gods
Although he is often called Grandfather or Father, Wakantanka is usually
not personified, although aspects of it are embodied in the sense of the
embodiment of all supernatural beings and powers. Wakantanka pos-
sesses a collective meaning because it is hierarchically ranked in groups
of fours: (1) superior wakan (sun, sky, earth, and rock); (2) associates of
the superior wakan (moon, wind, falling star, and thunder-being) – a link-
ing of the superior and their associates (e.g. sun and moon, sky and wind,
earth and falling star, and rock and thunder-being), which is called wakan
kin (the sacred), is without beginning, and is responsible for creating the
universe and humans; (3) lower wakan (buffalo, two-legged bear and
human, four winds, and whirlwind); (4) and those similar to wakan
(shades, life or breath, potency), which are part of wakan kin. The Sioux
Wankantanka suggests that not only is the sky impregnated with sacred
force, but the earth and its inhabitants are also forms of a theophany
(manifestation of a divine being).
In general, transcendent gods are omniscience, a trait usually associ-
ated with their acute ability to hear and see everything that happens on
earth. The ancient Hindu deity Varuna is, for instance, assisted by spies.
This suggests that it is impossible to keep secrets from him, and he holds
a noose by which he can bind humans. When divine laws or covenants
are broken transcendent gods exercise sanctions against the transgressors
by punishing them according to their deeds, often with the vengeful use
of weather or physical illness. Those who adhere to divine standards are
often rewarded in this life and the next. Although a transcendent deity,
Yahweh operates within history for his chosen people and punishes them
when they transgress the divine covenant.
The Muslim Allah is a transcendent deity called al-Wāhid (the One)
and al-Rahmān, al-Rahīm (the compassionate and the merciful). Allah
possesses ninety-nine beautiful names that are grasped as realities and
not simply as attributes. Allah is the creator, sustainer, and judge.
Allah does not create for sport, but His creative acts are purposeful and
meaningful (21.16–17), which suggests that the universe is not a product
of chance. Allah’s power is expressed as His ability to measure things
out, which implies that He creates the laws by which nature works and
bestows on everything their range of potentialities. The wisdom and
power of Allah are visible in nature and in the course of history.
Divine beings such as Śiva, Krishna, Aphrodite, Hermaphrodite,
Heracles, and Dionysus are all defined in some contexts as androgynous
gods because they embody masculine and feminine principles. The Hindu
deity Śiva is combined with Śakti, with the former representing the
unchanging aspect of the godhead while the latter feminine aspect stands
for the changing and dynamic feature of the divine being. Just as the sun