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Hello,

I am a 19 year old female looking to explore and gain knowledge of Hinduism. Growing up in England it has been a religion I have glimpsed at in certain mild ways yet never really known anything about. I was not brought up with beliefs from any specific religion, just with the mild awareness of many within the world. Still Hinduism is something that I am now at a point in my life where I want to know more about, from those who practice and surround themselves with it.

Would anyone be so kind as to recommend me books to read or websites to view as a starting point for gaining both basic and deeper knowledge of Hinduism?

I would be greatly appreciated in many ways.

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Jai Ganesh

 

welcome

 

nice to know you are interested in Hinduism,

there are many paths, so choose wisely,

For me Gitaji and Ramayan stands high above all to read.

Chanting the names of the lord and there are many names, is the easy way of starting the practice.

There are four pillars of Dharma which you follow when you become serious.

 

Jai Shree Krishna

 

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Thank you for responding to my post and welcoming me.

"Gitaji" and "Ramayan" - I am guessing that these are religious writings that you are recommending to me. Would I be able to find these at a general bookstore - like Amazon.com or would I need to search in more of a specialist store to find them?

I of course have so many questions as this is all new to me and I am an open book wanting to learn. Would you be able to tell me more of the authors of these writings?

 

And what are the meanings of 'Jai Ganesh' and 'Jai Shree Krishna' that you used as greeting and signiture to your post?

 

Thank You.

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The Vedas -- Rgveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvanaveda -- are the first four of the pramanas (authoritative texts) of our religion and also the most important. Of the remaining ten, six are Angas of the Vedas and four are Upangas.

 

Man possesses a number of angas or limbs. In the same way the Vedas personified -- the Vedapurusa -- has six limbs. ( It must be noted that the Vedas are also spoken of as Vedamatha, Mother Veda. ) The four Upangas, though not integral to the Vedas, are supporting limbs of the Vedapurusa. The Angas, as already stated, are six in number -- Siksa, Vyakarana, Chandas, Nirukta, Jyotisa and Kalpa. The four Upangas are Mimamsa, Nyaya, Purana and Dharmasastra.

 

The Vedas are fundamental importance; the Angas and Upangas derive their importance from them. Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Arthasasthra and Gandharvaveda are called Upavedas, subsidiary Vedas. Their connection with the prime scripture is thus obvious.

 

The Vedas must be learned along with the Angas and Upangas. Such a thourough study of the scripture is called "Sa-Anga-Upanga-adhyayana" (study of the Vedas with the Angas and Upangas). The term "sangopanga", which has come into popular usage, is derived from this. If a speaker deals with a subject thoroughly, whether it be politics or something else, we use the word "sangopanga" in describing his performance. The term refers to the ancient caturdasa-vidya (the six Angas plus the four upangas). We have totally forgotten the old system of education but our culture is so steeped in it that we still use the term (sangopanga) to refer to any full scale treatment or exposition of a subject. The inference is clear. That for centuries the Vedas, together with their Angas and Upangas formed such an intimate part of life in Tamil land that a term associated with this tradition, "sangopanga", is still used by the common people there. But the irony of it is that today we do not know even the names of these old sastras.

 

The Vedas form the core of our religion and are the direct authority for our dharma and for all our religious practices. They are our Bible, our Qur'"an, our Granth sahib. But, of course, the Vedas are far far older than these scriptures of other faiths. All of them originate from truths found in the Vedas. The very word "Veda" connotes what is authoritative. There is a practice of reffering to the Bible, the Quran and other scriptures as the "Christian Veda", "Mohammedan Veda", "Parsi Veda", "Sikh Veda" and so on. Christians in India refer to the Bible as "Satya-Veda".

 

It is rather difficult to speak about the Vedas as a topic. One does not know where to begin and how to conclude. It is a bewildering task. The magnitude of our scripture is such -- and such is its glory.

 

"Pramanam Vedasca", says the Apastamba Dharmasutra. The Vedas are indeed the sources of all dharmas as well as the authority on which they are founded. A book that has been cherished by the great men of th Tamil country from the earliest times is Manu-dharma-nul (Manusmriti). Throughout India, Manu's dharmasastra is held in the highest esteem. In Tamil Nadu there was a king who earned the name of "Manu-niti-kanda-Cola" for the exemplary manner in which he administered justice. Once a calf got crushed under the wheel of the chariot ridden by his son. The king was so just and strict that, when the aggrieved cow, the mother of the calf, sought justice, he ordered his son to be crushed to death under the wheel of the same chariot. For us "Manu-niti-sastra"(Manusmriti) is the authority on dharma. But does it claim that it is the authority for all dharma? No. "Vedo'khilo dharmamulam", says Manu, i. e. the Vedas constitute the root of all dharma. They prescribe the dharma for all time, he says.

 

We must obey the dictates of the Vedas. When we are asked to accept a statement without questioning it, it is customary to remark; "Is that the word of the Vedas? " This confirms the fact that the common people believe that the word of the Vedas, or their injunction, must be obeyed without being questioned. The "Vedavak" (the word or pronouncement of the Vedas) has been our inviolable law for thousands of years.

 

The Principal upanishads: The upanishads that have been commented upon by Sankara and other teachers have have acquired extra significance as the principal or more or less "canonical" upanishads. These are:

 

Aitareya (Rg Veda)

Brhadaranyaka (Sukla Yajurveda)

Isa (Sukla Yajurveda)

TaittirIya (Krshna Yajurveda)

Katha (krshna Yajurveda)

Chandogya (Sama Veda)

Kena (Sama Veda)

Mundaka (Atharva Veda)

Mandukya (Atharva Veda)

Prasna (Atharva Veda)

 

Hindu View of the Individual:

 

Hindu scriptures teach that an individual is essentially ãtman clothed in a physical body. The Sanskrit word ãtman, meaning "God within," is usually translated as soul, self, or spirit. If the physical body of an individual were compared to a computer, the ãtman would represent the electricity that operates the computer. Thus, without ãtman, the human body is insentient. In a human body ãtman is the source of the mind, intellect and ego sense.

 

Hindu scriptures declare that ãtman is immortal and divine. In Hindu view, therefore, an individual is potentially divine and eternally perfect. There are two states of existence associated with ãtman: the bound state and the liberated state. In the bound state, ãtman is associated with a physical body. As a result of this association, ãtman is subject to mãyã, which causes it to forget its true divine nature and commit evil deeds in the world. The powers of mãyã are two-fold. As cosmic ignorance, mãyã deludes the ãtman into forge-tting its own true nature. As creative energy (shakti) of Brahman, mãyã is the material cause of the universe. In the liberated state, ãtman is said to have attained moksha (spiritual perfection) and consequently enjoys union with God. Moksha simply means freedom of the individual from ignorance, i.e. realization of one's own true divine nature, or union with God.

 

Although there are various viewpoints, the predominant Hindu view is that the same ãtman dwells in all beings. Thus, all human beings have a common source and are interconnected in a subtle way. The reason humans are different from each other (or at least think they are different) is that the manifestation of ãtman in a physical body depends upon the type and construction of the physical body. Just as the same electricity manifests as cold in a refrigerator and heat in an oven, the same ãtman manifests as a saint in one human body and a sinner in another human body, owing to the past karma (see Chapter 6). Thus a sinner of today is a potential saint of tomorrow.

 

In Hindu view, an individual is not born a sinner, but commits sin due to mãyã. Just as darkness quickly disappears upon the appea-rance of light, an individual's delusion vanishes when he gains self-knowledge. Self-effort and guru's (spiritual preceptor) grace is all that is needed to dispel one's ignorance and attain self-knowledge.

 

Practical Significance:

 

The Hindu view of God allows one to exercise complete freedom in worship. A Hindu may worship any deity as he chooses based upon his own mental constitution. He knows that different modes of worship are just different roads to the same destination of union with God. He has no quarrel with other religions as he considers them as different rivers flowing to ultimately merge in the same ocean. As such, he has no urge to forcibly convert other people to his own faith.

 

The belief in the existence of the all-pervasive Divinity in the universe creates an attitude of acceptance, reverence, benevolence and compassion for all things and beings in the mind of a Hindu. He does not see any intrinsic evil in Nature. He sees the ground, the sky, the trees, the hills and mountains, and the rivers all sacred.

 

The Hindu concepts of the individual and the world eliminate the fear of God or eternal hell from one's mind. A Hindu considers life a divine pilgrimage from "unreal to real, darkness to light, and death to immortality." 4 Being on this road of pilgrimage, a Hindu has no intention to hurt anyone. He is thoroughly convinced that whatever he does in this life will come back to him in the next life. Thus he must do good and be good now, as he will have to come back again and again in this world until all scores are settled.

 

 

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Guest guest

<font color="brown">WELCOME !</font color>

 

<font color="green">

Nice to know you are interested in Hinduism. It is appreciative !

You can try the link below. </font color>

 

www.allspiritual.com/Hinduism.php3

 

www.allspiritual.com

<font color="green">

Thanks.

</font color><font color="brown">

 

Om Namah Shivay ! </font color>

<font color="blue">

* 'Om Namah Shivay' indicate that, a person is a devotee of lord (Hindu God Shiva) Shiva or praying to Shiva or just remembering the God's name. </font color>

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Jai Ganesh, Glories to Lord Ganesh who removes obobstacle,

Hindus worship him first in any religious begining.

Jai Shree Krishna, glories to Lord Krishna who is my worship able deity.

 

Gita is spoken by Lord Krishna it literally means song of god.

Ramayan is written by Valmiki in sanskrit, Tulsidas GoSwami translated it in hindi. Ramayan is all about Lord Ram and his ideal life style.

 

Chant the names of the lord it would be the best start.

 

Jai Shree Krishna

 

 

 

 

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Wow - that really is a lot to take in all at once as I am just beginning to dip into my research and exploration of Hinduism. But of course appreciated, and I am sure with more knowledge gained and research done into the information you have layed out to me here I will surely grasp everything of which you speak.

Its lovely to know that you want to help me learn - Thank you!

 

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Again thank you - that was a very interesting and informative read as an introduction to gaining knowledge of the Sanatana Dharma branch. Its certainly inspiration to look into more. Today a friend of mine who has interests in many different religions lent me a copy of "Bhagavad Gita" to read. I'm sure as I read it I will have many more curiosities that need to be answered!

 

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It is always heartwarming to be welcomed!

The link is very informative - Thank You. I will enjoy exploring that site more fully tonight.

Thank You also for explaining your signiture to me as I am just beginning to learn. I hope to learn more from you all in future times.

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