What ancient system of mythology contained so many as 330 million gods and goddesses? As in mythology, so in chronology, the Hindoos stand unrivaled. Their pantheon is as capacious and extensive as their antiquity is unfathomable and prehistoric.(Shib Chunder Bose, The Hindoos as They Are [1881])
for the things I have in mind.
Don't get me wrong:
three hundred and thirty million divinities is nothing to sneeze at.
(Ksupa be praised!)
But in addition to the many faces of Lord Brahma
--creator, self-born, lord of sacrifices--
I have discovered today that the god of artichokes
has not yet been rendered his due:
this garlic-braised artichoke, lightly brushed with lime,
has vanquished my agnosticism forever.
May his name, whatever his name may be, be exalted.
(I had already known that the rosemary chicken was holy.)
And while we are at it, let us light a candle
to the tiny and tender god of these Thursday afternoons,
when the lightest breeze, lofting the lightest hint of lilac
from my neighbor's tree, drifts through my open window,
and a cloud wheels by, and a distant dog barks,
and I can just catch the strains of somebody, somewhere,
playing Bach on the piano, as I sit at the table
and push back my plate, and reflect that I have no need to dream,
for these dear gods accompany me now.
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