Om Bhur Bhuvaha Svaha Tat Savitur Varenyam |
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yona Prachodayat ||

We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of all Sin and Ignorance;
May He enlighten our Intellect.

The religion known today as “Hinduism” has its roots dating back nearly 10 millennia in the Indus River valley straddling the modern day border of India and Pakistan. Archaeologists’ early 20th century discovery of the vast Harappan civilization gave the first insights into what the religion of ancient India may have been like. There is little question that what these early inhabitants practiced and what is today called Hinduism are very different though there is evidence that some ritualistic similarities remain.

It was through the deep spiritual inquiry and combined wisdom of the ancient holy men that the Shrutis, or “sacred spoken verses” would be compiled. Thousands upon thousands of these verses that would come to be known as the “Vedas,” or simply, “the Knowledge” were considered to be the words of God. And so the Vedas, likely considered too holy to be written down, were passed from teacher to student in religious schools through an extensive, stringent oral tradition designed to preserve Vedic rhetorical and metaphysical integrity. The four Vedas, Rg, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva, along with their sister texts, laid out in incredible detail all the tenets of what the ancients termed Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Philosophies of Life. They dealt with all aspects of existence, from politics to medicine, physics to philosophy, and economics to spirituality. Read more