Unlike other organized religions hinduism had no founder of central text because of which it evolved over thousands of years and had a large body of written material which. As a hindu american, i highly recommend this book and give copies to all my friends who are interested in learning about the worlds oldest religion. The oldest evidence of religious practices in india date back approximately to 5500 bce. The proof of many of these religions are seen in religious texts discovered by experts and specialists. This philosopher comes under astik darshan because it also gives authority to the vedas. Everyone knows that the hindu religion is the worlds oldest religion and its books are also the oldest about 3000 bc. There are four vedas, and these constitute the hindu canon. 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. A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. Nyaya system is systematically hindu philosophy because it is very nature logic and this philosophy is the basis of all studies. It is the great indian bible, which no hindu would forget to adore from the core of his heart.
Composed in vedic sanskrit hymns, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. In other words, hinduism is a conglomeration of different doctrines and traditions mainly based on vedas and modified from.
The rig veda is a collection of vedic sanskrit hymns counted among the four hindu religious texts known as the vedas. Book on hinduism, hindu religious beliefs and practices. The basic beliefs and history of a religion is often found in its sacred or revered texts. Its style, the language and the tone are most beautiful and mysterious. Facts about hindu religion hinduism factshinduism facts.
A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion swami bhaskarananda. Good book to begin with, but i suspect that the religion of hinduism has more lessons, more layers than meets our jaded western eyes. The oldest zoroastrian religious scripture, as preserved at present, is known as the avesta. Neither hindu is the name given to the people living at the banks of indus river. A hindu reading list 73 books goodreads share book. Hindu religious and spiritual texts before getting into study of hindu scriptures its essential to have a basic understanding of the classifications of hindu texts. Religion has been around for as long as man has existed. I am talking like an academic book that explains with objectivity and focus the heart of the religion. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. Recently ive been interested in some ideas of the hindu religion and i wanted information about the main gods and fundamental concepts, so i can have a good and solid notion of the religion itself. It is often described as a way of life and is widely practiced in india and other parts of the indian subcontinent as well as parts of southeast asia. Most research points to hinduism as the oldest form of religion. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus.
If the indus valley civilization 3rd2nd millennium bce was the earliest source of hindu traditions, then hinduism is the oldest living religion on earth. The main motive to make this page is that how much we know about the hinduism which is not only a religion but it is a way of life. Hindu wedding rituals symbolism and significance shubha b. Writing and literature are thought to have been first developed between the 7th and 4th millenium bc. As far as i am concerned hinduism is the best religion in the world. Saskrit is the first language in the world and which is started at hindu religions. The vedas scriptures guide hindus in their daily life.
Hinduism is the worlds oldest extant religion, and with more than a billion followers, it is also the worlds third largest religion. If you want to be able to organize some good ways of framing an inquiry into this religion i would say this book is the best place to start. It consists of thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in india since 1500 bce. The rigveda samhita is the grandest book of the hindus, the oldest and the best. The vedas are the four holiest books of the hindu religion.
This book is a collection of essays about culture, identity, religion, language, and humanity tracing one womans spiritual journey from defensiveness to peace. They are written in an earlier indian language called sanskrit. Nonetheless, it is one of the oldest religious texts written in an indoeuropean. During the 5th or 6th dynasties of the old kingdom in ancient egypt, the text was carved on to the walls and within the sarcophagi of the saqqara pyramids. A buddhist holy text, the diamond sutra is considered to be the oldest surviving dated printed book in the world. Hinduism, one of the worlds oldest religions, can be hard to understand or even define.
They also help to preserve the religious dimensions of. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. The essentials of hinduism and millions of other books are available for. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with. Here, in the west only rational thought is considered essential for science and faith for religion. In simple words, hinduism is a way of life, which helps you to liberate from the cycle of birth and rebirth.
The vedas are a large body of hindu texts originating in ancient india, with its samhita and brahmanas complete before about 800 bce. 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. The religion was officially founded by moses, although jewish history can be traced back to abraham, who is considered to be the ancestor of the jewish people. Written history the age of formal writing is only c. So, what are the holy books of the five major world religions. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. This is why hinduism is superior to other religion youtube. 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. Hinduism is generally regarded as the worlds oldest organized religion. Just wish the author had more specifically credited and acknowledged by name the indian people she met in india who she obviously got much of her information from. The rigveda is a collection of hindu hymns that is considered to be one of the. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. The bhagavad gita, or song of the lord is part of the sixth book of the.
One of the oldest living religions in the world, hinduism is unique among the world religions in that it had no single founder but grew over a period of 4,000 years in syncretism with the religious and cultural movements of the indian subcontinent. Hindu scriptures, vedas, upanishads and gita talk by jay lakhani hindu academy london duration. The vedas are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient india. Judaism is the oldest of the three monotheistic abrahamic faiths, with the other two religions being christianity and islam. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. A collection of handselected books on hinduism, chosen on the basis of apparent usefulness and quality. Vedam the oldest and the authoritative scripture you tube hindus too many confusing and contradictory scriptures. Religionfacts does not necessarily endorse the contents of these books. If hinduism is the oldest religion, does its oldest book.
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. With news this week of the discovery of what could be the earliest known siddur, a jewish prayer book dated at around 840 ad we have put together a list of 10 of the oldest known surviving books in the world today. Hinduism stresses the whole consciousness, which also includes rational thought and faith, and is more universal. A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion swami bhaskarananda on. The bulk of the human religious experience predates written history. Jul 20, 2007 the oldest religious book in the world hasnt yet been discovered by archaeologists. There is no single hindu sacred text, not in a similar fashion to how the abrahamic religions islam, christianity, judaism have theirs.
Hinduism is a conglomeration of religious, philosophical, and cultural ideals and practices that originated in india thousands of years before the birth of christ. History of hinduism denotes a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the indian subcontinent. Hinduism hinduism is like an allencompassing ocean. Hinduism, major world religion originating on the indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual. The rig veda was likely composed between roughly 17001100 bce, making it one of the oldest texts of any indoiranian language, one of the worlds oldest religious texts. Hindus call their religion sanatama dharma, eternal religion or eternal truth. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. The shruti refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts, believed. May, 2019 hinduism is the worlds oldest extant religion, and with more than a billion followers, it is also the worlds third largest religion.
These texts were meant to be for the pharaoh and were reserved for him. There is no central ancient text that succinctly sums up. Swami bhaskarananda has written a compact, yet amazingly comprehensive treatment of the essentials of the hindu view of life, emphasizing the very things one wishes most to know about when first approaching this complicated, and manysided subject. The dharmashastras law books, derivatives of the dharmasutras. The complete idiots guide to hinduism, 2nd edition. A comprehensive guide to the hindu religion, hindu gods, hindu beliefs. Discover the 10 oldest religious texts in the world here. While judaism has many important and sacred texts, its most. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the third. A section of this avesta is known as the khordehavesta which means the smaller or selected avesta. The oldest text of the religion today known as hinduism is unable to be verified by date, but was written somewhere between 1500500 bce.
Hindus believe that the vedas texts were received by scholars direct from. Those were among some of the earliest books ever written, and what they contain says a great deal about. All are available for purchase on click book images for details. 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. Sacred hymns, which are a large body of texts originating in ancient india.
You can get more detail about this philosophy in book nyaya sutra. Other significant populations are found in nepal 23 million, bangladesh 15 million and the indonesian island of bali 3. Hindu religion, hinduism, culture, india, kids, sanatan. We do hope that all serious students of hindu religion and philosophy will find the book useful and. There is no central ancient text that succinctly sums up the religions basic tenets, no single leader that hindus can call the founder of their faith and no single modernday organization to which all hindus belong. I propose tholkaapiyam, the tamil grammer book which was written sometime in 500 bc which praises lord shiva for his contribution in developing tamil.
If the indus valley civilization 3rd2nd millennium bce was the earliest source of hindu traditions, then hinduism is the oldest living religion. A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion book book details. This is an attempt to capture in one place the names of books and other. Is the bible the oldest religious book in the world.
The institutes of vishnu sbe 7 julius jolly, translator 1880 sacred books of the east, vol. Here were going to talk about some of the main hindu religious books. Now i am eager to think that the beautiful text the epic of gilgamesh 3rd millennium b. I was inclined to believe that the rig veda was the oldest. In hindu religion the oldest and most sacred text is the. It is the oldest religion and we should not know who is the founder of hinduism. Of all the ancient writings, most scholars agree that the old testament of the bible is the oldest of religious books. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. They are believed to be one of the oldest books ever made by mankind. In hinduism, there is no particular holy book like christianity and islam. Book of god eternal knowledge of god hinduism questions answered. This is the book of daily prayers of the zoroastrians. It was first written at bc through 500 bc and the words were given by god to its writers.
While it certainly has evolved over the years, the belief in gods and deities is an ancient tradition and dates back thousands of years. Hinduism is believed to have the oldest roots among all religions. The pyramid texts are known as one of the oldest religious texts in the world. Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as vaishnavism, shaivism, shaktism and others. Found in a walled up cave in china along with other printed materials, the book is made up of chinese characters printed on a scroll of grey printed paper, wrapped along a wooden pole. Hinduism is also known by the names sanatanadharmaand vaidikadharma.
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