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Religion in India
What is religion? Religion has always played an
important role in man's existence. It is hard to define religion because every
person has, his or her own way of defining religion. For some of us it might be
a way of life, which determines what they ear, who their friends are, and it
also makes up what culture they follow from day to day. For others, religion
simply means going to church or temple and seeing religious festivals. India is
the land of culture. This country is very rich of culture and religion, and this
is the backbone of the social structure. India's fight for religion has been
going on for decades, from the mogul empire to the British and now to the
present day with Pakistan. In this day and age, anyone from around the world can
practice and preach almost any religion known to man. Religion is one of the
single most important reason for who we are and what we are, without the
presence of the supernatural being we might no even be here at this point in
time. With India being one of the top three countries populations wise, there
are bound to be clashes within itself. India has had its share of different
religions affecting its structure, but the three main religions are Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Islam. All three of these religions have evolved drastically and
have left a lasting mark on where India stands right now.
Hinduism is one of
the oldest religions in the world. The history of Hinduism extends over
centuries, and the lack of early documents makes it difficult to trace exactly.
"Inwardly it changed from century to century, taking on new gods and forgetting
old ones, acquiring strange rites and neglecting native ones, but at least in
its caste structure and priestly character the old religion of the Hindus never
wavered from first to last." Hinduism has been through it all, and still
standing strong. Hinduism is not based around any one God. In fact anyone can be
a good in Hindu and worship a number of gods or even no god at all. The system
being vast and complicated, Hinduism cannot be put in one term because of the
great variety of customs, forms of worship, styles of art and music, different
gods, all this can be contained within the bounds of the Hindu religion. "He can
have no dread of this material universal because he tells himself it simply
isn't there – and means it. Matter does not exist for him. Only Brahma, the
Over-Soul, the "it" the Infinite Sprit – only that exists." Brahma also known as
Brahman is the Supreme Being, the God of all gods, and the source of ultimate
universal life. In Brahma there is no sense of individuality, but only pure
being, consciousness, and bliss. Sacrifices are also a big part of Hinduism. And
it is practiced religiously in India. The most common type of sacrifices comes
with plant life and the melting of butter. Although animals are also sacrifices,
but this is doe very rarely, because such as the cow and the monkey are closely
knit with the religion. Worship or also known as "puja" in India is done by
prayer which includes singing and dancing to the gods. Worship was termed as
praying to several different gods, but only two gods are looked at as dominant
figures such as Lord Vishnu and Lord Siva. There are a lot of places that show
the cultural practices of Hinduism, but the most important place is the Temples.
Temples, which are built from solid rock, and are covered with hand carved
artwork that define the Indian religion. A lot of them tell a story of an event
that took place during the time when it was built. Most temples are covered with
the images of the gods they were built for. Although Hinduism has a vast array
of gods and cultures, most of them practice Hinduism the same way.
"Buddhism
has been known to its followers as both a teaching and a way of deliverance." It
is questioned as to weather or not Buddhism is a religion. But instead people
look at Buddhism as a type of discipline. Gautama Buddha founded Buddhism, which
was a reaction of the teaching of Hinduism. "There is also a certain
plausibility in Whitehead's distinction if taken as applying to what is called
the Therquada or Hinayana form of Buddhism, which tends to focus on a clearly
stated body of doctrine." The order is made up of monks who have take vows, to
wear the yellow robe, and live the monastic life. The monks have to follow rules
that are laid out by the Hinayana doctrine. Followers of the Hinayana doctrine,
look to the monks for instructions in the right living. These instructions are
given in sermon form that include stories from Buddha's pervious births. "The
Buddha is not God as distinct from man, nor does Buddhism, strictly speaking,
have any "theology." It bases itself on neither a revelation from God nor a
revelation of God." Buddhist followers observe ceremonies with the aid of monks
when a child reaches puberty, attend the ordination ceremony when a young man
enters the order and carry out the burial rites. One of the most religious
festivals is Wesak, which combines the triple events of the Buddha's birth,
enlightenment, and the death of the past Buddha's. Another one of the feast of
the offering of robes and alms to the monks at the end of the rainy season.
Works of art also provides a basis for religion, but does not play as big of a
part as it does in Hinduism. A major place of worship for Buddhist, is a cliff
near Rangoon, which is a pilgrimage for followers of the Buddhism religion to
cling to their faith. The tip of the cliff has outlasted major natural disasters
and was coated with gold as a symbol of Buddhism religion. The Buddhist gods are
also created in different forms to show their affection and compassion for their
followers. Buddhism is yet another religion which has affected India in a major
way. Buddhism also expresses its appreciation of its own religion itself.
Islam and Hinduism are yet so close, but also so far away. They both have
evolved in their own way, but still you can notice the similarities in each
other. Islam as a religion was developed by mix of Judaism and Christianity. In
the faith of Islam, they believe in a single supernatural force or God, as we
say. "It is the earliest and presumable the most authentic biography of a
prophet, as well as the one most free miraculous elements and pious
fabrications." While Judaism views the son of David as the final messenger of
God and Christianity sees Jesus Christ as the final messenger, Islam sees the
prophet Muhammad as their final messenger, the last of the apostles. The Islam
faith consists of five basic beliefs. The first, belief in God, belief in
angels, belief in the revealed books (Koran), belief in the prophets, and the
belief in the day of judgment. There are also four necessary duties that are key
to the Islamic religion. The first one, reciting the profession of faith,
prayers, fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. "The Qur'an (Koran), then, is the
word of God, for Muslims." A lot of the Islam's teachings come from the holy
book of the Koran. Muslims pray five different times during the day, which
involves the bowing for a fixed number of times, and each bow includes several
movements. Muslims believe in fasting, which is known as the month of Ramadan.
During this time, they don't eat anything between sunrises to sunset. According
to Muslim tradition, Ramadan is when Allah sent down the Koran. One of the
duties of the Muslim is the pilgrimage to Mecca. It consist of circling the
Mecca on the ninth day of the twelfth month at the hill of Arafat and offering
sacrifices of sheep and camels on the way back from the Mecca. The Kaaba is also
another form of art that represents the cornerstone of Islam. It is a cubicle
temple, which is said to been built by Abraham, who was a prophet of Allah.
Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca, where the Kaaba of Islam also uses
artwork as a major form of teaching the religion. A lot of the paintings tell
stories of the coming of Muhammad or events that made Islam what it is today.
Although each of these three religions are different, they all share basic
traits. India has been affected in major ways but religion was the most
important. A country with so much culture is shows that without religion there
is no social backbone. Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Islamic faith all have their
own system, but you can still see similarities in each of them as a whole. At
some point, other people or the influences of other religions have influenced
India in major ways. No matter how diverse the religions are, they all use some
kind of artwork as an interpretation of their beliefs and practices. Religion is
what makes human beings different. They set the values and cultures for each
race, and for some people their entire way of living, depends on religion.
Reference Page
This Believing World
Browne, Lewis
The Macmillan Co, New York, NY
Copyright 1967
A Source Book in Indian Philosophy
Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli and
Moore, Charles
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
Copyright 1957
The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan
De Bary, William
Theodore
Vintage Books, New York, NY
Copyright 1972
Islam
Williams, John Alden
George Braziller Press, New York, NY
Copyright
1962
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