Introduction to Hinduism - 01 - The Hindu World View

Any Religion or World View has 3 levels:

1. The Core Philosophy

2. Ceremonies/ Rituals/ Practices

3. Myths

--- Philosophy is the base of this 3-tiered classification.

--- Different interpretations of the philosophy gives rise to different set of practices/ rituals which forms the middle-tier.

--- Mythological stories make up the top-tier - myths are woven around the philosophy, the rituals ,  the ceremonies and the prevalent way of life at that point of time.

Cutting across all these 3 tiers are the Religious Scriptures - which contain prayers, hymns and invocations.

Using the above framework, the Hindu World View can be analyzed as under:

Hindu World View

1. Hindu Philosophy

-------- 1.1 Astika Schools

---------------- 1.1.1 Sad-darsana (Six Systems of Philosophy)

------------------------ 1.1.1.1 Nyaya

------------------------ 1.1.1.2 Vaisheshika

------------------------ 1.1.1.3 Samkhya

------------------------ 1.1.1.4 Yoga

------------------------ 1.1.1.5 Mimamsa

------------------------ 1.1.1.6 Vedanta
----------------------------- 1.1.1.6.1 Advaita
----------------------------- 1.1.1.6.1 Vishishta-Advaita
----------------------------- 1.1.1.6.1 Dvaita 

---------------- 1.1.2 Other Schools

------------------------ 1.1.2.1 Trika (Kashmir Shaiva Monism)

-------- 1.2 Nastika Schools

---------------- 1.2.1 Buddhism

---------------- 1.2.2 Jainism

---------------- 1.2.3 Charvaka

2. Ceremonies/ Rituals/ Practices

-------- 2.1 Way of Life - Dharma

-------- 2.2 Hymns

---------------- 2.2.1 Mantra

---------------- 2.2.2 Stotra

---------------- 2.2.3 Sukta

-------- 2.3 Ceremony - Yajna

3. Hindu Mythology

-------- 3.1 Itihaasa

---------------- 3.1.1 Ramayana

---------------- 3.1.2 Mahabharata

-------- 3.2 Puraana

---------------- 3.2.1 Brahma Puraanas

------------------------ 3.2.1.1 Brahma Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.1.2 Brahmānda Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.1.3 Brahmavaivarta Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.1.4 Markandeya Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.1.5 Bhavishya Puraana

---------------- 3.2.2 Vaishnava Puraanas

------------------------ 3.2.2.1 Vishnu Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.2.2 Bhagavata Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.2.3 Naradeya Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.2.4 Garuda Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.2.5 Padma Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.2.6 Agni Puraana

---------------- 3.2.3 Shaiva Puraanas

------------------------ 3.2.3.1 Shiva Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.3.2 Linga Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.3.3 Skanda Puraana

------------------------ 3.2.3.4 Vayu Puraana

In the next post, I'll talk about Hindu scriptures and how it maps to this framework.

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Subhodeep Mukhopadhyay (2011)