Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. Hindus live with a legacy of domination by muslim and christian rulers that stretches back many centuriesin northern india, to the delhi sultanate established at the beginning of the th. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. From 1880 to 2018 less than 5 people per year have been born with the first name 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 the eternal way, beyond human history. In indian tradition, the word used for philosophy is darshana. Dating back some five thousand years, hinduism is the dominant faith of india and an increasingly powerful spiritual force in the west. Publishers weekly clear and direct this will stand as a reliable resource to return to frequently. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world. In the list of books shown below the table of collections, each book also refers to the collection it belongs to if it does. Now, in hinduism, vasudha narayanan offers an illuminating, compact introduction to this highly. Hinduism does not have a founder or date of origin.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of indian constitution was a scholar par excellence, a philosopher, a visionary, an emancipator and a true. The teachings of hinduism were passed down from generation to generation in the form of vedas. This is one of the most basic questions asked about hinduism. Christianity was founded by jesus christ, islam was founded by hajrat mohammad paigambar, buddhism by gautam buddha and so on. For hundreds of years, many people have searched for some evidence of the founder of hinduism. For anyone seeking a deeper and more nuanced understanding of hinduism, this book is a must read. Hinduism is also unique in saying that god can be experienced, and, in fact, that is the ultimate goal of ones soul. All about hinduism is intended to meet the needs of those who want to be introduced to the various facets of the crystal that is hinduism. Question 1 the name hinduism is based upon the name of a. 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. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. An alternative history by wendy doniger of the university of chicago is really not a history at all. In other words, there is no single founder of hinduism.
But it is an unusually diverse religionone divided by caste, community, language, and regionand is thus quite difficult for outsiders to grasp. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. Unlike buddhism, jainism, or sikhism, hinduism has no historical founder. Sacred hymns, which are a large body of texts originating in ancient india. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. Ahura mazda is the name for god used in zoroastrianism. Aparna chawla is a licensed dentist practicing in central jersey. In hinduism, what is he name of the epic poem where the. The persians, who invaded india in the sixth century bc, gave hinduism its name from the.
There is no single founder who is credited with the founding of hinduism. In hinduism, behagavadgita is the name of the epic poem where the god krishna teaches a prince about duty. Gods logic is mysterious, it is based on what one needs rather than on what one wants. The vedas are the prime book of knowledge on which primary hindu beliefs stands. I now ganesh is the son of shiva and parvati hes worshipped all over india and he is the remover of obstacles and the god of good fortune you recognize him by his elephant head and there is an interesting myth that tells us how he got his elephant head parvati is alone feeling dejected and lonely shiva as you know is the is the wild yogi the ascetic who disappeared into the mountains. The men should bring the income and provide the necessities. These texts used it to distinguish hindus from muslims who are called.
Hinduism was named by britishers till it was a way of life of arya. These include six systems sankhya, yoga, nyaya, vaisheshika, mimamsa and vedanta. Patanjali, also called gonardiya, or gonikaputra, flourished 2nd century bce or 5th century ce, author or one of the authors of two great hindu classics. Hinduism is the worlds oldest major religion that is still practiced. Hinduism table of contents religions of the world and. Until you rely on what others say you wont get to the truth which. Ramayana and mahabharta are the most popular hindu books. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Hence, it is considered an eternal religion sanatana dharma. Hinduism, is open to interpretation, and is a collection of a path to wisdom, which is based on reasoning more than a divine authority and does not have any specific founder.
This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. It was the way of life of the people living in the indian subcontinent, across the sindh river. Hinduism was not a religion founded by any one person. In his book of the same name, he writes, only in hindu civilization were religion and politics so distinctly separated.
Hinduism the source of knowledge when most of us think of religion, we usually are thinking of a revelation of god that has been handed down by a special person, like buddha, jesus or mohammed, and which has an associated scripture that details the teachings of the prophet or enlightened personality. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. Hindu families are usually extended families which includes three or four generations living together. Hinduism stack exchange is a question and answer site for followers of the hindu religion and those interested in learning more about hinduism. The man who realized god in 1993 explains the concept of who is the founder of hinduism. Assuming that the other options are epic of gilgamesh which isnt a part of hinduism, but of sumerian culture, ramayana which is about prince rama and his wife sita against the demon king ravana and vedas which is a religious text in hinduism, not an epic. Its meaning for the liberation of the spirit is published by the ramakrishnavivekananda center of new york. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. In her book, doniger retells hindu stories and provides snarky interpretations. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practised in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. One of the worlds most ancient religious traditions, hinduism is the dominant faith of india and, through indias growing expatriate community, an increasingly familiar spiritual force in the west. Hinduism has no founder, it developed out of brahminism.
No, hinduism does not have a founder like christianity and islam. For more on who founded hinduism visit hinduism founder. Hinduism forms the inner strength of society as it is today. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. One story is about fusing the head of a brahmin woman onto the body of a dalit woman. For those who already know and admire wendy donigers work, this is a handy if hefty compendium of. Which was founded at anadi kaal eternity by ardh narishwar shiv shiva when they took shape nira kar to sakar spread by saints like agasta,gautam, vasista and valmitri etc. The four vedas are the most sacred texts because they teach devotees the. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian.
Thus, hinduism is not founded by a person or a prophet. Hindu or hinduism as a religion was conceptualised mughals but popularised by the british. Hinduism table of contents center for the study of world religions harvard divinity school religions of the world and ecology series hinduism and ecology volume mary evelyn tucker and christopher key chapple, eds. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. Hinduisms contribution to love before there were selfhelp books or relationships therapists, the oldest religion in the world, hinduism, laid out a straightforward approach to love. Vaisya the third of the four levels in the caste system. Each collection represents a set of books that are collectively known by the collections name. At that time it was known as sanatan dharma or eternal religion. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas.
Five of the hindu holy books are the rig veda, bhagavad gita, sama veda, yajur veda, and athava veda. The word hinduism does not appear anywhere in hindu scriptures and it existed from time unexplored, as a religion. God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of god, with early references to his name as krishnavasudeva in bhagavata or later vishnu and hari. Indeed the term hindu is found nowhere in the vedic scriptures, nor can it be found in any classical texts of sanatana dharma. Social security administration public data, the first name hinduism was not present. The name hinduism is a misnomer and of a foreign coinage. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were. Vedas are also called sruti what is heard literature, distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called sm. The modern word hinduism is a term developed approximately 700 years ago by the muslim invaders of india. As per the vedantic embodiments hinduism is monotheistic. The women are to share the domestic responsibilities and cook. There was a river by the name sindhu, which was mispronounced by the invaders as hindu. It is so obvious because all the other religions in this world have founders.
Hindu relations with islam and christianity are in some ways quite different from the ties and tensions that bind together religions of indian origin. Although the name hinduism is relatively new, having been coined by british. A vivid and accessible introduction to one of the worlds most diverse and esteemed religions. Followers believe there are multiple paths to reaching their god. So as hinduism is a religion, there must be some founder. Brahma, vishnu, and shiva equivalent to zeus, hades and poseidon all human are divine unity of existence through love religious harmony knowledge of 3 gs. Hinduism, or vedanta, teaches that every soul is potentially divine, and that its divinity may be manifested through worship, contemplation, unselfish work, and philosophical discrimination. Babasaheb ambedkar source material publication committee printer ms. Patanjali hindu author, mystic, and philosopher britannica. These are also called the astika philosophical traditions and are those that accept the vedas as an authoritative, important source of knowledge. Hinduism is basically a name given to all the religious and philosophical systems which emerged in the subcontinent of india,some being atheistic, some being monotheistic, and some being henoistic. Hindu philosophy refers to philosophies, world views and teachings that emerged in ancient india. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population.
The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. According to jawaharlal nehru, the earliest reference to the word hindu can be traced to a tantrik book of the eighth century c. The oldest recorded birth by the social security administration for the name hindu is thursday, july 25th, 1912. Hinduism founder who is the founder of hinduism age. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. Its authority rests instead upon a large body of sacred texts that provide hindus with. World religions project principles of hinduism god exists.
The name hinduism is based upon the name of a major river in india. Brahma, the creator god revealed the secret knowledge of the vedas to gods. For example they should clean the house, wash the clothes and look after any children. Rather, it has been traditionally viewed as a timeless tradition that has been and continues to be revealed to humans at the start of each world. A major book in hinduism that is often in the form of dialogues that explored the vedas and the religious issues that they raised. Doniger provides several variants of the theme of transposed heads. What contemporary scholars generally mean by the construction or invention of hinduism, however, is not simply the coining of the name. The answer to this question is that actually there is no single founder of hinduism as hinduism was not founded as a religion. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Simple in its essence, and yet powerful in its application, and taken from the the roots of bhakti yoga, these basic lovelaws can easily change. Monierwilliams introductory text, hinduism, first published in 1877, also did much to popularize the term. According to pew research center, 94% of the world population of hindus live in india. It is possible the name you are searching has less than five occurrences per year.
But the vedantic beliefs went under much transformation and became gradually polytheistic in character. All people living beyond that river, regardless of their religious beliefs, were called as hindus. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. Most forms of hinduism are henotheistic, which means they worship a single deity, known as brahman, but still recognize other gods and goddesses. The origins of the religion can be traced as far as the indus valley civilization that lasted between 3,000 bce and 1,000 bce. 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.
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