Sanatana dharma is the original religion that comes down from the dawn of creation of this universe. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies. The central beliefs of modern pagans differ in specifics yet share many fundamentals. Paganism is related to the earth, to holy places, to the sacredness of life, to a certain type of people. Hindus are the last of the pagans indiafactsindiafacts. Sruti pronounced shroothee are the holy books within hinduism that are considered to be. Guide to paganism, a group of contemporary religions based on a reverence for nature, including origins and history, rituals, devotions and descriptions. Hinduism is the oldest known religion on the earth. The most important connection between paganism, hinduism and shintoism is they are not limited to a holy book like islam and christianity. The best pagan books 508 books meet your next favorite book.
The sruti, the divinely inspired holy books of hinduism, were written at different times, in different places, by different people, and for different reasons. This was either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the christian population, or because they were not milites christi soldiers of christ. May 04, 2020 here at the hinduism section of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. Is hinduism a pagan religion, like those of the former roman. Because your computer is running an older version of internet browser, it no longer meets the features of modern websites. We like this word paganism, applied to the hindu cults. The christian challenge numerous british and more largely western neopagans seek contact with hinduism. Many of the old customs are overlooked, but some traditions, such as. Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. Here at the hinduismsection of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies, and entirely new branches of hinduism. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. A comprehensive guide to a growing religious movement if you want to study paganism in more detail, this book is the place to start.
What about hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion. It is not a manual of practice or a how to guide to practice rituals or spells of a lot of the fluff that is available on the bookstore selves. The christian challenge dr koenraad elst august 27, 2014 analysisinsights, indigenouspagan voice comments off on hinduism and paganism. Europes ancient nature worshippers, the pagans, call for a hindu alliance. Christianity, being older than islam has had longer innings in.
The term itself stems from the latin paganus translated loosely along the lines of country dweller or rustic. European christians have a 2000year long unbroken tr. The word paganism has come to refer to various prechristian religions belonging to a number of ancient culturesthose from greece, rome, egypt, scandinavia, and so on. This makes hinduism, kown as sanatana dharma in its native. As a whole, the books here are of historical importance rather than a roadmap to modern pagan practice, and shouldnt be construed as such. Mar 26, 2014 hinduisms canon it is often said of hinduism that, unlike the abrahamic religions, it is not a religion of the book. Most important element of paganism is having more than one god. In addition to the revival of greek, germanic, and slavic forms of paganism, there is also an attempt to revive celtic paganism. In india, some use the word hinduism to just mean religion because it encompasses all beliefs. It is here that renascent paganism in europe seeks inspiration from hinduism as the biggest and most developed surviving pagan civilization.
Hinduism never really disappeared, so it has a more continuous tradition. European paganism was exterminated by christianity. They have practices that, of course as a nonnative i wouldnt know, but the lesson is not to depend on other peoples practices but in paganism how i see it, these older practices are a way to shape your own. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. Part 1 the hindu deities the religions of wicca and hinduism seem, to most, to be different as night and day.
The two share some similarities and interactions throughout both the ancient and modern worlds. A recent discovery of dwaraka a city from mahabharata corroborates this claim. They seem to have more in common than wicca and old paganism. A book of shadows contains description of rituals, spells, and other knowledge. Europes ancient nature worshippers, the pagans, call for. Ive seen some definitions say that a pagan is someone not part of an abrahamic religion, that is, not christian, moslem, or jewish. This was typical of all the religions in ancient europe greeks, romans etc. The similarities in philosophy and practice, however, reveal to us that they are closely related in many more ways than they are different. In fact, they will soon complete the first temple to thor and odin to exist in iceland in over years. 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.
It allows the widest freedom in matters of faith and worship. More than being completely erroneous, this is an uninformed canard that implicitly suggests, hinduisms true place is more in line with paganism than. Hinduism and the nature of paganism llewellyn unbound. Diversity and many paths are the beautiful fruits of paganism. Under the umbrella of hinduism people have widely and wildly varying practices, often worshipping different gods and goddesses of the enormous hindu. It is believed that there are and should be multiple paths. Once state support became available, it turned violent in forcing its tenets on pagans. Regardless, many people use the terms wicca and witchcraft interchangeably. A person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world. This is the logical fallacy argumentum ab annis argument because of age. Today, with hinduism being the only surviving animistic religion to challenge the expansion of abrahamic forces, serves as a case study for the neopagan movement which is a revival of the ancient religions of europe, by people who have realised that christianity is not the religion of their forefathers. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata.
There is a great deal of debate among the pagan community about whether or not wicca is truly the same form of witchcraft that the ancients practiced. Nov 09, 2014 the term paganism was revived during the renaissance when writers were trying to differentiate the old traditions from their contemporary christian faith. Hindu religion hinduism facts hinduism facts facts. Old norse religion, also known as norse paganism also known as asatru, also called the most common name for a branch of germanic religion which developed during the protonorse period, when the north germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the germanic peoples. Paganism a brief overview of the history of paganism the term. Like the bahai faith, buddhism, roman catholicism, and many other mainstream religions today, hinduism tolerates other faiths as being legitimate. Second, just because something is older doesnt make something more true. Obviously christianity came first so it is older than islam.
Hinduisms canon it is often said of hinduism that, unlike the abrahamic religions, it is not a religion of the book. Here, i will give only a brief introduction to the holy books of hinduism. Deity is seen as immanent rather than transcendent. The people who lived in the country and who continued to believe in the old ways came to be. 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.
Like most of the answers here, i have to point out that your definition of paganism is problematic. All the indigenous faiths must talk to one another. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Egyptian religion and sumeriam worship, to name two, are almost certainly older, but i doubt there are any living. Paganism from classical latin paganus rural, rustic, later civilian is a term first used in the fourth century by early christians for people in the roman empire who practiced polytheism. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. God hinduismpaganism vs abrahamism religion nigeria. Any information on the similarities between wicca and hinduism. Islam came almost 600 years after christianity and the muslims believe that islam is the final. Sep 11, 2006 guide to paganism, a group of contemporary religions based on a reverence for nature, including origins and history, rituals, devotions and descriptions of the different pagan paths or subdivisions. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. They recognize a similarity, both positively and negatively, both in their own religions characteristics and in the misfortunes that have befallen it. Neopaganism is the modern revival of the old religions. Shintoism has a claim to great age, but i dont know how old people believe it to be.
For example, the story of creating the world in seven days is told in avesta one of the texts that predate the bible. Neo paganism is the modern revival of the old religions. In search of one of the worlds oldest religions the getty iris. They are far more organised and centrally controlled than religion of. The thesis of paganism as a world religion comes from a monotheistic background. 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. There certainly were many pagan religions in existence before judaism, but most no longer exist. Paganism a brief overview of the history of paganism the. The holy bible preaches that we pagans are dogs, murderers, sorcerors, idolaters, liars all synonyms for devilworshippers. If you want to know about paganism, this is not the book for you. Hinduism is a compilation of many traditions and philosophies and is considered by many scholars to be the worlds oldest religion, dating back more than 4000 years. However, all of these texts can be broadly classified as vedas veydthus. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives.
In iceland, the norse gods are making a particularly strong comeback and nordic paganism is now icelands fastest growing religion. Feb 27, 20 part 1 the hindu deities the religions of wicca and hinduism seem, to most, to be different as night and day. Im not near my references now, but i suspect that zoroastrianism and hinduism might be older than judaism among religions still practiced. Is hinduism a pagan religion, like those of the former roman empire and the greeks. Any information on the similarities between wicca and. Comparing catholicism and hinduism help us reduce the maintenance cost of our online services. Europes ancient nature worshippers, the pagans, call for a. Hinduism in very ancient religion, it is believed that hinduism started more than a million years ago according to hinduism scriptures. Now, hinduism is a pagan religion that is arguably older than judaism although it depends how you date both religions.
The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. By that definition hinduism is certainly a pagan faith, but hinduism isnt pagan according to the dictionary definition. This tradition was carried on by gerald gardner, who depending on the account either synthesized wicca, or took it public, during the 1950s. There are both reconstructionist modern celtic pagans and syncretic modern celtic pagans who also incorporate wicca and other traditions into their religion. It is sweet to the ears of more than one of the fallen aryans of europe, accustomed to refer to pagan greece, and to pagan beauty as the most perfect expressions of their own genius in the past. Generally, the criticism is that there were religions that were older than christianity that had similar concepts, such as the virgin birth, god becoming flesh, resurrection from the dead, etc. The holy koran teaches that we pagans are the worst of created beings. The gardnerian book of shadows the book of shadows is a wiccan text which is maintained by the initiated in manuscript form. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india.
Religion or dharma has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from. From that perspective neopagan rather than buddhist, im learning about the different godsesses of india and japan. Scholars regard hinduism as a fusion or synthesis 6 note 4. Some define paganism as a religion outside of christianity, judaism, hinduism, islam, and. The more i look into it, it seems that hinduism and wicca have a lot in common. Wicca is a tradition of witchcraft that was brought to the public by gerald gardner in the 1950s. Paganism has broadly connoted the religion of the peasantry. Jan 12, 2020 wicca is a tradition of witchcraft that was brought to the public by gerald gardner in the 1950s. Some american lawmakers recently characterized hinduism as pagan. What about hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. Kenyatta was the leader of kenya from independence in 1963 to his death in 1978, serving first as prime minister 196364 and then as president 196478.
Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. I think, though, there needs to be more to this definition. The result was more thorough than in the case of the partial islamization of south asia, but far less violent. Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient graecoroman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or christian. So paganism in general is older than hinduism, but neopaganism is newer. Hinduism is also like paganism in that it is an umbrella term for many similar religiousspiritual beliefs. One serious case of a christian holy war against pagans was the subjection of the baltic area by the teutonic order in. First, lets distinguish between two types of hindu literature. Modern pagan traditions often incorporate beliefs or practices, such as nature worship, that are different. Did christianity copy from pagan or other religions. The religion of hinduism originated in northern india, near the river indus, about 4000 years ago and is the worlds oldest existing religion. Jul 14, 2011 part of the problem with the question of hinduism and paganism is that unlike the abrahamic religions, hinduism is more accurate termed a collection of faiths with some similar concepts. According to abrahamic mythology, hell is the abode of the devil. As always, we encourage readers to think critically.
Initially, the christians were a small and vulnerable community in the mighty roman empire. Is hinduism a pagan religion, like those of the former. Its name comes from zarathushtra, to whom the earliest texts of the. Zoroastrian texts depict one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions practiced in iran around 600bc650ce. Hinduism and judaism are among the oldest existing religions in the world. Scholarly efforts to compare hinduism and judaism were popular during the enlightenment era, in the process of arguing the deistic worldview. Which religion is older christianity or islamic faith. It was replaced by christianity during the christianization of scandinavia.
Apr 03, 20 the puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. Oct, 2015 from that perspective neopagan rather than buddhist, im learning about the different godsesses of india and japan. Paganism is a term first used in the fourth century by early christians for people in the roman. Which is religion older christian orthodoxy or islam answers. Jun 15, 2011 now, hinduism is a pagan religion that is arguably older than judaism although it depends how you date both religions. But recent studies show that hinduism is atleast 0 years. Paganism was originally a pejorative and derogatory term for polytheism, implying its inferiority. The first of the oldest surviving religious texts, the pyramid texts, was. It has come to also represent, in some circles, the modern ideology of wicca and the followers of revived versions of the old practices. First, as i just wrote, all major religions evolved out of earlier, pagan. The majority of the vedas are considered the shruti, which is translated to that which is hard.
So paganism in general is older than hinduism, but neo paganism is newer. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. The religion is believed to have influenced many of other world religions, including christianity. Based on a course in paganism that the authors have taught for more than a decade, it is full of exercises, meditations, and discussion questions for group or individual study. No, christianity did not copy ideas from other religions. So now our job is to oversee the development of a new worldview and a different way of life, punctured by oldnew rituals and celebrations. In europe, the line was interrupted by christianity. Descriptions of contemporary neopagan practice and beliefs can be found in the internet book of shadows section of this site. The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. Almost to the point where theyre the same religion almost.
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