Page 183 - รวมเล่มศาสนาในประเทศไทย ภาคภาษาอังกฤษ

Nevertheless, at around 700 years ago, this same religion’s name was once again
changed to “Sindhu” or “Hindhu / In-tu,” then “Hindu.” Hindu means the Dharma of Non-violence.
Even though the exact date of the founding of the “Sanatana Dharma” is obscure, there existed
the Vedas manuscript handed down through the ages. It was believed that this dharma always
existed; that it had neither beginning nor end; that it existed since the earth was created and
would last for eternity. Since the belief in the “Sanatana Dharma” was their religion, Hindus
defined it as the eternal and everlasting religion, with neither a beginning nor end. The Sanatana
Dharma, recorded in the Vedic texts did not have authors, but they were records of the messages
from God directly heard by the Rishis, or wise men. who took notes on them. As a consequence,
the Vedas are also called Shruti, meaning “heard.” Rishis who had heard these teachings are
considered to have supernatural powers more than ordinary humans. Therefore, with this non-origin,
the Brahmin-Hinduism, has no need of prophets like other religions. The antiquity of the Vedas
is used in dating the beginning of the religion. From the sacred texts, it is believed that the origin
of the Brahmin-Hinduism religion was during the period of 3,500 years ago, when the Aryans
migrated for re-settlement into India. They came to the region of the Sindhu River, whose water
source flows from the Himalayan Mountains of India itself, flowing pass Pakistan to the Arabian
Sea. To the Aryan ears, Sindhu (River) sounded like “Hindu,” and thus Hindu became the name
of the religious belief practiced there. During the Aryan period, three of the oldest religious
texts in the world appear. These texts were called, Veda or the Shruti. At first, there were three
collections (Samhitas): the Rigveda, the Samaveda and the Yajurveda; later the Atharvaveda was
incorporated into it. Many other Brahmin-Hinduism texts were included over time. The sacred
texts were divided into three periods:
The First Period is called the Vedic Period, there were three layers of the Vedas: the
Rigveda, the Samaveda and the Yajurveda. The Atharvaveda was added to these later.
The Second Period is called the Itihasa Period. There were two texts: the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata.
The Third Period is called the Puranas Period. There were 18 Maha Puranas (Great
Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), and more than 100 additional texts.
1 The inscription in Tamil language
on the Narai Mountain, in Kampong
District of Phang Nga Province, 9th
Century AD, on display at National
Museum, Nakhon Si Thammarat
2 Krishna and Shakti at Wat Thep
Monthien of the Hindu Samaj
Association
3 The Room for Paying Homage to
Deities, Hindu Dharma Sabha-Vishnu
Temple

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