HINDUISM

Oldest religion
5000 yrs old
Word Hindu of geographic origin River Sindhu- corrupted Hindu
Sanatana Dharma eternal religion
It is a way of life
Accepts the reality that there are varying intellectual and spiritual levels in each of us
and all cannot take the same path although the goal is same.
Offers different approaches to persons of different aptitudes.
Greatest freedom of worship and insists that each person must be guided by his or
her own individual experience and does not accept dictatorship in religious
guidance.
Tremendous tolerance of other religious faiths and beliefs.
HINDU SCRIPTURES
FIRST SET
The Srutis
First set of books primary authority or the very soul of Hinduism
Meaning which has been heard or revealed.
Known as Vedas, derived from vid means to know and the vedas are holy or spiritual
knowledge of the eternal truth.
Rishi derived from dris to see. They were Seers ealed by Divine intervention and in
whose minds and hearts they were heard.
The Vedas are apaurusheya( Divine) and unchangeable and eternal, valid in all periods
Creation is anadi
Kalpa unit of time= a day of brahma, The creator =4320million earth years. At the end of
kalpa a deluge destroys the world.
Brahma meditated at the dawn of this age, when the God appeared in the form of the
sound OM. Hence sacred symbol.
Brahma from vibrations of Om, the Lord conceived the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda,
The Sam Veda and the Atharva Veda.
Then The God taught it to Brahma, hence the Vedas exists befiore the Universe.
Ved Vyasa codified the four Vedas .
His disciples Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini and Sumanta taught to their pupils
The Rigveda consists mostly hymns in praise of the Divine,
The Yajur Veda consists of hymns used in religious rituals and rites,
The Sama Veda of verses from the Rig Veda set to music, and the Atharva Veda
guides man in his material and daily living
Parts of the Vedas
1. Mantra Hymna
2. Brahmana the explanatory treatises for using mantras in rituals
3. The Aranyaka or forest books the mystical interpretations of the mantras and
rituals
4. The Upanshads important part of the Vedas, brings about destruction of
avidya or ignorance
There are 108 upanishads with 12 important ones as the Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna,
Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya, Taittiriya, chandogya, Brihadaranyaka,
Kaushitaki and Svetasvatara
Next are the Upa Vedas or subsidary Vedas
Four in Number.
1. The Ayurveda, the science of extending life, including study of maintaining good health
and the use of medicines derived from herbs, roots and fruits.
Charaka, the greatest ancient Hindu physician spoke of code of ethics for the physician
Sushruta, the great surgeon mentions of 120 surgical instruments.
2. The Dhanurveda the science of archery and the use of weapons.
3. The Gandharva Veda the science of music and dance.
4. The Artha shastra the treatise on polity, state administration and the conduct of
commerce
Then Vedangas the explanatory limbs of the Vedas
1. Siksha by Sage Panini science of phonetics
2. Vyakarana by Panini the science of grammar
3. Nirukta the science of the etymology of the words in Vedic Mantras.
4. Chandas Shastra teaches prosody, the art of versification
5. The Kalpa shastra the science of rituals and ceremonials in religious rites
6. Jyotisha- the science of astronomy and astrology
THE SECOND SET SMRITIS
Meaning to be remembered
Are human compositions which regulate and guide individuals in their daily conduct
Also known as Dharma shastras
There are four yugas- The Satya or Krita yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali yuga and
each has its own law givers.
18 smritis in all and many law givers as Manu, Yajnavalkya, Shankha, Likhita and Parashara
Manu earliest but Hindu laws based on Yajnavalkya Smriti
THIRD SET - EPICS
For ordinary people, the third set of books , the Itihasas or Epics
The profound philosophy of the Upanishads is presented in the form of parables and
stories in these epics for the guidance of the common people
The great epics are The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Yogavasishta and the Harivamsa
FOURTH SET THE PURANAS
18Puranas of which the Bhagavata, Visnu and Markendeya are most popular and there
are 18 Upa puranas.
Consists of tales conveying the truths of the Vedas in the form of short stories
These imaginative stories form the basis of religious education.
In the Puranas , 10 incarnations of the God.
THE FIFTH SET THE AGAMAS
These lay down the separate theological disciplines and doctrines for the worship of a
particular deity
The Agams gave rise to threemain sects, the Shaiva, the Vaishnava and Shakta
The Agamas guide the faithful who are moved by their devotion to supreme God to worship
one of is Manifestations
The Shaiva Agama
Shaiva Siddhant
South India
Pratyabhinja
Kashmir
The Vaishnava Agama
The
Pancharatra
The Vaikhanasa
The Shakta Agama
AGAMAS
First part The philosophy and the spiritual knowlwdge behind the
worship of the deity
Second part the Yoga and mental discipline required for each school
of worship
Third part the rule for constructing the temples
Fourth part the rules pertaining the observances of religious rites
and rituals
THE SIXTH SET THE DARSHANAS
These are the schools of philosophy
For intellectuals and the scholars, six in numbers
1. The Nyaya by Gautama Rishi This philosophy is guided by pure logic and reasoning
2. Vaiseshikha by Kanada first to talk about existence of atoms with its qualities.first two
are merged and studied together
3. Sankhya by Kapila Muni- main belief the Universe consists of two elements, purusha
and prakriti
4. Yoga by Patanjali accepts Sankhya philosophy and uses the system of mind control to
attain God- head
5. Mimansa by Jaimini- emphasises Vedic rituals and sacrifices
6. Vedanta by Badarayana( Vyasa) based on the Upanishads
Each Veda has,
a. Karma kanda dealing with rituals
b. Upasana Kanda- dealing with worship
c. Jnana Kanda dealing with spiritual knowledge
VEDANTA
Adheres to Truth and tireless investigations
has modern scientific approach
The Upanishads, the Vedanta sutras and the BhagvatGita are called the
Prasthana Traya
The three commentators on the Vedanta Sutras were Adi Shankaracharya,
Ramanuja, MAdhvacharys