Scholars hesitate in defining the term hindu scriptures given the diverse nature of. This is also when the idea of karma was written in text. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. Buddhism is a religion that was founded by siddhartha gautama the buddha more than 2,500 years ago in india. 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 practised by more than 80% of indias population. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. The ancient scriptures of india claim the religion is originally established by god himself dharman tu sakshad bhagavat pranitam. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or. However, smruti texts often carry almost as much authority as sruti. Bhagavad gita song of the god is the holy book of hindus. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. It is a mistake to reduce all early hinduism to vedic religion. Hinduism has neither a specific moment of origin nor a specific founder.
Since 1979 the international magazine hinduism today has been producing a treasury of educational features on all aspects of sanatana dharma. The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with nearly 900 million followers. The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. Where the vedas gave a foundation for the direction of hinduism, the upanishads filled in the gaps. 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. Thus, hinduism is not founded by a person or a prophet. Christianity was founded by jesus christ, islam was founded by hazrat mohammad paigambar, buddhism by gautam buddha and so on. So as hinduism is a religion, there must be some founder. 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.
Unlike christianity or islam, it is a not a religion that is governed by the book. Buddhism christianity hinduism islam judaism confucianism. Why hindus worship so many gods and goddesses is a real mystery for most people. Japanese religious life had received considerable input from buddhism and 23 jul 2015 the holy books of confucianism are called five classics. Hindu religious leader, founder of the school of religious thought that became the ramakrishna order. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Feller learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Prominent themes in hindu beliefs include the four puru. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider buddhism one of the major.
Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Vedic texts are sometimes called shruti, which means hearing. The qissai sanjan is a tale of the journey of the parsis to india from iran. Hinduism is also referred to as sanatana dharma, a sanskrit phrase meaning the eternal law. For hundreds of years, many people have searched for some evidence of the founder of hinduism. A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered as hindu scriptures. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. These vedas contain knowledge and teachings which is in the purest form and directly revealed by the almighty to enlightened rishis. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. The vedas are the prime book of knowledge on which primary hindu beliefs stands. He includes among founded religions buddhism, jainism, sikhism that are now distinct religions, syncretic. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world.
Hinduism is unique in that its not a single religion but a compilation of many traditions and philosophies. Hinduism, major world religion originating on the indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual. The heart of hinduism text book is produced by iskcon educational services, uk. Hence, it is considered an eternal religion sanatana dharma. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. So, no human founder for the islam holy book quran. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa.
In buddhism there are many holy books numbering more than 100 volumes because buddhism is very comprehensive, detailed, reasonable and sys. But the vedantic beliefs went under much transformation and became gradually polytheistic in character. Hinduism is a compilation of many traditions and philosophies and is considered by many scholars to be the worlds oldest religion, dating back more than 4,000 years. Sahasranama a book containing a list of names of deities. It is unlikely that there was a single founder of hinduism, but if there were such an individual, he or she is unknown to us today. Unlike other religious traditions, hinduism does not originate in a single founder, a single book or a single point in time. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books.
In buddhism,there is not one holy book as in other religion like bible in christianity and koran in islam. Quran is god words revealed to prophet muhammad through the. Unlike other religions, hinduism has no one founder but is instead a fusion of various beliefs. Another hindu holy book that deals with religious duties is law of manu or the. However, the holy books in hinduism are the basis on which we have evolved our culture and way of. Hinduism origins, hinduism history, hinduism beliefs. The sacred texts of hinduism fall into one of two categories.
Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. Hinduism has no founder, it developed out of brahminism. Brahma, the creator god revealed the secret knowledge of the vedas to gods. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.
There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. But the most important holy books of hinduism are the vedas. In hinduism there is not exactly a text that is a must for the follower. Hinduism is a collective term applied to the many philosophical and religious traditions native to india. Guided by the founder, satguru sivaya subramuniyaswami, the magazines editors, who are initiated monks of the kauais hindu monastery, collaborated with holy men and women and experts around the world in creating. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. As per the vedantic embodiments hinduism is monotheistic. The buddha jesus no one founder by muhammad no founder, but spread abraham confucius many sacred texts, including the.
For hundreds of years, it has been searched for some. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. The bhagavad gita is perhaps the single most important holy book of hinduism today. Although we dont know the name of individuals, we do know several cultures that contributed to the development of hinduism. Which of the following is not a practice of hinduism. The religion, which is open to interpretation, is a collection of paths to wisdom that is based on human reasoning rather than a divine authority and a finger cannot be pointed at a specific founder.
Iskcon, the international society for krishna consciousness, belongs to the vaisnava tradition of hinduism. Hinduisms holy book the aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. Hinduism actually has no single founder as far as the modern history is concerned. The text is addressed by the hindu god shiva to his consort parvati. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus sindhu, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. The answer to this question is that actually there is no single founder of hinduism as hinduism was not founded as a religion. Hindus believe that the vedas texts were received by scholars direct from god and passed on to the next generations by. 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.
These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. The teachings of hinduism were passed down from generation to generation in the form of vedas. It was a culture basically flourished in india, which later took the form of a great religion. Hinduism is a religion that originated in the indus valley of asia and currently has more than one billion followers across the world. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification, enforcement, and its use across generations.
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. Gheranda samhita and hatha yoga pradipika written by an unknown author. 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. Hinduism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This religious book defines the boundary of the religion and the followers would be expected to strictly abide by that holy book. 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. Sruti scriptures are considered divinely inspired and fully authoritative for belief and practice, while smruti are recognized as the products of the minds of the great sages. Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder.
The zoroastrian holy book, called the avesta, was written in the avestan language, which is closely related to vedic sanskrit. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. Buddhism christianity hinduism islam judaism confucianism followers worldwide estimated 2005 figures name of deity founder holy book leadership basic beliefs 296. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions within hinduism. What is the name of the holy book of parsis and when was. Some religious texts are accepted or categorized as canonical, some n. The belief system in the hindi religion is outlined from these scriptures. For many hindus, religion is a matter of practice rather than of beliefs. Merchants and traders of india, particularly from the indian peninsula, carried their religious ideas, which led to religious conversions to hinduism in southeast asia. Religious conversion to hinduism has a long history outside india. The oldest religion hinduism is the oldest religion of all world religions.
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