From XXXXXX@tXXXXXX.XXX Mon Mar 10 22:31:36 2003
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 12:10:58 -0500 (EST)
From: Thomas Edwards <XXXXXX@XXXXXXX.XXX>
Subject: hinduism

Because of our inability at tea to figure out who this is:
http://carlazone.com/gallery/i1046751746.jpg

here is the deal:

Hinduism has a core trinity of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the
sustainer), and Shiva (the destroyer).  The finger puppet of a blue dude
with four heads is Brahma.  Note that he just has four funny hats, NOT
FOUR BOOBS!  For a better picture, see:

http://sacredsource.com/all/page.pl?item=BR

From http://hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/hinduismfaq.htm

"In images Brahma appears like an old man, with four bearded faces, that
look in four different directions. The beard on each face is suggestive of
his old age and wisdom. He is shown in a meditative mood, lost in his
thoughts, with eyes half closed, suggestive of his spiritual bent of mind
and his preoccupation with the process of creation. His four faces
symbolically represent, the four directions, the four vedas, the four Maha
Yugas and the fourfold social order.

He is generally shown as having four arms, holding aksamala (rosary),
kusaa grass, ladle, spoon, kamandala (a water pot), and a leafy manuscript
respectively. Symbolically, the rosary indicates his creative nature. The
kusaa grass, the ladle and the spoon indicate his familiarity with the
Vedic rituals. The kamandala denotes his meditative and spiritual
qualities."

Brahma can also appear in his Linux form:
http://www.phy.duke.edu/brahma/images/brahma.gif

And if you thought that was cool, it turns out that Brahma actually had
five heads, with an extra one, so that he could watch Shatarupa at all
times.  He split himself and created the goddess Shatarupa. Her many forms
captivated Brahma, and he desired to posses her.

To restrain Brahma's lust, Shiva wrenched off one of Brahma's five heads.  
This helped Brahma come to his senses, and he took Saraswati, the goddess
of knowledge, as his consort.  With her help, he regained control of his
mind.

-Thomas