HINDU SHASTRAS Following is the list of Hindu shastras with brief description for our younger generation of fb friends. 1. VEDAS 2. UPANISHADS 3. DHARMA SHASTRAS 4. RAMAYANA 5. MAHABHARATA 6. BHAGAVAD GITA 7. PURANAS 8. AGAMAS 9. BRAHMASUTRA 10. UPAVEDAS 11. GURU VEDA 1.Vedas: The eteral Vedas are the fundamental scriptures of the Hindus.They are not man made but were revealed by God to the enlightened rishis in Samadhi. Hence, the Vedas are considered ‘shruti,’ that which is heard ’and are known as shruti shastras . All subsequent Hindu scriptures are based upon the principles found in the Vedas. The word ‘veda’ is derived from the Sanskrit root word ‘vid’, which means ‘to know’. Thus veda means knowledge, and the veda contains both the spiritual and secular knowledge. It is difficult to assign a time frame for the compilation of the Vedas, Hindu tradition explains that vedic knowledge was later classified by veda vyas into four texts namely the RIG VEDA, YAJUR VEDA, SAMA VEDA, and ATHARVA VEDA. 2.Upanishads: also called Vedanta, are the concluding part of the Vedas. They contain profound philosophical and spiritual truths. They form the fountainhead of Hindu philosophy. The knowledge was preserved and transmitted through the guru-shishya tradition. In all there are more than 108 upanishads. 3.Dharma shastras: such as Manu Smruti ,Yajnavalkya smruti and others, lay down a code of conduct for individuals, communities and the state. They embrace the gamut of religious, moral, social, political, economical and legal realms. They deal with yajna rituals, rites and ceremonies from birth till death ,and customs and manners to be observed in daily life. 4.Ramayana: is a poetic account of the life and adventures of Bhagwan Rama. It describes Rama’s exile, Sita’s kidnapping by Ravana and the subsequent war to rescue her. Sage valmiki highlights Rama’s qualities as an ideal person, family man and leader. Tulsidas highlights the divine qualities of Rama as an incarnation of Bhagvan Vishnu in the Ramacharitmanas. Bhagwan Rama incarnated to destroy evil and reestablish dharma. 5.Mahabharata: scripture culminates in the 18 day epic war between the forces of good and evil. The noble pandavas emerged victorious against their cousins, the kauravas, through the guidance and divine powers of Bhagwan Krishna. The Mahabharata is considered to be the fifth veda. It covers all aspects of human life. 6.Bhagwat Gita: is divine discourse of Bhagvan Krishna to Arjuna, inspiring him to do duty as a kshatriya in the Mahabharata war. Arjuna finally agrees and fights along with his brothers and the pandava army to defeat the kauravas in the epic war. The Gita is a prominent sacred text of Hinduism that deals with ethics, philosophy, metaphysics and shows the ideal way of living. 7.Puranas: The 18 Maha-Puranas are a valuable source of ancient, religious and historical literature scribed by veda vyasa. They include beliefs and practices like meditation on God, murti-puja, shraddha (rites to propitiate one’s ancestors), duties of varnas, ashramas, etc. They also deal with the glory of the avatars of God. The shrimad Bhagawata is the most popular of all maha-puranas. 8.Agamas: Like the Vedas, the Agamas are believed to be revealed by God and are held in equal importance and authority by devout followers. They deal with the nature of God, sacred living, means of worship, building of mandirs, yoga, creation and philosophy. Agama literally means “That which teaches Truth from all aspects”. They are considered to be revealed by God ‘Shiva’ like the Vedas and are thus held in equal importance and authority by devout followers of the vaishnava, shaiva and shakti sampradayas. They explain the nature of God, sacred living, modes of worship, mandir construction,etc. The Agamas mainly consists of four parts called padas each having thousands of Sanskrit verses.The three main groups of Agamas are vaishnava ,shaiva and shakti.Though each of the three groups has different doctrines, there are nevertheless common elements in their spiritual and ritual practices.The vaishnava Agamas teach that Vishnu is the supreme truth and emphasize various types of worship in mandirs. The shaiva Agamas are the worshipers of Bhagwan shiva and shiva is the presiding deity. In the Shakta Agamas,also known as Tantras, parvati is the guru and Bhagwan shiva her disciple. The shakta Agamas teach about the worship of shakti or the universal mother. The Kashmiri pandits of Kashmir fall in this category of shiv- shakti worship. 9.Brahmasutra: or vedantasutra written by veda vyasa, is a philosophical text of 550 aphorisms that summarizes the teachings of the Upanishads .It describes parabrahman (God), Brahman (Ideal devotee), Jivatman (soul), states of consciousness, meditation etc. 10.Upavedas: Complementing the four Vedas are four subsidiary texts called the upavedas. They deal mainly with secular sciences such as Ayurveda (Science of medicine), Gandharva- veda ( Science of music and dance), Dhanurveda (science of archery and war) and Sthapatyaveda ( Science of architecture). They are believed to be very important for the development and sustenance of human society. 11.Guru veda: In Hinduism the God- realized guru is considered to be the embodiment of the Vedas. His words and instructions are held to be sacred and the means to spiritual progress for the disciple. It is through the guru that one understands the true meaning of the scriptures, develops faith in them and finds the inspiration to abide by them. Through an intense spiritual bond with the guru one realizes one’s own atman and is also blessed with a direct realization of God. Good Morning/Good Evening. Stay blessed. Owl landing lane Katy Tx
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 03:49:01 +0000
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