Are there really any older holy books than the bible as some. Religion assessment comparing judaism and hinduism. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. These are the faith traditions that have shaped human history, societies, cultures, indeed. Scholarly efforts to compare hinduism and judaism were popular during the enlightenment era, in the process of arguing the deistic worldview. These religions happen to be two of the most wellknown and historic religious with millions of followers. Why do people claim hinduism is older than judaism when. Judaism was founded by moses, although jews relate their history back to abraham. While judaism has many important and sacred texts, its most.
Judaism according to information published by the jewish people policy planning institute, there were around. There are three different kinds of judaism, orthodox, conservative, and reform a small percentage of the worlds population, about 14 million people, makes up this religion. Apr 25, 2006 judaism, combining both a religion and a nation, is known to be one of the oldest religions on our planet, founded in 0 b. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. The twelve historical books of the old testament continue to record the history of the people of israel under the leadership of joshua, through the. I hope that from this short introduction to the holy books of hinduism it is apparent that hindus consider a great variety of literature important, and that this literature is as diverse and complex as it is beautiful. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies. Jun 07, 2008 all hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy. Hinduism, which does posit a divine creator, describes the divine direction of this world as lila, playful sport, with no more purpose and meaning than a game of ball. They go so far back, and at the same time they are very different. Buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, and judaism.
Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Translated by various sanskrit scholars set in 30 volumes in 38 parts sanskrit is fun part ii. Muslims believe their deity is no different than that of their parent faith, judaism. Judaism and hinduism, 2 major religions, are some of the most ancient major religions today. Hinduism, as we know it, is a collection of different traditions from india clumped together and called a religion in the ce age not bc.
However that claim, oldest to have a founder, might depend on how long ago zoroaster lived and ive seen vary divergent estimates. Hinduism is not born of the teachings of particular prophets. Zoroastrian texts depict one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions practiced in iran around 600bc650ce. Introduction hinduism stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live in india. Hinduism, as the worlds most ancient surviving religion, could have it no other way. Hinduism dates back to almost 3000bce while judaism originated in 0 bce according to traditions. Judaism has a rich history of religious text, but the central and most important religious document is torah. The religion was officially founded by moses, although jewish history can be traced back to abraham, who is considered to be the ancestor of the jewish people.
This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. First, hinduism has changed and added books with their vedas over the years, and its difficult to say all the vedas are older than the torah. The first five books of the old testament known as the pentateuch or torah was written by moses during the forty years that the children of israel wandered in the wilderness 1450 1410 b. Hinduism is different than other major religions around the world, including islam, judaism or christianity in that it does not claim one idea, person or entity as its founder. Hinduism judaism buddhism christianity islam sikhism 2 name of follower hindus jews buddhists christians muslims sikhs 3 religious leaders leaders of whorship brahman rabbi, abraham siddhartha gautama pastor, preist, jesus mohammed guru nanak 4 name of god trimurti, shiva, brahma polytheistic adonai, yaweh, god monotheistic. Due to the lack of evidence, we cant say exactly if zoroastrianism is older than judaism. May 30, 2009 first, hinduism has changed and added books with their vedas over the years, and its difficult to say all the vedas are older than the torah.
Judaism began as early as 2000 bce as the religion of abraham and of the small nation of the hebrews. Hinduism is such an ancient religion that it had many types of beliefs and religious practices. We are reborn from a previous life until we reach nirvana extinction of all desire and release from suffering. There is something called pramana, authority, which our acharyas have recognised, and as per the acharyas a set of books are considered primary texts, whereas, other books based on these primary books can also be referred to. Hinduism and shintoism do not have any specific founder and judaism im not sure exactly has a single founder either. The problem with dating the beginning of judaism lies in figuring out when that. This is the logical fallacy argumentum ab annis argument because of age.
Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. At this moment the archaeological discoveries point to zoroastrianism to be older. The difference between judaism and buddhism, hinduism. Those that claim that judaism and the torah are older than. But the traditional view of judaism is that the torah was written by moses himself. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. Hinduism table of contents the yale forum on religion and. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The majority of the vedas are considered the shruti, which is translated to that which is hard. Hinduism table of contents center for the study of world religions harvard divinity school religions of the world and ecology series hinduism and ecology volume mary evelyn tucker and christopher key chapple, eds. Hinduism and judaism are among the oldest existing religions in the world. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies, and entirely new branches of hinduism.
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. In comparison, similar textual analysis of the rig veda indicates that it was composed between 1700 1100 bc, making hinduism the older religion. Quran and to a lesser extent taurat, zabur, and injil. The vedic religion and its sects are thousands of years old and older than judaism. Its hard to answer questions like these for various reasons but id give it a try. Around 1750 bc aryan invaders from central asia settled in north west india and introduced their own religious. Judaism, combining both a religion and a nation, is known to be one of the oldest religions on our planet, founded in 0 b. The oldest of these sources is hypothetically dated to about 950 bc. May 04, 2020 here at the hinduism section of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. Several series of queries about the religion and faiths make you clear enough to follow the religion which removes the rigidity of the religion. Differences between hinduism and judaism difference between. Second, just because something is older doesnt make something more true.
The two share some similarities and interactions throughout both the ancient and modern worlds. List of world religions and founders, religious books, place. The belief system in the hindi religion is outlined from these scriptures. It is not based on a set of dogmas preached by a particular set of teachers. Judaism is a monotheistic religion and one of the first religions.
The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. The ideal primer on world religions, exploring the major faiths is an introduction to the five most significant religious movements hinduism, judaism, buddhism, christianity, and islam. Hinduism is also known by the names sanatanadharmaand vaidikadharma. Sep 07, 20 several series of queries about the religion and faiths make you clear enough to follow the religion which removes the rigidity of the religion. It is estimated over 1 billion people follow the hindu faith. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. Dec 05, 2010 hinduism and shintoism do not have any specific founder and judaism im not sure exactly has a single founder either. Allah is just and merciful, but will also judge everyone on the day of judgment.
For example, textual analysis of the rig veda seems to indicate multiple authors, spread over a period of several centuries. Taoism taoism is a religion that was begun in china in the late 4th. Hinduism is neither monotheistic nor restricted to one religious scripture. Judaism is my vote, since they have been around to help construct the pyramids of egypt back in 2000 bc or so. There are other holy scriptures besides the vedas in the hindu religion, including the upaanisads, smrutis, ramayana, the mahabharata and the puranas. What about hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion. The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. Hinduism is a decidedly theistic religion, but it can be difficult to determine whether it is a polytheistic, pantheistic, or even monotheistic religion. Hinduism is a deep rooted religion, all other religions are offshootsbranches of hinduism. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives. But zoroastrianism being 8367 years old seems a little unbelievable. Here at the hinduismsection of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. Hinduism contains its own customs, festivals and holy books as well as a number of deities that intertwine its history, culture and indian society, past and present. According to rabbi aryeh kaplan, the foundation of judaism and the basis of all true religion is the realization that existence is purposeful, and that man has a purpose.
Islam is a monotheistic religion that worships allah, an allpowerful deity who they believe created the entire universe and everything in it. Hinduism judaism buddhism christianity islam sikhism. Hi, considering judaism talks about the creation of the world then i suppose they think they are the oldest religion but the pentateuch 1st 5 books of the bible were attributed to moses probably not true but we do know that the story of the flood also is mentioned in ancient mesopatian texts predating the bible. In contrast to hinduism, judaism does have a founder though we do not know if he was an actual historic figure. Hindu religion is one of the oldest in existence and dates. Depending on how one dates the religion, however, it could be markedly older. The bhagavad gita by krishnadwaipayana vyasa, walk like a buddha. The broad term hinduism encompasses a wide variety of traditions, which are closely related and share common themes but do not constitute a unified set of beliefs or practices. What is the name of the holy books of hinduism judaism. With hardly any common ground to share hinduism and judaism remain two of the more dominate yet distinct religions of our time. All hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy.
Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population. 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. Apr 03, 20 that is why there are many holy books in hinduism. Judaism is the oldest of the three monotheistic abrahamic faiths, with the other two religions being christianity and islam. Judaism is one of the ancient monotheistic religions and was founded over 3500 years ago in middle east. Through thousands of years of suffering, persecution, dispersion, and the occasional victory, jewish religion and culture has been profoundly influential. In this paper, a comparison of hinduism and judaism will be analyzed where a comparison of the beliefs of life after death and prayerworship will be looked at. Difference between hinduism and christianity islam maria. A comparison enables analysis of disparity among different aspects of a religion as it relates to another religion. Extant religions in india today are shaivism, vaishnavism, shaktism, tribal religions like sarnaism, and village belief systems.
However, the holy books in hinduism are the basis on which we have evolved our culture and way of. Hinduism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf e. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. Unlike christianity or islam, it is a not a religion that is governed by the book. For example, the story of creating the world in seven days is told in avesta one of the texts that predate the bible. The religion is believed to have influenced many of other world religions, including christianity. The religious scriptures are not followed word to word.