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Brahma is the Creator, who made the world and put it on a cycle. Every 2,160,000,000 years, the world will fall into ruins and Brahma will re-create it. I have no idea where the Hindus came up with this specific time frame—if anyone does know, I’d love to find out. All I know is that Hinduism says that each one of those 2,160,000,000 cycles constitutes a single day in the life of Brahma.

The second member of the triad is Vishnu, who is considered the Preserver. Vishnu himself has two separate aspects: Krishna, who is depicted as a god of love (both transcendent and sexual) as well as a trickster and sometimes even a warrior. Vishnu’s other alter ego, Rama, is the main character in the epic Ramayana. He represents the benefits of family and the virtuous life, along with the inadequacy of material possessions to bring fulfillment.

The third member of the Hindu triad is Shiva, who is both a force of destruction and a creative force. What I find most interesting about Shiva is the belief that, at times, he goes into a deep trance and is unable to perform the tasks required to support his human followers. When that happens, his female consort—who takes several names, including Kali, Parvati, and Durga—steps in to take his place, acting either as a goddess of life and creativity or as a terrifying destroyer.

Is it just me, or does that sound a little bit like what happens in homes all over America on Sunday afternoons in the fall and winter? The man, entranced by beer and football, becomes virtually useless, so the woman has to step in to do all the real work. Just kidding. Maybe.