Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 92
! ! 92 b. The Pharisees : A sect akin to the Hanafi Muslims. They say it is necessary to f ollow the sayings of the saints and are against conquering other countries. Moreover, t hey are in favor of keep ing their own country within its boundaries. Because the Sadducees sect was a political sect, it was wiped away along with the destruction of Judaism. 4. Hinduism : In reality, Hinduism is not a real religion. The people who were living in India before the Muslims arrived , were called Hindus. Their main sects are as follows: a. Sanatan Dharam is the oldest and larges t sect. The long - standing sect believe s in the Vedas [their holy book] and consider s it to be the word of God. They believe that no other book or religious code will be revealed after Vedas , b ut avatars, such as Krish na and Ramchandar , will continue to reveal the knowledge contained within it. This religion is mostly based on idol worshipping. T hree of their major gods are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv a. There are several other minor deities , but the foremost have been mentioned. These are further divided in to religious sects. Some consider Brahma to be the greates t , others Vishnu , and others Shiv a. Brahma is the god of creation, Shiv a is the god of wealth and comfort , and Vishnu is the god of death. Among these sects, t here is another important sect which believes in Krish na. They believe in the Vedas , but that it alone is insufficient. Therefore, they read only the Geeta, which contains the explanations set out by Krish na. They regard the Geeta to be perfect and superior to the Vedas , which is why th ey are a separate sect. b. There is another sect, which is called Vaidanti or Vedanat. This sect believes that our reality is God. They say the world is God’s contemplation. They also bel ieve that everything is eternal. O therwise where did it all come from? Therefore, this is not real, but a figment of God’s imagination. c. Then there is another sect by the name of Vaam Marg. Practically speaking, they believe that spiritual advancement is dependent upon enjoyment. They are spread all over [the world] in large numbers.