Hinduism, The oldest Religion….

Hinduism is unique among the world religions in that it has no founder or date of origin. While most major religions derive from new ideas taught by a charismatic leader, Hinduism is simply the religion of the people of India, which has gradually developed over four thousand years. The origins and authors of its sacred texts are largely unknown.

Although today's Hinduism differs significantly from earlier forms of Indian religion, Hinduism's roots date back as far as 2000 BC, making it one of the oldest surviving religions. Because of its great age, the early history of Hinduism is unclear. The most ancient writings have yet to be deciphered, so for the earliest periods scholars must rely on educated guesses based on archaeology and the study of contemporary texts.

Hindus basically believes in writings called Shrutis and Smritis

Shrutis

Shrutis are the books of authority for Hindus. The word - shruti literally means 'that which is heard'. It is so called because these scriptures were passed on by word of mouth. They are said to contain   spiritual knowledge acquired through deep meditation. The main set of texts is called the 'Vedas'. The portions of the Vedas that contain the philosophy of Hinduism are called the 'Upanishads'.

'Bhagvat- Gita' is another text that is considered to be a book of authority. It literally means 'the song of the divine'. Even though this text is not part of the Vedas, most Hindus consider this to be a   text of great importance. It is the spiritual dialogue between Arjun and Sri Krishna from the epic Mahabharata.

Smritis

Smritis are the scriptures of lesser authority for Hindus. They contain mythological texts like the Epics :

Ramayana - Story of Rama and Sita.

Mahabharata - Story of the Pandav brothers.

Puranas - There are 18 texts called Mahapuranas. They contain mythological stories of various Gods and Goddesses. These texts provide an easier way to learn Hinduism. Manusmriti is one of the texts of Hinduism that imparts ethics, morality and codes of conduct. All Smritis are considered to have lesser authority than the Vedas.

We will see more about shrutis and smritis in next posts.....