Revelation & Tradition
Religious Studies: KS3, topic 2.2.4
Revelation and Tradition
In many religions, our understanding of a religion's beliefs and teachings comes from two sources: revelation and tradition.
Revelation and tradition
- Shruti (revelation) usually refers to writings, to the scripture.
- Smriti (tradition) is often oral. It is passed down by word of mouth from teacher to student.
- The Hindu religion has a long history of respected gurus (teachers).
- Gurus pass on both theological beliefs and forms of worship.
Shruti
- Shruti cover the major parts of Hindu Scripture, including the Vedas and the Upanishads.
- These texts are ‘canonical’. They are accepted as divine revelation, unchanging and unquestionable truth.
Smriti
- Smriti is an important part of Hindu tradition but carries less authority than shruti.
- Partly because what is remembered can be less reliable than what is written.
- Smriti includes the Epics, Puranas and Sutras.
Smriti (cont.)
- The Epics are long stories about the gods, including their battles against evil.
- They include the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
- The Puranas also include stories but have a focus on some of life’s big questions.
- Such as how the world was created and by who.
- Finally, the Sutras are more like a manual consisting of short sayings.
- They cover important Hindu beliefs and teachings about right conduct.