Its meaning for the liberation of the spirit is published by the ramakrishnavivekananda center of new york. There is no single founder who is credited with the founding of hinduism. 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. In her book, doniger retells hindu stories and provides snarky interpretations. 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. 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. For more on who founded hinduism visit hinduism founder. Hindu relations with islam and christianity are in some ways quite different from the ties and tensions that bind together religions of indian origin. Hinduism is also unique in saying that god can be experienced, and, in fact, that is the ultimate goal of ones soul. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. 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.
Ramayana and mahabharta are the most popular hindu books. The word hinduism does not appear anywhere in hindu scriptures and it existed from time unexplored, as a religion. It is possible the name you are searching has less than five occurrences per year. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian. The teachings of hinduism were passed down from generation to generation in the form of vedas. The man who realized god in 1993 explains the concept of who is the founder of hinduism.
In other words, there is no single founder of hinduism. Hinduism was named by britishers till it was a way of life of arya. Thus, hinduism is not founded by a person or a prophet. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. 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. 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. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india.
These texts used it to distinguish hindus from muslims who are called. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. The most ancient sacred texts of the hindu religion are written in sanskrit and called the vedas. These are also called the astika philosophical traditions and are those that accept the vedas as an authoritative, important source of knowledge. What contemporary scholars generally mean by the construction or invention of hinduism, however, is not simply the coining of the name. The oldest recorded birth by the social security administration for the name hindu is thursday, july 25th, 1912.
So as hinduism is a religion, there must be some founder. No, hinduism does not have a founder like christianity and islam. This is one of the most basic questions asked about hinduism. Patanjali hindu author, mystic, and philosopher britannica. In hinduism, behagavadgita is the name of the epic poem where the god krishna teaches a prince about duty. 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 answer to this question is that actually there is no single founder of hinduism as hinduism was not founded as a religion. 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. Hinduism table of contents religions of the world and. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. Hence, it is considered an eternal religion sanatana dharma. Ambedkar, the chief architect of indian constitution was a scholar par excellence, a philosopher, a visionary, an emancipator and a true.
The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Although the name hinduism is relatively new, having been coined by british. There was a river by the name sindhu, which was mispronounced by the invaders as hindu. World religions project principles of hinduism god exists.
Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Hinduism has no founder, it developed out of brahminism. Unlike buddhism, jainism, or sikhism, hinduism has no historical founder. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population. 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. Its authority rests instead upon a large body of sacred texts that provide hindus with.
In hinduism, what is he name of the epic poem where the. Five of the hindu holy books are the rig veda, bhagavad gita, sama veda, yajur veda, and athava veda. 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. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. These include six systems sankhya, yoga, nyaya, vaisheshika, mimamsa and vedanta. Vaisya the third of the four levels in the caste system. It is so obvious because all the other religions in this world have founders. It was a culture basically flourished in india, which later took the form of a great religion. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. 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.
Dating back some five thousand years, hinduism is the dominant faith of india and an increasingly powerful spiritual force in the west. Gods logic is mysterious, it is based on what one needs rather than on what one wants. Hinduism forms the inner strength of society as it is today. Hinduism stack exchange is a question and answer site for followers of the hindu religion and those interested in learning more about hinduism. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. The men should bring the income and provide the necessities. It was the way of life of the people living in the indian subcontinent, across the sindh river. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. 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. Babasaheb ambedkar source material publication committee printer ms. The modern word hinduism is a term developed approximately 700 years ago by the muslim invaders of india. Hindu or hinduism as a religion was conceptualised mughals but popularised by the british.
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. Hinduism was not a religion founded by any one person. Brahma, the creator god revealed the secret knowledge of the vedas to gods. From 1880 to 2018 less than 5 people per year have been born with the first name hindu. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were. For anyone seeking a deeper and more nuanced understanding of hinduism, this book is a must read. But it is an unusually diverse religionone divided by caste, community, language, and regionand is thus quite difficult for outsiders to grasp. 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. Social security administration public data, the first name hinduism was not present. A major book in hinduism that is often in the form of dialogues that explored the vedas and the religious issues that they raised. Hinduism does have principle books, but compared to other religions they have too many books, still they are hierarchical, so primary books are vedas and upanishads very philocophical in nature, check what schopenhauer, german philosopher has to say about them, or read about vedanta and different school of thoughts in hinduism to understand. An alternative history by wendy doniger of the university of chicago is really not a history at all. Hinduism founder who is the founder of hinduism age. Indeed the term hindu is found nowhere in the vedic scriptures, nor can it be found in any classical texts of sanatana dharma.
For hundreds of years, many people have searched for some evidence of the founder of hinduism. 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. A vivid and accessible introduction to one of the worlds most diverse and esteemed religions. Sacred hymns, which are a large body of texts originating in ancient india. Each collection represents a set of books that are collectively known by the collections name.
One story is about fusing the head of a brahmin woman onto the body of a dalit woman. Hindu philosophy refers to philosophies, world views and teachings that emerged in ancient india. According to pew research center, 94% of the world population of hindus live in india. The vedas are the prime book of knowledge on which primary hindu beliefs stands. Vedas are also called sruti what is heard literature, distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called sm. 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. Hinduism does not have a founder or date of origin. Question 1 the name hinduism is based upon the name of a. Ahura mazda is the name for god used in zoroastrianism. 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. Hinduism is the worlds oldest major religion that is still practiced. Hindu families are usually extended families which includes three or four generations living together. Until you rely on what others say you wont get to the truth which. According to jawaharlal nehru, the earliest reference to the word hindu can be traced to a tantrik book of the eighth century c.
Doniger provides several variants of the theme of transposed heads. In the list of books shown below the table of collections, each book also refers to the collection it belongs to if it does. For example they should clean the house, wash the clothes and look after any children. In his book of the same name, he writes, only in hindu civilization were religion and politics so distinctly separated. At that time it was known as sanatan dharma or eternal religion. 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. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help.
For those who already know and admire wendy donigers work, this is a handy if hefty compendium of. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practised in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. The four vedas are the most sacred texts because they teach devotees the.
The name hinduism is a misnomer and of a foreign coinage. But the vedantic beliefs went under much transformation and became gradually polytheistic in character. The persians, who invaded india in the sixth century bc, gave hinduism its name from the. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. Publishers weekly clear and direct this will stand as a reliable resource to return to frequently. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. Aparna chawla is a licensed dentist practicing in central jersey. 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. The name hinduism is based upon the name of a major river in india. Followers believe there are multiple paths to reaching their god. As per the vedantic embodiments hinduism is monotheistic.
The women are to share the domestic responsibilities and cook. All people living beyond that river, regardless of their religious beliefs, were called as hindus. Christianity was founded by jesus christ, islam was founded by hajrat mohammad paigambar, buddhism by gautam buddha and so on. Most forms of hinduism are henotheistic, which means they worship a single deity, known as brahman, but still recognize other gods and goddesses. Now, in hinduism, vasudha narayanan offers an illuminating, compact introduction to this highly. 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.
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