Hinduism Religious Text

It is not unknown when Hinduism began, but Veda scriptures state that they were written in the 1500 to 900BCE, but it is most likely that stories have been passed down for hundreds of years. (Fisher 76) Hinduism is one of the

The uncertainty of where the soul goes after death is the greatest source of fear for mortals. Whether the soul goes to a new body or to a place of divine reward or punishment, these texts reveal a change of scenery for souls. While many would like to believe that if they follow a generally moral path they’ll be rewarded after they die, “The Priest Walchelin and the Hellequin’s Hunt” challenges that idea. In this story, a member of the living is shocked to see “many highly regarded figures who… should have gone straight to join the saints in heaven” (Joynes 50) roaming the earth as punishment for sins of which the public was unaware. Through this story it becomes apparent that previous modes of judging whether one will be rewarded after death aren’t reliable. This unexpected outcome is a source of terror and apprehension for many other seemingly qualified men, such as Prince Arjuna in “The Bhagavad Gita”. In the Gita, Arjuna vehemently protests killing any of his kin because “hell is waiting for those whose familiar rituals of righteousness are no more” (The Bhagavad Gita 47). Prior to his moment of weakness at the beginning of the text, Arjuna had been a “heroic warrior” (The Bhagavad Gita 43) and loyal follower of Krishna, but

Hinduism also has many texts but the most important of all is the Vedas. The oldest is the Rig-Veda, which was developed in an ancient form of the Sanskrit language in northeast India. It consists of 1028 hymns to many gods. Two other Vedas were added to the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda which is a book for sacrifice, and the Sama-Veda which I the hymnal. A fourth book added around 900 BC, which is a collection of magic spells, is called the Atharva-Veda. The Brahmans, long Sanskrit texts, were also composed around this time and the Upanishads were composed around 600 BC. These Vedas and writings are considered revealed canon or

These texts can come in different forms such as on scrolls, songs, rock art, books and many more. Sacred texts usually contain a religion’s ethical principles, beliefs, history, moral codes and guidelines to live a good life (Green, Samuel, Paul, 2012, p. 33). A religion would have no meaning without any sacred texts or writings as there would be no way to understand why a religion works in a certain way and where the religion had been first practiced. The Vedas are the sacred texts in Hinduism which contains four books, Rig-Veda, Atharva-Veda, Yajur-Veda and Sama-Veda. The first two books, Rig-Veda and Atharva-Veda, are the most important out of the Vedas. Rig-Veda, meaning sacred lore, consists of over a thousand hymns to the Aryan Gods (ancient Indian Gods) and the basic mythology of Aryan and pre-Aryan Gods. Atharva-Veda, meaning knowledge given by the sage Atharva, contains popular prayers to the gods, rituals to be used at home, as well as incantations and spells to ward off evil (Hopfe & Woodward, 1998, pp.

The afterlife or Underworld as a residence for souls after death has been a very common theme in literature. This notion intrigues us, this concept of a state of being that once experienced cannot be shared. Yet we continue to envision what it might be like. The Underworld, as a place beneath the earth where souls go after death has been reimagined countless time, from early Greek epics, such as the Iliad and Odyssey to more modern sources like Dante’s Inferno. Although beliefs concerning the afterlife have evolved over the centuries, many of the concepts represented in early Greek and Latin poems are still believed today.

Have you ever contemplated what happens after death? Do you soul escape from all reality into nothingness? Do you merely just cease to exist in one world and progress into the next? These uncertainties have conflicted the minds of many philosophers and scholars since the creation of civilization. Religious factions were born and they fabricated the core beliefs that modern society affirms to be true. However, one unconditionally original interpretation of the afterlife is that of the Ancient Greeks. This polytheistic culture believed in the Underworld; a tasteless, vulgar world where your final destination was determined by your actions and good-will in the living world. Many Ancient Greek myths spoke of intriguing accounts of the Underworld.

Hinduism’s samsaric view of life and Judaism’s contrasting belief in one life on Earth before resurrection of the body with the coming of the Messiah, leads to many differences in their funeral and mourning customs and practices. For example the dissimilarity in the way in which the corpse is to be treated and the funeral ceremony itself due to opposing ideas of mortality. However despite the vast difference between traditions, there are still parallels to be noted such as directions for the location and direction of the ceremony and the restrictive nature of the mourning

Beliefs relating to Gods or spirits - The ancient Greeks believed that after you died, your soul would go to a place called the underworld - Polytheistic: • Many gods • Performed specific functions - The believers would have to pray, visit temples and provide offerings to ensure they were seen by the gods. - Afterlife: • Spirit was joined to the underworld - The ancient Greeks believed that gods and goddesses would take care of them when they died.

Srivastava is 37 years old. She grew up in India and has been a Hindu all her life. She grew up surrounded by Hindus. Before Neelam I had met only a few other Hindus, yet I never really got the chance to ask and learn more about Hinduism. After the short unit in class, I wanted to learn more about it. Hinduism is a very interesting religion and, after having learned more about it, has similarities to Christianity that we might not put much thought into.

In particular ways, Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world; or at least there are aspects of Hinduism that have extended to today from many thousands of years ago. It is not easy defining Hinduism for it has boundless assortments of practices and beliefs found within it. To make it a bit easier to comprehend, they but meaning behind the first part of the word Hinduism, which is Hindu. Hindu can be a cultural political and geographical term. To make this religion a bit more of a mystery, Hinduism does not have a set founder, a particular scripture, or a set teaching. The religion believes itself to be timeless and having existed. There are many prime individuals teaching different philosophies that have extended throughout Hinduism’s history.

(Bass, 2004) What little establishments of Hinduism can be found in the teachings of unknown antiquated sages or rishis were initially transmitted orally. We know almost nothing about Hinduism past what can be found out from the Vedas. (Bass, 2004) The Vedas are Hinduism sacred texts found in the Smriti works and were the earliest of sacred texts going back to the season of the Aryans. The Vedas are separated into 4 unmistakable accumulations: The Rig-Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama-Veda, and Atharva-Veda and contain more than 1000 psalms, the expressions of custom penance, and legendary stories about the divine beings. The Vedas likewise discuss with the strategies for blood and non-blood penance, points of interest of household custom, and a clarification of more profound importance behind penance. The Vedas tell stories and psalms that investigate comparative subjects with different religions like keeping up equalization and request in the universe. (The Rise of Hinduism,

The core text of Hinduism is nestled into a larger work. The Mahabarata is a lengthy tale embedded with the basic principles of Hinduism. Within this work lies the Bhagavad Gita, a story surrounding the ups and downs of a family war involving Prince Arjuna. In the work, Arjuna has trouble coming to terms with the fact that he must battle against his relatives in order to solve the issue of which cousin is next in line to rule. The theme of war is extremely prevalent, and violence must be addressed by the main protagonists. Similarly, the core of Daoism lies within the Tao Te Ching, a book with eighty-one chapters discussing the philosophies of the Daoist sages. The idea of fighting according to Daoist sages and masters is despicable; it must be the absolute last resort if one cannot find a solution to any conflict. Within the Bhagavad Gita, war and fighting are expressed in a number of different ways, but Krishna explains to Arjuna that it is his dharma, or duty, to fight in this war against his family members. However, the opinion of war and fighting within the Tao Te Ching greatly differs from that of the Bhagavad Gita, as Daoist masters taught that fighting with force should be used only out of absolute necessity; it should not be something that one jumps to whenever conflict arises.

Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. This paper goes over the complexity of Hinduism’s history, and Hinduism’s perspective and beliefs about various aspects of life and death, and how your lifestyle can affect your future. This also covers whether or not Hinduism is a monotheistic or polytheistic religion, and a few of the significant deities they worship, dealing with the creation, preservation, and destruction of the world.

The Hindu sacred texts were grouped into Vedic texts and post Vedic texts. Examples of the Vedic texts are the Rig Veda which was the earliest text of the Hinduism which compromised of 1,028 hymns that was devoted to various gods and goddesses (Hinduism 1, p2). Another text that we come across in Hinduism is the Dharma which stated how a person should live their life from one stage to another, also the Upanishads which talked about reincarnation and the afterlife. All these texts were part of the Vedic canon. As we go further we also see the laws of Manu, the Epics and Puranas which are used more these days in the Hindu religion; these are the post Vedic

There are many religions that relate to one another in more ways than one. Hinduism is a very interesting religion to study. There is a lot of history know in Hinduism. Hindu’s themselves believe in many different rituals and activities that will bring enlightenment to their souls. This one religion bases most of its religious aspect on the end, in death. What is interesting about this is Hindus spend a lot of time doing certain rituals to cleanse their souls so they can achieve peace. This religion alone also has a very interesting line of gods they worship. This paper will explain these different concepts, beginning with a Hindu’s life story..