Now we need to consider and think about some of the common questions that arise in the minds of our people. Is the God that every one prays are one and the same or are they different? If all of them are one and the same, then why do we have different types of temples or various sanctums in the same temple? If they are all different, then how can we say that all Hindus are the same following the same faith? Now, how did this faith in God first started and how did this develop? Now there is the next big question. If all of us pray to the same God and all Gods are the same, then what is wrong if one changes and converts to another religious faith?

Yes, they will very well ask, especially our younger generation, but they will not get a proper answer. This is because, we do not know ourselves; then the teachers in their schools also do not know the proper answer to these questions. Many of their teachers themselves are agnostics or atheists or they belong to some other faith. They do not care to explain and they do not see a need to teach this about our Dharma.

Now, let us analyze the questions of development of a Divine Faith, evolutionary History of Hindu Dharma and concepts of a Supreme force. How did the ancient caveman develop any idea about a God as a superior force? Even though the theory of evolution says that the Human race of modern man appeared on earth more than a million years back, all most all of them were destroyed about 100,000 years back in the extreme cold weather of a severe ice age.

Only about a 1000 families escaped and survived, living in a cave in the North-eastern part of Africa. In the coldest weather, they stayed inside caves, with fires to warm the area for comfort. They started a new culture and tradition of the modern civilization over the next thousands of years as they gradually moved all over the world. At that time, most of them were hunters in the wild terrains. They developed a fear for the fury of the natural forces surrounding them and looked at the natural force as a "God of Fear". The local leaders used this "Fear" to control the group.

Many of them got tutored as instructions from the local leaders and strong men who later became their rulers or priests. Even though these were blind belief of the ignorant for the spiritually illiterate, as it is even now, they have the blind devotion and they were satisfied that this is suitable for them. This is the Bhaya Bhakthi or Devotion of Fear of Thamasika Path.

Then agricultural communities evolve along the rivers and lakes. They worshipped and offered prayers to the natural forces of fire, water, earth and sunlight as a "God of boon and prosperity", which will give benefits if they pray. These natural forces were worshipped as village deities. Many illiterate villagers offered prayers to some icons and marker stones as village Deities out of fear and for protection and blessings. At these early times, there were only these two kinds.

In the next few thousand years, some families gradually moved through the terrains to several parts of the world. About 60,000 years back few families moved in to Indian sub-continent**. It is found that among the people who moved to Indian sub-continent, there was only a genetic line of one male and two female gene types found among people in all of India tracing back to this ancient time. This is very similar to our Purana stories of origin of Indian race to Sage Prajapathi or Kasyapa with two wives Dithi and Adithi. [**Reference: **Journey of Man by Spencer Wells; Pub. National Geographic].

A large majority of these people settled along the river banks like Sindhu, Saraswathi, Ganga, Yamuna, Godhavari, Krishna, and Kauveri and were agriculturist in the farm lands. They worshipped natural forces like Sun, Fire, Water, Air and Earth as the divine supreme powers that sustain them. Still others worshipped with recitation of devotional prayer music to Divine forces and village gods. A small section of them lived as hunters in hills and forests. These people worshipped a small marker stone in a cave or a built up room as a temple. All these varying forms of faiths in a supreme force worthy of prayers evolved gradually into the various types of practices in India in later years. These were the beginnings of the elaborate Rituals and of the Temple worship practices based on Vedas and Agamas.

All these practices were based on a simple faith that everything in this world happens only with the blessings of the Supreme force without which nothing will happen. So, every one prayed and followed the path shown to them by this Supreme force of a ruler who was worshipped in one form or in many varying forms as suited or needed at various occasions and various groups. In this, there was the Tamasika path of devotion with fear as Bhaya Bakthi and also the Rajasika path of devotion of exclusiveness as Anyaya Bakthi - "my faith is the only proper way". In this way, their devotional ritualistic practice grew but in-group fights also increased.