In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: "Whenever a devotee wishes, with unwavering faith, to worship me in a particular form, I take that form."
There is no limit to the forms that Brahman can take.
If you are, however, referring to the Hindu Trinity, or Trimurti, the forms you are probably thinking of are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Formerly when Hinduism was more Pantheistic, the Trinity consisted of Agni, Vayu and Surya. This is sometimes called the Cosmic Trinity, I believe, representing fire, wind, and light.
Actually, the personified manifestation of Brahman is Lord Vishnu. It is believed that when the last Manavantara ended, the whole universe was destroyed and the only entity that survived was Lord Vishnu (personification of Brahman/personification of the syllable OM or AUM), who then created Lord Brahma for creation and Lord Shiva for destruction and preservation. While he (Lord Vishnu) took the work of looking after the universe i.e. sustaining. Lord Vishnu has the most power among the 3 forms, as he is Brahman himself. 'Vishnu' means the all pervading one, the one who possesses everything in this universe. While Lord Shiva has been given most of the work, Lord Vishnu takes birth on earth (bhur-loka) in times of utmost crisis.
In this present age of Kali-Yuga, Kali (devil in Hinduism, spelt as kuh-lee and not kaa-lee referring to the Goddess Kaali) is the son of a Brahmin. He is the negative manifestation of Vishnu. Keep in mind that Vishnu is Brahman, devoid of any Guna (neither saguna nor durguna i.e. nirguna). So, in order to clean the dirt, he will take birth in the form of Lord Kalki to annihilate him.
Lord Vishnu has always sent his incarnations in the form of ansh-avatars in mortal bodies. Note this that he hasn't come on earth himself (Mohini avatar was only an illusion, as she appeared twice but did not take birth in a mortal body).
We, as humans, are just the media. We think that God has given us free will, but the truth is that "we do what we are born to do...and not what we want ourselves to do". This concept has a deep meaning and many people would find this complicated to understand.
Why did Lord Raam take birth and went through time consuming processes like birth, childhood, youth, marriage, fatherhood and later death? If Lord Vishnu took birth just to kill Ravana, why did he risk his wife Sita's life? Why didn't Lord Hanuman just trample on Ravana and finish him off?
The concept of Karma (deeds) comes here. Everyone is born to do a task i.e. a doctor has to practice only medicine, but not a mason, even if he knows the composition of concrete and cement.
It was pre-prophecized that Ravana had to die at the hands of Lord Raam and no other.
In Kali Yuga, Lord Vishnu took birth in form of Gautama Buddha. Now, why did Buddha teach against Vedas? Because of the necessity at the time being. The same entity who took birth in the form of Matsya-avatar to preserve the Vedas, taught against them in Kali-Yuga. This was because the increasing influence of Kali/devil, the teachings of Vedas have very less attention and hence, humanity should find inner peace via meditation and some rules.
I mentioned before that everyone has a destined task: be it a doctor, or a terrorist. Sufferings are a part of every being's life.
the gods brahma ,vishnu and shiva
the gods brahma ,vishnu and shiva
yoga helps inner self to unite with higher authority or the ultimate truth. The ultimate truth is Brahman, everything else is just an illusion, only brahman is the ultimate truth.
No, it is not a universal truth.
Universal truths are principles or beliefs that are considered to be true for all people, in all places, at all times. Examples include "Treat others as you would like to be treated" (the Golden Rule) and "Actions have consequences."
truth and immortal brahman, which has no specific form
The sentence that contains the universal truth is called a fact.
Brahman does not exist, he is fake. the simple truth. Christianity is the only true religion. actually it is a relationship with ur savior and your lord.
A universal truth is something that is an unalterable and permanent fact. For instance, 2+2=4.. no matter how you go about it, the answer is two. That is an universal truth.
The details from the story that suggest a universal truth
I don't really understand this. There's obviously terms listed here, but I don't know if "universal" is supposed to be "universal truth" or "universal truth parable fantasy proverb tall tale".
According to Hinduism the Reality behind the entire Creation on all levels - physical, mental, emotional etc. is Brahman. Brahman is simultaneously the support of all that exists and the transcendental Reality. In fact Brahman is the source of consciousness and so it is beyond anything that can be perceived or imagined or experienced. Thus Brahman is beyond all words, thoughts or deeds as all these are experienced in the realm of consciousness. Brahman is the source of consciousness. Brahman is beyond time, space, matter, energy, virtue, sin, happiness, misery and so on as all these are experienced within the realm of consciousness. Brahman is described to be of the nature of Sathyam (Eternal Truth), Jnaanam (Knowledge) and Anantham (Infinite). Brahman is described as Sat-Chit-Anandam (Truth, Awareness and Bliss). And also Sathyam-Shivam-Sundaram (Truth,Goodness and Beauty). Many masters have laid down the techniques to realize one's identity with Brahman. One can look up the teachings of Ramana Maharishi, Nisargadatta Maharaj and so on.
Peaceful living, freedom of thought, becoming one with Brahman, peace with animals and people..... etc.