2006-06-09 02:55:05 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There are various ways to answer this question.
The oldest Scripture is the Rig Veda, followed by 3 other Vedas (Sama, Yajur, and Atharva). These express the timeless truth as heard by ancient rishis or seers. There are so many Hindu Scriptures besides these however, although they all come from the Veda in one way or another. The Upanishads are deep philosophical treatises that record the truths as found by sages who would go into the forest and meditate and learn with a guru. They are very contemplative and I think this points to the fact that the "Word of God" in Hinduism is within the very soul of the person. It is when one effectively lays aside his own selfish ego and opens his heart to the eternal truth of God that one "hears" the "word of God." This was accomplished in the Vedas, and Upanishads, as well as other Scriptures.
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important Scriptures, because it records the conversation that the warrior and devotee of Lord Krishna had with Krishna Himself. Krishna tells him (and thereby tells us too) the path to God realization. This is probably the most-loved of Hindu Scriptures.
Aside from these I've mentioned are the Mahabharata - the largest epic in the world about the Great Indian War and it contains the mythology of India as well as the Bhagavad Gita itself.
There is the Ramayana, which tells of the life of Rama, who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu as a righteous King in India.
There are numerous Puranas, which are devotional literatures which tells of the stories of various gods and goddesses. The most popular may be the Srimad Bhagavata Purana, which tells of Krishna's incarnation. But remember, as pointed out above by others, even though in Hinduism, we can speak of numerous gods and goddesses, in truth, we acknowledge that there is only one God with many names and forms.
Here is a website that explains the many various sacred writings of Hinduism:
http://www.hinduism.co.za/vedas-.htm
2006-06-12 09:50:57 · answer #1 · answered by Heron By The Sea 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
thats what is different in hinduism
it doesnt ask you to follow any doctrine or book.......
did u realize god or not......thats the question...you can follow any doctrine...
the basis of hinduism is called the "vedas"..of which the philosophical portion is called the "vedanta"....
so vedas are like the bible for christians..
though many will tell u The Gita is the bible of the hindus..which is not correct..
The Gita is the commentary on the vedas..
The Gita is taught by Sri Krisna to his disciple on a battle field..and he is a incarnation of god..
so u can say its the word of god
but hindus dont blindly follow any book .or doctrine..
I cant eat food for you..you have to eat it yourself to cure your hunger..In the same way ., says hinduism,, you have to realize god for yourself..It doesnt matter what doctrine or book you follow..
If u have realized god, then u have a religion, otherwise you are just a talking machine..that is the idea in hinduism..
This is what a great indian philosopher (he represented hinduism in the west ) swami vivekananda said.
Each soul is potentially divine.
The goal is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal.
Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy - by one, or more, or all of these - and be free.
This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.
That is why a hindu will pray to christ, he will pray to buddha or any god...........coz the goal is god..not religion..
2006-06-11 20:12:00 · answer #2 · answered by raj_6c1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its not taken in the same sence as Christians or Muslims.
Veda Upanishad And other books contain deep philosophies and disscuss God extensively.
But Its Geeta which is directly attributed to Lord Krishna an Avatar of God.
Some one above tried to correct that it is gods not god.
He is MISTAKEN.
Upanishad and Vedas are much much older than whole Christianity.
Rig Veda was written before 4000 BC and it says there is only one God. So do all the Upanishdas.
Hindus do not negate any belief and simply assimilates them rather than excluding rigidly.
All the forms of God are seen as different facets of one supreme god.
2006-06-09 03:57:32 · answer #3 · answered by rian30 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shri Bhagwad Gita
2006-06-09 02:58:58 · answer #4 · answered by Bolan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hindus treat Vedas as words of God...but wait!!
Hinduism gives full liberty to its followers to converse with the God and find the truth themselves
Hinduism has no bindings on it followers...it does not force them to believe in its dogmas..rather it challanges them to come and see the Truth!!!
2006-06-09 07:25:14 · answer #5 · answered by ۞Aum۞ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bhagwad Gita
2006-06-09 02:59:23 · answer #6 · answered by zero 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They use the Vedas, but I'm not sure they consider them 'the word of god'. That seems to be a concept mostly of Christianity and Islam.
2006-06-09 02:58:09 · answer #7 · answered by lenny 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hindus read the geeta.
2006-06-09 03:00:09 · answer #8 · answered by curiosa 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would be gods (plural).
Vedas and Bhagavit Gita.
2006-06-09 03:03:06 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
just workship to my lord shri ram
2006-06-09 03:03:33 · answer #10 · answered by Amit G 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋