The early buddhist texts nikaya sometimes talk in terms of the thousandfold. The dhammapada is a good book and actually the bhagavad gita is more buddhism than hinduism. The rigveda is a collection of hymns dedicated to 33 gods especially to indri and agni. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. Hindu views on the nature of existence hinduism today. Hinduism is hardly a dogma but a working hypothesis. If you are looking for a single hinduism holy book like the quran or the bible you will be disappointed. Death and the lokasthe different planes of existence. The ancient indians were not interested in history as such, which is simply the records of kings and merchants written by the victors. According to hindu cosmology, the universe contains 7 upper and 7 lower planes of existence. You shall not find god without effort, toil and karma. The ultimate purpose and goal for a hindus religious and spiritual practice is to. An article on life after death, heaven and hell, karma, planes of existence and.
The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. The suttas described 31 distinct planes or realms of existence into which beings can be. Creation heart of hinduism iskcon educational services. Far from having access to wider realms of knowledge. There is the kama loka, or world of sensuality, in which humans, animals, and some devas reside, rupaloka, or the world of refined material existence, in which certain beings mastering specific meditative attainments reside, and arupa loka, or the immaterial, formless world, in which beings to. According to it the body of an embodied soul is made up of five elements, known as mahabhutas namely the earth, fire, water, air and space. Profound, divine answers have been formulated through the ages. Hinduism flows from the misty past some 6000 to 7000 years ago. Hinduism hindu holy books explanation sheet teacher made.
Hinduism is a deep, free and inspiring way of life that does not disrupt you but helps you with your holy goals. The 31 planes of existence home sanskriti hinduism. Planes of existence, summerland, and spirit guardians. There is something called pramana, authority, which our acharyas have recognised, and as per the acharyas a set of books are considered primary texts, whereas, other books based on these primary books can also be referred to. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions.
More worrying is that there are ten different concepts or theories of the planes of existence. All these divine abodes are full of sensual pleasures and are fully enjoyed by the. One is that these are the stages of mental development in a spiritual journey. They got their present form between 1200200 bce and were introduced to india by the aryans. The neo hinduism is based on ramakrishna and represents the unity of all religions. Hinduism does not condemn those who deny god as the creator and ruler of the world, who do not accept the existence of an eternal soul and the state of moksha or state of liberation. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions within hinduism. Theosophy, rosicrucian, thelema, hermeticism, surat shabda yoga, jainism, sufism, hinduism, buddhism, gnosticism, kabbalah, and fourth way. In former times dominated the god of war and intolerance indra. Mar 28, 2016 i agree with all those who said bhagavadgita and bhagavata pura. Sruti pronounced shroothee are the holy books within hinduism that are considered to be divinely inspired, and thus infallible and authoritative. Hindu scriptures often speak of the many lokasor planes of existence and dvipaor islands.
In early buddhism, based upon the pali canon and related agamas, there are four distinct worlds. Hindu religious literature is full of numerous references to reincarnation. In hindu cosmology, there are many lokas or worlds, that are identified with both traditional cosmology and states of meditation. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. The astral plane, also called the astral world, is where consciousness goes after physical death. Religionfacts does not necessarily endorse the contents of these books. The flow of hinduism can be divided roughly into major periods of change and development. Jan 07, 2009 the pali canon is a good source but no it is not the holy book of buddhism, there really isnt one.
The world is a place where fallen souls attempt to enjoy existence separately from god. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas. Apr 03, 20 the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. The 31 planes of existence by suvanno mahathera describes the ancient buddhist concepts of planes in the context of karma, rebirth, samsara and meditation and realization. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. Hindus believe that existence of this cycle is governed by karma. Hinduism is the oldest religion, which has practiced since time immemorial.
Nov 01, 2007 a fresh introduction to an ancient religion explaining the origins, beliefs, scriptures and philosophies of this ancient religion, klaus k. Even animals like cow is considered very holy in hinduism. This is the realm of the material world, beings on this plane have a gross body made up of solid, liquid, gaseous, plasmic and etheric matter. There is a wide spectrum of religious belief within hinduisms four major sects or denomina tions. May 12, 2018 here at the hinduism section of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. Let people quote the scriptures and sacrifice to the gods, let them. A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered as hindu scriptures. At a much deeper level of understanding, hindu scriptures do not conclude. The hindu holy scriptures are mainly comprised of the following works written in the.
Both are intermediary planes of existence in which the atman might exhaust a. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. Metals like gold, silver, copper, iron and brass are also considered holy in hinduism. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. Hinduism does not render the upholders of such views unfit to be recognised as pious and honourable members of the hindu religious society. Jun 07, 2008 all hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy. Some hindus may believe in what is described in hindu scriptures as two planes of. Amazing true life story that proves the existence of god and the unseen world around us. The holy vedas is an exceptional anthology of verses taken from the revered four vedas of hindu mythology, translated into english for the benefit of the mass the four vedas of hindu culture, the rigveda, yajurveda, atharvaveda, and samaveda, are considered to be the scriptures that defined the lifestyle and beliefs of all hindus. She explains clearly what hinduism is, who hindus are, where they live and worship.
Here we have evidence of the existence of hinduism. Hinduism part 2 download books, sacred, spiritual texts. You can go to the hinduism isle and scan all the hindu texts. Here, i will give only a brief introduction to the holy books of hinduism. It consists of four realms that are the abodes of those who pass way while meditating in the formless jhanas. Hinduism 14 lokas quantum mutiverse study ramanis blog. The essence of it all can be summed up in tat tvam asi thou art that. In hinduism we also encounter another concept about the fate of the casual or the subtle body and the ossibilities of life after death. Another is that these are planes of existence at other levels, complying with laws that are unique to them, including the laws of physics. Holy scripture includes writings of the bab the forerunner, bahaullah the prophet founder, and abdulbaha the son of bahaullah know, thou, that the soul is a sign of god, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever. According to occult philosophy, all people possess an astral body. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers.
You shall never be saved by anyone by just belonging to any religion, but by your karma, deep wish for salvation and the power of a true master sent by the creator of the creators who resides way above and beyond the trinity or 3 planes of existence. Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as vaishnavism, shaivism, shaktism and others. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. In fact, it cannot be defined precisely as any other religion can be.
A concise explanation of the main hindu holy books. First, lets distinguish between two types of hindu literature. Gita is about 5000 years old, bhagavatam about years, scholars say. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population.
Krishnadwaipayana vyasa shelved 188 times as hinduism avg rating 4. Hinduismthe puranas wikibooks, open books for an open world. All are available for purchase on click book images for details. They contain narratives about the history of the universe from creation to destruction and the genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and deities. Please note we are accepting orders but please expect delays due to the impact of covid19 on logistcs and procurement. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies, and entirely new branches of hinduism. The highest in these realms, the pure abodes 2831, are accessible only to those who have attained to nonreturning, the stage of arahantship. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma.
However, the following description thereof by a foreign thinker is nearer the mark than any other. God and religious tolerationhinduism wikibooks, open books. Are the various gods and goddesses in hinduism real or beings. The sutras and the suttas can be considered the holy books of buddhism. Hinduism books showing 150 of 2,646 the bhagavad gita paperback by. In jain texts, the universe is referred to as loka. The astral spheres were thought to be planes of angelic existence intermediate between earth and heaven. Scholars hesitate in defining the term hindu scripture given the diverse nature of. Religions are complex and shalu sharma does a great job breaking down hinduism down into manageable portions. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva.
Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. The three realities of existence, god, soul and world, constitute the fundamentals of. The 31 planes, as described in the suttas, are divided into three types of worlds. The akashic plane is directly accessible from the causal and mental planes, illustrated on the diagram with straight lines. There are however two holy books for hinduism the mahabhrata and the ramayana.
The fill of the loop representing the akashic plane is a darker version of the neutral gray pattern that fills the circle representing the universe as a whole, signifying the akashic records that extend from the akashic plane and interpenetrate all the planes of existence. Klostermaier succeeds in capturing the rich diversity of rituals and gods that comprise hinduism, while keeping the tone both engaging and informative. Hindu concept of reincarnation vedanta society of western. Each tradition has a long list of hindu texts, with subgenre based on syncretization of ideas from samkhya, nyaya, yoga, vedanta and other schools of hindu philosophy. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 900 million followers. Devotees worship the banana tree every thursday by offering turmeric, jaggery and. As stated before, in some upanishads we come across references to mainly four planes of existence namely bhur the earth or the mortal world, bhuva the mid world or celestialworld, suvah the gods world or indras heaven and maha the great world or the world of brahman. Learn about the buddhist concept of planes of existence.
In the 6th century bc, developed in india the yoga movement. Mar 01, 2011 volume 1 features a brief history of hinduism, the core beliefs of hinduism, as well as exposition on sacred texts, various denominations, temples, holy men and women, sacred places and rivers, festivals, rituals, and sacred symbols and objects. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. A collection of handselected books on hinduism, chosen on the basis of apparent usefulness and quality.
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