World Civilizations I. Golden Religions of India Beginning around 500 B.C.E three of India’s major religions emerged. Mahavira was the founder of the Jain religion. He taught his followers to live abstemious lives, avoid doing harm to any living thing and to renounce evil thoughts and actions. The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama (or the Buddha), similarly taught his followers a path to nirvana that involved avoiding violence and freeing themselves from desires. In response to both Jainism and Buddhism the religion of Hinduism evolved. The evolution of Hinduism stems mainly from a response by the Brahman caste to Jainism and Buddhism’s failure to acknowledge the caste system. Hindu traditions validated animal sacrifices and the caste system but stressed the individual’s relationships to the worship of personal deities and recognized the need for material gain and pleasure. India has a long standing tradition of religious acceptance. Even during the periods of conquest by the Mongols, Persians and Greeks religions of other nationalities were accepted and integrated into the fabric of Indian culture. India’s place along major trade routes made disallowing the influence of other political, social and ideological themes impossible and would have surely led to the demise of Indian society had they opposed. However despite all the external influence ancient and modern India has a unique culture, illustrated in the complexities of its many religions. Hinduism is often regarded as the oldest religion in the world, with roots tracing back to prehistoric times. Hinduism, as we recognize it now, evolved as a response to Jainism and Buddhism’s disregard for the caste system. We see the beginnings of Hinduism form around 1000 B.C.E. Ear...
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...he first to establish in 1884 the antiquity of Jainism as an independent and pre-Buddhistic religion on the basis of the data available from the Pali Canon. Buddhist scriptures record philosophical dialogues between Buddha and Udaka Ramaputta, and the first of several teachers that young Siddartha Gautama studied with before his enlightenment. Buddhist scriptures attest that some of the first Buddhists were in fact Jains who converted, but were encouraged by the Buddha to maintain their Jain identity and practices. The complexities, differences and similarities of these religions make religious tolerance in India a necessity. Though Hinduism is still the primary religion of modern India there are still those that practice Jainism and Buddhism; continuing the historic fight against the oppressive caste system of Hinduism.
Works Cited
History of World Societies
There are many religions that are practiced around the world, especially in Asia where there are eight different religions being practiced. In the country of India, Buddhism and Hinduism are the main religions that are practiced today. Buddhism and Hinduism were both founded in Asia, but they were founded by two different people and practiced in two different ways and languages. Buddhism is a living tradition that is passed down from teacher to student as a set of instruction and techniques for sanity and brilliance in the inner self and the world. Hinduism is more based on the thoughts and attitude about one’s everyday life, and reflects in his actions.
Hinduism is made of many different religions and does not have one origin or single founder. The religion of Hinduism is very old, “300-100 B.C.E.--- The first trace of temple worship. Hindu people worship at the shrine, where Hindus make offerings to a murti. A murti is a statue of a god or goddess” (McMillan). In addition, other religions are based off Hinduism, “5000-10000 B.C.---Hinduism can be traced back to 5000-10000 B.C. Hinduism is a very old religion, many religions are based off of Hinduism, like Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism” (McMillan).
Around the time of 500 B.C.E, cultural traditions began to spread widely. From Eurasia, to China, to the Middle East, and Greece. These religions-including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism-extremely shaped the values and outlooks of their ancestors whom resided there once before. Not only that, but the remarkable way in which they rose, simultaneously, also impacted the surrounding villages. Such cultural traditions also contain similar and contrasting qualities. They share those attributes in the way that they are all monistic, viewing beings as equals in value, adopting similar ideals from one another, and possessing some form of reincarnation. Despite the similarities, they differed in the way that they spread, the infrastructure of those religions, and the use of the caste system (whether they did or not). Furthermore, religions of Hinduism and Buddhism influenced the plurality of Southern Asia, while Daoism became an important fragment in Classical Chinese culture, not reaching much further than that.
One of the most important elements in history is religions. The Hindu religion arguably began around 2,500 years before the Common Era (B.C.E.) in India. It was geographically based along the Indus River, which was called “Hindu” which the Persians named when they migrated to India. They also called the land Hindustan and its residents, Hindus. After that, the religion that had followed was called Hinduism. Today, almost around 800 million people practice the Hindu religion around the world.
Compare And Analysis The Japanese Buddhism And Indo Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama in northeast India during the period from the late 6th century to the early 4th century BC. Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played an influential role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of much of the Eastern world. It is the prevailing religious force in most of Asia (India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet). ‘Buddhism’ is reformulated and re-expressed in different cultures and at different times, adopting and redefining aspects of the cultures in which it has taken root. Today, there are about 300 million followers. (Yamplosky) The Indian religion Buddhism, founded in the sixth century BC, is one of the common features of Asian civilization, and Buddhist institutions and believers are found all over East, South, and Southeast Asia. While Buddhism is now just a minority belief in the country of it’s founding, it remains a significant religious and cultural force in Japan today. Buddhism started in India and made its way to China and Korea. From there, it ended up in Japan. Buddhism went through several different periods before it became Japan's national religion. In indo Buddhism, the temple is the main sanctuary, in which services, both public and private, are performed but Japanese Buddhism is mainly hub of individual activities and services. Similarly to Japanese Buddhism, in Indo Buddhism the monastery is a complex of buildings, located usually in a spot chosen for its beauty and seclusion. Its function is to house the activities of the monks. Images are important features of temples, monasteries, and shrines in both Indo a...
Since the beginning of humankind there has always been some sort of religious belief. While there are some that do not believe in some sort of religion, it does not change the fact that religions have had a major influence on every aspect of every culture in some way or another. It has provided a belief of what happens in the death or the afterlife of a person, helped shape empires, and stimulated the arts.
Hinduism was the first major religion to develop in South Asia. Along with it, came a strict caste system and clear social hierarchy. Hinduism stressed the importance of karma and people purifying their lives over many reincarnations to achieve holy perfection. Later on, Buddhism developed in India and incorporated many of the same cultural and religious practices. One key change was the looseness of the religion in regards to social status, as it did not see a person 's place in the caste system as a factor in achieving the afterlife. In response to a decline in Hinduism, especially among the poorer classes, Hinduism became more accepting of these classes and also developed alternate paths of devotion. In summation, South Asian religion has taken on a trend of
Buddhism, like most other religions, originated in a particular place at a particular time, and its roots are in forms and ideas that were part of the environment in which it developed. The most important of these areas at the time of the Buddha was the valley of the Ganges river which flows from west to east across most of northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south. In the time of the Buddha, about 500 B.C.E., this area was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development.
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
Many foreigners cannot know what makes Hinduism so strange. Hinduism lacks an uniting belief system and many people do not know faithfully what makes up the Hindu religious belief. After one goes in-depth concerning Hinduism, one must be familiar with the fundamental details about this difficult religion. Do you realize that almost 80 percent of the India people find themselves being Hindus? Hinduism is in addition known as the Sanatana-Dharma, which means everlasting religion. Hinduism is the third leading religion following Christianity and Islam and has no one initiator, teacher, or spiritualist and it is not an unconvinced religion. All through this article, I will look further in-depth on what makes up the Hindu religion what the traditional and group influences that have prepared Hinduism fundamental to Hinduism, and I will provide details the yearning for freedom from early existence.
...ld note that all three religions, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, have been the dominant, prevailing religious trends in India for many centuries, and they clearly reflect the culture, history, and spirituality of the country. All three of these religions effectively reflect the views of believers on life, death and honorable conduct. Nonetheless, despite the fact that they are very much related with each other, each has some distinct features distinguishing it from all others, and contributes to the understanding of the religious background in India both at the beginning of the new era of humanity, and in the contemporary period of time.
There are many cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated. Hinduism can be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization that took place in 4000 BC to 2200 BC. India was a land of diverse cultures, religions, races and ethnicities. Hinduism was the unifying umbrella that brought peace to the land. The belief in Ahimsa or non-violence reduced warfare. In Ancient India, the caste system brought about social order but later this system decayed and gave rise to social ills. Many other cultures and invaders of the region influenced the development of Hinduism over the centuries. When the Indo-Europeans invaded India during 1500 to 500 BC, their religion of Vedas also greatly influenced the indigenous beliefs of Hinduism. Over 80% of Indians still practice Hinduism in modern India. The Hindus brought up in Hindu families are so steeped in the various Hindu traditions from infancy that they are totally imbibed into the Hindu religious system. The sages and seers over the ages held a prominent place in the religious beliefs of the region and their teachings of non-violence, unity, prayers and a life of righteousness have greatly influenced Hinduism.
Starting at the core of India, its heart can be correlated with Hinduism. Hinduism started in Indian approximately the third millennium BC and is still practiced in the present day. Also, as it is of Indian origin, its rightful place can be considered the heart of India. It can be said that Hinduism is substantially “outdated” by today’s standards as formidable religion of Indian majority. During the period of the caste social structure within India it was en excellent fit. But this ensures its position of the heart of India by being fundamental to the development of ancient India and forming modern India.
Most people in the world derive their religious beliefs and traditions from their parents and peer influences. From a religious point of view, “There are many definitions for the term ‘religion’ in common usage. [Broadly defined], in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: ‘Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life’” (Robinson, 1996). However, in examining Hinduism, it is difficult to label the practices as a religion. This paper will expound upon the Hindu traditions, taking into account the characteristics of sacred elements, their meaning, and significance.
Hinduism has been a religion for a long time, the Buddha was a Hindu before seeing how terrible the world was, he then found the religion Buddhism. Since the creator of Buddhism was Hinduism as a child, it is only expected for the two religions to be similar. While the two religions are similar they are also quite different as seen by their creation stories. The creation stories are these religions way of explaining how the world started. With most religions the creation story gives the most basic beliefs of the religion as this is where their religion supposedly starts its life. The two stories this paper focuses on is no different, and since they technically have the same origin, it can be obvious as to how they would be similar. However, in the case of the idea of social order and moral decline, they can be different too.