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Sruti

Sruti is the body of the most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central beliefs of Hinduism. These scriptures include the four Vedas including its four types of texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads.

Most of the mantras drawn from Sruti are used for rites of worship. It is a tribute to Hindu culture, that so much of Sruti has been preserved for thousands of years without major changes and only by the means of oral instruction from a teacher to his student, generation after generation.

In the Vedic tradition, the same was accomplished with the student learning each verse in eleven different ways, including backwards. Traditionally, Sruti is not read but chanted according to extremely precise rules of grammar, pitch, and rhythm. This brings forth its greatest power. It is believed that in the sacred language of Shruti, the word, and its meaning are so closely aligned that hearing these holy scriptures properly chanted is magical in its effect upon the soul of the listener.

The Sruti literature includes the four Vedas:

1. Rigveda

2. Yajurveda

3. Samaveda

4. Atharvaveda

Each of these Vedas includes the following texts, and these specific texts belong to the Sruti canon:

1. Samhitas

2. Brahmanas

3. Aranyakas

4. Upanishads

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