Hinduism Sacred-texts home Journal Articles: Hinduism OCRT: Hinduism Buy CD-ROM Buy books about Hinduism Vedas Upanishads Puranas Other Primary Texts Epics Mahabharata Ramayana Bhagavad Gita Vedanta Later texts Modern books The Vedas There are four Vedas, the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Vedas contain hymns, incantations, and rituals from ancient India. Rig Veda The Rig-Veda translated by Ralph Griffith [1896]A complete English translation of the Rig Veda. Rig-Veda (Sanskrit)The complete Rig Veda in Sanskrit, in Unicode Devanagari script and standard romanization. Vedic Hymns, Part I (SBE 32)Hymns to the Maruts, Rudra, Vâyu and Vâta, tr. by F. Vedic Hymns, Part II (SBE 46)Hymns to Agni, tr. by Hermann Oldenberg [1897]The Vedic Hymns to Agni. A Vedic Reader for Students (excerpts) by A.A. Sama Veda The Sama-Veda translated by Ralph Griffith [1895]A collection of hymns used by the priests during the Soma sacrifice. Yajur Veda Atharva Veda Upanishads Thirty Minor Upanishads by K.
Religion There were a great many different religions followed in the ancient and medieval time periods. Some of them are still practiced today; others are not. It is hard even to know what religion is, but we see religion as any tendency to change your own behavior in accordance with supernatural forces. Most people in the ancient and medieval world believed that there were many unseen spirits affecting how things happened. But, beginning about 1350 BC in Egypt, there was a movement toward monotheism, or just believing in one god (often with a lot of weaker helper gods or angels). Around the same time, Zoroastrianism swept West Asia with the same idea, adding a strong notion of dualism, with the world divided into good and evil. Five hundred years later, about 500 BC, Buddhism swept India. In the first century AD, Christianity began to spread monotheism to the Mediterranean and Europe, although Judaism suffered from the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. Welcome to Kidipede! or
Hinduism Basics Hinduism is the major religion of India, and the vast majority of India's population today is Hindu; however, Hinduism has spread all over the world and is truly a "world" religion. Almost one billion people (approx. 900 million) practice Hinduism today. Hinduism is arguably the world's oldest organized religion. What's the connection between "old" and "diverse?" Hinduism has evolved and adapted into many different forms over the centuries, in order to speak to human needs and to remain meaningful to people's lives. Therefore, when looking at the history of Hinduism, we see lots of different forms, ideas, practices, etc. that may seem contradictory to each other, but all of which form part of a large, complex tapestry of Hindu belief and practice. Given this complexity, it is sometimes hard to describe Hinduism in simple-to-understand ways. - the Vedas - the Upanishads - the Bhagavad Gita (part of the larger Mahabharata) Click here to learn about these three modes of Hinduism.
Kids :: World Religions There is special information and activities contained within for teachers. Teachers please visit our Activities section. What is religion? What is a spiritual tradition? Religion is all or some of the attributes described below. a way of explaining the mysteries of life how the world was created why it was created why there is life and death what happens when people die why there is suffering a way of explaining a supreme power or absolute power, whether impersonal or personal, nameable or not a way of explaining who or what created the world and all the living beings a way of describing a dimension beyond the physical world -- the spiritual world a way of explaining how to lead a good life on Earth and in an afterlife these codes of behavior are often written in sacred documents or passed down through oral tradition
Hindu Devotional Groups [Regents Prep Global History] World Belief Systems: Introduction Humans have always expressed a need to understand natural phenomenon and to answer questions regarding their way of life and what happens once they die. These needs resulted in the development of a variety of religions and philosophies that can be found throughout the world today. This site is designed to aid students in reviewing nine of the world's major belief systems in preparation for the New York State Regents Exam in Global History and Geography. In addition, students may test their knowledge of the material presented here by accessing multiple-choice questions from past Regents Exams.