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Hindus/Hindu Scriptures


Dear Sir,
        I am aware that our Hindu scriptures are of 2 types. One is Sruti and other is Smriti. I believe that Vedas and Upanishads come under Sruti section. Even Gita comes under only Smriti since it is from Mahabharat.

I understand that most of our Smriti documents are suffering from lot of adulteration by people with selfish traits throughout generations.

And also we cannot authentically follow our ancient people's life styles mentioned in our Puranas because in many areas one Puranic concept conflicts with the other and also we do not actually know if they have lived according to the Divine Sruti texts.

As the situation is like this, which texts do you think are necessary to bring the glory of actual Sanatan Dharma and help people live with great Knowledge & Peace rather than blindly following something in the name of the tradition without having any good reason?

Is it generally possible to stick with Vedas, Upanishads in Sruti and Bhagawat Gita alone in Smruti and follow the Comprehensive Hindu Dharma? Are they actually enough or still incomplete?

Sir, kindly give me very Factual answer, since I am in process of learning them and so I need a thorough overview of it.

With many love,

Dear Vimal,

There is nothing wrong with different views in different smritis. Smritis are books of the time when they were written. So they will change. My grandfather Pandit Bishweshwar Nath Reu had written his own smriti (Vishweshwara Samriti), which was published around 1950. I will quote two verse from his 8000 verse book:

"Yuganurupam vyakhyatah poorvairyah smritikarakaih;
bahudha, yugadharmah sa vigyeyaha iti me matam.
yadyaivam na prakriyeta mooladharmah api nashyati;
deshakalavirodhena na dharmah bhuvi vardhate."

(The writers of the smritis of old have explained dharma according to their times. It is my view that this should be taken as yugadharma (dharma of a particular age).
If this is not done, even the core of dharma is lost, beause dharma cannot increase in opposition to its time and location (Deha-kala-virodhena).)

My grandfather accepted 92 elements as opposed to five elements in classical scriptures, accepted creation of the universe by Big-Bang, accepted appearance of humans by Evolution, accepted education of shudras, and remarriage of widows among other things. Times change and some changes need to be accepted.

Let us be practical. It is not that we have to stick to the practices which may be 3,000 years old. This flexibility is a feature of 'Sanatan Dharma'. It is because of this that 'Sanatan Dharma' has survived longer than any other religion in the world.

In the last few centuries, science has made tremendous progress. Why should we refute it as christianity and islam do? Let our dharma be no different from what the latest in science says. If Upanishads are the repository of wisdom in hinduism, there is no bar that new Upanishads may not be written by our wise people now.

Even in hinduism, the rule is that we should go by Smritis in the first instance. If problems persist, then we should go by shrutis. If the problems still persist, then we should go by what our intellect says. So follow your heart and mind, they will surely guide you. With best regards,

Yours sincerely,



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Especially religious history of India. I follow 'advaita' philosophy (non-duality) and am an atheist. My answers would be consistent with science and practicality.


Explaining Hinduism for about 8 years.


Science graduate. Extensive studies of hindu scriptures.

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