Sources for Hinduism

Hinduism (hin`dĭzəm), Western term for the religious beliefs and practices of the vast majority of the people of India. 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. Hinduism is composed of innumerable sects and has no well-defined ecclesiastical organization.

Hin·du·ism A diverse body of religion, philosophy, and cultural practice native to and predominant in India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils.

Hinduism:  a major religion and religious tradition of South Asia, the oldest worldwide religion, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a large pantheon of gods and goddesses

Post links to websites or other sources that explain about Hinduism and its related names: Sanatan Dharma, Vedism,  Vedic Culture, Vedic Religion

Sanatana Dharma is the collection of eternal, perennial, timeless laws that govern the forces or powers in this universe, and a way of life that is in conformity with those laws and powers that uphold, maintain, sustain and uplift all life on the planet, including but not limited to the full unfoldment of the human potential in all its dimensions – intellectual, emotional, psychological, social, professional and spiritual. 

Sanatana Dharma, meaning “Eternal or Universal Righteousness” is the original name of what is now popularly called Hinduism.  Sanatana Dharma comprises of spiritual laws which govern the human existence.Vedic religion or VedismAncient religion of India that was contemporary with the composition of the Vedas and was the precursor of Hinduism. The religion of the Indo-European-speaking peoples who entered India c. 1500 BCE from the region of present-day Iran, it was a polytheistic system.The spread (8th–5th century BCE) of the related concepts of reincarnation, karma, and release from the cycle of rebirth through meditation rather than sacrifice marked the end of the Vedic period and the rise of Hinduism. The Hindu initiation ceremony, upanayana, is a direct survivor of Vedic tradition.

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Origin
 Hinduism, A search for a true definition
Origin, Development of HInduism
Understanding Hinduism

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Hinduism for Beginners
Hindupedia

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Vedas

Ancient texts: Vedas, Vedanta/Upanishads, Upanishads,Puranas,
Veda Encyclopedia


Vedas ~ 
Hindu sacred texts: any or all of the collections of Aryan hymns, originally transmitted orally, but written down in sacred books from the 6th century bc

[Mid-18th century. < Sanskrit, “knowledge, sacred book” < Indo-European, “know”]
Upanishads ~ 
Hindu scripture: a sacred Sanskrit text belonging to a set that forms the basis for Hindu philosophy and doctrine. They date from 400 bc and represent the last stage in the tradition of the Vedas, the most ancient of Hindu scriptures.

[Early 19th century. < Sanskrit upaniṣad “a sitting down near (something)” < upa“near” + ni-ṣad “sit down”]
Puranas ~ 
Hindu sacred literature: any of a group of sacred Hindu texts written in Sanskrit that recount the lives of deities and the creation, destruction, and recreation of the universe

[Late 17th century. < Sanskrit purāṇaḥ<purāṇa- “belonging to former times” < purā“formerly”]
Hitopdesha
Hitopadesha is a collection of Sanskrit fables in prose and verse; the Hitopadesha is known to be more than a millennium old. Originally written in  Sanskrit, its stories have travelled to several parts of the world.

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Vedas

Sacred-texts: Vedas -
There are four Vedas, the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism.
They also had a vast influence on Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Traditionally the text of the Vedas was coeval with the universe.
Scholars have determined that the Rig Veda, the oldest of the four Vedas, was
composed about 1500 B.C., and codified about 600 B.C.
It is unknown when it was finally committed to writing,
but this probably was at some point after 300 B.C.

The Vedas contain hymns, incantations, and rituals from ancient
India. Along with the Book of the Dead, the Enuma Elish, the I Ching,
and the Avesta, they are among the most ancient religious texts still in existence.
Besides their spiritual value, they also give a unique view of everyday life in India four thousand years ago.
The Vedas are also the most ancient extensive texts in an Indo-European language, and as such are invaluable in the study of comparative linguistics.

Extensive translated texts.
Site search engine available.

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Vedas

Hindu Website - The Vedas

The Vedas
are the most sacred scriptures of Hinduism. According to
tradition, when God creates the worlds, He reveals the Vedas for
the welfare of the worlds and when He ends the creation, He takes
them back again. Some people say that all human knowledge is available
in the Vedas in symbolic form and that the knowledge of all our
discoveries and inventions is already contained in the Vedas. It is
true that the Vedas are not mere books of some magical chants. They
are loaded with spiritual knowledge, which reveals itself to the
degree we are spiritually advanced.
Search engine available.

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Puranas

Sacred Texts-Puranas
The Puranas are post-Vedic texts which typically
contain a complete narrative of the history of the Universe
from creation to destruction, genealogies of the kings,
heroes and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology
and geography.
There are 17 or 18 canonical Puranas, divided into three categories,
each named after a deity: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
There are also many other works termed Purana, known as 'Upapuranas.'


Onsite search engine.
Extensive material.

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Upanishads/Vedanta

Sacred Texts -Upanishads
The Upanishads are a continuation of the Vedic philosophy,
and were written between
800 and 400 B.C. They elaborate on how the soul (Atman)
can be united with the ultimate truth (Brahman) through
contemplation and mediation, as well as the doctrine of
Karma– the cumulative effects of a persons' actions.


Extensive material.
On-site search engine.

Re: Sources for Hinduism - Bhagwad Gita

Bhagwad Gita

The content of the Gita is the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra war.
Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to
Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic[5] and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. ( from the Wiki )

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Hitopadesa

The Hitopdesha

THE BOOK OF GOOD COUNSELS: From the Sanskrit of the
“Hitopadesa.”
by Sir Edwin Arnold, M.A.
Late Principal of the Poona College
London, 1861

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Hinduism Today, an online magazine published by the Himalayan Academy at  Kauai's Hindu Monastery. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), is founder of Hinduism Today. Saivite tradition.
Articles published monthly.

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Sanskrit Documents

A site with links to various resources

Re: Sources for Hinduism

What Makes Up Hindu Religion?

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Sanantan Dharma

Pancha Shraddha’ or the five precepts constitute the five basic Hindu beliefs. By teaching these to sons and daughters, parents worldwide pass on the Sanatana Dharma to their children

Re: Sources for Hinduism-Yoga

Kathy said Tuesday, 7:53 PM:

  Yoga
  It contains broader information than the link to Integral Yoga and can be used to reference many Yoga subjects.

Re: Sources for Hinduism- Systems of Philosophy

The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha, or Review of the different systems of Hindu philosophy (1882)
THE SARVA - DARSANA - SAMGRAHA ;
OR, REVIEW OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF HINDU PHILOSOPHY.

BY MADHAVA ACHARYA.

Translated by E. B. COWELL, M. A., Professor of Sanskrit in the University
of Cambridge, and A. E. GOUGH, M.A., Professor of Philosophy in the Presidency College, Calcutta.

This work is an interesting specimen of Hindu critical ability. The author successively passes in review the sixteen philosophical systems current in the fourteenth century in the South of India ; and he gives what appears to him to be their most important tenets.

Re: Sources for Hinduism- Saivism

The Nature Of God Siva
from Living with Siva

Saivism's Affirmation Of Faith
Sutra 298 of the Nandinatha Sutras, by: Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya Swami

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Who Were the Early Kailasa Preceptors? Among its ancient gurus, the Kailasa Parampara honors the illustrious Rishi Tirumular and his generations of successors. In recent history we especially revere the silent siddha called “Rishi from the Himalayas.” Aum Having achieved perfect enlightenment and the eight siddhis at the feet of Maharishi Nandinatha in the Himalayas, Rishi Tirumular was sent by his satguru to revive Saiva Siddhanta in the South of India. Finally, he reached Tiruvavaduthurai, where, in the Tamil language, he recorded the truths of the Saiva Agamas and the precious Vedas in the Tirumantiram, a book of over 3,000 esoteric verses. Through the centuries, the Kailasa mantle was passed from one siddha yogi to the next. Among these luminaries was the nameless Rishi from the Himalayas, who in the 1700s entered a teashop in a village near Bangalore, sat down and entered into deep samadhi. He did not move for seven years, nor did he speak. Streams of devotees came for his darshana. Their unspoken prayers and questions were mysteriously answered in dreams or in written, paper messages that manifested in the air and floated down. Then one day Rishi left the village, later to pass his power to Kadaitswami. The Tirumantiram expounds, “With Nandi's grace I sought the primal cause. With Nandi's grace I Sadasiva became. With Nandi's grace truth divine I attained.” Aum Namah Sivaya. - from Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami   from Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's trilogy: Dancing with Siva, Living with Siva and Merging with Siva; 3,000 page trilogy on Hindu philosophy, culture and metaphysics, available in the full-color volumes of Dancing, Living and Merging with Siva at Kauai's Hindu Monastery; HimalayanAcademy.com

Re: Sources for Hinduism

 The Eight Rites of Passage or Ashta Samskara - Hinduism Basics for Children

From Dancing with Siva by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswam

http://hinduism.about.com/od/hinduismforkids/ss/eight_rites_samskaras.htm?nl=1

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Temple Metaphysics 
(Lesson 312 from Living with Siva , from Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami)
http://groups.gaia.com/ancients_wisdom/discussions/view/311429

Re: Sources for Hinduism

VEDA- Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online-“Veda” is Sanskrit for “knowledge”. Sanskrit was the language
of Vedic civilization. Vedic culture, based on Vedic scriptures (sastras) called
Vedas, flourished all over the ancient world with center in India, formerly
known as Bharata-varsa. Vedas are the most ancient literary works on Earth,
at the same time with the profoundest and widest scope. They cover all fields
of knowledge, material and spiritual.
VEDA is one-of-its-kind resource related to the Vedas and Vedic culture. Its three main sections, Bhakti-yoga,
Vedic Encyclopedia and Vedic Library (columns on the left), contain over 680
articles and downloadable files (about 37 MB) explaining the structure and contents
of Vedic scriptures.

Site search engine available.

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Lives of Saints, by Swami Sivananda.

I found this on-line copy of a book written by Swami Sivananda on
the lives of Indian saints, from ancient times to the present.  The
person posted 80 pages of the book.

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Free download of books on Yoga, Religion, Philosphy
by Swami Sivananda and Divine Life Society

Re: Sources for Hinduism

Primer on Hinduism - an overall view.

Titles:
Origins of Hinduism
The four goals of life
The four stages of life
Views on God
Caste system
Temple culture
Hindu philosophy
Hindu symbolism