Vedas

Importance of the study of the Vedas: Study of the Vedas is essential, along with other factors, for the attainment of God’ One who labors in the study of works other than the Vedas gets Shuudratva with family. “It means the study of the Vedas has the supreme importance.” Though the period of life to study is the Brahmacharya Ashrama (stage of celibacy and student life) yet even after entering the family life, there should be no slackness in the study of the Vedas. When the students used to…

1. This short extract is part of the Isa Upanishad, a short Sanskrit scripture with only eighteen verses (Mascaró, 1974, Juthani, 2001, p. 125). Isa Upanishad is a significant part of The Upanishads - this collection of ancient texts was written in the 7th century BCE and hold a significant position in the philosophical tenets of Hinduism (Cohen, 2008, p. 4). The Upanishads arose out of Vedic literature, and have a strong connection to Vedic religion, one of the oldest religious traditions in…

There are four statues of David. Each by a different person and each have a different history. The four statues artists were Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini, and Verrocchio. All these statues are great; they have their similarities and their differences. Michelangelo’s David is a seventeen foot tall statue. It is made entirely of white marble. The sculpture is of a man that is naked. He is standing and looking left. He has his left arm up by his head and he is holding something. What he is…

Why do we worship 'Peepal Tree'? ‘Peepal tree’ which means Banyan tree, is considered to be one of the sacred trees that are being worshiped widely in India. It is also known as the ‘Bodhi tree’ or ‘Ashwattha tree’. It is usually huge in size. It comprises of a light grey bark that is smooth and peels in patches. Its heart-shaped leaves have long, tapering tips that makes it stands out from the rest of the leaves of the trees. The fruit is purple when ripe. In the Hindu religion, Peepal tree…

2.2. Pallava Grantha Script The Pallava rule in the Tamil country bought with it greater influence of Sanskrit culture. They devised a script around the 5th century CE for writing Sanskrit in the Tamil country. The need arouse because the tamil script does not have glyphs to represent a number of Sanskrit letters. The new script came to be known as the Pallava Grantha. Brahmi is the origin for Pallava Grantha, like all other scripts for native Indian languages. There is a lot of closeness of…

During the Vedic Age (1500 – 1000 BCE), the Indo-Aryans, a group of nomadic people, were able to bring their many traditions and practices into the Northern region of India. This migration was done willingly and played a substantial role in the development of the Indian language “Sanskrit”. This language is used today by religions such as Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. Within the languages the Indo-Aryans brought forth to Northern India were “poetry, hymns, prayers, and heavily allegorical…

The Vedas declare: “Education confers humility." The word wisdom raises many questions. The Oxford dictionary, for example, defines wisdom as the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that you have.1 But, in my opinion, these definitions are not adequate. Wisdom is not merely the experience of knowledge. It is the experience one obtains from knowledge. So some may ask questions like, “How is wisdom attained?”In my opinion, no one can…

wide variety of stories, passed down through generations by first oral tradition and later in writing, which comprise the textual basis of Hindu religious doctrine. It is within these stories that the Hindu concepts of marriage can be found. The Rig Veda Marriage Hymn, dating back to 1200 BCE, contains the story of the divine marriage between Sūryā and Soma as the model for human marriage. The hymn itself has 47 verses outlining all the details of the…

for Self- Understanding). As civilization took over in many parts of the world, people began questioning the way they lived their lives and began looking for an answer. Different pieces of literature and scripts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Rig Veda and the Upanishads were written as an answer and also religious texts. These scripts helped the people set up a way of life they want to live and also helped them understand themselves. As they continued to do so, people began to question the…

Religious texts are obvious yet interesting mediums through which such comparisons can be made. In particular, the Torah in Judaism and the many Vedas and Epic tales of Hinduism characterize and preserve the history of their respective religions. A particularly compelling Hindu text is the Ramayana, which is unquestionably one of the greatest triumphs of Hindu literature and the source of much spiritual…