is vedic religion the same as hinduism?

[Guest guest]

A friend told me, vedic religion is the same as hinduism. And that vedic texts means the same as Hindu texts? Is this true?

[Guest guest]

hinduism is a religion in the sense that judeo-christianity is a religion.

 

hinduism is an evolution of religious ideas over the course of thousands of years of indian history all rolled into one nice neat word by imperial foreignors.

 

vedism is one stage of this evolution, perhaps the oldest stage. anyone with evidence of pre-vedic religion, please post. but i believe vedism is the oldest, based heavily of nature worship (indra - storm, vayu - wind, agni - fire, yama - death, varuna - water, etc) there were many rituals followed and probably the early setup of the caste system.

 

following vedism, was brahmanism, a stage where the caste system was fortified and very closely followed. it was also pretty segregatory. Ritualism became very popular abnd people were more interested in doing rituals and following caste rules rather than improving themselves and their society.

 

This is where buddha came in with his brahmanism reforms leading to a following labeled as buddhists. Mahavira also camewith a reform movement called Jainism.

 

With the philosophical evolution of buddhsts and jains, brahmanism also evolved into classical hinduism, or puranic hinduism. This is the time when Vaishnavism and Shaivism and many other sects became popular. this too evolved for somet ime

 

modern hindusim, probably got its start in the 1800s when european colonialization systematicaly grouped different sects together under one label for census purposes. From there, we have what we have today where most hindus worship vishnu, shiva, ganapathi, lakshmi, saraswathi, murugan, etc.

[Guest guest]

Can the term "Vedic Literature" also iclude later texts like the Puranas or Agamas, since they seek to interpret and apply the Vedas? I have noticed that many Hindu traditionalists prefer this term, than the term 'Hindu Scriptures'. Is this observation correct?

[Guest guest]

the other way.

 

vedic literature to me includes the vedas, upanishads, and any other material from before the time of buddha. the ones that come after are puranic scriptures. there are many texts from this time that do as you said, try to interpret the vedas these are vedantic texts.

[maadhav]

<< hinduism is a religion in the sense that judeo-christianity is a religion. >>

 

Vedic dharma = Hinduism = sanatana dharma.

 

hinduism is dharma, and english has no word to totally translate it into english. religion word has less meaning than the word dharma has. i think there is an article about this on www. bharatvani.org.

 

hinduism is not a religion in the sense islam and xianity and other religions are.

 

[Guest guest]

You're right. Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma. It is NOT a religion in the sense Islam or christianity is a religion. What an insult to our scriptures, rishis and avatars, comparing SD with Semitic thought! SD is an integral philosophy and Dvaita its highest expression.

[maadhav]

yes dwaitin,

 

but we do not want to tell the world at global level

what we think of dwaita, advit etc.

we are humble. the need is to unite all the vedic people against the anti-vedics in bharat. no need to say thigns that can dtart a hot debate within. it however, can be done in home and respectfully.

 

[Guest guest]

{Dvaita its highest expression}

 

Just how is Dvaita it's highest expression? Care to explain? I'm not an advaitist but I'm interested to see how you came to that conculsion because many scolars say advaita is it's highest expression.

 

By the way, I think Hinduism has evolved over the ages and the development of the Vedic religion transformed into the Puranic religion. Now there are many forms of Hinduism which all come under Sanatana Dharma, such as the various sects, yogic religion, vedantic religion, etc. The principlas are to be found in the Vedas and Upanishads but there have benn re-interpreted by different Hindu movements.

[Guest guest]

Advaita is the first step where the jiva moves from Kshara to Akshara, which is the entire separation of the jiva from the activities of the prakriti. It is also called Nirguna Brahman. Then there is the realization of the localized aspect of God, also called paramatma where the jiva feels he is spark of god's energy. This is Vishistadvaita. Finally, he realizes God as the Purushottama, beyond all manifestation as well as non-manifestation. there is an eternal distintion. This is Dvaita, the highest state. Read Madhva's or Jayathirta's tattva-vada to understand more about this.

[Guest guest]

if anything should be considered pure and true hinduism today, it should be VEDANTA, that which is the core of all discussed above. that is sanathana dharma - universal righteousness. it can't be categorised, because it is true for all religions in the world. hinduism today is more a product of popular culture, and ritual. one must know the difference.

[Guest guest]

{if anything should be considered pure and true hinduism today, it should be VEDANTA, that which is the core of all discussed above.}

 

I would agree with that statement as all the acharyas most movements claim succession from did their commentaries on the Upanishads, not the Veda Samhitas. The Upanishads apparently criticise vedic rituals. Most groups don't even understand the Veda Samhitas and while praising them and are more influenced by the Upanishads. But then again we have the sectarian bodies arguing if dvatia or advaita is better. The Upanishads themselves seem to be a combination of advaita, dvaita and vististadvaita. Maybe the sages saw different stages or paths to Moksha, that are different ways of looking at the same thing.

[Guest guest]

The Advaitists say the opposite. The vishitadvaitists say their view is true to the Upanishads and Brahma-sutra.

Where does Achintya-bheda-bheda and Shuddhadvaita fit into all of this?

[Guest guest]

Can we have some more comments/views on this? It was an interesting thread.

[Guest guest]

An Advaitin or Vishisadvaitin can say anything they want. It doesn;t make it true. Muslims can say their religion is the only true religion. It doesn't make it true. Logic, based on scriptures, is the only way you can ascertain. And it points to Dvaita. To know about Acintya Bheda-Abheda, read Chaitanya.

[Guest guest]

First realize nirguna bramhan. Then any bets upon being able to delude yourself to believe a rope as a snake.

 

Vishista advaitha is one firm foot in an aspiring demi-god worship (krishna as a saguna-god) with a reluctant foot on vedanta.

 

Dwiatha is classic demi-god worship of krishna as a saguna-god. Sure, with loads of hype and drama.

[Guest guest]

Dvaita has nothing to do with Saguna, because Krishna is above and beyond saguna as well as nirguna. He is the Purushottama. Instead of posting your views like an idiot, why don't you turn the pages and learn something for a change?

[Guest guest]

"First realize nirguna bramhan. Then..."

 

then nohing.... if reality is only nirguna when you realize it you die..

 

[Guest guest]

One can read from the two postings, your compelling logic to interpret the following:

-The plane above nirguna and saguna

-The step-by-step progress from the spiritual knowledge provided in advaitha, to the logical views of dwaitha

 

I prefer to unlearn these above concepts, if ever it's conditioned inside of my head. I consider the obcession with logic as the weakness in dwaitha. The substantial presence of christianity and islam in the belt might indicate that these people might have been discontented with madhawa's dwaitha.

[Guest guest]

Vedic texts are just the Vedas - from the Samhitas to the Upanishads.

So is the Vedic religion the same as Hinduism? I think it was the earliest phase of Hinduism. And what we know as Hinduism today is an evolved version of the Vedic religion. The teachings of the Upanishads known as the Vedanta, was the last phase of the Vedic religion.