Final Addition to Hinduism

The Four Vedas

- The four Vedas are a shruti text, which means that which has been heard meaning that they consist of absolute truth and were created upon revelation. They were written around 2500 years ago although according to Hindu tradition they were written in 3000 BCE. The Vedas consist of the Rig-Veda, which is considered to be the most important, is broken into 10 books with hymns and praises to various deities; the Yajur-Veda, which is broken into two sections which guide priests in sacrifice ceremonies; the Sama-Veda which consists of chants and songs that are sung during the sacrifice ceremonies; and Atharva-Veda which contains prayers, mantras, and incantations which lie outside the sacrifice ceremonies.

The Mahabharata

- The Mahabharata is the longest poem in the world and is mostly a story of the history of greater India. It contains information on the intricacies of dharma of the warrior and priestly classes. The text is a smriti text meaning it is one that is remembered from history and provides insight from history. The Mahabharata is supposed to be entertaining and capture the attention of the people looking more for entertainment, but the underlying theme is ultimately spiritual.

Bhagavad-Gita

- The Bhagavad-Gita is section of text taken from the Mahabharata when Krishna and Arjuna are preparing for battle on the battlefield, and Krishna begins to tell him about the concepts of ataman and reincarnation. The Bhagavad-Gita also contains text about the Supreme Being and the elevation of the ataman to become liberated from worldly boundaries.

Shaivism

- Shaivism is the second largest branch in modern India, and is associated mainly with asceticism, and the followers often consider Shiva to be the Supreme Deity. The group is focused mainly on meditation because Shiva was often depicted meditation in the Himalayas.

Vaishnavism

- Vaishnavaism is the largest of the sects of Hinduism and they consider Vishnu to be the principle deity over the other sects. This sect of Hinduism is also broken down into subsects focusing on differing incarnations of Vishnu like Rama and Krishna.