9: The God Complex. The teachings of the Quran are believed by Muslims to be the direct and final revelation and words of God. Of these, according to Ludo Rocher, the most important texts are the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Nāradeya Purana, Garuda Purana and Vayu Purana. Elsewhere in Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Upanishadic texts, Vishnu is equivalent to Prajapati, both are described as the protector and preparer of the womb, and according to Klaus Klostermaier, this may be the root behind the post-Vedic fusion of all the attributes of the Vedic Prajapati unto the avatars of Vishnu. In section 7.99 of the Rigveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. The Vishnu Purana presents Vishnu as the central element of its cosmology, unlike some other Puranas where Shiva or Brahma or goddess Shakti are. In contrast, the Shiva-focussed Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by Ardhanarishvara, that is half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from Rudra, or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons (kalpa). Other texts offer alternate cosmogenic theories, such as one where the universe and time are absorbed into Shiva.

The Shatapatha Brahmana elaborates this theme of Vishnu, as his herculean effort and sacrifice to create and gain powers that help others, one who realizes and defeats the evil symbolized by the Asuras after they had usurped the three worlds, and thus Vishnu is the saviour of the mortals and the immortals (Devas). As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent devas (deities) and evil asuras (demons) and now rule the universe. These Tamil texts revere Vishnu and his avatars such as Krishna and Rama, as well as other pan-Indian deities such as Shiva, Muruga, Durga, Indra and others. Again, this link to Surya is a characteristic Vishnu shares with fellow Vedic deities named Mitra and Agni, wherein in different hymns, they too “bring men together” and cause all living beings to rise up and impel them to go about their daily activities. The Agama scripture called the Pancharatra describes a mode of worship of Vishnu.

They discuss a diverse range of topics, from ethics to the methods of worship. ISNA provides a comprehensive prayer timetable that considers various methods of calculation and offers prayer timings for different schools of thought within Islam. Building on Mandaville’s point, Hamid added that many Muslim-majority countries are turning towards a foreign policy centered on Islam because it is “really the only effective ideological option.” He added that this is largely because Muslims in Muslim-majority states “find Islam compelling and appealing as an ideological discourse.” When Lakshmanan asked why states are harnessing Islam as a foreign policy tool instead of nationalism, Hamid noted that, in the case of a country like Egypt, “other folks in the Middle East don’t necessarily want to become Egyptian nationalists,” and therefore Islam is much more effective and compelling. One version of the cosmology, for example, states that Vishnu’s eye is at the Southern Celestial Pole from where he watches the cosmos. Vishnu is described to be permeating all object and life forms, states S. Giora Shoham, where he is “ever-present within all things as the intrinsic principle of all”, and the eternal, transcendental self in every being.

The Purana texts include many versions of cosmologies, mythologies, encyclopedic entries about various aspects of life, and chapters that were medieval era regional Vishnu temples-related tourist guides called mahatmyas. Some versions of the Purana texts, unlike the Vedic and Upanishadic texts, emphasize Vishnu as supreme and on whom other gods depend. It is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves, which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Trivikrama refers to the celebrated three steps or “three strides” of Vishnu. The Vaishnava Upanishads are minor Upanishads of Hinduism, related to Vishnu theology. The Vishnu Purana also discusses the Hindu concept of supreme reality called Brahman in the context of the Upanishads; a discussion that the theistic Vedanta scholar Ramanuja interprets to be about the equivalence of the Brahman with Vishnu, a foundational theology in the Sri Vaishnavism tradition. The Vishnu Sukta 1.154 of Rigveda says that the first and second of Vishnu’s strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to the mortals and the third is the realm of the immortals.