The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. Reincarnation and karma are the primary mechanisms of hinduism. So the hindu trinity, as it is often called, is made up of shiva, vishnu and brahma. Populated by an infinite amount of gods, the belief system is open to adopting any of the gods produced by younger religions. Western notions of religion are often geared towards monotheism. Some of these gods persist in later hinduism, while others are diminished or.
Its many sacred texts in sanskrit and vernacular languages served as a vehicle for spreading the religion to other parts of the world, though ritual and the visual. This religious book defines the boundary of the religion and the followers would be expected to strictly abide by that holy book. This book is written by a westerner who is a practicing hindu, to give non. It is a faithfilled to the brim with gods and goddesses. The hindu holy scriptures are mainly comprised of the following works written in the sanskrit language. It is a polytheist anthropomorphic religion with a highly ritualized form of worship. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Christianity vs hinduism difference and comparison diffen. Sri ramakrishna, a prominent hindu saint once wrote, there can be as many hindu gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees. 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 concept of retaining equanimity regardless of the results of ones actions. The ramayana is a moving love story with moral and spiritual metaphors that has deep appeal in india to this day. Its purpose is to give an over view with as few technical terms as possible and without too much detail. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.
The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. Hinduism hindutva is guided by teachings of sananthana dharma. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. Five of the hindu holy books are the rig veda, bhagavad gita, sama veda, yajur veda, and athava veda. The ancient hindu religion is known for its multitude of gods some say many million offshoots of the original god, brahma. Read and learn for free about the following article. Hinduism is a religion with various gods and goddesses. Ramayana and mahabharata are the two important holy books of hinduism. The second strand in the fabric of hinduism is practice.
The canon of books and poems that define hinduism were written in sanskrit and are of ancient origin. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. The gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between pandava prince arjuna and his guide and charioteer krishna. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. They got their present form between 1200200 bce and were introduced to. Why hindus worship so many gods and goddesses is a real mystery for most people. Indepth articles about the worlds oldest religion, with particular focus on hinduisms history, culture, beliefs, practices, festivals, holidays, and more. Bhagavad gita the technical part of book 6 of the mahabharata is also the world famous one. Foremost among the many hindu gods and goddesses are the holy triad of brahma, vishnu, and shiva, the creator, sustainer, and destroyer of worlds in that order. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Today, we share with you the most popular hindu gods names list of hindu deities hinduism believes in one supreme godhood that controls and guides each and every individual. Hindus believe that the texts were received by scholars direct from god and passed on to the next generations by word of mouth. They range from epics about the lives and loves of the gods, philosophical treatises on metaphysical questions, and law books. Rather, there is a huge array of different sacred texts.
The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. Hindus acknowledge that, at the most fundamental level, god is the one without a second the absolute, formless, and only reality known as brahman, the supreme, universal soul. Its followers, called christians, often believe christ is the son of the holy trinity and walked the earth as the incarnate form of god the father. The term is seldom used to refer to other forms of krishna and vishnu within the context of certain religious texts such as the bhagavata purana, and also within.
He was born on the earth to make realize the people their sin, and to know their principles of life and protect the good in this world. In judaism and christianity, it is unclear whether the language used by god to address adam was the language of adam, who as namegiver genesis 2. There are more religions in india than in the rest of the world combinedand more than 300 million gods. It examines various aspects of hinduism, covering festivals and rituals, gods and goddesses. The heart of hinduism, in the spirit of the tradition, aims to be nonsectarian, evenhanded, and respectful in its description of all the hindu traditions. 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 book contains 270 pages and is divided in 57 small easytoread chapters, containing authentic information about all the important aspects of hindu religion, culture, and philosophy. The song of god, often referred to as the gita, is a 700 verse hindu scripture that is part of the epic mahabharata chapters 2340 of bhishma parva. Acupuncture and acupressure are vital parts of hindu customs. Lord krishna was living in a little town called brindavan 5000 years ago. Meet a few of the psychedelic hindu gods and goddesses, the lords of india. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. In comparison hinduism, with its startling array of deities, can appear primitive.
The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. It has been said that hinduism is a religion of 330 million hinduism gods. These postvedic texts contain a complete discussion of the history of the universe and its creationdestruction, familial ties with the godsgoddesses, and a description of the hindu cosmology and history of the world. The heart of hinduism text book is produced by iskcon educational services, uk. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Choose your answers to the questions and click next to see the next set of questions. Hindus as well as hindus who are living in the west, an introduction to the faith. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is. Iskcon, the international society for krishna consciousness, belongs to the vaisnava tradition of hinduism.
Hindus call their religion sanatama dharma, eternal religion or eternal truth. Brahman takes on many forms that some hindus worship as gods or. The hindu religion originated in india thousands of years ago. Hinduism is often referred as the eternal law or sanatan dharma. How many holy books are in hinduism and what are their. We never had an authority popepontiff, one god, one book, that dictated what qualifies as hindu and not hindu. Hindu gods overview video early hinduism khan academy. Sometimes, the three may appear in the form of an avatar, embodied by a hindu god or goddess. Christianity broadly consists of individuals who believe in the deity jesus christ. While it is true that various elements of vedic ritual survive in modern practice and thereby serve a unifying function, much. This book provides a muchneeded thematic and historical introduction to hinduism, the religion of the majority of people in india. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population. The phrase holy book for hindus takes the stance that hinduism is a religion. Here are just some of the many hindu gods and goddesses.
But the most popular of these gods and goddesses are important deities in their own right. Flood traces the development of hindu traditions from ancient origins and the major deities to the modern world. I say this because charismatics adopt many new age theories and see the holy spirit more as an impersonal power than as a person and this is how hindus see god. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. There are many languages spoken in india and hinduism exists in all the states and therefore whereever there are hindus 80% of indians are hindu then they will speak the local language. The goal of this video is to give an overview of them and to think about how they are connected, and how they are perceived. The vedas are considered the most sacred among other holy books of hinduism. Religious traditions around the world have their respective sacred books. The first lawmaker, manu, was a hindu and manu smriti was the first book on law in the world. Despite indias enormous diversity, a common grammar of ritual behaviour connects various places, strata, and periods of hindu life.
To people raised in other faiths, hinduism may seem very complex, but the core beliefs of hinduism are actually quite simple to understand. All these scriptures were originally written in sanskrit. You can skip questions if you would like and come back. Outside india, people mainly gather at the mandir at the weekend. Hinduism is a compilation of many traditions and philosophies and is.
The bhagavad gita is perhaps the single most important holy book of hinduism today. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world. Christianity has the bible, islam has the quran, judaism has the. Colorful, vibrant, musical, and storydriven, hinduism is a religion that inspires many across the globe. Another hindu holy book that deals with religious duties is law of manu or the dharma shastra. They got their present form between 1200200 bce and were introduced to india by the aryans. In fact, there are over 33 million hindu gods in total. The temples are dedicated to different gods and are the focus of religious life. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 900 million followers. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called. Also, many bigname charismatics such as kenneth copeland tell us we are little gods. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Instructor hinduism is often known for its large and complex pantheon of gods. An alphabetical guide illuminates complex philosophical concepts through lucid definitions, a historical perspective and incisive analyses.
Hinduism is quite likely the oldest religion in the worldbut to call it a religion wouldnt really be accurate, because its more accurately a collection of beliefs. What are the vedas for hinduism what languages is it. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc. However, later most of them were translated to other regional. Summary of hinduism beliefs meaning of name hinduism, from the persian hindu sanskrit sindhu, literally river. Based on the prehistoric vedic text, it is a faith in constant change. The author tells us which books are used as sacred scriptures for the hindus and. Hinduism factshinduism facts revealing facts about hindu. But since god is portrayed as using speech during creation, and as addressing adam before gen 2. Hinduism is the worlds oldest organized religion existing for 4500 years. 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. It is the most dominant religion of the indian subcontinent.
Although technically it is not sruti, since it is part of an epic, most hindus treat it as though it is divinely inspired in practice. According to vedas, lending money on interest is a bad karma. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in. Followers believe there are multiple paths to reaching their god.
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