Cows are the holy animals of transport for shiva, one of the hindu gods, and are also respected. The itihasas the itihasas are the history books of hinduism, the mahabharata and ramayana being the two most important books. Hinduism for ks1 and ks2 children hindu faith homework. Asked in hinduism how many holy hindu books are there. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. Every october, all yezidis who can, go to the holy city of lalish in northern iraq, where they celebrate the feast of seven days. Further she derived the term from a zoroastrian concept of holy beings middle. The institutes of vishnu sbe 7 julius jolly, translator 1880 sacred books of the east, vol. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. For centuries, yezidi believers, have followed the simple command of the kitab aljilwa, also known as the book of revelation, to honor my symbol and my image. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. Some yazidis also live in armenia, turkey, iran, georgia, and syria.
This is affirmed by virtually all traditional hindus, and those who reject its authority such as buddhists and jains are regarded as unfaithful to. Many scholars liken hinduism to a family of religions, with all affiliated members bearing a family resemblance. Basic zoroastrianism and the teachings of zarathustra a description of various zoroastrian beliefs, as well as links to holy books online and a history of zarathustra. The vedas a collection of hymns praising the vedic gods. Om lata bahadur, book of hindu festivals and ceremonies 2nd edition. With the arrival of a larger number of european and american travelers in the region in the. How do hindus show respect for their holy book answers. I hope that from this short introduction to the holy books of hinduism it is apparent that hindus consider a great variety of literature important, and that this literature is as diverse and complex as it is beautiful. The rigveda is a collection of hymns dedicated to 33 gods especially to indri and agni. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. Om or aum is a symbol and a sound that is associated with hinduism.
Yezidis in ancient india, or indians in ancient mesopotamia re. Surrounded by people of the book, yazidis have felt the pressure in the past to have a written scripture, and rumors have abounded for centuries of a yazidi holy text, referred to as cilwe, revelation, or mes. Guided by the founder, satguru sivaya subramuniyaswami, the magazines editors, who are initiated monks of the kauais hindu monastery, collaborated with holy men and women and experts around the world in creating graphically rich guides to virtually. Hindus show respect by reading it, or even having it in their homes next to the gods. The concept of hinduism being a single monolithic religion is recent, dating back only to the 19th century. Murugan as expositor of gnosis with his symbols the vel ayudha or spear. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world. Indepth articles about the worlds oldest religion, with particular focus on hinduism s history, culture, beliefs, practices, festivals, holidays, and more. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or. Tantra yoga, nada yoga and kriya yoga is hallmark of sri swami sivanandas teachings. The yezidis are the kurdish minorities from countries like iraq, syria. They record an incredibly ancient history, spanning back hundreds of thousands of years through the cycles of time, called yugas.
The similarities between hindus and yezidi culture times of india. The introduction to the yogas are highly practical and also serves as an inspiration for the reader to establish a regular practice of doing he sadhanas. The book contains 270 pages and is divided in 57 small easytoread chapters, containing authentic information about all the important aspects of hindu religion, culture, and philosophy. Yezidism is a fascinating part of the rich cultural mosaic of the middle east.
Yezidis and hindus led by the yezidi sanatan dharma society join hands for the. That is a part of a hinduism details sequence from the vedanta channel. He died in 1162, and his tomb at lalis is a focal point of yazidi pilgrimage and the principal yazidi holy site. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas.
If there is a book describing the several ways by which one can converse with god, then theres another book relating science with religion holy science and explaining the secrets of living a healthy, happy and peaceful life. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism sacred text of hinduism some important books and writings on hinduism hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. The holy books of hinduism hinduism details simplyhindu. Hinduism vaishnavism sri vaishnavism brahma sampradaya nimbarka. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. Linda johnsen, the complete idiots guide to hinduism. Hinduismthe hindu holy books are the vedas and two originally secular epic poems, the mahabharata and the ramayana. Since 1979 the international magazine hinduism today has been producing a treasury of educational features on all aspects of sanatana dharma. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. They got their present form between 1200200 bce and were introduced to.
Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. The oldest are called the vedas and are written in sanskrit. 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. Yezidis and hindus make common cause under peacock angel yezidi baba sheikh at washington dc murugan. The most important point to note is that peacock, the national bird of india. List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. Sufi influence and imagery can be seen in the religious vocabulary, especially in the terminology of the yazidis esoteric literature, but much of the theology is nonislamic. Yazidis symbol is a wing spread peacock, just like hindu god shivas son, subrahmanyas mount. A few texts are shared resources across these traditions and broadly considered as hindu scriptures.
Then there are books describing various facets of the two greatest tales of hindu religion. This book focusses mainly on the culture and history of yezidis. There are many similarities between the hindus and yezidis. Yazidism is the religion of a kurdish peoplegroup that lives primarily in iraq. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.
Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. Thus any definition of hinduism is somewhat arbitrary and. Yezidis emerged for the first time in the 12th century in the kurdish mountains of northern iraq. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Kaliyan bought the vedas as a boon and so all the previous religious books including agamas and puranas. Even the religious ways of arti and worship is found to be seen in the yezidi rituals. Yezidis and hindus revere malik taus or skandamurugan, the. The yezidis have two sacred books, the kitab aljilwa, the book of revelation.
Some of the holy books are the ramayan and the bhagvad gita. In the field of comparative religion, many scholars, academics, religious figures have looked at. Information on zarathustra, his teachings, and ancient iranian culture. Toward the end of the 5th century, the cult of the mother goddess assumed a significant place in indian religious life. Scholars hesitate in defining the term hindu scripture given the diverse nature of. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva.
Yezidis and hindus revere malik taus or skandamurugan. Yazidis temples have pyramid shaped gopura just like hindu temples. History, facts and traditions of iraqs persecuted minority by yasmine hafiz hunted by militants from the islamic state, thousands of people from the yazidi community have fled to the slopes of iraqs mount sinjar, where they are caught between the prospect of death by dehydration and murder at the hands of the group. Both hindus and yezidis are blessed by their holy persons at the sacred space between the. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. History of the yezidi the ultimate history project. All hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy. Since the fall of 2014, the atrocities of isis islamic state of iraq and syria committed in iraq and syria came into light, the world learned that thousands of innocent yezidis were slaughtered.
Hinduism, as the worlds most ancient surviving religion, could have it no other way. 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. At this time the lord came down to the holy land al kuds, and commanded. There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. Shaktism, the worship of shakti, the active power of the godhead conceived in feminine terms, should be distinguished from tantrism, the search for spiritual power and ultimate release by means of the repetition of sacred syllables and phrases. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. The history of a community, culture and religion library of modern religion at. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc.
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