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Indian
Religion
Hinduism
It is the third largest and the oldest
religion of the World. No one is actually certain how old is Hinduism but
it can be said with certainity that Indus valley civilisation contributed
some ideas to Hindu religion. The earliest known Hindu scriptures are the
"Vedas". Vedas describe the religion of Aryans, who invaded India
around 1500 B.C. The Vedic religion was not Hinduism although hindus
consider Vedas as their scriptures. Of the Hindu "Trinity" Brahma
the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Mahesh (Shiva) the destroyer only
Vishnu's name appears in the oldest Vedas. The concept of Trinity dates
back to 500 A.D. Around the same time, the importance of goddess began
which appears in many forms of Shakti (Shiva's consort). However,
Upanishads which were written several hundreds years later have
characteristic Hindu ideas of unity of soul with Brahman, karma,
reincarnation, and salvation (Moksha- escape from reincarnation). The
notion of class and caste which was absent in Vedas starting appearing
during this period. Hindus are mainly divided into three groups i)
Shivites, who are devoted to Shiva, whom they consider as their creator
and preserver of the universe ii) Vaishnavas, who assign the above roles
to Vishnu and iii) Shaktas, who worship Shakti. These divisions of
Hinduism are not very rigid as in other faiths and it is not strange for
people of one belief to mix with others. The Hindus do not form
congergations and mostly worship at home. They worship other God and
Goddesses as well as these are considered as another reincarnation of main
Hindu Gods. As a result, the major Gods and Goddesses are worshiped in
many names and forms. Hindus have little missionary feeling because they
believe that the proper way to become a Hindu is to born one. Hindu
rituals cover all areas of a person's life. Hindu society has a high
standard of conduct, with little immorality, crime, or violence.
UNIQUENESS OF HINDUISM
- There are many definitions of the word 'Hindu' based on geography,
religion, or politics etc. but none of them is perfect. It is a way of
life, therefore, there is no need to define Hinduism. We should simply
recognise the fact that Hindu society exists.
- Hinduism is universal and contains different schools of philosophy
and religion.
- Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world but it reforms and
changes with the demands of the time, thus it is ancient but remains
moderm.
- Every Hindu keeps these four objectives in view and tries to achieve
them: 1) Duty (Dharma) 2) Material prosperity (artha) 3) Enjoyment
(kama) 4) Salvation (moksha)
- Theory of Action (karma): we reap what we sow. We must take
responsibility for all actions we do in this life.
- To achieve the above objectives life is divided into four segments:
1) Celibacy (bramacharya)- student life i.e. acquiring knowledge. 2)
Family life (grihastha)- enjoyment and prosperity and participation in
running of society and the nation. 3) Retirement (vanaprastha)- delegate
responsibility to younger generation to perform selfless social service.
4) Renunciation (sanyas)- complete renunciation of the world for union
with God.
IMPORTANT HINDU PLACES
- Char Math
- Jyotirmath (Garhwal-Himalaya)
- Goverdhan (Jagannath puri)
- Shengari (Karnataka)
- Sharda (Dawarika-Gujarat)
Char Kumbhasthal
- Haridwar (Uttar Pradesh)
- Prayag (Allahbad-U.P.)
- Avantika (Ujjain-Madhya Pradesh)
- Nasik (Maharashtra)
Char dham
- Badrinath (Himalaya)
- Jagannathpuri (Orissa)
- Rameshwar (Tamilnadu)
- Dwarika (Gujarat)
GAYATREE MANTRA
AUM BHOOR BHAVAH SWAH
TAT SAVITUR
VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAH
PRACHODAYAT
Meaning of Gayatree Mantra AUM=
the protector; BHOOR= who is the basis of the whole universe and who is
self existent and; BHUVAH= who is free from all pains and whose contact
frees the soul from all troubles; SWAH= exists in different forms in this
universe and sustains all. Savitur= He is the creator and energizer of the
whole universe; Devasya= the giver of all happiness; Varenyam= worthy of
acceptance, the most excellent; Bhargo= pure and purifier. Tat= that very
God; Dheemahi= let us embrace, so that; Yo= God may; Prachodayat= direct;
Nah= our; Dhiyo= mind and thoughts.
ISLAM
Islam is the second largest religion of the
world whose followers are called Muslims. The largest number of Muslims
are in Asia and Africa and particularly in middle east and north Africa.
The founder of Islam, Muhammad, was born about 570 A.D. in Mecca. His
parents died when he was young and was raised by relatives. When Muhammed
was about 40 years old, God began to speak to him. God told him to
transmit His message to people of Arabia. In 622 A.D. the people of Mecca,
where he was living with his family got so upset with his teachings that
Muhammed and his followers had to flee. His escape to the city of Madina
is known as HIJRA and this day is considered as the beginning of
Islam. Eight years later (630 AD), Muhammed returned to Mecca and took
over the city with a large number of his followers without any resistance.
Muhammed called God as Allah and declared Mecca a holy city and Kaaba a
shrine for Allah. God also dictated a book to Muhammed which was written
down later and is known as KORAN. From then on the followers of
Islam built a mighty Empire that streched from Spain to India at its peak.
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF ISLAM
- There is no God but God(Allah), and Muhammed is His prophet.
- Prayer to Allah five times daily
- Charity- helping the poor and providing for upkeep of places of
prayer.
- Fasting- never drink alcohol or eat pork and certain other foods;
and no eating, drinking or smoking during daylight for one month
(Ramadan).
- Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a life time. After Muhammed's
death, the Muslims tried to develop specific policies based
on what
Muhammed said and did at various times. These were compiled into a
collection known as Hadith. From Hadith and Koran, the
scholars in 7th
and 8th century developed a set of rules for worship
and for life. These rules
are now known as SHARIA or Islamic
law. To govern the state, the Muslims
elected the succesor whom they
called Caliph. Muhammed's son Ali was selected
as the fourth
Caliph. The majority, Sunnite consider first three Caliph
as
genuine whereas a minority, called Shiites believe that it was
Muhammed's
wish that Ali be the first Caliph. The separation of Islam
into 'Sunnite' & 'Shiite'
has no exact parallel in other
religions. Under these two denominations there are
several sects with
somewhat different beliefs.
Sikhism
The Sikh religion emerged during the
early 16th century in the state of Punjab in North India. The founder
of this faith was Guru Nanak, who from his childhood was attracted to
both Hindu and Muslim saints. Born a Hindu, but also inspired by the
teachings of Islam, he began to preach the message of unity of both
religions. According to him, the basic teachings of both faiths were
essentially the same. Nanak attracted many followers and came to be
known as a Guru or a teacher. His disciples came together to form a
new religious tradition called Sikhism.
The Gurus who followed Nanak contributed to the consolidation and
spread of Sikhism. The teachings of Guru Nanak were incorporated in
the 'Guru Granth Sahib', the Holy Book of the Sikhs which
became a symbol of God for Sikhs. The fifth Guru, Guru Arjun built the
Golden Temple at Amritsar which became the holiest of Sikh shrines.
The tenth Guru, Govind Singh imparted military training to the Sikhs
to help them defend themselves. He also decided to terminate the
succession of gurus and was thus the last of the Sikh Gurus.
Sikhism propounds monotheism, i.e. worship of one God. It also opposes
the caste system and believes that all men are equal. However the
ideas of karma and rebirth from Hinduism are accepted. Today,
many Sikh practices are common to Hindus. Intermarriages between the
two communities are also common. However the Sikh community has its
own unmistakable identity. Though the Sikhs constitute less than 2
percent of the Indian population, they have become a distinct element
in the configuration of the Indian religious tradition and the Indian
society.
Buddhism
Buddhism is the fourth largest religion of
the world after Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Although it originated
in India, it has stronghold in countries like Tibet, China, Sri Lanka, and
Southeast Asia where missioaries from India carried its message. Buddhism
was founded in India by prince Siddhartha Gautam, who was born about 550
B.C. in Northern India and lived till 485 B.C. Siddhartha lived in wealth
and pleasantness but he found suffering and sickness among people in his
kingdom. He left his home and wandered around to find the meaning of life.
One day he sat under a bodhi tree and got the enlightenment. From that
time on he was called as BUDDHA. Buddhism has many concepts akin to
Hinduism like karma and reincarnation. Buddha suggested that life is full
of sufferings and one must act in a way to escape from them. He laid down
four basic principles (TRUTHS) to achieve that:
- All life is sorrow and suffering
- Human suffers due to desire or selfcenteredness
- Overcome desire
- Desire can be ended by following the eight fold path- right
belief, intention,
speech, action, work, effort, thinking, and
meditation.
A person who follows this path gets rid of
desire and hatred and achieves spiritual
peace i.e.NIRVANA.
This would then lead to end of KARMA cycle or rebirth
of soul
(reincarnation). Buddha founded the Buddhist monastic order before
leaving
the wheel of life. The order known as SANGHA lays down
certain principles- no
killing of humans or animals; monks will shave
their head and beard, wear special
yellow robes have a bowl for
begging and a string with 108 beads. These monks never
marry and
devote their life to meditation and service.
Buddhism reached its
peak in India during the time of king Ashok in about 320 B.C.
but
started declining under Gupta dynasty. Indian Buddhism, in time,
restored many of
older Hindu beliefs and gods. By 1100 A.D., Hinduism
again became the major religion
of India.
Christianity
By tradition, Christianity is said to have
arrived in India with Saint Thomas, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ,
who spent some years in South India and possibly died there. However,
others believe that the first missionary to arrive in the country was
Saint Bartholomew. Historically, Christian missionary activity started
with the advent of Saint Francis Xavier in 1544. He was followed by
Portuguese missionaries at first and eventually by missionaries from other
countries like Denmark, Holland, Germany and Great Britain. Throughout the
18th and 19th centuries Catholic as well as Protestant missionaries
preached Christian doctrines in India and also made important
contributions to social improvement and education in India.
Much
of the modern influences in the Indian society can be attributed to the
role of Christianity in India. Christian missionaries helped in setting up
schools and colleges all over India and also spread the message of faith
and goodwill in the country. Christianity and its teachings influenced a
number of intellectuals and thinkers in India, including Mahatma Gandhi.
Today, the Christians in India number about 30 million and consist
of people from every denomination of Christianity.
Jainism
Jainism was founded by Mahavira who was
born about 580 B.C. in Northern India. It has 4 million followers in
India. He preached atheism or the absence of god. Jainism also
believes that one can achieve salvation (freedom from wheel of life
i.e. rebirth). Jains use the word Karma to mean a substance that binds
the soul to physical world. By causing sins you keep accumulating
Karma whereas meditation and fasting burns the Karma. One can get
freedom from rebirth (Salvation) only after burning the Karma
accumulated in past lives. Mahavira laid down five ways to get rid of
wheel of life:
- Do not destroy life
- Speak the truth
- Be celibate
- Own nothing
- Accept nothing that is not
freely given
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