Books by indian atheists and freethinkers nirmukta. It could be something as simple as a symbol of identity, just like why nirmukta has a logo. Although sen identifies himself as a hindu, the book is good fodder for a free thinker. The do not eat beef dictate of hinduism is impractical. The bible, specifically the new testament as the old testament is just taken from the torah. Books by indian atheists and freethinkers the nirmukta. An overview of the hindu texts as well as access to their translation. It is less about survival and more about xenophobic hatred of muslims and christians. Gita is about 5000 years old, bhagavatam about years, scholars say. Hindu fundamentalists often argue that hinduism is such a liberal religion and its teachings should serve as a model for the world. Answering the laments of hindu atheists the nirmukta. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book. Download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf ebooks.
It is here we find the core texts on vedanta and the ideas of dvaita dualism, advaita nondualism and maya. Early hinduism was founded over 5,000 years ago in the indus river valley in india. Even the dwaita hindu ideology is an influence of islam. Hindu religious books for children spiritual india trip. I agree with all those who said bhagavadgita and bhagavata pura. Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as vaishnavism, shaivism, shaktism and others.
The said granth consists of 12 skandas cantos with 18,000 verses. So, before that time, most important book were vedas. A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered as hindu scriptures. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. This thread is intended as a faq for common laments that hindu atheists have with the indian freethought movement. The guru shishya tradition in hinduism for kids the guru shishya paramparatradition is a very important part of the hindu culture and religion. There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism.
Hinduism is the oldest of the major world religions. Further thoughts on why i criticize hinduism thought and action. The earliest texts from this region are extensive, but unfortunately, scholars have yet to find a way to translate the language of the texts. It does not examine the many flagrant irrationalities and fanaticisms that exist in islam and christianity, to say nothing of the many folk expressions of sikhism, buddhism and jainism. The vedas bhagwatgita, mahabharata,ramanyana and few others survived up to this day because they were in massive use by the people. Tantric practices cross religious boundaries, and manifest themselves in aspects of hinduism, jainism, and buddhism. The vedas, or books of knowledge, are the foremost sacred texts in hinduism. In the book, he stresses the fact that india had a rich history of conflicting philosophies including carvaka and debates between proponents of.
Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. The first caveat has to do with the fact that this book deals only with the conflicts between modern science and hinduism. Basu, and its contributors included some of the leading scholars of the day. Rather, there is a huge array of different sacred texts. The rigveda is believed to have been created between 1500 and. Members of these communities have adhered to their religion faithfully for several generations.
The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. A rationalist critique of the hindu identitys usurpation of indian culture address the hindu atheist phenomenon in detail. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. This application is cover holy books of hindus with almost 17 languages like hindi,english,chinese,spanish, russian, telugu,tamil,marathi,malay,punjabi,arabic,urdu,french,japanese,nepali, bangla,gujarati 17. Itihasas in hindu religious context this term refers to the mahabharata and the ramayana but may also be used in reference to all kinds of indian epic.
Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. One such maha puranic texts of hindu literature is the shrimadbhaghwat puran shrimad bhagavata purana which is full of devotion towards vishnu and krishna. The rigveda is a collection of hindu hymns that is considered to be one of the four vedas sacred canonical texts of hinduism. Which holy book is the oldest, the bible, the gita, or the. The isopanisad is one of the more mystical ones and one of the oldest and shortest. There are 2 types of vedic scriptures in sanatan dharma 1. Before i could continue with the answer to question let us know ancienthindu scriptures. Francois gautier is a pastmaster at reporting the unearthing of documents of dubious origins, which are readily exposed as forgeries and which are so suspiciously cutanddried in their support of saffronite history and eschatology. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world.
In this article, we detail the two different categories. Where as texts like manusmriti vanished because they were kept sacred and the knowledge were kept limited to only few disciples. But i noticed many a religious staff member looking surprised. The long comment trail of the article illustrates the indignations of hindu atheists. The itihasas are the history books of hinduism, the mahabharata and ramayana being the two most important books.
This rule was made in hinduism when no other religion conquered india with sword in hands. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. Which is the holy book or sacred scripture of hinduism. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were. Why do you criticize hinduism more than any other religion. Hinduism does not have a single holy book that guides religious practice.
But eaten or not, beaten or not, the cow is a holy animal to the hindus. The sacred books of the hindus is the result of one of the most impressive publishing endeavours of the twentieth century. Since the latter part of the 19th century, large hindu communities have been established in eastern and southern africa particularly in south africa, malaysia, the islands of the pacific ocean and the indian ocean, and some islands of the west indies. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. The bhagavad gita by krishnadwaipayana vyasa, walk like a buddha. Discuss the pathology of hinduism the hindu superstitions, beliefs and ritualistic practices and their influence on believers. So when similar criticisms are levied at hinduism, the hindu atheist is.
There have been numerous instances of one or both the parents taking on the role of guru for continue reading hindu religious books for children. Nirmukta promoting science and freethought in india. Although sen identifies himself as a hindu, the book is good fodder for a. The ancient religious scholars incorporated the arguments of the ancient skeptics and rationalists into their books because they intended to. Hinduism, my critics tell me, is far more rational and scientific than these other. Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book.
Thus any definition of hinduism is somewhat arbitrary and. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. This is a question often posed to us the rationalists, secularists and atheists in india by the proponents of hindutwa. Shrimad bhagavata purana a portrayal of fantacies and idiosyncrasies. Children develop a better understanding of how hindu holy books relate to the everyday lives of hindu s. Its a little hilarious to see the answers here about this question almost every person is trying to prove their scriptures are the best just like any other religious question. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Unpanishads the upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Isopanisad or the isha upanishad is a part of the ancient upanishads, the cornerstones of the hindu religion. The work was devised along new lines, a simple system envisaged by the panini office and b. Further thoughts on why i criticize hinduism nirmukta. Smiriti shruti means heardlisten in sanskrit, ie the texts auraten by god and listen b. Do hindus have a sacred text like bible to refer to as the canon.
Instead, hinduism has a large body of spiritual texts that guide. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. 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. The oral transmission of sacred knowledge, from the teacher to the student, continues till today. By holy book i assume you mean the central texts which are.
The concept of hinduism being a single monolithic religion is recent, dating back only to the 19th century. The tendency to consider a religious book not only as sacred but also as an authority is widely prevalent among gullible followers. Asked in quran koran the quran is the sacred book of. Apologetics of every religion is a pest in our society.
Buddhism 376 million followers tripitaka pali canon 5. The neohindu bandwagon is nothing but hindu apologetics as opposed to christian or islamic apologetics. Holy scriptures and books of hindu religion to free download. While talking about hinduism, nita mentioned that her daughter ayesha had discovered during her research for a paper, the little known historical facts about how the bhagvad gita had been extracted from the epic mahabharat with the motive of creating a holy book for the hindus on lines of the bible, during the colonial era. Religion world is dedicated to provide the pure religion and its essence. Ive recently read the argumentative indian by amartya sen.
Hinduism has room for atheistic views even way back in vedic periods. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions within hinduism. If the nirmukta logo symbol of identity was made out of chocolate cake i would totally eat it ps. The first time i heard this question it was not from a hardcore hindutwa proponent, but a medical doctor in kerala. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. The vedas a collection of hymns praising the vedic gods. The itihasas are epics of the histories of the gods, their wars, and the emergence of humanity. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.
Hinduism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf. They record an incredibly ancient history, spanning back hundreds of thousands of years through the cycles of time, called yugas. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. That might be true but i dont see reforms in hinduism happening and the hindutva organisations who should actually be doing this have nothing other than confrontation with islam and christianity on their agenda.
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