The Nature of Hindu Scriptures

[Bismillah]

Hello I would like to know how central the Vedas (and any other scriptures) are to Hindu faith.

For example, what role do they play in your life, in society, and the future (i.e after death).

I would also like to know whether they are divinely inspired and written as a divine mandate, or something along the lines of sage sayings.

Thank you for the responses

 

[Satsangi]

You will get different answers here. The Vedas are in essence the principles underlying the whole creation- souls and non souls. The Vedas are not just a book; their true meaning has to be realized by God's and Guru's grace; it is not just reading a book. Realization of even one Veda Vakya (sentence) is said to be liberating the Soul. They were revealed by the God and hence called "Shruti"; the Scriptures by Sages are called "Smriti."

In my opinion, the Vedas defined as above, form the pillar of any Hindu sect. I also believe that a sect is NOT Hindu if they do not rever the Vedas (here you will get different opinions).

Regards,

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

In my opinion, the Vedas defined as above, form the pillar of any Hindu sect. I also believe that a sect is NOT Hindu if they do not rever the Vedas (here you will get different opinions).

Regards,

I find that we almost always agree on everything Hindu. I find this very interesting since we are from very different Traditions. I would however edit just a little, and say a sect is not orthodox Hindu if they don't believe in the Vedas.

 

[Surya Deva]

Namaste,

The Vedas are classified as sruti(revealed scripture) in Hinduism. They are absolutely central and the vast majority of Hindu sects accept them as the highest authority. In fact rejecting the Vedas is enough to be excommunicated from Hinduism(Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism are such examples of religions which are not considered Hindu) However, though they are of central importance, very few Hindus actually read them. It is only Hindu priests that read them and even then, it is mostly for ritualistic reasons such as chanting vedic hymns for special occasions like marriage and temple worship. The popularity of the Vedas reduced in Hinduism over time, and they were replaced by the Bhagvad Gita and the epics: Ramayana, Mahabharata etc. Most Hindus are very familar with the epic literature, the characters Rama, Laskhman, Sita, Hanuman, Ravana, Krishna, Arjuna and other Pandavas, Karna, Duryodhana, and these characters still inform Indian mythos and ethos today and how to live a good life. The character of Rama is considered marayada purushotam, meaning the ideal man and the ideal husband. Lakshman is considered the ideal brother. Sita is considered the ideal woman and ideal wife. Hanuman is considered the ideal devotee. Arjuna is considered the ideal student. Krishna is considered the ideal diplomat. Karna is considered the ideal charitable person. The episodes in the Mahabharata are still looked at today in Indian society for inspiration and insights in how to live a good life and how to avoid the pitfalls of vice which have been epitomised by the villains of the epics: Ravana for his haugtiness and pride, Duryodhana for his jealousy and greed, Shukani for his connivingness and hatred and even Karna(a grey character) for his insecurity, kansa for his cruelty and violence.

It is safe to say that the Mahabharata and Ramayana are the most popular scriptures of Hinduism today, especially the Mahabharata. So much so, that the Mahabharata is also called the fifth veda. The Gita which is a part of the Mahabharata is the equivalent of the Hindu bible. Although there is no single scripture of Hinduism, the Gita is widely regarded as THE hindu bible. In the court of law it is used for Hindus in the witness box for taking an oath of truth. Almost all Indians have heard of the Gita, but ironically enough, fewer actually read it.

Learned Hindus, like Hindu pundits, gurus and swamis do not place as much importance on the epic literature. The importance for them is on the shastras(scientific-philosophical texts) such as the sutra literature like Brahma sutras, Yoga sutras, Samkhya sutras, Nyaya sutras, Vaiseshka sutras and Mimasa sutras, in addition to the Gita and the Upanishads(again the Vedas are not as important) The works and commentaries on Hindu literature of major Hindu scholars such as those of Vyasa, Adisankarcharya, Ramunjacharya, Madhvacharya are also studied.

The learned Hindus, of which I consider myself one, will be able to give you a more accurate overview of Hinduism and its core tenets. The mass Hindus, however, will often tell you very confusing and contradictory things about Hinduism, because they have not really read any of the shastras, Upanishads or Gita, they are just familiar with mythology.

 

[Riverwolf]

I consider the Vedas to be the benchmark of my faith, and the Vedanta (Upanishads) as the highest spiritual authority.

But, because the Vedas and Vedanta are very difficult to read and understand on my own (I have no worldly Guru), I don't read them very much; I tend to read the Smriti texts more.

 

[Valjean]

I think the Vedas are one of the few things all orthodox schools of Hinduism hold in common.

 

[kaisersose]

As Surya Deva pointed out, there is the textbook version of Hinduism and then there is Hinduism as actually practised by the masses. The two are different and the descriptions you see here are all from the former category only. There is no representation here for the latter category, though Surya Deva has covered some parts (epics) of it. As no one here represents the view of the masses, which I call the living, breathing version of Hinduism as can be seen all over India, I will take its position.

Hello I would like to know how central the Vedas (and any other scriptures) are to Hindu faith.

It hardly plays any role. Its absence would make no difference in the religious practices of the Hindu. In fact, if you question a random Hindu, the odds are he will not even know the names of the four Vedas or what they contain. And he is not expected to either as it plays no role.

Hinduism is not about scriptures. It is a legacy that is carried on. It is about idol worship of several Gods, representing different aspects of our lives, like Ganesha for wisdom/luck, Saraswati for learning, Lakshmi for wealth, etc. There are temples all over the country dedicated to one or more of these Gods and people regularly visit them. The primary reason for worship is to ask for something they do not have or else not to lose something they already have. For instance, one may visit the temple and promise a hundred coconuts to Ganesha, if he scores well in his test. Photographs of Gods are hung in homes along with idols and they are all worshipped in the same way. We have popular festivals, each dedicated to a God which involves similar worship on a slightly grander scale.

The masses are generally not concerned with matters of afterlife and hence the textbook definition will apply better in this case.

I would also like to know whether they are divinely inspired and written as a divine mandate, or something along the lines of sage sayings.

The traditional view is the Veda is eternal. Eternal implies no beginning and therefore they are not authored by anyone, including God.

 

[Madhuri]

Hello I would like to know how central the Vedas (and any other scriptures) are to Hindu faith.

For example, what role do they play in your life, in society, and the future (i.e after death).

I would also like to know whether they are divinely inspired and written as a divine mandate, or something along the lines of sage sayings.

Thank you for the responses

This is my opinion and understanding. The Vedas are the bedrock of Hinduism. All schools of Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma) are founded on the Vedic philosophy. However, these main original scriptures were revealed in past Ages when the people were more learned, more spiritually intelligent. In Kali Yuga, people are considered to be less intelligent. Now we are not expected to even understand the content of the Vedas. It is too deep, to complicated for our minds to probe. So we have more recent revealed scriptures. The Bhagavad Gita, as mentioned previously, is like the Bible of Hinduism. It holds the essence of Truth. It is the most important scripture, imo.

 

[atmarama]

You will get different answers here. The Vedas are in essence the principles underlying the whole creation- souls and non souls. The Vedas are not just a book; their true meaning has to be realized by God's and Guru's grace; it is not just reading a book. Realization of even one Veda Vakya (sentence) is said to be liberating the Soul. They were revealed by the God and hence called "Shruti"; the Scriptures by Sages are called "Smriti."

In my opinion, the Vedas defined as above, form the pillar of any Hindu sect. I also believe that a sect is NOT Hindu if they do not rever the Vedas (here you will get different opinions).

Regards,

I find that we almost always agree on everything Hindu. I find this very interesting since we are from very different Traditions. I would however edit just a little, and say a sect is not orthodox Hindu if they don't believe in the Vedas.

I find I generally agree with Satsangi on most things as well...

This is my opinion and understanding. The Vedas are the bedrock of Hinduism. All schools of Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma) are founded on the Vedic philosophy. However, these main original scriptures were revealed in past Ages when the people were more learned, more spiritually intelligent. In Kali Yuga, people are considered to be less intelligent. Now we are not expected to even understand the content of the Vedas. It is too deep, to complicated for our minds to probe. So we have more recent revealed scriptures. The Bhagavad Gita, as mentioned previously, is like the Bible of Hinduism. It holds the essence of Truth. It is the most important scripture, imo.

Some importants points have been made here by Madhuri. An important point is that more recent scripture like Mahabharat, The Puranas etc are also considered as a part of veda because they explain fundemental vedic points in an easier to grasp kinda way, and are therefore more accessible in the present age of Kali.

According to Gaudiya Vaisnava understanding, the most important scriptures are Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrita, and literatures written by the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan and their followers.

Hare Krsna!

 

[Bismillah]

Hello I appreciate the responses though I am afraid they have succeeded in confounding me even more!

So I think it is a general consensus is that the Vedas are the bedrock of Hinduism and negating their divinity is cause enough to be characterized as straying from Hinduism.

What I do not understand then is that if these works are divinely inspired and form such an important foundation why more people are not aware of them?

What causes the scripture to be "deep" and "confusing"? Also what is the subject matter and is it because of the particular subjects covered that it is no longer relevant to the modern Hindu?

As for the epics of different Hindu Gods do they constitute as writings from enlightened Gurus (what is a Guru anyway I need a solid definition popular culture has corrupted my mind ). Does each story espouse a certain theme such as love or pettiness and an ultimate lesson? Also do Hindus believe the events of each of these stories to have occurred historically?

Are some more popular than others because of their subject matter or perhaps being romanticized and are all of them collectively viewed as divine?

 

[Riverwolf]

What causes the scripture to be "deep" and "confusing"?

Many of the hymns and mantras are riddles whose meaning confounds even the wisest of Sages.

The way I see it is this: God didn't speak these words to someone who then reported them, like Mohammad and the Qur'an. Rather, Sages in deep meditation had certain experiences, and did their best to convey these through the hymns. So the words themselves, to me, aren't of divine origin; their essence is.

Also what is the subject matter and is it because of the particular subjects covered that it is no longer relevant to the modern Hindu?

The Vedas deal with all kinds of subjects, not just one. Some of them are still relevant, some of them aren't.

For example, the subject matter of specific rituals aren't really important to most Hindus anymore, since they're not typically performed anymore. On the other hand, the subject of Brahman in the Vedanta is still as relevant today as it ever was.

As for the epics of different Hindu Gods do they constitute as writings from enlightened Gurus

Yes.

(what is a Guru anyway I need a solid definition popular culture has corrupted my mind ).

The word "Guru" means "one who dispels darkness." Basically it refers to a spiritual teacher.

Does each story espouse a certain theme such as love or pettiness and an ultimate lesson?

There are many lessons and themes, love being among them. ^_^

Also do Hindus believe the events of each of these stories to have occurred historically?

Some do, some don't. It's not all that important.

Are some more popular than others because of their subject matter or perhaps being romanticized and are all of them collectively viewed as divine?

Possibly. There could be a number of reasons for popularity.

 

[Madhuri]

What I do not understand then is that if these works are divinely inspired and form such an important foundation why more people are not aware of them?

I think that there are a number of reasons. For one, Hindus have never felt the need to go converting people in the way that Christians and Muslims have. Hindus have not travelled around the world conquering/invading societies and establishing their religion. Interestingly though, there are ancient Hindu temples and artefacts found in Europe, Russia and even Africa. But the history associated with how these artefacts came to be in these places is lost to us.

People generally are not interested in knowing about Hinduism. I think that the Christians in India had a lot to do with giving people in the West the impression that Hinduism is just some ancient, out of date, indigenous religion about lots of gods, not very interesting. I've noticed though, that even the history of India, the history of religion in India, the culture in India, India in general is largely ignored in the West. In ancient history classes just about every civilisation is touched upon or available for learning except for India. It is really weird!

I remember commenting on this in class during high school and one girl immediately said, quite nastily, that she would never have any interest in learning about Indian history.

I also think that the religion and history are difficult for people to comprehend. It's very different from everywhere else. It is very complex and deeply philosophical. I don't think the average Westerner has the motivation to dedicate himself to learning about it.

One thing that I believe is that just because something is Divinely inspired does not mean that people are going to accept it. What humans generally thrive on, or are motivated by are rewards or fear of punishment. People are also easily swayed by highly emotional preachers and fanatical mentalities. You don't find that as much in Hinduism. We're too busy meditating and communicating with God

 

[Madhuri]

I hope i answered your question. I realise you could be asking why Hindus are not as aware of them...let me know.

I'll just write here, in case you are asking only about Hindus in general, that the main scriptures like Bhagavad Gita speak of the essence of the Vedas. They were given to us humans who exist in the age of Kali, which began over 5000 years ago. So the Vedas are the bedrock, historically speaking, but are not considered as necessary to study in our current Age (people don't have the spiritual insight to understand the deep meanings. This Age, Kali Yuga, is considered the lowest. Prior to this Age, people were supposedly much more advanced in their spirituality and much more intelligent).

 

[atanu]

So I think it is a general consensus is that the Vedas are the bedrock of Hinduism and negating their divinity is cause enough to be characterized as straying from Hinduism.

Veda teaches of Ishwara - the Lord, the highest person who apart from being a controller of all realms is also a just distributer of fruits of works. Any religion or text that does not believe or teach of Ishwara is not core Sanatana Dharma. But, it is the teaching of Veda again that Ishwara Himself is religion and irreligion. Ishwara Himself is the Word that is the Universe.
...

 

[Satsangi]

Here is my opinion. Vedas as it is ARE the word of God; to me the words itself are of divine origin. The meaning or essence of the Vedas is not self learned reading it; the true meaning is revealed by the God or the Guru.

The Yajnas are still performed a lot in India and even sometimes in the USA. But they are long and time consuming and hence not in vogue currently as much as the Vedanta as said by Riverwolf.

Regards,

 

[Surya Deva]

What I do not understand then is that if these works are divinely inspired and form such an important foundation why more people are not aware of them?

There are three reasons for this

1) Vedas are written in a very archaic language, Vediuc Sanskrit, that almost nobody can speak today. Even the scholarship on the Vedas comes up with conflicting translations and interpretations. Scholars have said the translation of the Vedas is the work for future generations. The best translations I have found is the ones down by indigenious Sanskrit scholars using the vyakarana method(Sanskrit etymology)

2) The Vedas are not important to learn their teachings. As the teachings of the Vedas are eternal, scientific and objective, they can be rediscovered by anybody who has reached enlightenment. This is why Indians rever gurus more than they rever scriptures - the guru is the living scripture.

3) Madhuri has mentioned already how much India, Indian culture, history, philosophy and religions are neglected in Western academia. I too have had the same experiences and faced a lot of institutionaized prejudice in academia against India. The reason for this is the Indian and Grece-Roman and Judo-Christian civilisations are competing civilisations, they are both complete civilisations with their own history, arts, literature, science, religion and philosophy. The Western civilisation simply does not want to acknowledge their competition. This is going to lead to what I think will be a clash of civilisations in the future.

India was the richest, most advanced and most prosperous country right up until the 18th century. For the West to acknowledge this and teach this will undermine their own civilisation and its greatness. This is why you will learn about the exploits and the conquests of the Romans and their great progress in science and engineering, but what you will not learn is how even at the height of the Roman empire, the Indian empires were still the most powerful in the world. You will learn little to nothing but the successes of Indian science and engineering and great progress they made, because it dwarves the Western progress made in the same timeframe.

As for the epics of different Hindu Gods do they constitute as writings from enlightened Gurus (what is a Guru anyway I need a solid definition popular culture has corrupted my mind ). Does each story espouse a certain theme such as love or pettiness and an ultimate lesson? Also do Hindus believe the events of each of these stories to have occurred historically?

Yes, Hindus believe that the epic literature are descriptions of real historical events and people, and this is why this class of literature is known as "itihas" meaning history. The real life stories of these people inspire Hindus as to how to live life correctly and avoid the pitfalls of vice epiomized by the popular villains of Hindu lore.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

What causes the scripture to be "deep" and "confusing"? Also what is the subject matter and is it because of the particular subjects covered that it is no longer relevant to the modern Hindu?

The part of the Vedas that is still used by many Hindus is the Upanishad. This is the Philosophic part. Much of the rituals talked about in the Vedas are extremely complex and take a life time of training to do correctly.