- Jñāna (Omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously;
- Aishvarya (Sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara), which consists in unchallenged rule over all;
- Shakti (Energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible;
- Bala (Strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue;
- Vīrya (Vigor), or valour which indicates the power to retain immateriality as the supreme being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations; and
- Tejas (Splendor), which expresses his self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by his spiritual effulgence; (cited from Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, by Swami Tapasyānanda.)
A second set of six characteristics are
- Jñāna (Omniscience),
- Vairagya (Detachment),
- Yashas (Fame),
- Aishvarya (Sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara),
- Srī (Glory) and
- Dharma (Righteousness).
- Other important qualities attributed to God are Gambhīrya (grandeur), Audārya (generosity), and Kārunya (compassion).
The early Upanishads presented the conception of the Divine Teacher, guru on earth. Indeed, there is an understanding in some Hindu sects that if the devotee were presented with the guru and God, first he should pay respects to the guru since the guru had been instrumental in leading him to God. Hence many gurus have the epithet of Bhagwan, a term often confused with God.
Hari Bhakti Vilasa mantra ( 4.344)
Prathamam tu gurum pujya tatas caiva mamarcanam
Kuran siddhim avapnoti hy anyatha nisphalam bhavet
(One does not directly worship one's God. One must begin by the worship of the Guru. Only by pleasing the Guru and gaining his mercy, can one offer anything to God. Thus, before worshiping God, one must always worship the Guru).
Chanted prayers, or mantras, are central to Hindu worship. Many mantras are from the sacred Vedas, and in Sanskrit.
by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Hinduism
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