Ancient Religions of India

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Ancient India was influenced by three major religions which were developed in the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is the oldest of the three and is said to be the oldest living major religion in the world. The other two major religions were Jainism and Buddhism which were established around the same period. Each of these three religions had something to offer the people of India. These religions also have some concepts that are alike while also having major key differences. Each of these religions developed a way of life that has survived through the centuries until today.

Hinduism was formally known as the old Brahmanic religion or Brahmanism. Brahmanism has no single founder but can be traced back to the late Neolithic in the early Harappan period (5500-2600 BCE) (Nikhilananda, pp 3-8). Modern Hinduism was born of the Vedas which are the foundation scriptures of the religion and outline dharma(McKay, pp 41-42). Other central tenets of the religion also outlined in the Vedas are karma, samsara, and ultimately moksha which is the goal of Hinduism. Dharma, the natural or moral law, is what structures a person's day to day duties and obligations in their respective varna or class. Dharma is affected by a person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender. This allows dharma to be the regulatory moral principle of the universe.

The next tenet of Hinduism is karma. Karma is the causality of the choices and actions one has made in their life whether physical or mental. Karma was basically a score kept of all the good and bad deeds done by an individual which would determine their status in the next life (McKay, p 36). This status would come about by a person's rebirth which was part of the next tenet known as samsara. Samsara was see...

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...from Brahmanism in order to maintain a status quo in the power structure by supporting the caste system. Buddhism had no such caste system and was not founded on supporting this idea, instead having everyone be able to reach nirvana because everyone was equal to begin with.

Altogether, the religions push for people to strive to be more than they were. Indian religions do an amazing job in laying a foundation that allows this and to live and contribute good to those around you. These, in my opinion, is a great idea. To see that the central ideas are to be better people and not just a person with a stringent list of rules is almost seemingly liberating. This obviously isn't for everyone since we have many other religions but it has worked favorably for India for centuries and it seems like it will continue for centuries more.

Works Cited

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