The list is intended to include only those writers who have written books about buddhism, and about whom there is already a wikipedia article. For the purpose of this list, we consider all books written in india up to and including the mughal era as being ancient books. May 30, 2009 indian hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion, but bible teaches us that god created all this in jewish form. If youre interested in knowing the most important aspects of the longest lasting religion in history, this reading list is for you.
The oldest religion need not be best religion a religion cannot be claimed to be the best religion only on the criterion that it is the oldest. Neither hindu is the name given to the people living at the banks of indus river. There are four vedas, and these constitute the hindu canon. Composed in vedic sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and. 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. Aar best first book in the history of religions award. It is one of the most popular hindu texts and is known as a smriti text the. The vedas are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient india. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots. Lists 5 holy books that predate the bible 5 holy books that predate the bible. Four sweet faithfilled romances set in london reunion, opposites attract, midlife couple, enemiestolove.
This will facilitate our young learners to know how. As the worlds largest independent marketplace for new, used and rare books, you always get the best in service and value when you buy from, and all of. Jesus, paul, food, charity, and prayer were just some of the areas examined in this. The years 10 most intriguing religion books the washington. In the most general terms, the book of the dead was a book of spells both religious and magical. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. It describes the dialogue between the lord krishna and prince arjuna. Orbis books recent reissue of the complete works of raimon panikkarparticularly of his magisterial the vedic experience.
Prior to the start of the common era, the hindu texts were composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennia before they were written down into manuscripts. A swastika symbol featured on a tile at hindu temple on diu island, india. The real reason wendy donigers book on hindus was banned in. Your question seems to be a complex question with multiple implications and i think we need to be careful to define some of our terms. Dec 23, 20 the years 10 most intriguing religion books. The idea of religious books usually brings to mind the bible, the koran or other of legendary, wellworshiped texts handed down from even before antiquity. Other significant populations are found in nepal 23 million, bangladesh 15 million and the indonesian island of bali 3. Rigveda sanhitaa collection of ancient hindu hymnsby. One of the oldest living religions in the world, hinduism is unique among the world religions in that it had no single founder but grew over a period of 4,000 years in syncretism with the religious and cultural movements of the indian subcontinent. Five of the worlds largest religious manuscripts, from devil. The many gods of the religions of the ancient world fulfilled this function as.
The theme of death and the afterlife was one of the most prominent ones in the texts. I understand hinduism does not have a founder of the religion, and it does not have a socalled formal religious text like bible or alquran. Religion is a cultural system that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and moral values. Free ancient yoga books download in hindi yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual exercise or practice which originated i. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. With news this week of the discovery of what could be the earliest known siddur, a jewish prayer book dated at around 840 ad we have put together a list of 10 of the oldest known surviving books in the world today writing and literature are thought to have been first developed between the 7th and 4th millenium bc. Top 10 must read holy religious books in the world bhagavad gita is the most sacred book in the hindu religion.
Online books on hinduism, hindu religion, hindu culture, shastras, hindu scripture, vedas, upanishad, hindu saints, sages, science and hinduism. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world. At that time people began to call upon the name of the lord genesis 4. One of the most important books out of this collection of texts is the book of two. Some of its verses are still recited as hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occasions, putting these among the worlds oldest religious texts in. These ancient cultures, the most important of which were the indus valley civilization and the aryan society, combined to create a highly diverse family of religions and philosophies. The hindu belief system includes 330 million gods and these range from. The oldest religious book in the world hasnt yet been discovered by archaeologists. List of books and articles about hinduism online research. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. If so, why do those vedas and upanishads say they are older than the bible. As a practicing hindu, i wanted to find out if shiksha bachao aandolan. The worlds oldest book in the history of mankind written in etruscan, the language that is now lost, can be seen in bulgarias national museum of history in sofia.
Discover the 10 oldest religious texts in the world here. Hinduism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf. The bhagavad gita, or song of the lord is part of the sixth book of the. Established by the american council of learned societies in 1891, this award is now administered by the american academy of religion. Indian hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion, but bible teaches us that god created all this in jewish form. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. It is the oldest major religion with a tradition reaching back millennia and having many notable peaks and periods of glory. The hindu group breaking news, india news, sports news. Why isnt religion a theme often encountered in popular fiction if its something that is a part of everyones lives. Religionfacts does not necessarily endorse the contents of these books. Jul 29, 2006 the worlds oldest book in the history of mankind written in etruscan, the language that is now lost, can be seen in bulgarias national museum of history in sofia.
A comprehensive guide to the hindu religion, hindu gods, hindu beliefs. Online books on hinduism, hindu religion, hindu culture. Anyway, the oldest sacred text in use is the rigveda, the oldest part of the vedas, which is probably somewhere between 3000 and 3500 years old. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or the eternal way, beyond human history. The encyclopedia of hinduism contains over 900 entries reflecting recent advances in scholarship which have raised new theoretical and methodological issues as well as identifying new areas of study which have not been addressed previously.
Seth was adam and eves son, so enosh was their grandson. It is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practised in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. The oldest evidence of religious practices in india date back approximately to 5500 bce. Five of the worlds largest religious manuscripts, from.
What is the oldest known book of religion, that has proof. Mainly dominated by the believers of hinduism, india is a secular country where religious scriptures of all religions are respected equally. The vedas are a large body of hindu texts originating in ancient india, with its samhita and brahmanas complete before about 800 bce. Since hinduism predates the abrahamic religions, it could be said to be one of the oldest, the firs. The subject matter of the textbook is derived from the basic issues of the religion familiar to the children through their family practices. Composed in vedic sanskrit hymns, the texts constitute the oldest layer of sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of hinduism. The word hindu is derived through persian from he sanskrit word sindhu, the. Doesnt that put it right around the same time that judaism coalesced into the religion which more or less exists today. It has influenced and been affected by other world. It was when enosh was born that people began to identify themselves as worshipers of god.
List here any books that deal with or touch on the hindu religion in a positive and significant way. In this text, leading scholars from around the world take stock of two centuries of international intellectual investment in hinduism. There is nothing like oldfashioned you will not read this book, to get. It is similar to a person saying, that my 19th century car is better than a toyota car manufactured in 1998, because it is older. Soon the nonfollowers found out that islam is the only true religion from god. Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion and still growing. This is an attempt to capture in one place the names of books and other works written in ancient india. The dharmashastras law books, derivatives of the dharmasutras. These are the most ancient religious texts which define truth for hindus. All about hinduism is intended to meet the needs of those who want to be introduced to the various facets of the crystal that is hinduism. Five of the worlds largest religious manuscripts, from devils bible to buddhist labyrinth. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the third. I was inclined to believe that the rig veda was the oldest.
A collection of handselected books on hinduism, chosen on the basis of apparent usefulness and quality. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as vaishnavism, shaivism, shaktism and others. What about hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion. There is no central ancient text that succinctly sums up. There is no single hindu sacred text, not in a similar fashion to how the abrahamic religions islam, christianity, judaism have theirs. The essentials of hinduism and millions of other books are available for. This book provides a muchneeded thematic and historical introduction to hinduism, the religion of the majority of people in india. Jul 20, 2007 the oldest religious book in the world hasnt yet been discovered by archaeologists. The textbook entitled, hindu religious studies has been prepared on the basis of attainable competencies for the students of class four. Hindu texts are manuscripts and historical literature related to any of the diverse traditions. Now i am eager to think that the beautiful text the epic of gilgamesh 3rd millennium b. It contains a lot of brief, yet informative articles about different aspects of islam.
Scholars describe hinduism as the product of religious development in india that spans nearly 4,000 years, making it perhaps the oldest surviving world religion. Books on all religions like islam, hindusim, christianity, jewism, hinduism, budhism and all other isms. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes. Discover the best history of religions in best sellers. Each entry needs to indicate the writers most wellknown work. Since the early 19th century, when the scholarly investigation of hinduism began to take shape as a modern academic discipline, hindu studies has evolved from its concentration on description and analysis to an emphasis on understanding hindu traditions in the. The hindu religion follows the divinity of the four vedas which is considered the oldest scripture in the world. The rarity consists of 6 pages made of 24carat gold and fastened together. The debate over the term hinduism in the light of postorientalist critiques is just one example of how once standard academic frameworks have been. If hinduism is the oldest religion, does its oldest book.
Raimon panikkar 19182010 made pioneering contributions in the areas of interreligious dialogue, comparative theology, and the phenomenology of religion, while bridging different religions and cultures christianity, buddhism, hinduism, and effected insightful conversation between the socalled sacred and secular worlds. It is this unity in diversity in india which makes it one of the culturally and religiously pious countries in the world. Hinduism, one of the worlds oldest religions, can be hard to understand or even define. Now i am eager to think that the beautiful text the epic of gilgamesh 3rd. Religion in the ancient world ancient history encyclopedia. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. This website is for people of various faiths who seek to understand islam and muslims. The vedas are a lot of scientific data in them and said to have been handed down to the ancient sages by the gods. This verbal tradition of preserving and transmitting hindu texts, from one generation to next, continued into the modern era. It is but natural that people all over the world should show increasing interest in a religion with so universal an appeal. Hinduism is the worlds oldest living religious tradition, with roots deep in the early cultures of india. Flood traces the development of hindu traditions from ancient origins and the major deities to the modern world. In hindu religion the oldest and most sacred text is the.
Hinduism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf e. A hindu monasterytemple complex in hawaii of the tamil saivite tradition, home to two dozen monks, pilgrimage destination for sincere devotees, highly respected producer of contemporary, worldclass, hindu religious publications. Panikkar occupies a unique space, both in the realm of comparative theology and in the wider realm of the study of religion. All are available for purchase on click book images for details. The religion of the vedathe ancient religion of india. What about hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest. It is believed by followers of this religion that the universe goes through many phases of preservation, creation, and dissolution.