Lesson 2: Important Religious Texts.
The Agamas & General Literature.
The Agamas:
The Agamas are another class of popular scriptures that are broadly classed as Smritis. They are theological treatises and practical manuals for external worship of the gods in temples and other religious places. They all deal with:
- Jnana or Knowledge
- Yoga or Concentration
- Kriya or Esoteric Worship
- Charya or Exoteric Worship
The Agamas contain Tantra, Mantra and Yantra and include elaborate details on etymology and cosmology, liberation, devotion, meditation, philosophy of the Mantras, mystic diagrams, charms and spells, temple-building, idol-making, domestic observances, social rules, public festivals, etc.
There are three main types of Agamas:
- The Vaishnava, praising the Lord Vishnu and his avatars and acknowledging him as the Supreme Being. These are the principal texts for the Vaishnavite Sect, those who acknowledge Vishnu as the Supreme Being.
- The Saiva, praising Lord Shiva and acknowledging him as the Supreme Being. These are principal texts for the Shaivite Sect, those who acknowledge Shiva as the Supreme Being.
- The Sakta, praising the Shakti Goddesses and these are the principal texts for the Sakta Sect, those who have a Shakti Goddess as Ishta Devata or Principal Deity. These are called part of the Tantras and acknowledge Devi as Mother of the Universe.
The Agamas do not derive their authority from the Vedas but are not antagonistic to them. They are Vedic in spirit and so are regarded as authoritative in themselves. Nevertheless, they are a part of the Smriti tradition. They were written down by various sages in a diverse time span.
General Literature:
To the true Hindu anything that has a touch of beauty to it has a touch of the eternal, the Brahman, the Absolute and Pure, the One-Without-Attributes-Made-Manifest. Thus, the whole of literature is classified as scripture. In that spirit I am including in brief detail each class of literature in the Hindu world:
- The Subhashitas, which are wise sayings, instructions and stories either in poetry or prose.
- The Kavyas, which are highly scholarly compositions mostly in poetry though prose poems are allowed to be classified under them.
- The Natakas, which are dramas embodying the Nine Rasas (expressions) of Sringara (make-up artistry), Vira (bravery), Karuna (compassion), Adbhuta (astonishment), Hasya (laughter), Bhayanak (fear), Bhivatsa (loathsome or disgusting) and Raudra (terrible). Only eight are mentioned here because it is said that no-one can properly write about or express the Ninth Rasa - Santi (peacefulness). It can be attained only on liberation from this interminable cycle of births and deaths.
- The Alankaras, which are such grand rhetorical writings that they are held to be superior to all the others.
Conclusion:
It may be that there are many other scriptures that are relatively important to Hinduism but I should say that such scriptures would only be commentaries or dissertations on the ancient ones I have mentioned here. Such commentaries and dissertations are too many in number for me to be able to include some while leaving out others. So I have contrived to treat only those texts that have been and are primary sources of inspiration to Hindus of all ages. The true Hindu only accepts as literature only that which has been derived from the Vedas, that which is Vaidika - obtained from the Vedas. Anything else is Avaidika - extraneous to the Vedas – and unacceptable.
Reference Material utilized to prepare the Entire Lesson:
Websites:
1. Brahma Sutras.
http://www.hinduism.co.za/brahma-s.htm
2. Hindu scriptures.
3. The Ramayana, The Hindu Universe.
4. The Bhagavad Gita.
http://members.aol.com/jajnsn/
5. A Brief Description of the Mahabharata.
http://web.utk.edu/~jftzgrld/MBh1Home.ht...
6. The Brahma Sutras.
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/bs_00....
7. The Puranas.
http://www.hinduism.8k.com/puranas.html
8. The Ramayana.
http://www.valmikiramayan.net/
