Skip to main content

Glorian averages 100 donors a month. Are you one of the few who keep Glorian going? Donate now.

Taittiriya Samhita from the Vedas
Taittiriya Samhita from the Vedas

Hindu

Hinduism preserves many of the oldest scriptures on the planet. The Vedas and Upanishads contain the essential mysticism and practical spirituality reflected in every religion around the world, thereby illustrating the common root of all religions. Here we select some key scriptures notable for their universal meaning, ease of study, and relevance to the serious seeker.

"Man and wife, living in mutual lifelong devotion, are at the root of Dharma. Creation springs from them. Don't destroy Dharma for a fleeting comfort at a wayside fire. Remember what the Gods did in the days of old. They had to offer sacred Purusha to make creating possible. Without a sacrificial offering, you cannot create anything. If you want a woman, you have to offer something: a present, a house to live in, lifelong protection. But in that way you will only get a woman, her body, her services. The offering however is like sacrificing ghee or barley or a lamb to obtain a place in heaven. If you want a divinity to inspire you to Dharma and multiply your strength a hundredfold, you must offer something vastly greater. Have not the Gods said, 'By the spirit of sacrifice alone shall sacrifice prosper?'... The hardest way is the best - for it is the way of Tapas [spiritual hardships], of the strength which comes of purifying the body and the mind. If Tapas does not purify passion [lust], women themselves will think it an amusing game to become wayside fires; roaring like Rudras, they will sweep Dharma away. Then the unity of man and wife will be dissolved; the family bond will be snapped; the ways of our Fathers will be forgotten and the bonds which keep the worlds together will break. Men and women, lusting and irresponsible, incapable of Tapas, will forswear Rita, to which even the Gods conform. In the end, Dharma will die and men and women will be worse than beasts..." - Krishna, from the Krishnavatara

“The sun god follows the first illuminated and enlightened goddess Usha (dawn) in the same manner as men emulate and follow women.” - Athravaveda Samhita, Part 2, Kanda 27, sukta 107, sloka 5705.