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Sacred Elements of Hinduism
Sacred elements of Hinduismspiritualityinformation.in
The sacred elements of hinduism constitutes Hindu religious traditions, and their sublime meanings. It would be very difficult to completely account all the sacred elements of hinduism that make up the Hindu religious traditions because of the sheer vastness and depth of the Hindu culture and traditions that have evolved through thousands of years. Some of the sacred elements of the Hinduism religion are mentioned below.

Meaning of hinduism
Hinduism is referred to as Sanatana Dharma, the eternal belief. Hinduism is not strictly a religion. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life.
Since Hinduism has no founder, anyone who practices Dharma can phone himself a Hindu. He can answer the administration of whichever scripture, or even the existence of the Divine. While religion means to fasten, Dharma means to hold. What man holds on to is his interior statute, which leads from stupidity to Truth. Though reading of the scriptures (Shastras)or vedas would not directly lead you to self-realization, the teachings of the seers provide a basis and a path for spirituality. Despite being the oldest religion, the truth achieved by the seers proves that the Truth and path provided by the meaning of Hinduism is further time.
Main Characteristics and functions of hinduism
?��Hindu��- ancient Persian term translating a Greek term (Indos) that translated the Sanskrit name for the Indus River �C ��Sindhu��. ��
Hinduism�� was applied to the religion
?The name was applied to the people
?Hindus themselves use the term ��dharma�� C duty for their religion
?Jainism & Buddhism came from Hinduism as reforms
History or origin for Hinduism
The Brief History or origin for hinduism can be explained by the following steps:
?Advanced culture began to flourish in Indus River Valley ca 2500 BC (Abraham, ca 1800)
�CDrainage systems, from houses to brick sewers
�CBrick houses, several stories high
�CLarge city baths
�CWell planned streets
�CIrrigation ditches
Timeline
?Pre-Aryanto 1500 BCE
?Brahmanismto 450 BCE
�CVedas/ Upanishads
?Classical periodto 600 CE
�CBhagavad Gita
?Medieval periodto 1600 CE
?Modern period1600 -
?Ca. 1500 the Aryans invaded (a fair-skinned people); ��Aryans�� C ��the noble ones��
?Primarily shepherds
?Many Dravidians migrated south, which the Aryans never controlled
?Aryans considered the Dravidians lesser to them; established social barriers
?Beginnings of caste system
?Later the caste system became part of Hinduism
?Four Castes: (varnas)
�CBrahmins �C the rectors and scholars
�CKshatriyas �C rulers and warriors
�CVaishyas �C jobbers and professionals
�CShudras �C laborers and servants
?Thousands of sub-castes,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], each has its own set of rules
?Every individual knows where they stand and how they are anticipated to act (duty)
?The ��untouchables�� existed outside the caste system for centuries
?The Indian constitution of 1950 outlawed untouchability and gave the group full citizenship
?Mohandas Gandhi (d. 1940) was influential in the skirmish for this right
?The caste system has weakened some, but still quite strong
The Aryans - ��Noble Folk��
?Invaded from NW �C prevailed North & Central India
?The religion of the Aryans combined with the religion of the people of India (Dasyu) resulted in:
�CHinduism
�CJainism
�CBuddhism
Beliefs for hinduism
?The Vedas �C ��Knowledge�� - the Hindu scriptures
?Belief in one, all-pervasive supreme ��being�� who is either immanent and transcendent �C represented by many gods
?The universe goes through endless cycles of creation
?Karma �C the law of reason and achieve by which every individual creates his own fate by his thoughts, words, and actions
?The soul reincarnates,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], evolving through many births until one ��gets it right��
?Moksha �C spiritual knowledge and unlock from the cycle of rebirth
?Divine beings exist in hidden universes and adore, ritual, sacraments creates a association with these gods
?Ahimsa - all life is sacred
?No particular religion teaches the merely way to salvation
?No particular founder
Introduction to sacred elements of Hinduism.
Hindu Scriptures
The Hindu scriptures, written over a period of 2,000 years (1400 B.C-.500 A.D.) are voluminous. They reflect the practices and faiths for hinduism which arose during the alter long periods of Hindu history.
The Hindu scriptures are divided into two classes -sruti and smriti. Sruti, or "what is listened," refers to the eternal truths of religion which the rishis or seers saw or heard. They are independent of any god or man to whom they are communicated. They are the basic and last authority of religious truth. Using the semblance of the reflection of an image in a mirror or on the surface of a lake, the intellect of the ancient rishis was so pure and silence that it perfectly reflected the entirety of eternal truth. Their disciples recorded this truth and the record of it is known as the vedas.
Smriti, or "what is remembered," possess a secondary authority, deriving their authority from the sruti whose principles they seek to amplify. As recalls they contain all the sacred texts other than the vedas. These are generally understood to include the law books, the two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and the Puranas, which are largely collections of myths, stories, legends and chronicles of great events.
Also included are the aqamas, which are theological treatises and handbooks of worship, and the sultras, or aphorisms, of the 6 systems of philosophy. There is also a vast treasury of vernacular literature largely of a bhakti or devotional type, which continues to inspire the masses of religious Hindus and which different sects accept as smriti
The Vedas
the Vedas form for the basis for sacred element of hinduism.The word veda literally manner knowledge or learning. It namely the term applied apt the oldest of the Hindu scriptures, originally transmitted orally and then accordingly maintained in written form. The vedas contain hymns, prayers and ceremony texts composed over a phase of 1 thousand annuals, beginning about 1400 B.C.
The term vedas (plural) refers to the entire collection of these wisdom writings, also known as the samhitas, which include the rig-veda, the samaveda, the yajur-veda and the athara-veda. Each of these texts consists of three parts: (1) the mantras, hymns of praise to the gods; (2) the brahmanas, a navigate for practicing ritual rights, and (3) the upanishads, the most important part of which deals with teachings on religious truth or tenet.
The samhitas are the basis of vedic Hinduism, the maximum premonitory of the team creature the rig-veda. This accumulation of psalms, originally composed in Sanskrit, praises the manifold Hindu deities, including Indra, Soma, Varuna and Mitra.
The yajur-veda consists of a collection of mantras lent from the rig-veda and applied to specific ritual positions carried out by the executive priest and his assistants.
The sama-veda in the same form borrows mantras from the rig-veda. These hymns are chanted.
The athara-veda consists of magical spells and incantations carried out by the priests.
The Upanishads
the Upanishads form one essential sacred element of hinduism.The upanishads are a collection of speculative treatises. They were composed during the period 800 to 600 B.C., and 108 of them are still in existence. The word upanishad conveys the mind of mystery instructing. Its articles brand a definite alteration in emphasis from the sacrificial hymns and sorcery formulas in the vedas to the mystical ideas about man and the universe, specifically the eternal Brahman, which is the basis of entire reality, and the atman, which is the self or the marrow. The upanishads reportedly had one affect above Gautama Buddha, the builder of Buddhism, as can be inspected in some elementary similarities among the upanishads and the educations of Mahayana Buddhism.
Evidence that Hinduism must have existed even circa 10000 B.C. is available: The importance spliced to the creek Saraswati and the many references to it in the Rig-Veda (interestingly, Ganga appears only twice) indicates that the Rig-Veda was being composed well before 6500 B.C. The first vernal equinox recorded in the Rig-Veda is that of the star Ashwini, which is immediately known to have occurred around 10000 to substantiate this demand.

Unity Within Diversity
There are 5 sacred elements of hinduism, which contribute to the required consensus of Hinduism:
1) Common Ideals
2) Common Scriptures
3) Common Deities
4) Common Beliefs
5) Common Practices

Common Ideals
All the sects and offshoots of Hinduism beliefs share the same moral ideals:
��Ahimsa (non-violence)
��Satya (truthfulness)
��Brahmacharya (often translated wrongly as sexual continence, it really means the state of incessant search for the final Truth (Brahman). Note that it is not called God, barely the Truth, whatever it is)
��Maitri (Friendship)
��Dharma (a preferably raw translation would be "performing one's duty")
��KaruNa (Compassion)
��Viirya (Fortitude)
��Dama (Self Restraint - cerebral as well as physical)
��Shaucha (Purity - mental as well as physical)
The higher period of self-control is separation. Not only do we have to conquer what is evil in life, we must also become independent of what is good. For example, our love of home and friends is good in itself, but unless we expand it to include everything in the universe, it will be a manacle, what if it is golden. Detachment does not imply disinterest in the changing world: it merely shifts a person's border of reference to the Reality that endures always, production his knowledge more objective, making him better equipped for life.
Truth as a cardinal morality in Hinduism is distant extra than mere truthfulness; it means eternal reality. Hinduism says that the pursuance of Truth, wherever it may lead or whatever sacrifices it may involve, is indispensable to the progress of male. Hence no Hindu scripture has ever opposed technological progress or metaphysical and ethical assumptions.

Main Deities
The mutual deities are derived form the general scriptures. The idea that every deity whom men worship is the embodiment of a restricted ideal, and that the deity is a symbol of some aspects of the Absolute is one of the most fundamental elements of Hinduism. It is this idea that makes Hinduism the most tolerant of religions and abhorrent to proselytization through religious propaganda.
The three important functions of the Supreme - Creation, Protection and Destruction - came to be created in popular imagination as the Hindu Trinity - Brahma (NOT Brahman of the Upanishads),[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Vishnu and Shiva. The power related with these gods came to be personified as their respective consorts. So Creator Brahma's consort is Saraswati (the goddess of Speech and Learning), Protector Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth and boom), and Shiva's consort is Shakti (the goddess of power). Since Vishnu is the protector, he is the one who can take on an avatara, taking human form anytime the earth order is bothered by a large form of evil. The other two of the trinity do not have avatars.
Thus the law of spiritual progression is given as an unerring criterion for us. It decrees the following amounts as of extreme importance:
��Spiritual Values: fact, prettiness, love, and justice.
��Intellectual Values: lucidness, cogency, subtlety, and capability.
��Biological Values: health, strength, and vitality.
��Material Values: riches, personalties, and pleasures.
This, then, is the key to understanding beliefs for Hinduism. For instance, consider the Hindu view of History. Although it does not attach any importance to chronology,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the sages had a correct view of historical progress and decline. Persons and wars were seen to be of less importance while likened with roles (played by the persons) and the lessons (of the battle). The greatness of a civilization was judged not by the empires they possessed, nor by the wealth they accumulated,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], nor by their scientific progress, but by the righteousness and justice did they refine.
The organization of the society was conceived as a corollary of the law of spiritual progress, whereby people were to be ranked not by wealth, mathematical strength, or power, but by their spiritual progress and culture. The earliest reference to the Varnashrama Dharma, the caste system, is to be base in the Rig-Veda, wherein they are represented as parts of the body of the Creator. This is a poetic picture indicating the alphabetical ecology of the society of the time. Caste was not to be insistent by heredity: Virtue unattended was the yardstick (Vajra Suuchika Upanishad is completely dedicated to discussing the Caste System;
Many Hindu religious chairmen has pointed out the common features of hinduism which are It’s about time:
1) Belief in one supreme God of Love and Grace.
2) Belief in the personality of every soul, which is although part of the Divine Soul.
3) Belief in salvation through Bhakti.
4) The exaltation of Bhakti above Jnana and Karma; and, also above, the performance of rites and ceremonies.
5) Extreme awe paid to the Guru.
6) The doctrine of the Holy Name.
7) Initiation through a mantra and a sacramental meal.
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The tradition of sectarian orders of Sanyasins.
9) The relaxing of the rules of caste, periodically even ignoring all caste distinctions.
10) Religious teaching through the vernaculars.
Ramayana
the Ramayana is one of the two major epic anecdotes of India, the other being the Mahabharata. Authorship is ascribed to the sage-poet Valmiki. The work consists of 24,000 couplets based upon the life of Rama, a righteous king who was supposedly an incarnation of the god Vishnu. Although the story has some basis in truth, many of it is layered folklore additional throughout the centuries. Besides Valmiki, other poets and writers have endowed to the complexities of the story.:
Rama, a knight and wanderer in the large institution (one might equate him to Gilgamesh and Odysseus), is faced with a catena of challenges and tests, some of which involve battles with additional kings, or with demons; his wife Sita is kidnapped by a demon potentate and carried off in an climate carriage to Ceylon; his chastity and faithfulness are tested; magnificent battles ensue; the ending is a cheerful one, with Rama restored to the king of Ayodha, and finally he and Sita, later more trials, are mingled, no on world but in the celestial abodes.
The Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is the second epic, an immense story of the deeds of Aryan tribes. It consists of some 100,000 verses and was composed over an 800-year period opening about 400 years B.C. Contained within this work is a great classical, the Bhagavad Gita, or the "Song of the Blessed Lord."
Bagavad Gita
This work is not only the most sacred book of the Hindus, it is also the best known and most read of all Indian works in the entire world, antagonism the fact it was added late to the Mahabbarata, former in the first century A.D. The story, in short, consists of a dialogue between Krishna, the eighth Avatar of Vishnu, and the warrior Arjuna, who is in the near future fight his cousins.
These 2 epic stories, the Ramayana and the Mahabbarata, depict roles who have become ideals because the folk of India in terms of moral and social behavior.these two epics likewise fashion part of sacred units of hinduism.
The Puranas
The Puranas are a very important source for the knowing of Hinduism. They contain romances of gods, goddesses, demons and forefathers. They describe pilgrimages and rituals to demonstrate the magnitude of bhakti, caste and dharma. This collection of myths and romances, in which the heroes display all the preferable virtues, has made a significant contribution to the formation of Hindu moral codes.
Hindu Teachings (Doctrine)
To achieve a proper understanding of the world view held by the Hindus, it is needful to present some of the basic sacred elements of hinduism they hold to be true.
Brahman
Brahman, the ultimate reality for the Hindu, is a term difficult if it were not for impossible to define completely, for its meaning has changed over a period of time.
Moksha
Moksha, also known as mukti, is the Hindu term used for the liberation of the soul from the wheel of karma. For the Hindu, the main aim of his existence is to be freed from sarnsara (the binding life cycle) and the wheel of karma with its endless cycle of births, deaths and rebirths. When one achieves this liberation, he enters into a state of fullness or completion. This state can be achieved through death or rather while one is still alive.
Moksha can be achieved through three paths: (1) knowledge, or inana; (2) devotion, or bhakti, or (3) ritual works, or karma. One who achieves moksha before death is known as jivanmukta.
Atman
Atman is variant Hindu term which is difficult to define. it refers to the soul or true self, the part of each living thing that is eternal. The Taittiriya Upanishad says atman is "that from which discourse, according with the idea, turns away-not skillful to comprehend." Oftentimes, it is used synonymously with Brahman, the prevalent soul, seeking mystical union attach, or moksha.
Maya
A central conception in Hindu thought is that of maya.
This word is often translated "phantom," but this is misleading. For one thing it suggests that the world need not be taken seriously. This the Hindu would renounce, pointing out that as long as it appears real and demanding to us we must approve it as such. Moreover, it does have a kind of eligible reality; reality on a provisional class.
Were we to be inquired if dreams are real, our reply would must be qualified. They are real in the sense that we have them, but they are not real in the sense that the things they depict necessarily exist in their own right. Strictly speaking, a imagine is a psychological fabricate, something created by the mind out of its particular state. When the Hindus mention the world is maya, this too, is what they mean. Given the human mind in its customary condition, the world appears as we see it. But we have no right to surmise from this that reality is in itself the way it so appears.
Karma
The word karma literally means operation and has reference to a person's actions and the consequences thereof. In Hinduism, one's present state of existence is determined by his extravaganza in previous lifetimes. The law of karma is the law of moral consequence or the effect of any behavior upon the actor in a past, a present or even a future existence. As one performs righteous doings, he pushes towards liberation from the cycle of successive births and deaths.
Contrariwise, if one's deeds are evil, he ambition move further from liberation. The determining element is one's karma. The cycle of births, deaths and rebirths could be endless. The goal of the Hindu is to effect ample good karma to remove him from the cycle of rebirths and effect eternal bliss.
Samsara
Samsara refers to transmigration or rebirth. It is the passing through a succession of lives based upon the direct award or discipline of one's karma. This continuous chain consists of undergoing from the results of acts of ignorance or sin in past lives. During each successive rebirth, the soul, which the Hindus consider to be eternal, moves from one body to another and carries with it the karma from its previous existence.
The rebirth may be to a higher form; i.e., a membership of a higher caste or god, or down the social stepladder to a lower caste or as an beast, since the wheel of karma applies to both man and animals. Accordingly, all beings, both man and animal, are in their present situations because of the actions (karma) of previous lives.
The Caste System
The caste system is a distinctive feature of the Hindu religion. The account of its origin is an interesting story Brahma established Manu, the 1st man. From Manu came the 4 different types of people, as the creator Brahma determined. From Manu's head came the Brahmins, the best and most divine people. Out of Manu's hands came the Kshatriyas, the rulers and warriors. The craftsmen came from his thighs and are called Vaisyas. The remainder of the people came from Manu��s feet and is known as Sudras. Therefore, the architecture of the caste system is divinely inspired. The Brahmins are honored by all the people, including the imperial home. Their jobs as priests and philosophers are subsidized by the state and involve the study of their sacred books.
The Kshatriyas are the upper middle level involved in the government and vocational life, but they are lower in status than the Brahmins. The Vaisyas are the merchants and peasants below the Brahmins and Kshatriyas but above the rest of the population in their status and religious prerogatives.
The Sudras are the lowest caste whose duty is to serve the upper castes as laborers and servants. They are precluded from many of the religious rituals and are not allowed to learn the vedas.
The caste system became more perplexing as time went on, with literally thousands of subcastes coming into existence. Today the caste system is still an integral part of the social array of India, even whereas it has been exiled by the Indian government.
Swami Vivekananda gives the rationale for the caste system:
Salvation
Salvation, for the Hindu, can be achieved in one of three ways: the way of works, the way of knowledge, or the way of dedication.
1. The Way of Works. The course of goes, karma marga, is the route to salvation via religious responsibility. It consists of carrying out the prescribed ceremonies, duties and religious rites. The Hindu believes that along doing these things he tin multiplication gainful karma to his merit. Moreover, if he does them religiously, he believes it is likely to be reborn as a Brahmin on his way toward liberation from the cycle of karma.
The performance of these practices is someone non-intellectual and emotionally detached, since it is the mechanical carrying out of prescribed laws and rituals. A basic concept in Hinduism is that one's actions, done in sincerity, must not be done for acquire but must be done unselfishly.
2. The Way of Knowledge. Another way of achieving salvation- in the Hindu sense -is the way of knowledge. The basic premise back the way of knowledge is the cause of human suffering based upon ignorance. This mental misdeed caring our own nature is at the basis of mankind's problems. The error in man's musing is this: man sees himself as a separate and real thing. The truth of the material, Hindus say, is this: the only reality is Brahman,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], there is no other. Therefore, man, rather than being a separate entity, is part of the whole, Brahman.
Selfhood is an illusion. As long as man continues watching himself as a separate reality he will be fettered to the wheel of birth, death and rebirth. He must be saved from this wrong belief by the proper understanding that he has no independent self. This knowledge is not merely intellectual but experiential, for the individual reaches a state of consciousness where the law of karma is of no effect. This experience comes after much self-discipline and meditation. The way of knowledge does not pray to the masses but rather to an mastermind few who are willing to all over the prescribed treads.
The Way of Devotion. The way of devotion, bhakti,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], is chronologically the final of the three ways of salvation. It is that devotion to a deity which may be reflected in acts of worship, both public and personal. This devotion, based upon love for the deity, will also be carried out in human relationships; i.e., love of family, love of master, etc. This devotion can lead one to ultimate salvation. The Bhagavad Gita is the work which has devoted special consideration to this way of salvation. This path to salvation is characterized by commitment and action.*
The Sacred Cow
From early times the Hindus revered the cow and considered it a possessor of great power. The following verses from the atharva veda praise the cow, identifying it with the entire apparent universe:
Hinduism and Christianity a comparison
A approximation between Hinduism and Christianity shows the wide divergence of belief between the two faiths.
On the subject of God, Hinduism's Supreme Being is the undefinable, impersonal Brahman, a philosophical absolute. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]ity, on the other hand, teaches that there is a Supreme Being Who is the infinite-personal Creator. The God of [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]ity, furthermore, is loving and [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]ly interested in the businesses of mankind, very in compare to the aloof deity of Hinduism.
The Bible makes it remove that God attentions about what happens to each one of us. "And call upon Me in the daytime of distress; I shall emancipate you, and you will honor Me" (Psalm 50:15 NASB). "Come to Me, all who are weary and cumbersome laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28 NASB).
The Hindu views man as a exposition of the impersonal Brahman, without individual self or self-worth. Christianity teaches that man was made in the image of God with a identity and the ability to receive and give love. Although the image of God in man has been smeared by the fall, man is still of infinite value to God. This was demonstrated by the fact that God sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die to redeem sinful man, even while man was still in rebellion opposition God.
The Bible says, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Jesus died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely dead for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man something would challenge even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were already sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6
Common Beliefs of hinduism
The common beliefs underlying all schools of thought in Hinduism are beliefs concerning
��the evolution of the physical world
��the law of karma and rebirth
��the four-fold goal of human life
The four-fold goal of people life is the
1)Purushharthas - Dharma (Righteousness)
2) Artha (Worldly Prosperity)
3) Kama (Enjoyment), and
4) Moksha (Liberation)
Beliefs of Hinduism
Hindus deem in many gods and goddesses. Some of them are human (e.g. Krishna, Rama, some animals (e.g. fish, ape, rat, snake), (some animal-humans as in the case of Ganesh who has the head of elephant with trunk and the body of a human), and some others are natural phenomena (e.g. dawn, fire, sun). Their number is generally believed to be 330 million. According to Hinduism beliefs, god incarnates, i.e., takes the form of human being and other animals and appears in this earth in that form. Gods and goddesses were born like human beings and had wives and babies. No god possesses absolute power; some of the gods are weaker than the sages and some others even weaker than the monkey (e.g. Rama).
Another aspect about Hindu gods is that the status of their godhood is not fixed. One finds that some gods were worshipped for a time and then relinquished and fashionable gods and goddesses were adopted instead. The gods and goddesses worshipped now-a-days in Hindu families and temples are not Vedic. The Vedic gods like Agni (fire), Surya (sun) Usha (dawn) are entirely rejected and the gods and goddesses said in the Puranas are worshipped by modern Hindus. Similarly, Rama who is currently receiving increasing acceptance in Hindus in India because of the broad circulation of the official and other media was never worshipped as a deity until the eleventh century
Hinduism's complexity stems from the many forms of three primary deities: Shiva, Creator and Destroyer of all Existence, Vishnu, Protector or Preserver of the Universe and Shakti, the Divine Feminine. Each sect views its deity as the "Supreme Personified Godhead," circled by a mythology that includes the texts, rituals and social and cultural observances. Depending on their needs,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], worshippers may appeal to many different deities, but all acts of devotion have the common goal of mustering the universal.the above facts apparently explains the sacred elements of Hinduism and beliefs of Hinduism.