This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. Which is the holy book or sacred scripture of hinduism. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. Apr 03, 20 the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Here, i will give only a brief introduction to the holy books of hinduism. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.
Supreme god in holy book guru granth sahib sikhism. What is the name of the holy book of the hindu religion. In the fashionable search for sameness in all religions, holy spirit in christianity is often equated with shakti or kundalini in hinduism. There is only one god that watches over and cares for his people god loves and protects his people but also holds people accountable for their sins and shortcomings. A boys name may indicate heroism and a girls name may be one which indicates beauty. In hinduism there is not exactly a text that is a must for the follower. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts. They are written in the form of a dialogue from the hindu god rama and cover the.
The nature of a holy name can be described as either personal or attributive. In the west, where the mass majority of people are part of the abrahamic faith tradition with one god, the concept of polytheism is nothing more than fantasy or. All those krishna devotees say hare krishna hari ram this would be their holy book. Prominent themes in hindu beliefs include the four puru. Having said that, to date ive not found a single thing i consider good about. The man who realized god in 1993 explains the concept of important books and writings of hinduism. In this article, we detail the two different categories these texts are organized into, shruti and smriti, and overview the most popular of the hindu texts. The hindu philosophy sarvadeva namaskara kesavamprathi gattchathi means that you can worship in any way or form you choose, for all are true paths that lead to god.
Hinduism spans a wide range of beliefs such as henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, atheism and nontheism. While there is no one text or creed that forms the basis of all hindu beliefs, several. The supreme self is the first book written by swami abhayananda. Sanatana dharma is the endonym for hinduism, meaning eternal way law. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. According to hinduism the main aim of human is to see and feel god, hear the voice of god,taste the holy nector and pronounce the name of god in his every breath. Many practitioners see it as monotheistic, similar to the christian belief of three forms of one deity. This religious book defines the boundary of the religion and the followers would be expected to strictly abide by that holy book.
Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. The concept of god in hinduism varies in its diverse traditions. Gandhi in his hindu dharma writes about a sentence in our sanskrit textbook to the effect. The belief system in the hindi religion is outlined from these scriptures. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. They cover the complete range of the religion from hailing the names of god to putting the essence of. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. While many people believe hinduism is a polytheistic religion with multiple deities, the religion is much more nuanced. If one hindu gods name is known and recognized throughout the world, it is krishna. Islam,buddhism,hinduism, and judaism flashcards quizlet.
A comparative study, however, says that the cow used to be slaughtered by the ancient hindus for beef as well as sacrifice. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Holy books of hinduism hinduism a perspective the religions founded by individuals have one book that summarizes the philosophies of the founder or the same from the disciples perspective and so on. My knowledge mainly comes from observing and listening to hindus themselves as well as background research.
Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. The fundamental teaching of hinduism, or vedanta, is that a human beings basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. No one book sacred texts, including the vedas, the puranas. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. The religions founded by individuals have one book that summarizes the philosophies of the founder or the same from the disciples perspective and so on. Abraham was the prophet who built the temple to worship god andpeople began to surrender tothe temples with the statues and prayed to them.
The hindu trinity of gods consists of lord brahma, lord vishnu and lord shiva. Hinduism created three primary attributes of god almighty which is also termed hindu trinity. Composed primarily in sanskrit, but also in regional languages, several of these texts are named after major hindu deities such as lord vishnu, lord shiva. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of god within the soul. I suppose it would be the maha bharata and many upanishads. Why hindus worship so many gods and goddesses is a real mystery for most people.
In india there are 6 widely known religions and many minor religions which are not even known to most people. About that dot on the forehead, the ten questions people ask about hinduism says this. Feller learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Though hinduism is polytheistic the vedas speak of one god. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. Sruti pronounced shroothee are the holy books within hinduism that are considered to be divinely inspired, and thus infallible and authoritative. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. In many cultures it is often difficult to distinguish between the personal and the attributive names of god, the two divisions necessarily shading into each other. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. The origins of indian holy men and women have be traced back to vedic lore concerning the ancient seers is and other groups vratyas, srama. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book.
The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. But the vedantic beliefs went under much transformation and became gradually polytheistic in character. Rather, there is a huge array of different sacred texts. Hinduism is a religion which incorporates diverse views on the concept of god. Hindus believe in a universal soul or god called brahman. They also help to preserve the religious dimensions of family and society. It is a religious symbol representing divine sight and shows that one is a hi foreward magazine. Naam, the name of god, shabad the word of god and sat sang, the company of the pious and the holy. The vedas are the prime book of knowledge on which primary hindu beliefs stands.
Hindu gods simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. As per the vedantic embodiments hinduism is monotheistic. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. The jews did not believe that they should say or write down gods name subjects. Hindus identify krishna as the teacher of the sacred scripture called the.
Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. Any organized religion has three main characteristics. Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. The majority of the vedas are considered the shruti, which is translated to that which is hard. The choice of name is very important, it must be on which is hoped will bring good fortune. This is one of the most popular and accessible of all hindu scriptures, required reading for anyone interested in hinduism. For more on important books and writings of hinduism. What is called as hinduism or sanatana dharma, islam, christianity, sikhism, buddhism, jainism are the known. Holy spirit is not the same as shakti or kundalini beliefnet.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Instead there is a great diversity of belief and practice. Brahman is the name given by hinduism to the one absolute or supreme reality or god that is allpowerful, allpervading, beyond forms and attributes nirgun. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. Hinduism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population. The term ishta devata translates as a desired form of god, and hindus worship the god form that most inspires them. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Hindus believe that the texts were received by scholars direct from god and passed on to the next generations by word of mouth. Hinduism is so unlike any other religion that it is difficult to define with any precision. Hinduismintroduction wikibooks, open books for an open. There are clear evidences in the rig veda, the most sacred hindu scripture, that the cow used to be sacrificed by hindus for religious purposes. Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnostic, humanism, atheism or nontheism.
These vedas was not the name of book, they referred to gods. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider buddhism one of. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. The vedas scriptures guide hindus in their daily life. Some of the vedic godsindra, agni, suryareappear in the puranas, but. It is believed to have created the universe and many other gods and goddess to be his. As such, these persons have been a fixture of indian society and civilization for thousands of years. Hinduism teaches that there is no particular way or book to reach god or heaven. The light has come to clear the darkness about the supreme god, the father of all souls, which we address as immortal and almighty god.
Hinduism spans a wide range of beliefs such as henotheism, monotheism. Feb 21, 2011 the 4 vedas are the nucleus of hinduism. Brahma, saraswati, lakshmi, maha vishnu, shiva, durga, harihara and ardhanarishvara. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or.
Parents would choose the babys name as a result of praying and making vows to their god in thanks to him that they had a child. Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider buddhism one of the major. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas. The bhagavad gita, usually considered part of the sixth book of the mahabharata dating from about 400 or 300 b. Brahman is a vedic sanskrit word, and it is conceptualized in hinduism, states paul deussen, as the. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. The vedas a collection of hymns praising the vedic gods. The book teaches that outward rituals and indulgence.
But with time and changing social scenario the basic monotheistic character of the vedas were changed to polytheism. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian. But in most of them a supreme god is regarded as an entity that exists and gives life to all things. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. Like the taoist tao te ching, the buddhist dhammapada, the sikh adi granth, the jewish torah, the christian bible and the muslim koranthe veda is the hindu holy book. Hinduism or sanatana dharma eternal spiritual path began about 4000 years ago in india.
In the west, where the mass majority of people are part of the abrahamic faith tradition with one god, the concept of polytheism is nothing more than fantasy or mythology worthy of comic book material. Nov 08, 2019 buddhism is a religion that was founded by siddhartha gautama the buddha more than 2,500 years ago in india. The man who realized god in 1993 explains the concept of hindu god lord vishnu. The veda, which means wisdom, is comprised of four ancient and holy scriptures which all hindus revere as the revealed word of god. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. Persons serve god by studying the torah and living by its teachings. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas.
But the most important holy books of hinduism are the vedas. The basic philosophy of sikhism revolves mainly around three concepts. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. Hinduism does not have a single holy book that guides religious practice. First, lets distinguish between two types of hindu literature. Buddhism is a religion that was founded by siddhartha gautama the buddha more than 2,500 years ago in india. Nov 04, 2008 the aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. Hindus believe that the vedas texts were received by scholars direct from god and passed on to the next generations by word of mouth. Though this book is essentially the story of one man who, drawn by grace to the love of god, followed his heart and obtained the illumination he sought, it contain as well the reflections on the self accumulated over a lifetime, aided by a wide. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam.
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