Apart from this, we have, polytheism,worship of many deities. Brahman is not the oldman in the sky nor is he the one who chooses favorite. Vedas reveals one god but hinduism filled with 33crores of gods vedas reveals god as spirit atman or brahman and no form whereas hinduism worship god. The concept of god is an excellent treatment of an increasingly critical issue in philosophical theology. The concept of god similarities in bhagavad gita,bible and. The legend says that vritra kept all the waters trapped in his mountain lair, and indra was the one who slew the demon in order to release the waters. Timeless wisdom from indian tradition by virender kumar arya. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. It makes the book a good devotional, and is quite inspiring. Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion. The kathopanishad has it that god is the root of this tree of world existence.
Hindus believe that the vedas texts are of divine origin and the term sruti what is heard refers to this. Interestingly the concept of god is quite similar in gita,bible and quran. An introduction the following are some references from hindu scriptures. Hell has been described in a variety of ways in the scriptural literature of various faiths. The truths contained in all religions are derived from the vedas and are ultimately traceable to the vedas. This essentially captures the concept of god in islam, which will be further elaborated in this pamphlet.
Emotional or loving devotion bhakti to a primary god such as avatars of vishnu krishna for example, shiva and devi emerged in. Hinduism is a mixture of sects, cults and doctrines which have had a profound effect on indian culture. The philosophical maxims of vedic literature have stood the test of time, and the vedas form the highest religious authority for all aspects of hinduism and are a. How can one dare to do such blasphemous acts with a gods book. Teachings of the vedas are a notable contribution in this regard. In vedic period monotheistic god concept culminated in the semi abstract semi personified form of creative soul dwelling in all god such as vishvakarman, purusha, and prajapathy. Broadly speaking indian thought is classified into two groups. According to the scriptures of hindus and the acharyas of vedanta school, brahman is rather a very specific conception of the absolute. We, the parts of the supreme being, have a body which is material. Buy the holy vedas book online at low prices in india. The concept of god in hinduism differs from the abrahamic concept of god.
I have seen even accomplished pundits struggle to explain the nuances of vedas, because many sanskrit constructs used in vedas dont belong to modern paninian sanskrit. Every time god engages in creation he manifests that knowledge and then that knowledge was coming down through the. Of course the best and perhaps the only way to truly understand the vedas is by reading them in the original ancient vedic sanskrit along with guidance by a experienced guru. With characteristic clarity and forthrightness, dr. Ishwar of vedas god of christianity minus the concept of trinity minus. Hinduism spans a wide range of beliefs such as henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, atheism and nontheism forms of theism find mention in the bhagavad gita. Feb, 2009 there is no single concept of god in hinduism. Hinduism teaches that god is ultimately an impersonal, eternal force, essence, or power of existence, having none of the attributes or characteristics of persons such as knowing, thinking, loving, etc.
Dont know where you find that the vedas say god is bodyless or have no images. We can gain a better understanding of the concept of god in hinduism by analysing. The vedas have the concept of god as bodyless as well as satcitananda vigraha. Hell has a connotation related to the personal circumstantial view of an individual in his life, which obviously differs from person to person. Essence of vedas download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Vedas are the revelation of god to the human being through the sages. Hinduism and in india the concept of god is wide and varied broadly speaking indian thought is classified into two groups. The vedas vedas are considered the most sacred of all the hindu scriptures. By contrast, god is said to be saddened in so far as certain things take place contrary to what he loves and approves. Vedas were not written at any time but they were transferred from one generation to another through teacherdisciple tradition. The concept spans conceptions from absolute monism to henotheism, monotheism and polytheism. Shiva and shakti are also thought of in the combined halfshiva male and halfshakti female form as the famous ardhanariishvara. God is described in all religions as the almighty supreme and eternal.
The odia work was prepared in 1984, when professor misra was a senior fellow of the indian council of philosophical research. Sri krishna premi describes how the same one god is viewed as many, how saints create wellbeing, and how the vedas provide spiritual and material. Then why we worship 3 gods shiva,vishnu and brahama. Indeed, the vedas compare him to other living entities of the universe and say that he is the protector of dharma, he puts you in different bodies based on your karma. While some hindus believe in the existence of three gods, some believe in thousands of gods, and some others in thirty three crore i. There is no one, all controlling, all powerful god.
Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. Oct 27, 2010 god of vedas is not god of satva aasmaan 7th heaven who needs to rise over to his throne after he had created concept of an omnipresent god rejects all such non sense. Concept of god in the vedas and the quran hindi religious. Vedas reveals one god but hinduism filled with 33crores of g. Veda vigyanam represents the personal research of sri krishna premi swamigal into the treasures and blessings contained in the vedas. God does not have to undergo such a process because he does not have any material desires in the first place. Concept of god in india vedas other systems ramanis blog. I was, however, quite disappointed in the quality of the actual production, which is very cheap and it shows. Jul 11, 20 hinduism and in india the concept of god is wide and varied. Dec 22, 2018 when we talk about brahman, most people indicate it to be god. Vedas and bhagavadgita are considered as the most sacred scriptures of hinduism. Scholars regard hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various indian. Mar 08, 2010 friends, the ancient vedas of india also say that the way of salvation for all mankind is to believe in sacrifice of almighty god prajapati. A concise, clearly written introduction to the world.
Worshiping other deities would give you worldly benefits and you would have to suffer for those gains afterward. So you will find similarities between hinduism and islam even in the concept of god. In vedas it is mentioned that there is only one god who is. It is also the one considered most sacred by the hindus. May 20, 2016 this message of dr zakir naik, refers to speech concept of god in world major religion the identification of the videos that you will find in the channel are described as follows. With the revealed vedas starts the concept of human language in terms of which man not only talked with contemporary man, but also continued his link with posterity. In the beginning in the state of flood there was neither matter nor nonmatter, neither being nor nonbeing. The origin of the universe is discussed in the nasadiya sukta the hymn of creation, the 129th hymn sukta in the tenth book mandal of rigveda. God and his shakti are often thought of together with prominence to shakti as in umamahesvara, lakshminarayana, sitarama, radhakrishna, umapati, sitapati and lakshmipati. The realisation of god is regarded as the supreme blessedness or shreyas, as apart from preyas or temporal experience of satisfaction. This book takes verses from the vedas and groups them under headings so the quotes are all related to the same theme. It resulted from professor misras reading of the vedas in original.
Evolution of the concept of god in the vedas after this brief introduction, we shall now try to trace the evolution of the conception of god in vedanta from the early vedic times. Vedas or sanatana dharma or now called hinduism are one. They are the original scriptures of hindu teachings, containing spiritual knowledge encompassing all aspects of life. Astika means who is devoted systems are those which believe in the authenticity of the vedas and take them as the founding facts, axioms, they are not questioned, under. Therefore only if one carefully studies the hindu scriptures, will one understand and realize the correct concept of god in hinduism. Other than a few quirks like this, this is the only book i could find that gives a good, lucid. The concept of brahman in vedas is beyond any concept of absolute. Our scriptures the vedas arya samaj of greater houston. This concept gods sacrifice is completely fulfilled in jesus crucifixion and resurrection.
The vedas are a collection of religious texts that form the foundation of hindu theology. What is the concept of heaven and hell according to the. The concept of hell varies from person person depending on his activities, lifestyle, habits, interests, actions, surroundings, company,etc. This is one of the most popular and accessible of all hindu scriptures, required reading for anyone interested in hinduism.
Jan 30, 2020 this is the case because brahman does not refer to the anthropomorphic concept of god of the abrahamic religions. The following are only few references, you may find many more once you go through it. God of vedas is not god of satva aasmaan 7th heaven who needs to rise over to his throne after he had created concept of an omnipresent god rejects all such non sense. Says max mueller in his english translation of the rig veda. This is exactly why it would be imprecise to call brahman god. Jan 30, 2020 the vedas are classified into four volumes. Yajurveda the following verses from the yajurveda echo a similar concept of god. And btw its not that from time 0 to t1, it is creation and then from t1 to t2 there is nothing changing. Shiva and shakti are also thought of in the combined halfshiva male and half. In majority of vaishnavism traditions, he is vishnu, god, and the text identifies this being as krishna, sometimes referred as svayam bhagavan.
The sages of the vedic age also came up with the concept of brahma, a concept that should not be confused with god. This book draws upon the universal ideas of the vedic sages, applicable in any part of the universe, and for the whole of the human society. This message of dr zakir naik, refers to speech concept of god in world major religion the identification of the videos that you will find in the channel are described as follows. In spite of this diversity, there are few of its aspects which do not rely in some way or the other on the authority of indian religious literature the vedas, the epics and the puranas. The vedas are the ultimate source to which all religious knowledge can be traced.
The following are a few lines where they talk about god. Shri inder dev khosla, writer of this book, did his post graduation from dav college and lived a life based on vedic ideals. Our scriptures say that eternal knowledge of god is the vedas. Mar 01, 2006 for example, this book has the gayatri mantra in the yajur veda, which is not incorrect, but everyone expects it in the rig veda since thats where it originally is from. The vedic brahman is a unique concept of the absolute. These are beings who evolved into higher states through their sheer self effort. Which book in hinduism is the best to understand the. In vedas it is mentioned that there is only one god who is body less. The rigveda states in book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46. Hinduismthe vedas wikibooks, open books for an open world.
The atharvaveda praises god in book 20, hymn 58 and verse 3. About the book this book is an english translation of original odia work, titled vaidika cetanna eka darsanika vicara by professor dr. The samhitas of the rig, yajur, sama, and atharva single volume, unabridged jan 10, 2017. Scholar in his well known book entitled philosophy of zoroastrianism.
Disciples used to memorize the vedas and then they used to teach their disciples when they become teachers. There is a total discontinuity in the concept of god before and after. Other than a few quirks like this, this is the only book i could find that gives a good, lucid, prose overview or flavor of the contents of all the vedas. God is described in bhagvad gita as unborn, and never begotten. For example, this book has the gayatri mantra in the yajur veda, which is not incorrect, but everyone expects it in the rig veda since thats where it originally is from. Some forms actually reject a creator god completely and these forms were in fact born circa bc or even earlier in some cases. This second volume deals with the vedic concept of god, vedic deities, vedic saints, connections between major religions of the world, and an overview of social topics contained in the vedas.
The concept of god similarities in bhagavad gita,bible. As their truths are independent of any individuals perception, but are in accordance with the nature of perception itself, vedic mantras are called personneutral. About the book there is a dearth of authentic books on vedic philosophy which are written in a simple and lucid language. It was revealed by god to man in the earliest times. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. The vedas teach the worship of one god who is omnipresent. If you ask some lay persons who are hindus that how many gods do they believe in, some may say three, some may say thirtythree, some may say a thousand, while some may say thirtythree crores i. Aditi, an ancient god or goddess, is in reality the earliest name invented to express the infinite. When we speak of brahman, we are referring neither to the old man in the sky concept nor to the idea of the absolute as even capable of being vengeful, fearful or engaging in choosing a favorite people from among his creatures. Nash judiciously evaluates competing conceptions of deity, and in the end recommends an understanding of god that is both theologically sound and philosophically acceptable. Also, brahman is not relevant to the anthropomorphic concept of god in the abrahamic religion.
Jun 16, 2018 these vedas was not the name of book, they referred to god s knowledge. And this concept is unique to hinduism, in that we cannot any traces of this in any other religion. What is the concept of heaven and hell according to the vedas. The astika and the nastika astika means who is devoted systems are those which believe in the authenticity of the vedas and take them as the founding facts, axioms, they are not questioned. The concept of brahman in vedas is beyond any concept of. Indeed, most hindus would attest to this, by professing belief in multiple gods. Sacred books of the east, volume 1 the upanishads part i page 93. By this we do not mean any chronological development of the conception but only logical and psychological since the various conceptions overlap from the earliest. Ekam evadvitiyam meaning he is one only without a second. These vedas was not the name of book, they referred to gods knowledge. The tenth book of the rigveda regards the highest conception of god both as the impersonal and the personal.
Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or the eternal way, beyond human history. Concepts of god stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The vedas describe indra as the god who wields the thunderbolt, and his most celebrated story was the killing of the demonserpent vritra. Dr zakir naik 7404 concept of god in the vedas youtube. The book speaks on the similarities of islam and vedic religion in the concept of god. The nasadiya sukta states that the supreme being is both the unmanifest and the manifest, existence as well as nonexistence, the supreme indeterminable. The concept of god in hinduism all you need to know. Material means which undergoes birth, old age, disease and finally death. And to understand vedas, there are six other sciences established, which one. Bhagavad gita is an important hindu scripture according to which lord krishna is the incarnation of supreme being and hence everybody should worship lord krishna only. Monotheisworship of one god henotheism where on god is praised at the cost of another. The vedas are considered the earliest literary record of indoaryan civilization and the most sacred books of india. The concept of god in hinduism by swami krishnananda. The prasna upanishad says that god is the supreme prajapati or creator, in whom are blended both the matter and energy of the universe.
Agnosticism and atheism are part and parcel of some variations. Infinite positive qualities and states have their existence secured solely by virtue of brahmans very reality. The islamic understanding of god is distinct from all other religions and beliefs in various respects since it is based on a pure and clear understanding of monotheism. Jun 17, 20 vedas reveals one god but hinduism filled with 33crores of gods vedas reveals god as spirit atman or brahman and no form whereas hinduism worship god in the form of various nonvedic idols of. Without having an instinct to communicate to posterity, man could not have made any history. The concept of god in hinduism varies in its diverse traditions. To quote s utra 129 of the tenth mandala of rigaveda. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism hindus consider the vedas to be apauru. The bhagavad gita, usually considered part of the sixth book of the mahabharata dating from about 400 or 300 b.