Tantra religious texts britannica encyclopedia britannica. Other articles where tantric hinduism is discussed. Most people think tantra is a spiritual approach to sex or perhaps a sexy approach to spirituality, or a modality of sexual healing. This holy book is written in the sanskrit language. The heart of hinduism, in the spirit of the tradition, aims to be nonsectarian, evenhanded, and respectful in its description of all the hindu traditions. The religious culture of the tantras is essentially hindu, and buddhist tantric material can be shown to have been derived from hindu sources. The term tantra and the tantric traditions of hinduism and buddhism have been subjected to a great deal of misunderstanding in both india and the west. Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. The goddess pervades hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to highcaste pan hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Vedas simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india.
The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. Toward the end of the 5th century, the cult of the mother goddess assumed a significant place in indian religious life. Tantric hindu and buddhist traditions were also a significant influence on a. Im doing a social studies project and i need to know what the hindu holy book is. Shaktism, the worship of shakti, the active power of the godhead conceived in feminine terms, should be distinguished from tantrism, the search for spiritual power and ultimate release by means of the repetition of sacred syllables and phrases. In the book, krishna is talking to arjuna, an archer, before the kurukshetra war begins.
Hinduism cannot be understood without the great goddess and the goddessorientated sakta traditions. Today, tantra basically exists in the shakta, shaiva, vaishnava, shaurya and ganapatya traditions. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. While others barely know what they contain and follow the bhagwat geeta. Mahanirvana tantra the tantra of the great liberation. Many scholars liken hinduism to a family of religions, with all affiliated members bearing a family resemblance.
Iskcon, the international society for krishna consciousness, belongs to the vaisnava tradition of hinduism. The moon god soma chandra defies hs brethren by kidnapping their gurus new wife, the gears of war are set in. Hinduism for beginners an concise introduction to the eternal path to liberation by. It has teachings said to be given by lord sri krishna who is the supreme god. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. Translated by arthur avalon sir john woodroffe 19 the best known of the tantric scriptures. Loom any of numerous texts dealing with the esoteric practices of some hindu, buddhist, and jain sects. Hundreds of indians from throughout india contributed to hindu practices and viewpoints over generations.
The religions founded by individuals have one book that summarizes the philosophies of the founder or the same from the disciples perspective and so on. Tantra and tantric rituals of hinduism and buddhism. These texts describe the esoteric teachings of tantra, a belief system which originated in india, praticed by a small number of hindus and buddhists. The heart of hinduism text book is produced by iskcon educational services, uk. The ancient devadasi tradition of sacred templedance, seen in the. The concept of the word in selected hindu tantras sri garib dass oriental. Tantra a science or sadhana spiritual practice based on a vast collection of religious and occult hindu scriptures that emphasize the shakti energy of the deity. The popular perception of tantra among hindus espoused in indian journalism. Tantra denotes the esoteric traditions of hinduism and buddhism that. Tantra download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf e. Hinduism is not based so much on one holy book or perception of faith, but many.
Hinduism did the same with buddhism by calling buddha as an avatar of vishnu who had come to delude the demons away from holy vedas. Just like tantras, hinduism tolerated chrvaka philosophy. The soma tantra by itzquauhtli, is the debut of the author, who wishes to be anonymous. The story goes that in ancient india there existed a tantric culture which unlike prudish, dualistic western spirituality, was a sexpositive, protofeminist, sensual paradise the real story is more complicated. Hinduism fulfills all these three conditions and so is perfectly in harmony with modern. Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. The vedas are the four holiest books of the by mankind to the next, perhaps over thousands of years each book has four major kinds of text the samhitas mantras and benedictions, the aranyakas text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolicsacrifices, the brahmanas commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices, and the upanishads texts discussing meditation, philosophy. Thus any definition of hinduism is somewhat arbitrary and. The book is a work of fiction situated in hindu mythology, drawing its literary lineage from the mahabharata and siva purana. Well, there the recitation of mantras, on the deeper level, is intended to help us to shape the breath, which shapes the energy and is a. Hindus, unlike christians or muslims or jews, do not rely on a single source such as the holy bible, the koran or the torah for the practice of their faith. They have words called mantras which are chanted at the religious ceremonies although they were finally written down in. Some tantra texts in hinduism are vedic and others nonvedic. The belief system in the hindi religion is outlined from these scriptures.
Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. The vedas a collection of hymns praising the vedic gods. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. The very fact that there are thousands of sacred books within our own tradition, and that thousands are saints and sages are associated with revealing and compiling them has made hindus take it for granted that diversity of scriptures is a. Hinduism stack exchange is a question and answer site for followers of the hindu religion and those interested in learning more about hinduism. However, smruti texts often carry almost as much authority as sruti. Tantra and the tantric traditions of hinduism and buddhism. Tantras are scriptures dedicated to each of the three major theological traditions of hindu. Sacred scriptures containing spiritual and psychophysical teachings concerned with the transmutation of energy, liberation of the mind, attainment of supernatural skills and other more or less esoteric secret practices. By the way there is so much here because i like typing on the ipad.
If youre interested in knowing the most important aspects of the longest lasting religion in history, this reading list is for you. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. This religious book defines the boundary of the religion and the followers would be expected to strictly abide by that holy book. It was written about five thousand years ago as part of the mahabharata. Most of the staunch hindu vedic practitioners, however, consider the tantras to be antivedic in character and hence, altogether shun both the cult and the practitioners of the same. There is a diverse range of attitudes toward the tantric traditions, ranging from their emic understandings as paths to liberation to the relatively widespread associations of the tantric traditions with sorcery and libertine sexuality. What is the position of the tantras among the holy scriptures. The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. Sruti scriptures are considered divinely inspired and fully authoritative for belief and practice, while smruti are recognized as the products of the minds of the great sages.
Tantras are scriptures dedicated to each of the three major theological traditions of hindu dharma. They are believed to be one of the oldest books ever made by mankind. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. The general meaning of the word tantra is any science or body of knowledge. Indeed, the atharva veda is cited by many tantra texts as a source of great knowledge. Holy books of hinduism hinduism a perspective the religions founded by individuals have one book that summarizes the philosophies of the founder or the same from the disciples perspective and so on. The sacred texts of hinduism fall into one of two categories. They have words called mantras which are chanted at the religious ceremonies although they were finally written down in 1,500 bce.
Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or. Hinduism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Sacred utterances, sacred gestures and richly extravagant symbolic. It has been described that number of verses that exist in all of the various types of hindu scriptures, as below, total 1 billion.
They are written in an old indian language called sanskrit. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Hindu dharma is not a one book, one prophet, one god religion. Tantric hinduism britannica encyclopedia britannica. Sacred hindu scriptures holy books of hinduism holy. However, some of these books and songs became more popular than others and came to define the culture and religion we know today as hinduism. Hindus as well as hindus who are living in the west, an introduction to the faith. The concept of the word in selected hindu tantras sri garib dass oriental andre padoux on. Tantric texts are usually associated with a particular tradition and deity. In hinduism, the tantras looms or weavings are sectarian scriptures dealing with certain aspects of a god and rules for discipline for the worshipper. Tantras looms or weavings refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in hindu and buddhist philosophy. All the three major sects of hinduism namely shaivism, vaishnavism and shaktism have elements of tantra incorporated into their beliefs, doctrines and. Difference between sutras and tantras dharma wheel.
The bhagavad gita is one of the holy books of sanatan dharma. Find here a list of selected books on on hindu mantras, the mantra tradition, sacred hymns and chants, aum, the power of sound vibrations, healing mantras, mantras for peace, abundance and spiritual growth. The second theory about origin of tantras is of course that it was composed by other beings buddhas, dharmaprotectors, vajrasattvas etc and the tantras literally drop from the sky or was revealed in visions. The body of texts known as the tantras have been misinterpreted and. The vedas are the four holiest books of the hindu religion. A scripture, sacred text, or treatise concerning tantric teachings andor rituals. The religious culture of the tantras is essentially hindu, and buddhist tantric. Hinduism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf. Specifically it refers to a particular class of literature, devoted primarily to the cult of shakti or the divine mother and containing an amalgam of religion, philosophy, esoteric and occult rites, astronomy, astrology, medicine and prognostications. There is no one singular holy book or scripture for hinduism. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. This book is written by a westerner who is a practicing hindu, to give non. The concept of hinduism being a single monolithic religion is recent, dating back only to the 19th century.
Hindu tantras point the disciple in the direction of selfrealization, through a. The vedas are scriptures that the hindu people use as a guide to daily and religious life. Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. These billion verses are summarized into 700 verses by lord krishna in his bhagavad gita, as confirmed by adi shankr. Neverthless, there are consistent themes running through this selection of texts they do represent relics of times past, and tantras and other stories and legends that have long disappeared. It was translated by sir john woodruffe under the pseudonym arthur avalon, one of the few indologists to gain direct access to this obscure and secretive branch of hinduism. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. The holy book in the hindu religion is known as the vedas.
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