Scriptures

Vedas
Upanishads
Bhagavad Gita
Ramayana
Shrimad-Bhagavata & The Mahabharata
Dharmashastra

Vedas

The Vedas are the most ancient and revered of the Hindu scriptures. There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Rigveda, the oldest and the most important of the four Vedas, was composed during the 3000-1700 BCE. period. The other three Vedas were composed during the 2000-1100 BCE. Period.

The Vedas contain prayers which seek contentment, courage, energy, fearlessness, forgiveness, mercy, good life, happiness, health, immortality, intellect, long life, mental growth, peace, progeny, prosperity, purification, reward for virtue, righteousness, riddance from sin, success in general, success in business, victory, virtue, wealth, wisdom, and zeal. Besides the above, there are prayers singing the glory of God. There are yet others expressing repentance, and thankfulness. The Vedas include prayers for special occasions, including housewarming and the wedding ceremony.

Although most of the verses take the form of prayers, many of them carry instructions on how God wants people to live their lives.

There are, in all, 20,500 mantras in the four Vedas.

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Upanishads

The Upanishads are soul-stirring writings. They are in a class of works embodying the greatest flowering of thought of all times in respect to God, the Supreme Soul, and human beings who are endowed with individual souls. They deal with the nature and purpose of existence, the ultimate reality, and the attainment of beatitude. The Upanishads establish the relationship of man to God. They point out that God is larger than the largest and yet subtler than the subtlest.

There are 14 genuine Upanishads. They were all composed during the 1100-700 BCE. Period. They are the Aitareya, Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Ishavasya, Katha, Kaivalya, Kaushitaki, Kena, Maitri, Mandookya, Mundaka, Prashna, Shvetashvatara, and Taittiriya Upanishads.

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Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad-Gita is one of the holiest scriptures of the Hindu religion. Literally, the term Bhagavad-Gita means 'the Divine Song'. Yet, more appropriately, it is the Divine dialog. It is the dialog between God (Krishna), and Man(Arjuna). Krishna, the God in human form, explains to mankind how to live one's life. Therefore, every person on earth, regardless of religion, can benefit immensely from studying the Bhagavad-Gita.

The Bhagavad-Gita emphasizes devotion to God as necessary for achieving spiritual wisdom. It asks for love in your heart for human beings, and to serve those in need, with happiness.

The Bhagavd-Gita lets one discover God in one's own heart. Krishna asks men to listen to the voice of God within themselves and to do only what is just and righteous regardless of the results. It emphasizes the importance of doing one's duty under all circumstances. The Lord explains that man has control over his actions but not over the results. God asks men to accept the unpleasant results of their actions without remorse or revolt.

The Bhagavd-Gita asks people to conquer their weaknesses. By so doing they can gain health, the grace of God and the respect of fellow human beings, and their life can become full of joy. By obeying the commandments of the Lord as enunciated in the Bhagavd-Gita, a person can achieve success, happiness, and salvation.

The Lord's message in the Bhagavad-Gita is a source of moral and spiritual strength to the reader. Those who study the Bhagavad-Gita are mystified with the new confidence they acquire and the radiance they spread to whomever they meet.

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Ramayana

The Ramayana is the life-story of Sri Rama, one of the two human incarnations of God. Sri Rama was born about 1750 BCE. His amazing charm and behavior, even in his young years, left no doubt in the minds of the people that he was God incarnate. He was born the son of King Dasharatha and being the eldest he was groomed to succeed his father to the throne. But due to a step-mother's connivance, he was, instead, exiled to the forest for 14 years. His wife, Sita and one of the brothers, Lakshmana, accompanied him to the forest. In the forest his wife was kidnapped by the King of Lanka. The rescue efforts resulted in a war in which the King of Lanka was killed and Sita was rescued.

The Ramayana describes how Sri Rama dealt with his father, his mother, his step-mothers, his brothers, his wife, the sages he met in the forest, his own subjects, his devotees, and even his enemy. He treated everyone with compassion and gave them every chance to be the best they could be. Clearly, an ordinary mortal could not have treated his people the way he treated them. The Ramayana describes His reaction in both favorable and adverse situations. He was neither highly elated at the prospect of being crowned the king, nor disturbed when, instead, he was sent to suffer in the forest. He was the ideal of mankind in all the things he did.

His story is so charming that it has been narrated for the past nearly 4000 years not only in India but in a substantial portion of Asia. At least three hundred books on his life have been published in dozens of languages.

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Shrimad-Bhagavata & The Mahabharata

The purpose of this volume is to narrate the life-story of Krishna, the perfect incarnation of God, and while so doing, to highlight his teachings to mankind. Based on historical evidence Lord Shri Krishna was born about 1150 BCE. and lived until 1064 BCE. The Mahabharata war took place in 100 BCE. Shri Krishna played a major role in its outcome.

The life story of Krishna is a means of developing devotion to God. Both wisdom and devotion are important. Wisdom comes from reading the Vedas, the Upanishadsm, the Bhagavad-Gita, and the Dharmashastra. Devotion comes from reading the life-stories of Shri Rama and Shri Krishna.

Devotion brings the praise of the Lord to the lips of the devotee. It is true that the praise of the Lord, even when sung out of tune, brings the Lord's grace to a person. This praise is a source of peace and happiness. The story of Shri Krishna is the boat which saves men from sinking in the sea of despair. It gives them faith, courage, and direction.

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Dharmashastra

The Dharmashastra is a volume containing the spiritual, moral, and worldly wisdom in the form of precepts. This volume consists of eight books. The authors of six books are Apastamba, Baudhayana, Bhartrahari, Vasishtha, Yajnyavalkya, and the unnamed author of Manusmriti. The book called Dhammapada contains the wise statements of Gautama Buddha made in the 6th century BCE. and reduced to writing many centuries later. The eighth book, Angirasa-smriti is a collection of the teachings of the great sages of the world who came on the horizon during the 700 CE.-2000CE. Period. They include the statements of Nanak, Kabir, Dayanand, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda, Mother Teresa, Kahlil Gibran, Angiras Muni, and many others, some of whom did not leave their name.

Several excellent thoughts of wisdom are included in each of the groups such as (1) character (2) thought and behavior, (3) speech, (4) action, (5) family, friends, and associates, (6) God and religion, and (7) financial success. The book contains the time-tested words of wisdom which when acted upon, help a person to achieve success in life.

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DISCLAIMER:
The above information is provided purely to provide an introduction to scriptures of the Hindu religion. Any opinions or practices contained therein do not necessarily reflect those of our membership.