But with time and changing social scenario the basic monotheistic character of the vedas were changed to polytheism. The supreme self is the first book written by swami abhayananda. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. The choice of name is very important, it must be on which is hoped will bring good fortune.
Hinduism teaches that there is no particular way or book to reach god or heaven. The concept of god in hinduism varies in its diverse traditions. As such, these persons have been a fixture of indian society and civilization for thousands of years. Abraham was the prophet who built the temple to worship god andpeople began to surrender tothe temples with the statues and prayed to them. 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. The majority of the vedas are considered the shruti, which is translated to that which is hard. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. They cover the complete range of the religion from hailing the names of god to putting the essence of. Naam, the name of god, shabad the word of god and sat sang, the company of the pious and the holy. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism.
The vedas a collection of hymns praising the vedic gods. 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. For more on important books and writings of hinduism. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. A boys name may indicate heroism and a girls name may be one which indicates beauty. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or. Islam,buddhism,hinduism, and judaism flashcards quizlet. It is a religious symbol representing divine sight and shows that one is a hi foreward magazine. Hinduism spans a wide range of beliefs such as henotheism, monotheism. But the vedantic beliefs went under much transformation and became gradually polytheistic in character. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. While there is no one text or creed that forms the basis of all hindu beliefs, several. Many practitioners see it as monotheistic, similar to the christian belief of three forms of one deity.
There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. 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. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Having said that, to date ive not found a single thing i consider good about. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider buddhism one of. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas.
There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. Brahma, saraswati, lakshmi, maha vishnu, shiva, durga, harihara and ardhanarishvara. 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. Hinduism is so unlike any other religion that it is difficult to define with any precision. What is the name of the holy book of the hindu religion. While many people believe hinduism is a polytheistic religion with multiple deities, the religion is much more nuanced. The nature of a holy name can be described as either personal or attributive. The book teaches that outward rituals and indulgence in the worldly pleasure only bring us pain. What is called as hinduism or sanatana dharma, islam, christianity, sikhism, buddhism, jainism are the known. As per the vedantic embodiments hinduism is monotheistic. The basic philosophy of sikhism revolves mainly around three concepts.
Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. But in most of them a supreme god is regarded as an entity that exists and gives life to all things. 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. Nov 08, 2019 buddhism is a religion that was founded by siddhartha gautama the buddha more than 2,500 years ago in india. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. Hinduism spans a wide range of beliefs such as henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, atheism and nontheism.
The guru in hinduism is a person who instructs others in religious matters and worship. If one hindu gods name is known and recognized throughout the world, it is krishna. Here, i will give only a brief introduction to the holy books of hinduism. 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. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. The vedas are the prime book of knowledge on which primary hindu beliefs stands. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems.
The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. 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. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts. Hindu gods simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism sacred text of hinduism some important books and writings on hinduism hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. 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 practised by more than 80% of indias population. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. First, lets distinguish between two types of hindu literature. Hindus identify krishna as the teacher of the sacred scripture called the. 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. The belief system in the hindi religion is outlined from these scriptures.
The vedas scriptures guide hindus in their daily life. The man who realized god in 1993 explains the concept of hindu god lord vishnu. Nov 04, 2008 the aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. These vedas was not the name of book, they referred to gods. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. Apr 03, 20 the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. A comparative study, however, says that the cow used to be slaughtered by the ancient hindus for beef as well as sacrifice. 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. 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. Supreme god in holy book guru granth sahib sikhism.
My knowledge mainly comes from observing and listening to hindus themselves as well as background research. 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. Hinduism or sanatana dharma eternal spiritual path began about 4000 years ago in india. 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. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. In hinduism there is not exactly a text that is a must for the follower. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Rather, there is a huge array of different sacred texts. Hinduism does not have a single holy book that guides religious practice. Instead there is a great diversity of belief and practice. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. No one book sacred texts, including the vedas, the puranas. Feller learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature.
Sanatana dharma is the endonym for hinduism, meaning eternal way law. It is believed that the vedas are one of the oldest scripture of the world but it was compiled only in 1500 bc by vyasadev. 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. But the most important holy books of hinduism are the vedas.
Prominent themes in hindu beliefs include the four puru. Buddhism is a religion that was founded by siddhartha gautama the buddha more than 2,500 years ago in india. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. The term ishta devata translates as a desired form of god, and hindus worship the god form that most inspires them. Hinduism created three primary attributes of god almighty which is also termed hindu trinity. 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. The hindu trinity of gods consists of lord brahma, lord vishnu and lord shiva. 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. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. 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. I suppose it would be the maha bharata and many upanishads. All those krishna devotees say hare krishna hari ram this would be their holy book.
Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of god within the soul. Persons serve god by studying the torah and living by its teachings. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider buddhism one of the major. 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. Any organized religion has three main characteristics.
Though hinduism is polytheistic the vedas speak of one god. Brahman is a vedic sanskrit word, and it is conceptualized in hinduism, states paul deussen, as the. 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 an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian. About that dot on the forehead, the ten questions people ask about hinduism says this. 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. Different traditions of hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism. In the fashionable search for sameness in all religions, holy spirit in christianity is often equated with shakti or kundalini in hinduism. 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.
However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. Hinduismintroduction wikibooks, open books for an open. The man who realized god in 1993 explains the concept of important books and writings of hinduism. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.
Sruti pronounced shroothee are the holy books within hinduism that are considered to be divinely inspired, and thus infallible and authoritative. The veda, which means wisdom, is comprised of four ancient and holy scriptures which all hindus revere as the revealed word of god. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Feb 21, 2011 the 4 vedas are the nucleus of hinduism. 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.
Hindus believe that the vedas texts were received by scholars direct from god and passed on to the next generations by word of mouth. Hinduism is a religion which incorporates diverse views on the concept of god. They also help to preserve the religious dimensions of family and society. In india there are 6 widely known religions and many minor religions which are not even known to most people. This religious book defines the boundary of the religion and the followers would be expected to strictly abide by that holy book. Why hindus worship so many gods and goddesses is a real mystery for most people.
This is one of the most popular and accessible of all hindu scriptures, required reading for anyone interested in hinduism. Holy spirit is not the same as shakti or kundalini beliefnet. Hinduism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Some of the vedic godsindra, agni, suryareappear in the puranas, but. The jews did not believe that they should say or write down gods name subjects. The book teaches that outward rituals and indulgence. It is believed to have created the universe and many other gods and goddess to be his.
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. Gandhi in his hindu dharma writes about a sentence in our sanskrit textbook to the effect. The secret information about supreme god has been showcased via this article, and the information has been taken from the holy book, shri guru granth sahib sikhism. Hindus believe in a universal soul or god called brahman. The bhagavad gita, usually considered part of the sixth book of the mahabharata dating from about 400 or 300 b. For many hindus, religion is a matter of practice rather than of beliefs. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. They are written in the form of a dialogue from the hindu god rama and cover the.