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Vaishnavas worship Vishnu in his various forms and are one of the three major groups of Hinduism, the others being Shaivas and Shaktas. In the trinity of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, Vishnu is the sattva quality, which holds the universe together by pervading all existence. Vishnu comes from a root meaning to pervade, and he is known as the Pervader. Thus Vishnu dwells in everything and defeats the power of destruction. The Bhagavad Gita is the main religious text of the Vaishnavas and the source of many of their beliefs. This text is set in the Mahabharata and tells of Krishna explaining a real life dilemma for Arjuna. It is in the form of a conversation on the battlefield of Kuruksetra before the start of the war. This popularises Upanisadic teachings and yoga, holding out the hope of spiritual progress to those involved in the affairs of the world. Six of the eighteen Puranas are traditionally considered as Vaishnava. Of these the Vishnu Purana is one of the oldest and most important and the Bhagavata Purana is an authoritative scripture of Vaishnavism. Seventeen of the Upanishads are regarded as Vaishnava, and there are large numbers of prayers and hymns of great literary and religious appeal that are addressed to Vishnu in his different forms. Vishnu is the most universally worshipped Hindu deity. Of his different forms, that of Krishna has been and still is one of the most popular figures in Hinduism. Hundreds of millions of Hindus can be described as Vaishnavas, though divided into the many sects.ISBN: 8177558862
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Pages : 360
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