Hinduism New World Encyclopedia. Hinduism, known as Santana Dharma, and Vaidika Dharma by most Hindus, is a worldwide religious tradition rooted in Indian culture and based on teachings of the Vedas. Hinduism is the third largest religion, with a following of approximately one billion people, encompassing many diverse beliefs and schools. The scholarly estimates of Hinduisms origin vary from 3. B. C. E. to 1. 30. B. C. E., although Hindu estimates are considerably longer, given that they see the religion as expressing timeless truths. Ninety eight percent of Hinduisms practitioners can be found on the Indian subcontinent, chiefly in Bharat India. Bhagavad Gita As Viewed By Swami Vivekananda Pdf' title='Bhagavad Gita As Viewed By Swami Vivekananda Pdf' />Some Hindus dislike the name Hinduism, although many now use the term. It is an English term, probably first used in the 1. Oxford English Dictionary and derived from the Persian language for the people who lived beyond the Indus River. It has been argued that Hinduism as described in many textbooks and as taught at universities results from the work of the theosophist, Annie Besant 1. Hindu Central College founded 1. She systematized the religion into the four classes, four stages of life, four aims, four ages. Some criticize this Western tendency to elevate an abstract, classical, Great Tradition above the myriad small or local traditions that inform the lives of most Hindus. Some argue that there is no singular or unitary religion of India at all. They regard Hinduism as an umbrella term for a multitude of related beliefs and practices, known as margas. Hinduism has close family ties with Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism and is considered to be a cultural sphere in its own right. One definition of a Hindu is anyone who reveres the Vedas. Another says that a Hindu is someone who other Hindus recognize as Hindu, regardless of how different their belief or practice. There are Hindu minorities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa, and a substantial diaspora presence in Europe and in North America. The relatively small Himalayan kingdom of Nepal is the only nation in the modern world with Hinduism as its state religion. Many Princely states in India had Hinduism as their state religion prior to the creation of the modern Indian state in 1. Many non Hindus see a great amount of ancient wisdom in Hinduisms foundational texts, the Vedas and Upanishads, which Hindus believe were breathed out by the gods and represent knowledge. Bhagavad Gita As Viewed By Swami Vivekananda Pdf' title='Bhagavad Gita As Viewed By Swami Vivekananda Pdf' />Many people believe that God was revealing Gods self through the ancient laws and ethical principles contained in Hindu scriptures, which speak of a cosmic struggle between order dharma and chaos adharma. Hinduism has helped billions of people to make sense of life, and to live orderly lives centered on belief in the existence of universal moral principles for thousands of years. Julius Lipner has pointed out that for well over 3,0. Hinduism, or the plural reality named as such, has regularly produced men and women down the ages who have made outstanding contributions across the range of the civilized human endeavor. The world would be much the poorer if Hinduism, however defined, was absent from human experience. Hinduism represents one of the great civilization streams that have helped to unify humanity and to engender respect for creation and recognition that the physical and material aspects of life are not the only or even the ultimate reality. Many non Hindus have adopted elements of Hindu belief and practice while identifying with a different religion, or with no organized religion at all. The Vedic Heritage. Page of Max Mllers Rigveda samhit, the Sacred Hymns of the Brahmans London, 1. Purusha sukta with Sayanas commentary. Gua depending on the context means string, thread, or strand, or virtue, merit, excellence, or quality, peculiarity, attribute, property. Hinduism, known as Santana Dharma, and VaidikaDharma by most Hindus, is a worldwide religious tradition rooted in Indian culture and. Gitapress/106022-Gita-Press-Shri-Shri-Chaitanya-Charitavali-01)-400x550.jpg' alt='Bhagavad Gita As Viewed By Swami Vivekananda Pdf' title='Bhagavad Gita As Viewed By Swami Vivekananda Pdf' />The overwhelming majority of Hindu sacred texts are composed in the Sanskrit language. Indeed, much of the morphology and linguistic philosophy inherent in the learning of Sanskrit is sometimes claimed to be inextricably linked to study of the Vedas and of relevant Hindu texts. The Vedas literally Knowledge are considered as shruti revelation by Hindus. They were breathed out by the gods and thus have no beginning in time. While the overwhelming majority of Hindus may never read the Vedas, there prevails in them a reverence for this abstract notion of eternal knowledge. The four Vedas the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda were preserved by various shakhas or schools. Depending on the school, various commentaries and instructions are associated with each Veda. The oldest of these are the Brahmanas priests. The Shrautasutras and Grhyasutras form a younger stratum dealing with domestic ritual. This founding layer of Hinduism does establish the four classes varnas brahmins, ksatriya, Vaishya, sudra as a social system that distributed tasks and responsibilities, and seems to privilege the highest varna, the priests, although this has never translated into economic privilege. Members of the second highest class, the warrior class, are often wealthier, while the merchant Vaishya class may be even wealthier than the warrior class. Even Sudras, the servants, could rise up the economic scale, and in practice, class was never as rigid as has been suggested. In a Rig Veda hymn Ch. Verse 9. 0, these classes emerge from the head, shoulders, thighs, and feet of the sacrificial primordial, cosmic Purusha man Embree 1. The main Vedic deities include Varuna sky, Mitra sun, Indra war, Agni fire, and Yama death. The Vedas contain many different types of material. Fast Racing League Pc Download here. There are stories of the gods and demons, of the rishis neither quite gods nor human, and creation narratives. Creation may not be the best translation, because one characteristic of these narratives is that the cosmos emanates from, and is therefore an aspect of, the Unfathomable One that stands behind all. The gods, it is implied in the Rig Veda, do not really know how the world began because they are on this side, but an unknown, unnamed One breathed without wind through its independent power. There was nothing other than it Embree 1. The Vedas contain numerous sacrificial formulas, and pit adharma chaos against the need for cosmic order dharma. Dharma is also a god and the term refers both to the sacrificial and other rituals of the Brahmins properly, Brahman but rendered Brahmin to distinguish from Brahman as ultimate reality and to that moral conduct that is appropriate to a persons gender, class, and stage in life. Originally, Brahman appears to have denoted the prayers of the priests, but was eventually adopted to designate the priests themselves. Soma an intoxicating wine and also a god and agni fire, also a god are essential to the sacrificial system. Medical knowledge is also contained in the Vedas, which continues to inform the practice of what is sometimes referred to as alternative medicine in India, that is, alternative to Western medicine. It is also known as Ayurvedic medicine, said to be the oldest system in the world. According to Hindu thought, it was revealed by Brahma to the sage, Atreya. Tv Theme Tune Wav Files. Dance and music were similarly revealed. The idea of appeasing the gods is not absent from the Vedas, but the real purpose of the sacrifices is to maintain cosmic balance. In the Brahmanas priests manuals that were written to accompany the Vedas, Vac speech, which is feminine is also said to have created the Vedas.