Hinduism has been explained with its origins, beliefs, way of life, sacred texts, gods and goddesses, holiest things, interesting facts and. The vedas scriptures guide hindus in their daily life. Mahayana buddhism reveres the tripitaka as a sacred text, but adds to it the sutras, which reflect distinctively mahayana concepts and are used more often by mahayana buddhists. Members of these communities have adhered to their religion faithfully for several generations. It is the 3rd largest religion in the world with more than 900 million followers.
Learn the basics about hindu beliefs, gods and rituals this book contains an easily accessible overview of the hindu religion, with a focus on those coming from the western religions and cultures. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. Hinduism, with about one billion followers is the worlds third largest religion, after christianity and islam. Hinduism a brief overview of the development of hinduism. This is not very noticeable as far as religion facts go. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world.
The hindu faith draws on a number of sacred texts and there is no standard set of beliefs, so it is a religion which is followed in different ways by different groups of people. For many hindus, religion is a matter of practice rather than of beliefs. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world, which is believed to have started 4,000 years ago in northern india. The word hindu originates from the indian indus river. Hinduism holy books hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. It is a symbol of sacredness, purity, motherhood, and earth. Read cnn s hinduism fast facts and learn more about hinduism, the thirdlargest religion after christianity and islam. Hinduism, major world religion originating on the indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual.
These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. Most of hinduisms sacred texts were written in sanskrit in ancient times. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Indepth articles about the worlds oldest religion, with particular focus on hinduisms history, culture, beliefs, practices, festivals, holidays, and more. We do hope that all serious students of hindu religion and philosophy will find the book useful and. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. The hindu practices like bath in the morning, do yoga, stay away from meat etc. History of hinduism denotes a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the indian subcontinent. 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. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.
Hinduism does not have a single holy book that guides religious practice. Buddhism 376 million followers tripitaka pali canon 5. Hinduism is the oldest known religion, with its roots going back to 10,000 years and hindu literature dating back to 7000 bce. Summary of hinduism beliefs meaning of name hinduism, from the persian hindu sanskrit sindhu, literally river. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. A brief overview of the development of hinduism there are several important historical facts about hinduism that are relevant to the humanist context. Hinduism is the oldest known religion best known as sanatana dharma, with its roots going back to 10,000 years and hindu. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. Hindus call their religion sanatama dharma, eternal religion or eternal truth.
They got their present form between 1200200 bce and were introduced to. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology. Of all the basic books on hinduism, this rather thin volume of 160 pages is the most balanced introduction to the religion. Here are some facts about hinduism, the main religion of the indian subcontinent, and one of the most popular religions worldwide. Hinduism for ks1 and ks2 children hindu faith homework. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practised in the indian. It is perhaps the best book for someone who has no prior knowledge of the religion, a stable stepping stone for the student of religious studies, and an. 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. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. Here, i will give only a brief introduction to the holy books of hinduism. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 900 million followers. First, lets distinguish between two types of hindu literature. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas.
Its origin can be traced back to the prehistoric era with its ancient scriptures dating back more than four thousand years, but. The phrase holy book for hindus takes the stance that hinduism is a religion. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practised in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. They have phrases called mantras which are chanted at the religious ceremonies although they were finally written down around 1,500 bc, they are actually much much older. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. There are more than one billion followers of hinduism in the world today. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help.
Sruti pronounced shroothee are the holy books within hinduism that are considered to be divinely inspired, and thus infallible and authoritative. The holy book of hindu religion is a glimpse from the hindu scriptures and is culled from the enormous volume of hindu literature. The cow is depicted as a favorite animal of many hindu deities like lord krishna, lord dattatreya, etc. This is because it grew out of cultural and religious changes in india. There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. Holy cow hinduism facts facts about hindu religion. You can find hindu communities all over the world, from the americas to australasia.
The book, which was first published in 1947, has now been rearranged in a more convenient form, with useful additions here and there, and is now released in its fifth edition. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. Hinduism is a very old religion from india that is still practiced today. For hindus, the veda is a symbol of unchallenged authority and. The authors and dates of most hindu sacred texts are unknown, although the oldest text the. The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. Hi friends, in this video discussing 10 true facts about hinduism, most hindu dont know. Hinduism, the oldest religion still practiced today, has between 900 million and 1 billion adherents. The vedas are a large body of hindu texts originating in ancient india, with its samhita and brahmanas complete before about 800 bce. The most sacred scriptures of hinduism are the vedas books of knowledge, a collection of texts written in sanskrit from about 1200 bce to 100 ce as sruti revealed texts, the vedas are regarded as the absolute authority for religious knowledge and a test of hindu orthodoxy both jains and buddhists reject the vedas. The more you know about something, the better, especially in the case of religion.
Click for more kids facts and information or download the worksheet collection. The vedas are the four holiest books of the hindu religion. The spiritual quest of george harrison in hinduism. Most are in india, but nepal and mauritius are also hindumajority. The quran is the holy book for muslims, revealed in stages to the prophet muhammad over 23 years. Unlike christianity or islam, it is a not a religion that is governed by the book. So, what are the holy books of the five major world religions. Most of hinduisms sacred texts were written in sanskrit in. The hindu religion is the only one of the worlds great faiths dedicated to the idea that the cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. Hinduism hindutva is guided by teachings of sananthana dharma.
Since the latter part of the 19th century, large hindu communities have been established in eastern and southern africa particularly in south africa, malaysia, the islands of the pacific ocean and the indian ocean, and some islands of the west indies. They are written in an old indian language called sanskrit. Hinduism is the worlds 3rd largest religion with more than 900,000,000 followers note hinduism originated in india. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with. This veda is divided into a series of ten smaller books, called mandalas, which contain odes dedicated to the various hindu deities. What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book. Prominent themes in hindu beliefs include the four puru. It provides the essence of hindu religion in a simple straightforward style that should appeal to casual readers and students at a basic level and also interest advanced students and scholars. However, it is not a religion of the same kind as the other two main religions. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in indian subcontinent since the iron age, with some of its traditions tracing back to prehistoric religions such as those of the bronze age indus valley civilization. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world.
They are believed to be one of the oldest books ever made by mankind. Hinduism, as the worlds most ancient surviving religion, could have it no other way. The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. They are written in an earlier indian language called sanskrit.
Which religious book has true facts, the quran or hindus holy books. We never had an authority popepontiff, one god, one book, that dictated what qualifies as hindu and not hindu. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or. No 1 hindu popular country, world biggest temple and also i. Hinduism is not based on a strict set of rules, it is not based on.
It provides the essence of hindu religion in a simple straightforward style that should appeal to casual readers and students at a basic level and also. Instead, hinduism has a large body of spiritual texts that guide. I hope that from this short introduction to the holy books of hinduism it is apparent that hindus consider a great variety of literature important, and that this literature is as diverse and complex as it is beautiful. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Five of the hindu holy books are the rig veda, bhagavad gita, sama veda, yajur veda. The rigveda is considered by many to be the most important of the vedas. The basic beliefs and history of a religion is often found in its sacred or revered texts. Most of the mahayana sutras, which number over two thousand, were written between 200 bce and 200 ce, the period in which mahayana buddhism developed. Bhagavad gita is considered by most as the holy book of hindus.
They have words called mantras which are chanted at the religious ceremonies although they were finally written down in. This book also contains a gayatri mantra and the hindu story of primal man, which is similar to the story of adam and eve. Composed in vedic sanskrit hymns, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. Hinduism is neither monotheistic nor restricted to one religious scripture. If the indus valley civilization 3rd2nd millennium bce was the earliest source of hindu traditions, then hinduism is the oldest living religion on earth.
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