As you all
know the Hindu religion is one of the most adhered religions across the world.
It is the 3rd largest religion in the world, It’s adherents known as
the “Hindu” with 1.1 billion adherents which is almost 15% of the world’s
population.
Most of the
Hindu adherents are spread across the India and Nepal. The religion or a way of
life is called “DHARMA” in Hinduism. The Hinduism is called “SANATAN
DHARMA” by some scholars which means “the eternal tradition”. There is
no specific founder of the Hinduism as it’s been existed past thousands of
years.
The broad
range of philosophies, sacred books, textual resources and knowledge all these
together can define the proper definition of the Hinduism. The Textual
knowledge can be classified into two categories which are :
1. Shruti (heard)
2. Smruti (remembered)
The main
base and the sacred books of the Hinduism are as follows:
1. Shreemad Bhagwat Geeta
2. 4 Vedas: a) Rig Veda
b)
Yajur Veda
c)
Sam Veda
d)
Atharva Veda
3. Upanishadas.
4. Puranas.
The proper goals and most important aims of life are called
as “PURUSHARTHAS”. There are total four purusharthas are told
which are “DHARMA”, ”ARTHA”, ”KAMA”, ”MOKSHA” . So basically “Dharma” is ethics and
duties, “Artha” is prosperity or work, “Kama” is desires and
passions, and finally “Moksha” is the freedom from the cycle of death and
rebirth or salvation.
The lifestyle in ancient times or vedic age was divided in
four stages called as the “ASHRAMAS” :
1. Bramhacharya.
2. Grihastha.
3. Vanprastha.
4. Sannyasa.
These are the four stages of life through
which a person is supposed to go. So let’s go in detail about these ashramas.
The “Bramhacharyashrama” includes the birth, the childhood, the teen
age and the early youth which is approx. from age 5 to age 25. This ashrama
includes the promotion of total dedication of a child towards the education and
the study of Vedas and Shastras. In short in this stage a person is a student.
In “Grihasthashrama” the person gets married, starts
new family and finds a way to do for living. Also, the person must take the
whole responsibility of the family. This Ashrama lasts till the age 50.
In “Vanaprasthashrama” is the time when the person in
grihasthashrama is released from his responsibility as his children are grown
up and capable enough to take the responsibility on them. Now the person should
break all the strings with material, physical pleasures and attachments. Also,
the person has to retire from the social life and leave their home and go to
the forest where they should spend their remaining life praying and meditating.
In “Sannyasashrama” which is the final ashrama is the
stage of realization of “Dharma” (religion). The person should be fully devoted
to the god. The people in Sannyasashrama are called “Sannyasi”. They
have no home or a fixed place to live, no families, attachments, desires left.
They focus on how they can break the cycle of death and rebirth (“Moksha”).
So this was the quick summary
about the Hindu religion and my first blog. I hope the content was helpful. I
will keep coming with the new content in my upcoming posts.
Till then….Namaste!
