Page 9 - Hinduism

the Vedāntic wisdom of Brahman enshrined in the Praṇava or Aum. Though the Vedas refer to the economical and ethical (the hedonistic) ends of life, the highest end is mokṣa or the realisation of Brahman. It is therefore called Brahmavidyā. The Veda cannot be known without aids or angas and there are six aids like phonetics, grammar and astronomy.
The Smṛtis like those of Manu bring out the ethics of the Hindus in their individual and social aspects. They deal more with duties and virtues than with rights or privileges. There are cardinal virtues like truth and ahiṁsa which are universally applicable and also relative duties or yuga-dharmas which are true only in certain periods. The Smṛti of sage Parāsara is meant for this age of Kali. The two Itihāsas, the Rāmāyana and the Mahābhārata describe the two avatāras of Viṣṇu, Śrī Rama and Śrī Kṛṣṇa. God incarnates into history at critical periods to restore righteousness and punish wickedness. Even such punishment is ultimately only for the reformation of the wicked man. There are eighteen Purāṇas of which the chief are the Viṣṇupurāna and the Bhāgavata. They are chiefly cosmic accounts dealing with the origin, the preservation and the destruction of the Universe. Their chief aim is to bring out the increasing purpose of God as rakṣaka or the maker of muktas. The Āgamas explain the way in which God comes down to the world of man in the form of arca or idol in 9