On Hinduism

Since the Vedic scriptures are highly cryptic, several schools of philosophical thought emerged in Hinduism, owing to different interpretations. Among them the most prominent one is the Advaita School.

The term Advaita refers to the darshana or philosophy that Brahman alone is ultimately real, the phenomenal transient world is an illusory appearance (maya) of Brahman, and the true Self, atman, is not different from Brahman.

Advaita is the path of knowledge. By removing ignorance of Self, knowledge is attained. It is a path of self-enquiry that leads to realization.

In Advaita you have to come to the knowledge that you are not the body, you are not the mind. Advaita leads to the knowledge that there is no self. Through that knowledge it leads to the state of no-self.

Advaita is the idea that there is only Brahman, and that everything is Brahman–non-dualism or monism.

Also read:

Other reading material:

Relevant videos: Swami Tadatmanda on reincarnation, 

Contributor: Rajeev Singh

Location of this post (1j): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/what-is-advaita/

There are over a billion Hindus. One out of seven people on this planet is a Hindu.

1. Let’s start with Who is God? To seek God, you do not have to look outside but inside–to our soul or atman–is God. You do not realize your inner beauty because of your ego, greed, and trying to impress others. Remember, the day that inner spirit leaves you, you are worthless and only the dead body remains, at best the prettiest dead body.  

2. Hindus believe in reincarnation; death is not an end but the soul moves to a new body. A tree doesn’t die but it goes back to where it came from, that is dirt, elements and water. In its place, a new tree will come.

3. On how to pray? Hindus have many ways to unite or yoga with divinity, like meditation—Raja Yoga, knowledge—Gnana Yoga, service to others—Karma Yoga and the most popular being the Bhakti Yoga which is devotional in nature.

4. Where is god? God is omnipresent. Namaste means I see divine in you and bow to you. Further, God is present in animals, plants, mother earth, sun and moon.  

5. We do not have doctrines, like “thou shall not eat beef.” As an example, Hinduism teaches us to minimize violence – in practice, and even in thought. It teaches us that animals have equal rights on this earth. Therefore, if you feel justified to kill animals just for your taste buds, then it is your choice.

6. We have many scriptures. One popular scripture is the Bhagavad Gita and is the most well-known. It is a self-improvement guide. Gita teaches us how to be happy in this life and teaches us to do good karma.

Other reading material: https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/july-august-september-2019/educational-insight-hinduism-in-a-nutshell/ 

Relevant videos:

Contributor: Dilip Amin

Location of this post (3g): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/what-are-the-main-teachings-of-hinduism-for-a-layman/

Just like the Bible and Quran are the fundamental scriptures for Christianity and Islam, the Vedas are Hinduism’s oldest and most important scriptures. Vedas are meditations that explore the nature of reality, or the “Truth”, and are classified into 4 books. Each of the 4 Vedas have 4 sections:

1. Samhitas – Hymns
2. Brahmanas – Priestly Manuals
3. Aranyakas – Forest treatises
4. Upanishads – Enlightened Discourses

Upanishads are also known as Vedanta, that which comes at the end of the Vedas. They are the metaphysical discourses that are usually in an entertaining story format, with a teacher and a student, exploring the nature of “Truth”.

Upanishad, the word literally means “come sit near”. The seers of the Vedic age were used to giving public talks (similar to the stories of the Buddha giving large sermons). However, not all the secrets can be revealed to a crowd. If Einstein were asked to explain the Theory of Relativity to a crowd at the Madison Square Garden, he would likely give a lighter-weight TED-talk on his findings. Crowds do not understand nuance.

The Truth (ultimate truth) is subtle. Understanding the truth requires a preparation of the body, mind and spirit. When the student is ready, the teacher would ask the student to “come sit near”, so the truth may be revealed with clarity and precision. The Upanishads record the Truth with nuance, clarity and precision. It is best to approach these texts with reverence and a reasonable estimation of one’s readiness.

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Other reading material: Book-The Upanashads by Eknath Easwaran,

Relevant videos:

Contributor: Madhu

Location of this post (7b): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/what-are-the-upanishads-about/

Vedas are the most authoritative and the root scripture from which others are derived. Vedanta is the end part of the Vedas that consist of the philosophical aspects of vedic teachings. Itihasa and Purana show the practical aspects of how people lived in alignment with Vedic teachings. As questions emerged in the society about the practical aspects of vedas, they were allowed to freely question, meditate, debate and determine a common course/understanding. Summary of such common understanding of the practical aspects of Vedas were then documented in the Smriti’s.

Sri Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950), Indian mystical and philosopher, put it this way: Hinduism is the most skeptical and the most believing of all religions. It is most skeptical because it has questioned and experimented the most and the deepest, rejecting nothing but insisting on testing and experiencing everything. From this come our scriptures and our beliefs: the Vedas, the Vedanta, the Gita, the Upanishads…But the most authoritative scripture is the heart, where the Eternal has His dwelling.

If you are new to Hinduism or exploring it, the best scripture to start with is Holy Gita. However, the most authoritative are the Vedas. 

Other reading material:

Relevant videos: 10 min summary on Gita, 

Author; Dilip Amin

Location of this post (7d): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/which-one-is-the-most-authoritative-scripture/