That’s a tough project for sure. :) So where do I start. The options that I have, go bottom-up, that is, read every scripture from my religion to start with and hope to understand religion by end of the project. I tried, seriously I did, but 3000 year old thoughts, practices and then multiple contradictory interpretations leave nothing tangible.
So, I am trying the next option of top-down, which is to start with questions and see where they lead me and see if I can find answers to them across scriptures.
I hope my questions are correct because then the battle is half won!
What is religion?
I think it has more than one aspect
- Firstly, at a historical level it provides beliefs and customs of people of a region at a certain time.
- Secondly, at a cosmic level it provides theory on creation of life, essence of life and after life.
- Thirdly, at a personal level it provides an anchor in the name of God to hold on to when we are down in dumps so to speak. It seems we don’t want to be all alone; we need to believe that there is someone out there looking after us, fighting for us and punishing people who wrong us. (Think film Castaway – we all need Wilson of sorts)
- Fourthly, as a practitioner it provides details on how to worship God so he can look after our well-being.
- Fifthly, at a social level it provides basic framework of what-to-do's for events that are mix of celebration, sadness or achievements.
- Lastly, at a moral level it provides list of tenets to dictate our behaviour in relation to other individuals.
What are religious scriptures?
These are the documented aspects of a religion covering the above points. In almost all religions they are said to be directly dictated by God to human messengers who then pass on to fellow humans.
Where are the religious scriptures of Hinduism?
In Hinduism, they are pretty much scattered, not easily accessible, and if found not easy to connect the points unless taught by a well-versed teacher. Below are the key religious scriptures that form the basis of Hinduism
- Vedas (Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda)
- Upanishads
- Bhagavad Gita
To implement the practices advised in these key scriptures there are various supplementing ritual books that are used by purohits. In addition, there are books on individual deities depending on the extent of following.
There are some supporting scriptures or books that I prefer to see as religious literature, dealing with mythological stories to convey the religious message.
- Puranas
- Epics
- Treatises/essays/poetry on the main scriptures written by religious men across ages.
There are other scriptures that deal with teachings on health, science, astronomy, astrology, economics etc. which can be explored based on interest.
to be continued
* Author does not claim to be a religious exponent. These views are in progress just as my experience with religion.
