Bauddhik Plan for Age Group 9-12 for - Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh ...

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June Hindu Dharma
Introduction to Hindu Scriptures
The Hindu scriptures are the product of relentless investigations into
the facts and truth of life carried out by the ancient sages of Bharat. They
contain systematic treatises on varied subjects in the fields of science, religion,
metaphysics, philosophy and spiritual knowledge.
They are not limited to a few books because Hinduism does not confine
ideas; therefore the scriptures have become a home for many different schools
of thought. There is no single textbook for Mathematics nor is there a last
or only Mathematician. Mathematics is the collective knowledge of all the
Mathematicians over the ages. Similarly what we call Hinduism is the collective
knowledge of all the sages who went to discover the Truth. ‘Veda’, the oldest
scripture known to humankind, literally means ‘knowledge’.
In Hinduism, there are two categories of books:
1. Shrutis, which deal with never changing, eternal principles, and
2. Smritis, which often deal with the practical application of those
principles to the ever changing social order.
‘Shruti’ means ‘what is heard’ and ‘Smriti’ means ‘what is remembered.
Shruti being divinely revealed to the great Rishis of yore in the depths of
their mystical experience, its authority is supreme. Smritis are the secondary
scriptures, which derive their authority from the Shruti. Their business is to
explain, elaborate and illustrate the fundamental teachings of the Shruti.
However, according to the Hindu view, revelations are not limited to any
individual, time or place. Just as there have been revelations in the past, they
can occur at present or in future also. The seer is only a medium to transmit
the insight, which he receives. Hence he is no more the inventor of the Veda
than Newton is the generator of the law of gravity. The laws always existed and
Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS)