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RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
Ancient civilizations and cultures were closely bound with religion.
Religions evolved as a set of beliefs regarding the nature and purpose of the
universe. Gradually they became organised systems of beliefs binding groups of
people into a close-knit society. Religion has played an important part in the lives
of the Indian people from the c\earliest times. But religion in India has never been
static; various movements have developed with new ideas and in response to
evolving socio-economic situations.
There is a long tradition of religious pluralism, an important part of cultural
pluralism in India. Almost all major religions of the world are professed in this
country. There are four religions which trace their origin to the Indian
subcontinent—Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Religious beliefs and
systems that ‗arrived‘ from outside are Islam and Christianity, Zoroastrianism,
Judaism and Baha‘i.
The earliest civilized inhabitants of India worshipped a mother goddess and
horned fertility god. They worshipped sacred trees and animals, and ritual
ablutions apparently had an important part in their religious life. Much else is not
known about the Harappan people‘s religion. As the salient features of the
Harappan religion appeared in a new form at a later date, it may be assumed that it
never died but was practiced by some people , gradually developing from contact
with other doctrines and cults, until it gathered enough strength to reappear and
influence the old faith of the Aryans.
HINDUISM
Originally the word Hindu did not have a religious connotation, but merely
denoted the people in a geographical area –around the river Indus. Later the word
assumed a religious connotation, to some extent under Mughal rule but more
firmly under British rule.
Hinduism derives its basic ideas and tradition from the Vedas, considered as
sruti, ‗that which is heard or revealed‘. While one school believes that the Vedas
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are without beginning, another avers that they were revealed to ancient sages—the
rishis. The earliest Veda is the Rigveda, which is incidentally the oldest religious
composition in the world still looked on as sacred. It was probably composed
between 1500 and 900 B.C. It consists of over 1,000 hymns, a collection of prayers
to gods like Agni, Vayu, Varuna, Indra, Mitra, Soma, Ushas and others, most of
whom were deification of natural forces. The three later Vedas are more
specialized. The Samaveda is a collection of certain verses of the Rigveda for
melodic rendering. The Yajurveda emerged a century or two later than the
Rigveda, and contains sacrificial formulae to be pronounced by the priests who
performed the manual part of the sacrifice. The Atharvaveda deals with magical
incantations and medicines. Each Veda has a Brahmana appended to it explaining
the mantras and rituals. The Aranyakas and Upanishads are appendices to the
Brahmanas: while the Aranyakas are mystical teachings meant for meditation in
forests, the Upanishads (Vedanta) are speculations on Being and Reality.
The early ‗Brahmanical‘ or Vedic religion had no temples or images.
Sacrifices were performed on open altars and offerings were made to the gods with
meat, fat, milk, butter and soma. This rite of homa(havan) was basic to Vedic
religion. Gradually, however, the religion assimilated the practices and ways of
other cults and earlier inhabitants. Thus the ‗puja‘ form of worship to an image or
symbol of divinity was incorporated. A synthesis of Aryan and non-Aryan ideas
took place and this power of assimilation is partly the reason for the ability of
Hinduism o survive over time even without it being of a ‗missionary‘ nature.
While Hinduism has often been described as a way of life, allowing plenty
of flexibility in forms of worship and gods, the fundamental goal of Hindus is to
achieve moksha, or libearation form the cycle of existence. Until the attainment of
moksha, human beings are subject to rebirth. The Hindu view of life does not
preclude worldly pleasure: kama (pleasure, including sexual pleasure) and artha
(prosperity) are recognized as ends in life, though they are to be subordinated to
the higher end of dharma (righteousness).
According to the Upanishads there are four stages in life through which the
seeker after truth has to pass. He has to live first as a brahmachari (celibate
student), then as a grihasta (a householder), as a vanaprasta (a hermit) and lastly
as a sanyasi (an ascetic). The pilgrim who sets out on the journey of life has to
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acquire, one by one, all values—knowledge, wealth, love, service—but he should
regard them as intermediate stages and pass through each with his mind fixed on
the final destination and his feet moving towards it. This destination is the
realization of unity or moksha (salvation).
Karma is the fundamental law of the moral world. Every act, good or bad,
performed by humans has an impact on their personality. Conscious acts gradually
grow into unconscious habits and become part of their character. Character, in its
turn, determines action followed by its consequences. This is a vicious circle in
which our mind is involved. The only way to get out of it is to elevate the
individual mind through renunciation, self-sacrifice and the service of our fellowbeings free form the compelling force of karma. The greatest heritage of the Vedic
Hindu age is the idea of unitism in the Upanishads –generally known as the
philosophy of the Vedanta. Moreover, the concepts of the four stages of life, and
those of karma and sansar, have not only become an important part of the religious
faith of the Hindus but have pervaded Indian poetry and literature.
The challenge of Buddhism and Jainism to the Vedic Hindu religion was a
stimulating and refreshing inspiration to the minds of Hindu thinkers who now left
the beaten track and ventured on new paths of speculation and reasoning.
Philosophical thinkers made their own original speculation on metaphysical
problems and founded their own systems known as the six systems of Hindu
philosophy. Four of these, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vaisheshika, were not
influenced by the Vedas, while the Purva Mimamsa and the Uttara Mimamsa were
based on the teachings of the Upanishads. But the highest achievement of the
Hindu mind in this age is another philosophy expounded in the Bhagavad Gita,
which is a part of the epic Mahabharata. The Bhagavad Gita is a supplement to
the Upanishads. It has tried to make a synthesis of three ways of attaining salvation
–the way of knowledge through speculation and ascetic discipline, the way of faith
and devotion, and the way of action.
The mainstay of popular Hinduism is the later Vedic literature. The Puranas,
which some claim to have been written between the third and the seventh centuries
AD. The eighteen Puranas include, among others, the Matsya, Markandeya,
Naradiya, Garuda, Kurma, Skands, Vayu and Vishnu Puranas. The ithihasa (epic)
are two –Ramayana by Valmiki and Mahabharata by Veda Vyasa. These drew
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their inspiration from the pre-Aryan folklore. The Bhagavad Gita is considered a
later interpolation in the Mahabharata.
The important factor that activated new movements was ‗bhakti‘, the single
souled devotion of the worshipper to a personal god, with the postulation of some
moral link. This stimulus led to the evolution of different religious sects like
Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, all of which came to be regarded as
components of orthodox Brahmanism.
The worship of Yakshas and Nagas and other fold deities constituted the
most important part of primitive religious beliefs, in which ‗bhakti‘ had a very
conspicuous part to play. Early literature as well as archaeology supplies us with
ample evidence about the prevalence of this form of worship among the people.
The folk cults centred on the Nagas and the Yakshas appear to have survived in the
orthodox brahmanical fodl in the grab of the worship of the elephant-headed deity
Ganesha, whose hybrid figure was an amalgam of the potbellied Yakshs and the
elephantine Naga.
A sutra in Panini‘s Ashtadhyayi refers to the horsewhippers of Vasudeva
(Krishna), whom epic and Puranic traditions describe, as a head of the Sattvata
race. The Chandogya Upanishad speaks of Krishna, a pupil of sage Chora
Angirasa, who was a sun worshipping priest. The large number of people who
worshipped Vasudeva exclusively as their personal god were at first known as
Bhagvatas. The Vasudeva-Bhagvata cult was a steadily growing religious
movement absorbing within its fold other Vedic and brahmanic divinities like
Vishnu and Narayana.
The history of the Vaishnava movement from the end of the Gupta period till
the first decade of the 13th century AD is concerned mostly with South India.
Vaishnava poet-saints known as ‗Alvars‘ peached loving adoration for Vishnu and
their songs were collectively named prabandhas. The wave of Vishnu bhakti was
supplemented on its doctrinal side by a class of Vaishnava teachers, known as the
Sri Vaishnava Acharyas. The most famous of the 12 Alvars were Nammalvar and
Tirumalisai Alvar, while those noted among the early Acharyas were
Yarnunacharya and Ramanuja.
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The Alvars represented the emotional side of South Indian Vaishnavism and
the Acharyas, its intellectual aspect.
Unlike Vaishnavism, Shaivism had it origin in antiquity. Panini, in his sutra
on the formation of words like Shaiva, referred to a group of Shiva-worshippers of
his time (5th century BC). Patanjali in his commentary on one of the sutras of
Panini describes a class of Shiva-worshippers named by him as Shiva-Bhagavatas.
He also described briefly the forceful and outlandish ritualism of these worshippers
of Shiva, In contrast to the extreme forms of Shaivism, moderate types of the creed
appeared in northern and central India in the early medieval period.
The secluded valley of Kashmir became the venue of the Pratyabhijna and
Spanda Shastra schools founded respectively by Vasugupta and his pupils Kallata
and Somananda 9th century AD).
The Shaiva movement in the south flourished at the beginning through the
activities of many of the 63 saints known in Tamil as Nayanars. Their appealing
emotional songs in Tamil were called Tevaram stotras, also known as Dravida
Veda and ceremonially sung in the local Shiva temples. The Nayanars hailed from
all castes. The brahmin, Tirujnana Sambandhar, for instance, had the greatest
respect for his much older contemporary, Tirunavukkarasu (Appar), another Shiva
bhakta but belonging to a low caste.
The emotional Shiva bhakti successfully preached by the Nayanars and other
Shaiva-saints was supplemented on the doctrinal side by a large number of Shaiva
intellectuals, whose names were associated with several forms of Shaiva
movements like Agamanta, Sudha and Vira-Shaivism,
Worship of the female principle (Shakti) and of Surya did not attain the
importance of the other two major brahmanical cults at any time during the period
under review. As stated, the mother aspect of the divinity was venerated in the pre
Vedic times. In the Vedic age, though gods played a more important part in the
contemporary mythology, respect was also shown to the female principle as the
divine mother, the goddess of abundance and personified energy (Shakti).
The author of the Periplus (c. first century AD) refers to a class of such
worshippers of the goddess in her virgin aspect as Kanyakumari in his brief
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account of Comari, the southernmost port-town of India, But there is no doubt that
most of the extant works connected with the Tantric form of Shakti worship were
composed in later times.
Modern Hinduism, i.e., what we today regard as Hinduism, may be dated
from the days of Shankara (eighth century AD) who expounded the theory of
Advaita or monism. He reformed Hinduism of the degeneration that had ‗set in and
gave it a new philosophy. He restored Devi worship to its purity and is said to have
put down the Kapalikas who indulged in human sacrifice to appease god Bhairava.
In the 12th century AD came Ramanuja with his Visishthadvaita or qualified
monism. He laid emphasis on bhaktimarga rather than deliverance through Vedic
rites.
Madhva in the thirteenth century propounded the dvaita philosophy or
dualism.
The renovation begun in the south by these reformeis. was carried forward
by several saints and sages from oth,r regions in what later came to be called the
Bhakti Movement The propounders of bhakti emphasised on the devotion to a
personal god as a means of attaining moksha, as against the pathways of action
(karma) or knowledge (gyan). The influence of Islam led to the revival of anticaste and monotheistic ideas. The famous propounders of the bhakti movement
were Ramananda of Allahabad, Vallbhacharya of Varanasi, Namadeva of
Maharashtra, Mirab of Rajasthan, Eknath, Tukaram and Ramdas from Maharahtra,
Surdas, the blind poet from Agra, Lalla of Kashmir, Kabir of Varanasi and
Chaitanya of Bengal.
Extreme dependence of people on the priestly class and of the riestly class
on irrational practices made religion synonymous with bigotry and orthodoxy. It
was an ironical aspect of Hinduism, that while it tolerated all external religions
with a fair amount of indifference, it came to be intolerant vithin its own orbit
towards anything which did not conform to established ritualistic details. It was in
this context that social evils like infanticide, child marriage, burning of widows,
caste rigidity and untouchability and seclusion of women crept into the Hindu
society. And with the advent of Western liberal ideas in the nineteenth century,
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there followed phase after phase of various reform movements in India to renovate
the society and rationalise religious thought.
Raja Rammohan Roy and the Brahmo Movement
Raja Rammohan Roy had studied Persian and Arabic, and it was the inner
meaning of Hinduism and Islam that drew him to monotheism and that led to his
aversion for idolatry. A. brahmin himself, he peeped into the inner substance of
brahmanical Hinduism to discover the existence of one omnipotent being.
According to him, the refined ideals of Vedanta were the eternal source of Hindu
spiritualism. ―To turn the mind of India to the truths of Vedanta became the primemotive of Rammohan Roy.‖
On August 20, 1928, he founded the Brahmó Sabha, which stood for the
―worship and adoration of the eternal unsearchable and immutable being‖. It
admitted no image, statue or sculpture, carving, painting or the likeness of
anything. Thus Rammohan began the first great religious reform movement of the
19th century. Since religion was the most dominating force in the Indian society,
reform of religion meant ‗also the reform of society to an extent.
Rammohan endeavoured to rouse opinion against the evil practice of sati
which was later abolished.
A pioneer of modernism, Rammohan realised the value of Western
education and etab1ished two English schools. After his death, Devendranath
Tagore took over the leadership of the Samaj in 1843. He took up a bold front on
two aspects. Inside Hinduism, his was the reformist movement on the ancient
moorings of religion as embodied in the Vedas. Outside, he expressed his ruthless
opposition to the Christian missionaries for their criticism of Hinduism and
attempts at conversion.
Gradually there came about a philosophical transformation of the Brahmo
Samaj movement, regarding the question of ‗infallibility of the Vedas‘.
The younger members of the Sabha led by Keshabchandra Sen began to
advocate more radical social changes. Child marriage, polygamy and kulinism
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were denounced; emancipation of women and widow marriage was strongly
advocated.
Finally, in 1866, Keshabchandra Sen and his followers left the parent body
and formed the Brahmo Samaj of India. There after the parent organisation came to
be known as the ‗Adi Brahmo Samaj‘. A second schism took place in 1978 as
Keshabchandra Sen gave his daughter in marriage when his daughter was only 14
years of age. This generated a controversy and a new organisation named
‗Sadharan Brahmo Samaj‘ was formed.
After this schism the Brahmo movement lost much of its earlier novelty and
purpose.
Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and the Hindu Spiritual Awakening
If the Brahmo movement of Ramamohan Roy was the outcome of external
influences emanating from the enlightenment and rationalism of the modern West,
the movement represented by Ramakrishna and his disciples was the result of an
inner resurgence of the Hindu spirit to recover itself.
According to Ramakrishna, devotion to God was the supreme goal of the
mind. The devotion could be expressed through unbounded love. Here, he was at
one with the medieval saints of the bhakti school. God could he formless or with a
form, it was for man to realise God in any manner.
Ramakrishna broke down the barriers which separated various Hindu cults
and took them together towards an inward search for the reality. This is a trend
described at times as ‗neo-Hinduism‘. Among those who became his disciples, the
most celebrated was ‗Narendra Nath Dutta‘, better known as Swami Vivekananda.
The Hindu spiritual concepts were interpreted by Vivekananda in the light of
modern rationality and progressivism. Side by side he aimed to associate spiritual
attainments with the vigour of mind and body. In America, at the Parliament of
Religions at Chicago, he stated that Hinduism was not really what the Westerners
saw in its outward form, but something more vital and more real.
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One of the most remarkable endeavours of Vivekananda was to bring
spirituality out of its philosophical and unintelligible scriptural seclusion to the
mind and heart of the common people who toiled in their worldly existence.
Vivekananda organised the disciples to Ramakrishna into an order and
formed the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897. This was set up to engage in threefold
activity, namely, spread the meaning of Vedantic spiritualism far and wide, strive
for a synthesis and harmony among various faiths and cults, and regard the service
of mankind as service to God.
The Prarthana Samaj
The Prarthana Samaj was founded in Maharashtra in 1867 with inspiration
from Keshabchandra Sen. Mahadev Govind Ranade was its chief leader.
The main difference between Brahmo Samaj and Prarthana Samaj was that,
whereas the Brahmos assailed Hinduism by forming an organisation more or less
outside the Hindu orbit, the members of the Prarthana Samaj remained in the fold
of Hinduism. Rationalisation of Hindu socio-religious habits was the main
objective of the Samaj.
The Arya Samaj
The Arya Samaj wanted to revive Hinduism from within, It also aimed to
recover the lost values of Aryanism. The founder of this movement was Swami
Dayananda Saraswati.
Dayananda Saraswati believed that the Vedas were the source of all truth
and supreme knowledge. He also stated that it is the first duty of the Aryas to read
the Vedas. The members of the Arya Samaj were required to devote themselves to
the physical, social and spiritual welfare of their fellowmen. At the same time, the
spread of proper education and a campaign against ignorance or illusion were
regarded as objectives of the Samaj. On a more militant platform, the Arya Samaj
condemned the Brahmanic rites and rituals, idol worship and superstitious
practices. It also strove to bring to the untouchables the status of the Hindus
belonging to the upper castes. On the external side, the Samaj threw open the doors
of the Hindu society to the non-Hindus.
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Dayananda himself initiated the Suddhi movement by which non-Hindus
could be converted to Hinduism.
The Theosophical Society
The word ‗theosophy‘ comes from two Greek words, theos and sophia,
meaning ‗God‘ and ‗wisdom‘.
It was in the USA in 1875 that Madame H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel H.S.
Olcott laid the foundation of the modern Theosophical Society. And it was in 1886
that the Theosophical Society of India was founded.
Annie Besant championed the cause of theosophy in India, One of the
objectives of the Society was to study and preach Aryan philosophy and religion.
The fundamental faith of the theosophists thus was based on Hindu concepts. Apart
from the philosophical and spiritual discourses, which the. Society carried on, its
valuable contribution to the Hindu awakening came from its literary and research
activities. Hindu scriptures were published and translated. The Society also
encouraged reforms and framed educational schemes to carry them out.
Socio-religious Reform Movements in South India
The socio-religious reform movements that originated in the south in the
British period aimed to eliminate the ‗adverse‘ rituals while improving the quality
of life of the people in general.
One of the important movements was the Veda Samaj founded in Madras
City in 1864 by Sridharalu Naidu and Keshabchandra Sen. ‗The Samaj accepted
the theistic ideals of the Brahmo Samaj. Viewing marriage and other rituals of
Hinduism as destitute of religious significance, the Samaj was against sectarian
views. It stressed on doing away with caste distinctions, and opposed polygamy
and child marriage while supporting widow remarriage.
The movement started by Swami Narayana Guru was aimed at emancipation
of castes and putting an end to caste discrumnation. Swarm Narayana Guru
transformed the agitation of the Izhavas, who were considered untouchables in
Kerala society, into a socio—religious reform movement, He wanted to improve
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the social position of the Izhavas who faced restrictions in dress, customs and
religious practices in society. His message of social change was carried out by
volunteers who moved from one place to another, asking the people to abandon the
did unacceptable customs.
JAINISM
The jina or jaina means ‗the Conqueror‘. According to Jain tradition their
religion is quite old, even anterior to Aryan Brahmanism. The Yajurveda mentions
Rishabha, Ajinatha and Aristanemi. One of the Puranas describes Rishabha as an
incarnation of Narayana.
Mahavira (6th century BC) is said to be the historical founder of Jainism.
There were 23 Thirthankaras (prophets/gurus who were all kshatriya) before him,
Rishabha being the first and Parshvanatha, the twenty-third. Mahavira was a
kshatriya, son of Siddhartha, the head of the Jnatrika clan, and Trishla, born in
Kundagrama (in Muzaffarpur, Bihar). At the age of 30, he renounced his family,
became an ascetic and set out in search of truth. In the thirteenth year of his
asceticism, on the tenth of Vaishakha, outside the town of Jrimbhikgrama, he
attained enlightenment. Fromthat time onwards, he was called jaina or jityendriya
(conqueror of his senses), nirgrantha (free from all bonds) and mahavira (the
brave) and his followers came to be known as Jam. At the age of 72 he attained
kaivalya (nioksha) at Pava, near Patna.
Jainism rejects the idea of a creator of the world as well as the authority of
the Vedas, though it does not oppose the caste system. However, Mahavira said
that humans may be good or bad according to their actions and not on account of
their birth. The Jams believe in karma and in the transmigration f the soul.
Salvation or nirvana comes on getting rid of the cycle of birth and rebirth, and can
be attained by leading a pure life guided by the three-fold path of right faith, right
knowledge and right conduct. Right conduct involves 5 abstinences, namely, noninjury (ahimsa), not to lie (satya), not to steal (asateya), non-possession
(aparigralta) and control over the senses (brahmacharya). The teachings of the
Thirthankaras were compiled in twelve Arigas which were written down at
Vallabhi in the fifth century AD.
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The Jams believe that fasting is a means of austerity. It ke1ps to control the
demands of the body and helps to keep the mind focused on the upliftment of the
soul. The Jains believe in eight symbols. These are:
1. Swastika signifying peace and well-being;
2. Shrivatsa, a mark manifested on the centre of the Jina‘s chest, signifying a
pure soul;
3. Nandyavartya,, a large swastika with nine corners;
4. Vardhamanaka, a shallow earthen dish used as lamp suggesting an increase
in wealth, fame and merit due to a Jina‘s grace;
5. Bhadrasana, or throne, which is considered auspicious because it is
sanctified by the blessed Jina‘s feet;
6. Kalasha, a pot filled with pure water signifying wisdom and completeness;
7. Minayugala, or a fish couple signifying victory over sexual desires; and
8. Darpana, the mirror that reflects one‘s true self.
The Jams later split into two groups—the Digambaras (sky-clad or naked)
and the Svetambaras (clothed in white). In belief, there is little difference between
the two sects. Digambara monks do not wear clothes because they believe clothes,
like other possessions, increase dependency and desire for material things. As
women are not permitted to be nude, the Digambara sect female renunciates wear
white and are referred to as Aryikas. So it is the males who can have full monastic
life and attain moksha. Svetambara monastics, on the other hand, wear white
seamless clothes for practical reasons, and believe that nothing in the scriptures
speaks against wearing clothes. Women are accorded full status as renunciates and
are often called sadhvi. It is the belief of Svetambaras that women may attain
liberation and that the Thirthankara Mallinath was female. While the Digambaras
believe that Mahavira remained unmarried, the Svetambaras believe Mahavira
married and a daughter was born to him. The Prakrit Suttapahuda of the Digambar
mendicant Kundakunda (c. 2nd century AD) contains the earliest record of the
beliefs of the Digambaras.
Indian culture has been deeply influenced by Jainism in ideas such as
ahimsa, and in the development of language, literature, art and architecture.
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BUDDHISM
The Buddha, variously termed Sakyamuni or Thathagata, is considered the
founder of Buddhism. He was born as Siddharthas to Suddhodhana, the ruler of the
Sakyan republic, and his wife Maya, on Vaisakha Purnima in the Lumbini gardens
near Kapilavasthu (in Nepal) in the 6th century BC. His family name was
Gautama. He married Yashodhara, and had a son Rahula. But the life of luxury left
him dissatisfied, and he was troubled by the signs of sickness, old age and death
that he observed in. the worldly life. At the age of 29, he decided to leave the
palace in search of peace and understanding of the world‘s ills. At the age of 35,
again on a Vaisakha Purnima, he attained enlightenment at what is now renowned
as Bodh Gaya, in Bihar, and came to be known as the Buddha. He gave his first
sermon in the deer park at Sarnat before his first disciples. After more than forty
years of wandering about, giving discourses and spreading his spiritual thought, the
Buddha attained mahaparinirvana at Kusinara (now in Uttar Pradesh).
The philosophy of Buddhism is to avoid the extremes of life, whether it is
addiction to worldly pleasure or a life of painful asceticism and self-mortification.
The Buddha did not concern himself with metaphysical controversies. Repudiating
the idea of God, he emphasised on moral progress which was independent of any
creator of the universe. The essence of Buddhism lies in the realisation that life is
transient, what transient causes sorrow is, and where sorrow and change prevail,
the idea of an immortal or permanent soul is meaningless. Despite this questioning
of the existence of an immortal soul, the Buddha seems to have accepted the idea
of transmigration.
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism are: the existence of suffering;
suffering is caused by trishna; suffering can cease; there is a path that leads to the
cessation of suffering. The path to nirvana or cessation of suffering is the Noble
Eightfold Path—a middle way, avoiding all extremes—comprising steps that
progress from morality through concentration to wisdom. The steps are: (i) right
speech, kind and truthful; (ii) right action, honest and peaceful; (iii) right
livelihood without hurting any living being; (iv) right effort involving self-control;
(v) right mindfulness; (vi) right concentration and meditation on the meaning of
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life; (vii) right thoughts worthy of the sincere and intelligent man; and (viii) right
understanding, avoiding superstition.
The Buddha brought about a change in the social thinking of the day by
speaking up for equality and rejection of rigid rituals. His teachings made people
aware of the importance of tolerance, ahimsa, service, compassion and personal
morality.
After the Buddha‘s death, four Buddhist Councils were held at which his
teachings were compiled into Pitakas—Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidharna, referred in
their combined form as Tripitaka. Their language is Pali. It was at the Fourth
Council in Kanishka‘s reign that Buddhism split into the Hinayana and the
Mahayana sects. The former considered the Buddha as a man and gave his
teachings an ethical value; the Theravada doctrine emphasised the salvation of the
individual. The Mahayanists laid emphasis on the Boddhisattva concept and on the
salvation of all sentient individuals. They also subscribed to the theory of Eternal
Buddhas who resemble the gods of theistic sects. Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana
evolved from the interaction of Buddhist thought and Brahmanical speculations.
Today, however, sectarian differences have been minimised to the extent that all
schools emphasise on the universal teachings of the Buddha and work on the basis
of dhamma.
Indian culture got a fresh impetus from Buddhism in the intellectual, literary,
artistic and architectural fields. Indeed, the missionaries of Buddhism spread
India‘s culture beyond its boundaries to Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka, China,
Laos, Thailand and other places.
SIKHISM
Guru Nanak (1469-1538) was an illustrious product of the Bhakti Movement
in northern India. He founded a new religion, that of the Sikhs, the term ‗Sikh‘
being derived from the Sanskrit word sishya meaning disciple.
Guru Nanak‘s efforts lay in trying to unite Hinduism and Islam through a
creed that could express the devotion of both communities. God—termed
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Vahiguru—is nirankar (shape1ess), akal (timeless), and alakh (sightless). Nanak
stressed that God must be seen from ‗the inward eye‘, or the ‗heart‘, of a human
being; it is through meditation that devotees may progress towards enlightenment.
The rigorous application of meditation permits communication between God and
human beings. In Sikh belief, the influences of ego, anger, greed, attachment, and
lust—known as the Five Evils—are believed to be specifically harmful. Those who
fall prey to the Five Evils suffer separation from God, and can remedy the situation
only after intensive and relentless devotion.
Nanak said that the guru r teacher) is the voice of God and the guide for
knowledge and salvation. It is with the guru‘s grace that the seeker meditates
honestly on the shabad or the ‗word‘ which leads to the end of ego. And the shabad
is the guru who is indistinguishable from God and they are one and the same thing.
One gets connected with the guru only with the accumulation of selfless search of
truth. The human body is just a means to achieve the reunion with Truth - which is
beyond the realm of time and death. With the achievement of this truth, a person
can understand the essence of current and past holy books of all religions. He was
against idolatry and spoke against superstitious beliefs whether of Hindu or of
Islamic origin, teaching people to distinguish between superstition and true
religious values. He emphasised the irrelevance of outward observations such as
rites, pilgrimages, or asceticism, Nanak‘s own inspiring poems and songs were
compiled in the Adi Granth. He retained the Hindu ideas of the soul‘s immortality,
transmigration and karma. But he conceived of the Godhead as one. Nanak spoke
of equality of human beings and did not recognise distinction of caste or creed. He
initiated the community kitchen of Guru ka Langar.
After Nanak came nine gurus. The tenth (and last), Guru Gobind, brought to
an end the guru system and organised the Sikhs into a brotherhood of soldiers. He
instituted the ceremony of pahul or baptism in water stirred by a dagger,
undergoing which - ceremony a person would belong to the Khalsa (the pure) and
would be entitled to use the honorific ‗Singh‘ after his name (and ‗Kaur‘ for
females). The Khalsa are enjoined to wear the five Ks—kesh (long hair), kanga
(comb), kachcha (shorts), kara (iron bangle) and kirpan (short sword).
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The primary source of scripture for the Sikhs is the Guru Granth Sahib. The
Guru Granth Sahib and the Adi Granth— literally, The First Volume—are often
used synonymously. However, the Adi Granth refers to the version of the scripture
compiled by Bhai Gurdas under the supervision of Guru Arjan Dcv in 1604. The
Guru Granth Sahib refers to the final version of the scripture created by Gobind
Singh in 1678. It consists of the original Adi Granth vith the addition of Guru Tegh
Bahadur‘s hymns. The Guru Granth Sahib is considered the final spiritual authority
of the Sikhs. All words in the Guru Granth Sahib constitute ‗Gurbani‘ words, thus
making the Gurrnukhi language which has two components—spoken Gurmukhi
words (in the form of Gurbani which originated from different languages) and the
Gurmukhi script.
ISLAM
The term ‗Islam‘ is of Arabic origin, meaning ‗submission‘, and the
followers of this religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad are Muslims—those
who submit (to God). According to Muslims, God sent a number of prophets to
mankind to teach them how to live according to His law. Jesus, Moses and
Abraham are respected as prophets of God. Muslims believe that the final Prophet
was Muhammad. They also believe that Islam has always existed, but for practical
purposes, date their religion from the time of the migration of Muhammad. The
word of God was revealed to Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel and his
messengers and it is embodied in the Quran. Muslims base their laws on their holy
book, the Quran, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is considered to be the practical
example of Prophet Muhammad.
The basic tenets of Islam are belief in the one God, Allah; belief in
Muhammad as the final prophet and messenger of God; and belief that the life on
earth is a period of testing and preparation for the life to come after the Judgment
Day when everyone shall be recompensed by God according to the actions
performed. The followers of Islam are bound to certain duties: the five ritual
prayers every day; a weekly Juma prayer on Friday noons; a dawn-to-dusk fast in
the month of Ramzan; a pilgrimage to Mecca for the annual congregation of hajj at
least once in a lifetime; and payment of zakat (charity) to the poor and needy.
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There are two mains sects in Islam: Sunni and Shia. The division between
Sunnis and Shias is the largest and oldest in the history of Islam. Both sects agree
on the fundamentals of Islam and consider the Quran as their holy book, but there
are differences mostly derived from their different historical experiences, political
and social developments, as well as ethnic composition. These differences
originate from the question of who would succeed the Prophet Muhammad as
leader of the emerging Muslim community after his death. Sunnis argue that the
Prophet chose Abu Bakr to lead the congregational prayers as he lay on his
deathbed, thus suggesting that the Prophet was naming Abu Bakr as the next
leader. The Shias‘ evidence is that Muhammad stood up in front of his companions
on the way back from his last Hajj, and proclaimed his son-in-law, Ali, the spiritual
guide and master of all believers. It was only later that these terms came into use.
Sunni means ‗one who follows the Sunnah‘ (what the ‗prophet said, did, agreed to
or condemned). Shia is a contraction of the phrase ‗Shiat Ali‘, meaning ‗partisans
of Ali‘. It is necessary that the word ‗successor‘ is not taken to mean that those
leaders that came after the Prophet Muhammad were also prophets; both Shia and
Sunni agree that Muhammad was the final prophet. All Muslims are required to
pray five times a day. However, Shia practice permits combining some prayers into
three daily prayer times. A Shia at prayer can often be identified by a small tablet
of clay from a holy place (often Karbala), on which they place their forehead
whilst prostrating. The majority of Muslims in India are Sunni.
Islam came first to India with Arab traders on the west coast, but spread with
the conquest of the north-west areas. There are four schools of jurisprudence—
Hanafi, Shafei, Maliki and Hambali.
The coming of Islam brought about, a fusion of two vibrant cultures, and
Indo-Islamic styles in art and architecture, music and literature evolved. A peculiar
interaction between Islamic thoughts and the bhakti movement of medieval India is
said to have contributed to the Sufi movement in India.
Muslim Socio-Religious Reform in India
The Muslim socio-religious reform movements wanted to motivate the
Muslims towards following the Islamic ideals in the real sense. Prominent among
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these movements were the Ahmaddiya movement, the Faraizi movement, the
Tariqahi-i-Muhammadiyah movement and the Aligarh movement.
The Ahmadiyya movement, started by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Punjab,
wanted to create a community that would he the upholder of true Islam. The Mirza
proclaimed a mission as the restorer and mahdi (guide). He spoke against the
influence of Christian missionaries in the region.
The Faraizi movement founded by Haji Shariatuallah in the nineteenth
century implemented and imposed the mandatory religious duties in Islam. It
called for a return to faraiz or the obligatory duties of Islam. It emphasised that
Muslims should attend daily prayers, fast during Ramadan, pay zakat and perform
the Haji pilgrimage. It was against worship at shrines of Islamic saints and rituals
such as some of those performed at the birth of a child and the wailing by Shias on
occasions like the Muharram, The prominent leaders of the movement included
Dudu Miyan and Naya Miyan.
Founded by Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi, the Tariqah-i-Muhammadiyah
movement was an armed movement to create a proper Islamic state. The
movement called for the removal of some customs and rituals of ‗Roman, Persian
and Hindu origin.
Sayyid Ahmad Khan‘s Aligarh movement believed that the Muslims should
be educated in such a way that they should serve the community and work as
honest-and public-spirited leaders with the English government of the day and
protect the interests of Muslims. The educational movement wanted to create an
administrative elite class that would govern in cooperation with the British rather
than focus on the Ulama.
Sufism, or Tasawwuf as it is also known, is not really a sect of Islam, but an
aspect or dimension of Islam. Sufi tariqas or schools can be found in Sunn, Shia
and other Islamic groups. Sufism came to India in medieval times, even before the
establishment of the Sultanate. The early Sufis traced their ideas to some verses of
the Quran and traditions of the prophet, but gave them a mystic representation.
According to one interpretation, the term, ‗Sufi‘ comes from suf or garments of
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coarse wool worn by the Sufi saints. Another view is that it comes from safa; the
‗pious‘ people were called Sufis.
The Sufis, who were organised into various silsilahs or orders, accepted the
prophethood of Muhammad and the authority of the Quran but also absorbed a
variety of ideas and practices from different sources such as Christianity NeoPlatonism, Hindu philosophical systems, Buddhism and Zaroastrianism.
Sufi mysticism sprang from the doctrine of the unity of being which
identified the creator and the creation. The Sufis had two objectives—their own
spiritual development and the service of humanity. They attempted to bridge the
gulf between orthodoxy and the religion of faith and devotion. They spoke the
language of the masses and gave an impetus to cultural synthesis. The stages of
spiritual development of the Sufis included repentance, abstinence, piety, poverty,
patience, gratitude, fear, hope, contentment and submission to divine will The
Sufis discouraged a materialistic outlook of life but they encouraged working for
the necessities of life. They did not encourage complete renunciation of the world
for attainment of spiritual personality.
The Sufis in India, particularly of the Chisti and Suhrawardi orders, adopted
music as a means to an end, as a way to remove the barrier between them and God
and as a way to attain the supreme spiritual ecstasy.
The Sufis were divided into several silsilahs. Some of these orders are
briefly discussed here.
Chishti Order Khwajah Muinuddin Chishti introduced the Chishti order in
India. His ‗pantheistic approach‘ made a great impact on Hindus. His important
disciples were Shaikh-Qutubud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki and Hamid-ud-din, The
popularity and success of the Chishti saints in India was due to their understanding
of the Indian conditions and the religious attitudes and aspirations of the Indian
people.
Chishtis did not practice renunciation in the literal sense, but their
preachings amounted to adopting a detached view towards the world and having no
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love for money, women, government service or honours. They gave priority to
social service over all other forms of devotion.
Suhrawardi Order Shihab-ud-din Suhrawardi was the founder of this
silsila, which was introduced in India by his disciples Jalal-ud-din-Tabrizi arid
Baba ud-din Zakariya. Unlike the Chishtis, the saints of this order led a
comfortable life. They made ample provisions for their families and even
employed teachers on handsome salaries for the education of their sons.
Suhrawardi believed that there was no harm in possessing and dispensing of
wealth, if the heart was detached. The order did not approve of the Chishti practice
of bowing before the shaikh or in sama, i.e., listening to music and song as a means
of stimulating the spiritual urge.
Qadiri Silsila Founded by Shaikh Adbul Qadir Gilani, this silsila was
introduced in India by Sayyid Muhammad Gilani, who migrated to India arid
settled in Uchch near Multan. He had enough wealth and enjoyed a good deal of
influence at the court. The most famous saint of this order was Shaikh Mir
Muhammad or Miyan Mir.
Shattari Silsila Shah Abdullah brought the Shattari order during the Lodhi
period. The Shattari saints tried to bring Hindus and Muslims closer by laying
emphasis on the similarity of their spiritual thoughts and practices. The Sufis of
this order led a spiritual life in comfortable worldly surroundings. This order did
not make much headway and the number of its followers was not very large.
Firdausi Silsila Badr-ud-din introduced this silsila into India. He expounded
that hunger is the root cause of all trouble. Any spiritual endeayour would not be
fruitful if this basic need was not fulfilled. Naqshbandi Order Khwaja Bagi Billah
introduced this order in India. Of all the Sufi orders, it was the nearest to
orthodoxy.
CHRISTIAN ITY
Jesus Christ founded Christianity which spread throughout the Roman
Empire where it was made the state religion in the 4th century AD. Later, the
Church split into two broad groups—the Western under the People in Rome and
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the Eastern under the Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople.
Still later, the Roman Church was broken up by Protestantism, and in the Eastern
Churches many communities set up their own Patriarchates.
Christians believe, like the Jews, that there is one God who created the
universe and cares for it. Jesus, son of God, was sent into the world as his chosen
servant, the Messiah, to help people fulfil their religious duties. Most Christians
view Jesus as God incarnate, the Saviour who died to save humanity from sin.
Christianity teaches that after Jesus‘ earthly life, God‘s presence remained on earth
in the form of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The doctrine of the Trinity is the
belief that there are three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Christians see Jesus as continuous with the God of Judaism. A collection of
Christian writings called the New Testament was added to the Jewish scriptures
called the Old Testament and they together form the Christian Bible. Two practices
important to Christian worship are baptism which celebrates an individual‘s
entrance into Christianity and Eucharist (or Holy Communion) in which
worshippers share bread and wine as a sign of unity with one another and with
Jesus.
Christians are said to have arrived in India during the first century after the
birth of Christ. Evidence suggests that one of Christ‘s apostles, Thomas, reached
India in AD 52 and settled in Malabar (Kerala). It is widely believed that he was
martyred in Tami Nadu in AD 72 and he is buried in Mylapore, a suburb of
Chennai, where the cathedral St. Thome (built in the 16th century) now stands. A
rocky hill near Meenambakkam (Chennai) Airport is known as St Thomas‘ Mount.
Syrian Christians arrived in Kerala in the 6th century AD in a major missionary
movement. The Portuguese later brought a fresh development, introducing Roman
Catholicism. The Jesuit, St. Francis Xavier, came to Goa in 1542 and, in 1557, Goa
was made an Archbishopric. In the early stages, the churches were quite influenced
by the caste system and the Kerala Christians adopted social rules very similar to
those of high caste Hindus. It was only in the late 18th century that attempts were
made to abolish discrimination on the basis of caste.
Christian missionary activity was more limited in north India, though Jesuit
missions came to Akbar‘s court in the late 16th century. But Protestant missions in
Bengal from the end of the 18th century had a deep influence on cultural and
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religious development. In 1793 the Baptist missionary William Carey came to
Bengal. It was under his influence that the work of 19th century missions rapidly
widened to cover educational and medical work as well. Converts were readily
made in the tribal areas. Significantly, the Christian populations of the tribal hill
areas of Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam stem from such late 19th century
missionary movements. The influence of Christian missions in education and
medical work was, however, greater than their influence as a proselytising force.
Indeed, education in Christian schools stimulated reformist movements in
Hinduism itself. Organisations like the Young Men‘s Christian Association
(YMCA), Young Women‘s Christian Association (YWCA), and the Salvation
Army still do valuable social work.
Most main Protestant denominations in India are now part either of the
Church of South India or the church or North India. The Syrian Christian Church
of Kerala has reunited with the Roman Catholic See of Rome.
ZOROASTRIANISM
The founder of Zoroastrianism was the Persian prophet Zarathustra, who
prob4bly lived, around 6th or 7th century BC. At the heart of Zdroastrianism is the
belief in a struggle between good and evil. There is one eternal God, Ahura Mazda,
wholly wise, just and good. Angra Mainyu, the spirit of evil, is wholly wicked.
Followers of Zoroastrianism believe that good will ultimately triumph over evil,
and that the last day will come. Fire plays a central part in Zoroastrian worship.
Indeed, earth, fire and air are all regarded as sacred, while death is the result of
evil. Dead matter pollutes all it touches, therefore where there is suitable space,
dead bodies are placed in the open to be eaten by vultures (as at the Towers of
Silence in Mumbai). However, burial and cremation are common nowadays.
Zarathustra composed 17 gathas (sacred songs) and the Athuna Vairyo (a
sacred chant) which are now studied as writings in an ancient language, Old
Avestan. Other later writings form the collection of Zoroastrian holy texts called
the Avesta. Translations of Avestan texts with glossaries and commentaries are
called the Zend.
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The first Zoroastrians arrived on the west coast of India in AD 936 on being
persecuted and forced out of their native Iran by invading Islamic Arabs. They
became known by their now much more familiar name, the Parsis. Although a
minority even in cities where they are concentrated and religiously conservative,
the Parsis have been a prominent economic and social influence. They adopted
westernized customs and took advantage of the economic opportunities offered by
colonial industrialisation. In India they have made eight A task Bahram—major
fire temples.
JUDAISM
One of the oldest major religions of the world, Judaism teaches belief in one
God. It is the religion of the Jews. Both Christianity and Islam developed from
Judaism. The basic laws and teaching of Judaism come from the Torah, the first
five books of the Hebrew Bible. The Talmud is a collection of legal and ethical
writings, as well as Jewish history and folklore. The Jews believe God prqmised to
bless Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish peccple, and his descendants if they
worshipped and remained faithful to God. This covenant was renewed by God with
Abraham‘s son, Isaac and Isaac‘s son, Jacob (who was also called Israel, and hence
his descendants became known as the children of Israel). God later gave the Ten
Commandments to Moses on Mt Sinai, which explained how the Israelites should
live.
India has two Jewish communities—the Ma1ayalam speaking Cochinis and
the Marathi-speaking Bene Israel. Jewish refugees came and settled on the west
coast of India nearly two thousand years ago. Their number is negligible, but they
have since the very beginning been allowed to live their own lives, and build their
synagogues and prayer halls without persecution in India.
IDEAS AND TERMS
Advaita This doctrine of monisn, —‗No second‘—maintains that the
phenomenal universe with its multifariousness and the whole hierarchy of being
from the greatest of the gods downwards was not absolutely real, but the secondary
emanations of the one ultimate absolute being, the impersonal unchanging entity,
Brahman, characterised by the three attributes of being (sat), consciousness. (chit)
and bliss (ananda). The quest of man, according to Advaita, is the final realisation
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of the identity of his soul or inmost self (atma) with Brahman through spiritual
training and meditation. The doctrine was first suggested by Vyasa but developed
brilliantly by Shankara.
Akal Takhat Epitomising the supreme religious authority for the Sikhs,
takhats decide issues referred to them in connection with the Panth. The verdicts
(hukumnama) of the takhats are binding on the Sikhs. There are four main takhats:
The Akaal takhat in Amritsar is held in highest esteem by Sikhs. The other three
are the Takhat Keshgarh Saheb at Anandpur in Punjab, Takhat Patna Sahib at
Patna, and Takhat Huzur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra.
Bodhisattva According to Mahayana Buddhists, people do not have to rely
on their own efforts to become enlightened; they can be helped by a bodhisattva, a
person who has come into this world to guide others to salvation. A bodhisattva is
one who strives to become a Buddha by leading a life of virtue and wisdom, works
to take all beings to nirvana with him, and may even postpone attaining nirvana in
order to relive suffering through acts of love and compassion. The bodhisattvas
traditionally well-known are Avalokiteshwara, Amitabha, Vairochana, Manjusri
and Sumantabhadra. Maitreya is supposed to be in the Tushita heaven, waiting to
come into this world to save humanity in the event of some great peril.
Din-I-Ilahi Akbar formulated an order called Din-i-Ilahi (earlier, Tauhit-iIlahi) in 1582. It required belief in one supreme God, and enjoined a code of
conduct comprising ten virtues and some principles of social reform. Incorporating
elements drawn from all religions, Din-i-Ilahi was based on sul-i-kul or universal
harmony, The cult centred around Akbar himself and faded away after his death.
Dvaita Madhva in the 13th century originated the philosophy of dualism
according to which Brahman, the self and the world are completely distinct. Based
on the Upanishads, Madhva‘s theory postulates that the individual soul is created
by God and, in the state of highest bliss, draws infinitely close to godhead but it is
always aware of its difference from God.
Hijrah The Hijrah refers to the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina
in AD 622 and marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
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Lokayata A school of thought associated with Charvaka, Lokayata denied
the existence of any soul or pure consciousness, which is admitted by all schools of
Hindu thought. Consciousness, it held, was an emergent function of matter
mixtures, and hence nothing remained of man after death. The school of
materialism denied the infallibility of the Vedas, the doctrine of karma and rebirth.
The Mahdi The concept of the Mahdi is a central tenet of Islamic theology.
The Mahdi, or rightly guided one, would come at the end of time to spread justice
and peace. He will also be called Muhammad and be a descendant of the Prophet
in the line of his daughter Fatima (Ali‘s wife). The idea has been popular with
grassroots Muslims due to the preaching of several Sufi or mystical trends in
Islam. Over the centuries a number of individuals have declared themselves the
Mahdi come to regenerate the Muslim world. The ‗Mahdi‘ is not mentioned in the
Quran but is mentioned in the Hadith.
Mimamsa One out of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, Mimamsa (or
Purva Mimamsa) derives its inspiration from the Vedas. Founded by Jaimini
around 200 BC, this system believes that the Vedas are revealed and therefore true
and accurate; their injunctions must be obeyed. It concerns itself with the verses
dealing with rites and ceremonies, hymns and prayers rather than with the theology
or the ethics of the Vedas. It propounds that the soul which is eternal and distinct
from the body must be active through performing rituals without which knowledge
is useless. It does not consider belief in God as necessary.
Nihang The Nihang differ essentially from all other Sikh orders in being a
militaristic organisation but they are similar in some areas, in that, they are and
belong to the Khalsa, created by Guru Gobind Singh. The Niharig wear checkered
dresses of electric blue, bangles or bracelets of iron round their wrists (kara), and
quoits of steel (chakram) in their conical blue turbans, together with daggers,
knives and swords of varying sizes (kirpan), and an iron chain: Banda Bahadur, the
famous disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, went from being a Hindu to a Sikh and
adapted to this attire. Traditionally known for their bravery and ruthlessness in the
battlefield, the Nihang once formed the guerilla squads of the armed forces of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
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Nirankari A sect of the Sikhs founded by Bhai Dayas Das in the 1840s, the
name Nirankari derives from nirankar (formless), a term used by Guru Nanak with
regard to the nature of God.
Nyaya One of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, formulated by Gautama
in around the beginning of the Christian era, the Nyaya School was essentially a
school of logic, maintaining the view that clear thinking was essential for
salvation. Nyaya deals with proof and that which is to be proved. It propounds the
idea that the soul is eternal and has a parallel existence with God and the world.
Sankhya Probably the earliest attempt by Indians at systematic philosophy,
Sankhya forms one of the six schools of Hindu philosophical thought. Its
foundation is attributed to Kapila. Rejecting rites and sacrifices, Sankhya regards
body and soul as real but does not believe in a universal being or God. According
to Sankhya, the soul as long as it is associated with the body is subject to passions
and desires, and is afflicted by pain. Even after death the soul is caught in the cycle
of rebirth with the body. Realisation of the true nature of the body and soul helps
one to cast off the body and attain Freedom from pain.
Shariah Shariah is the positive law through which the Islamic religion
realises the common eternal ideal.
Tantricism The cults and sects of Tantricism laid emphasis on the
importance of the body, the continuous use of sensual symbolism, and the use of
sensual rites. The Buddhist Siddhar, certain Shaiva sects such as Natha Yogis and
Kapalikas, certain Vaishnava sects such as Pancharatra and Sahajayana took to
Tantricism which involved magical ceremonies.
Thirthankara Literally a ‗maker of fords‘, a reference to the role of
building crossing points for the spiritual journey over the river of life, a
Thirthankara is a Jam prophet or jina who has passed out of the cycle of
transmigration and helps others to cross over similarly. Jams believe in twenty-four
Thirthankaras. The Kalpasutra recounts their lives.
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Urs Death anniversaries of Muslim saints are celebrated at their graves by
devotees; the days on which they are celebrated are called Urs. Prayers and
recitation from the Quran, singing of qawwalis, and offerings of flowers and sheets
(chadars) at the tombs, mark these occasions.
Uttaramimamsa More commonly known as Vedanta, it is one of the six
systems of Hindu philosophy. Based on Badarayana‘s Brahma Sutras this system
stressed the significance of the Upanishads. The attempt was to harmonise the
Upanishadic teachings into a consistent body of doctrine. The terse aphorisms of
the Brahma Sutras were elliptical and ambiguous enough to have given rise to
different commentaries and interpretations of which Shankara‘s Advaita,
Ramanuja‘s Visishtadvaita and Madhva‘s Dvaita are the most famous.
Vaiseshika Originated by Kanada (though some say rishi Kashyapa founded
it) around the beginning of the Christian era, Vaiseshika is one of the six schools of
Hindu philosophy. It is close to the Nyaya School. The school was based on a
system of atomism, explaining the cosmic process in which the soul is involved,
Like the Sankhyas the Vaiseshikas held that the soul was wholly different from the
cosmos, and that its salvation lay in fully realising this difference. The first stage is
to realise the atomic character of the universe, that the universe is a complex,
endlessly changing pattern of atoms, combining and dissolving according to certain
principles. At the end of the cosmic cycle the atoms revert to a state of complete
equilibrium.
Visishtadvaita In the 12th century AD, Ramanuja gave bhakti a
philosophical base by interpreting .Vedanta in a different light from Shankara. He
formulated Visishtadvaita (‗Qualifed Monism‘) which transformed the idea of God
from an impersonal force to a personal God. The supreme Vishnu, eternal and
absolute, had diversified himself at the beginning of time and produced the
cosmos; being the work of a real creator, the cosmos could not be ultimately
unreal, but shared in God‘s reality. Similarly, the individual soul, created by God
as an individual, could not wholly lose its individuality and even in the highest
state of bliss was always conscious of itself as being part of God and the recipient
of God‘s grace and love. Devotion, according to this school of thought, is of
central importance to achieving liberation.
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Yoga One of the six schools of Hindu philosophy said to have been
propounded by the rishi Yajnavalkya, and later systematised by Patanjali, Yoga
may be considered a sequel to Sankhya. Unlike Sankhya, however, Yoga believes
in the existence of God, who is associated with an absolutely pure mind.
Otherwise, all the ideas about psychology and the theory of knowledge found in
Patanjali are taken from Sankhya. According to Yoga the human soul should free
itself from the bonds of nature, from its own body, from karma and samsara (cycle
of rebirth) and attain the realisation of truth and the state of absolute peace of mind
(or Yoga). This state of peace can be attained by means of prayer and spiritual
exercise. A definite system of moral and religious restraints is the first step towards
the ultimate achievement of complete detachment and perfect peace.
SOME NOTED PERSONALITIES
Andal Andal was the woman poet of the Vaishnava Alvar group of saints of
medieval South India, famous for songs and hymns of emotional intensity.
Arjan Dev, Guru Fifth in the line of Sikh gurus and youngest son of Guru
Ram Das, Guru Arjan Dev compiled the Adi Granth. He completed the
construction of the holy tank begun by his father at Amritsar, besides getting the
Harmandir built. Jahangir ordered his execution in 1606 at Lahore for having
supported Prince Khusro who had rebelled against the emperor, his father.
Chaitanya Viswambar Misra or Chaitanya (1485-1533) was unique in
medieval Vaishnava bhakti history in that he was the initiator of a very broad
movement covering Bengal and practically all of east India. His movement
involved an organised sect, a theology, and a broad-based popular cult. The
theology of the sect was worked out at Vrindavan. According to it, Krishna is
considered not merely as an incarnation of Vishnu but as the highest shakti
manitest in Radha The devotee‘s aim is to attain through bhakti the supreme state
of bliss in which he emotionally identifies with Radha and achieves happy union
with Krishna. Chaitanya expressed himself in the sankirtan, a session of hymn
singing by a group of devotees. The Chaitanya movement left a lasting impact on
Bengali life and literature and inspired later socio-religious reformers. Though no
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social reformers themselves, the Chaitanyites rejected all distinctions of caste and
disregarded the Veda and Vedantists.
Chandidas Chandidas (fourteenth century) was a pioneer in Bengali bhakti
literature. He holds that the only way to salvation is the love of God. This love
must be based on an earthly passion for a particular person, but as this passion
needs to be sublimated, the object of this passion should be somebody inaccessible.
His Krishna-kirtan, devoted to the love of Krishna and Radha, shows great depth of
feeling and profound symbolism.
Chishti, Kwajah Muinuddin He brought the Sufi order of Chishti to India.
He settled in Ajmer about 1206.
Chishti, Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya Under him, Delhi became the real
Chisti centre.
Chishti, Shaikh Salim Sufi saint who lived in the reign of Akbar, Shaikh
Salim Chisti prophesied the birth of three sons to the emperor. Akbar named his
eldest son Salim after the Sufi. Fatehpur Sikri was built near the saint‘s dwelling
place, Sikri.
Dadu Considered an important exponent of the Nirguna School, Dadu, a
weaver from Ahmedabad, was a disciple of Kabir. Living in the sixteenth century,
he preached love and devotion to God, opposed discrimination on basis of caste,
and spoke for Hindu-Muslim unity.
Eknath Marathi saint and philosopher of the sixteenth century, Eknath
revived the bhakti Vaishnava spirit and tradition in Maharashtra. He was free of
caste prejudices. As a scholar he brought out the first reliable edition of
Jnanadeva‘s Jnaneshwari. He wrote a commentary on the Ramayana and the
eleventh book of the Bhagavata Purana. He was a mystic who showed how one
could aspire to the deepest experience of religion within the ordinary framework of
life. His songs have become part of the Marathi heritage.
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Gokulnath A notable religious reformer of medieval India, Gokulnath
belonged to the Acharya tradition of the Vallabha sect and was an important figure
in the Varta sahitya in Hindi Literature. He wrote the well-known Chaurasi
Vaishnavan ki Varta and Do Sau Bawan Vaishnavan ki Varta.
Gorakhnath The founder of the Kanphata Yogi sect, Gorakhnath lived in
the 12th century. He advocated exercise of certain ascetic practices to gain mastery
over matter. Gorakhpur, which was the centre of his teaching, was probably named
after him. His cult gained notoriety for fearsome and malignant practices as ritual.
Gobind Singh, Guru The tenth and last guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind
Singh (1666-1708), founded the new brotherhood khalsa (the pure) on April 15,
1699. An inner core of the faithful, accepted by baptism, the Khalsa were enjoined
to maintain the ‗five Ks‘—kesh, kanga, kachcha, kara and kripan. He fought
valiantly with the Mughals to avenge the death of Guru Tegh Bahadur, his father.
He was assassinated at Nanded in Maharashtra.
Jnanadeva Among the Indo-Aryan languages, bhakti first appeared in
Marathi in the 13th century with Jnanesvara (or Jnanadeva). He wrote a Marathi
commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, more commonly known as Jnaneshwari. His
bhakti was due to his connection with the Varkari sect which instituted regular
pilgrimages to the Vithoba shrine in Pandharpur. The Jnaneshwari made a
pioneering effort by using the vernacular and thus revived the contact with, the
masses. It used a form meant for kirtan chanting and drew examples and metaphors
from the simple life of the village.
Kabir Born a weaver in the 15th century, Kabir was brought up in a Muslim
home. He was the renowned disciple of the Vaishnava reformer, Ramananda. For
Kabir there is only one way to God—personally experienced bhakti. Man must
purify his soul by righteousness and humility, self- discipline and love, and by
praise of God in kirtan and in quiet meditation. Kabir spoke against the
externalities of religion, scriptures, pilgrimages, superstitions and idols. He also
attacked the social injustice of caste. He looked upon humanity as a brotherhood,
and all variet4ies of human nature as refractions of the divine. He was heJ in
respect by Hindus as well as Muslims, and his songs have been incorporated in the
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Adi Granth. His poetry written in Western Hindi has a simple colloquial style even
though it has profound symbolism. It is poetry of epigrams and short verses. Kabir
founded a community, the Kabirpanthi, who consider Bijak, a collection of his
verse, as their scripture.
Lokacharya Lokacharya lived in the l2th-l3th centuries and propounded the
Tengali School of Vaishnavism. He said that God‘s grace is to be sought not only
through bhakti and effort but also by accepting that grace.
Madhva A brahmin from Karnataka, Madhva in the thirteenth century
propounded the dvaita philosophy, opposing Shankara‘s advaita. He founded the
Madhva sect at Udipi, his place of birth. He is supposed to have learnt Persian in
order to argue and justify his ideas before Muslim theologians. His Sarva-Darsana
Sangraha is a philosophical work analysing and explaining systems of Indian
philosophy.
Mirabai A sixteenth-century Rajput chief‘s daughter, Mira was married to
Lakha, Rana of Udaipur (capital of Mewar). Widowed at an early age, she left the
court of the Rana to devote herself to the worship of Krishna. She became a
disciple of Ravidas. She was a wandering mystic and a poet, composing lyrics in
honour of Krishna in Braj bhasha mixed with Rajãsthani. Her verses have been
included in the Adi Granth. She considers her relationship with Krishna in terms of
a spiritual marriage. She spent her last days in Mathura.
Nagarjuna One of India‘s great philosophers originating in Andhra Pradesh,
Nagarjuna (c. AD 150) systematised the Madliyamika school of Mahayana
Buddhism. Nagarjuna is believed to have been a contemporary of Kanishka. He
showed by subtle arguments that all things—the cosmic flux and the consciousness
that perceived it—are unreal. The only reality is ‗the void‘ (sunyaia). This great
void underlying the universe is, in fact, the primeval Buddha, nirvana. He also
wrote Rasaratnakara, Dvadsa Shastra and Sata Shastra.
Namdev A contemporary of Jnanesvara, Namdev (1270- 1350) was a tailor
who became a great poet of the bhakti marga in Maharashtra. The object of his
devotion was Vithoba, form of Vishnu in the temple at Pandharpur. Vithoba was
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the god of the Varkari Panth, a sect that was averse to asceticism and whose
membership cut across the whole caste structure. The names of Namdeva and
Jnandesvara are connected with the spread of this sect all over Maharashtra.
Namdev tounded a sect and monastery in Gurdasur, Puniab.
Nanak, Guru Born at Taiwandi (now called Nankana in Pakistan) in 1469,
Nanak was instrumental in the development of Sikhism. He was quite influenced
by Kabir, and spoke against caste discrimination, polytheism and priest craft. He
tried to bring Hindus and Muslims to ether. He wandered about with his
companion, Mardana, who played on a string instrument for Nanak‘s hymns. His
disciples were called sakhi. Nanak considered God as without form (nirankar,
eternal (akal), and ineffable (alakh), God is immanent in all creation. God
communicates his revelations in the form of the sabad (word) uttered by the guru,
who perceives a divinely-bestowed harmony, and salvation lies in bringing oneself
within the pattern of harmony. The Janam Sakhi gives details of Guru Nanak‘s life.
Nand Rishi Muslim Sufi poet, Nuruddin, came to be called Nana Rishi He
founded the order of the Rishis and he is the patron saint of Kashmiri Muslims.
Rishinama and Nurnama contain his poems.
Narsingh Mehta A saint poet of the fifteenth century who sang to Krishna,
Narsingh Mehta was a great Gujarati literary figure. His hymns were used by
Gandhi at his prayer meetings. Nimbarka A Vaishnava philosopher and mystic of
the 11th century, Nimbarka founded the Nimandi sect in the Mathura region. His
only extant work is the Dasasloka, but he is known to have given a commentary on
Badarayana‘s Brahniasutra and systematically expounded the schools of Vedanta
thought.
Ramana Maharishi A spiritual experience in 1896 led 20- year-old
Venkataramn to abandon home and seek enlightenment. After deep meditation he
achieved spiritual understanding at Thiruvannamalai. Henceforth he became
known as Ramana Maharish. He died in 1950.
Ramananda In his early days Ramananda (1400-1470) probably lived in
South India as a follower of Ramanuja‘s Srivaishnava sect. He returned to the
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north and settled down at Varanasi and established his own sect, the Ramanandis.
He looks upon Rama as the supreme God who is to be adored with his shakti, Sita,
and whose close companions like Hanuman should also be venerated. He was
strongly opposed to caste discrimination and opened his sect to all, irrespective of
caste, sex and community as, in God‘s eyes, all are equal. The egalitarian attitude
and the exclusive use of the vernacular made the sect different from others. The
sect has historical significance for having initiated several other sects and
movements in north India. The Kabripanthis and the Sikhs owe much to
Ramananda‘s teachings.
Ramanuja A Tamil brahmin who flourished about 1100 AD, Ramanuja was
born at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. He gave the rising piety of the times a firm
philosophical basis with his idea of bhakuimarg. He interpreted Vedanta in a
unique way to produce the system known as Visishtadvaita. He took Vishnu to be
the ‗supreme person‘, and founded the Vaishnava sect. He admitted the outcastes
too in his sect and encouraged an egalitarian social system encouraging female
education. His Sribhasya is an authoritative text for the Vaishnavas.
Ramdas The last of the great Maharashtrian hymn makers, Ramdas (160881) was orphaned as a child. After years of wandering and spiritual training, he
settled on the bank of River Krishna where he built a temple to Rama whose
devotee he was. Ramdas was not only a theologian, but also a reformer concerned
with the state of society. Shivaji was his pupil. In Ramdas devotionalism and
activism combined. The Dasabodha is a compilation of his writings and sermons
produced over several years.
Ravidas A disciple f Ramananda, Ravidas came from a leather-worker
family and became a great Vaishnava devotee in the fifteenth century. His disciples
included Mirabai. His sect is known as Sadnami and the creed prohibits idolatry
and enjoins the members to constantly think of God. Ravidas wrote intensely
devotional hymns which greatly influenced Hindi literature. Some of these were
included in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Shankara A brahmin born in Kaladi, Kerala, Shankara became a Sanyasin
at an early age. After studying under the philosopher Govindapala, he set out on
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his own and propounded Advaita philosophy. He is said to have founded four
peethas—at Sringeri, Dwarka, Puri and Badrinath.
Shankaradeva Shankaradeva was a Vaishnava poet and reformer who
brought Vaishnavism to Assam to counter Tantric Shaktism. Shankaradeva‘s
poetic compositions include Rukmini Harana Kavya, Damana and Ram Vijaya. He
encouraged an egalitarian society and welcomed tribesmen to Hinduism.
Surdas A brilliant disciple of Vallabha, Surdas (1483-1563) was a blind
musician attached to the temples at Agra and Mathura. His songs are suffused with
tender bhakti, and they deal with the state of the lover. His songs are collected in
Sursagar.
TeghBahadur, Guru He was the ninth Sikh Guru. He laid the foundation of
Anandpur in 1665 He was tried and executed by Aurangzeb as an unbeliever.
Gurudwara Sjs Ganj Sahib in Delhi marks the place of this execution. His body
was taken by a Labana Sikh and cremated at a site where the Gurudwara
Rakabganj Sahib in New Delhi now stands.
Tukaram Seventeenth-century devotee- of Vithoba who came from a
Shudra family, Tukaram composed hymns which are sung to this day in
Maharashtra and other places.
Tulsidas A spiritual heir of Ramananda, Tulsidas (1532- 1623) is famous
for his Ramacharitmanas, a version of the Ramayana in the vernacular. His bhakti
is the love of a servant for his loving master; his work is totally free of sensuality.
He inspired great devotion to Rama.
Vallabha A Telugu born at Varanasi, Vallabha (1479-1531) wielded great
influence through his sect in Gujarat and Rajputafla. Surdas was one of his
disciples. A devotee of Krishna, he expounded his own doctrine of pure monism.
Yajnavalkya Ancient sage and law-giver who presented a code of law in
Yajnavalkya Sinriti, Yajnavalkya is also said to have composed the Yajurveda,
Satapatha Brahmana and Brihadaranyaka.
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FESTIVALS AND FAIRS
Fairs and festivals are an integral part of Indian life. The diversity of
religions and communities ensures a variety of ‗holy‘ days which are celebrated all
over the land.
Festivals of Hindus
Hindu festivals range over the entire year; some are celebrated by almost all
Hindu communities while others are of regional significance. In mid-January
comes Shankrant marking the change of season when the sun is supposed to move
into its northern home and the days get longer and nights, shorter. People usually
take a dip in the holy rivers such as Ganga and Yamuna at this time. A day before
Shankrant comes Lohri, which is specially celebrated by Punjabis. It is the last day
of the month of Paus. The Lohri bonfire is believed to take the people‘s message to
the sun to shine brightly and end the chill of winter. The fun is in eating the revdi
(a sweet) and popcorn by the bonfire. Coinciding with Shankrant is the Tamli
festival of Pongal falling on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai. It is a harvest
festival , the chief event being the boiling over of a of pongal—a mixture of rice,
dal, jaggery and milk, symbolic of prosperity and abundance. The day before
Pongal is celebrated as Bogi dedicated to Lord Indra. The day after is Mattu Pongal
dedicated to cows.
In January-February, on the fifth day of Magha, Comes Vasant Panchami
which is celebrated by Bengalis especially in honour of Saraswati, the goddess of
learning. People generally wear yellow clothes on this day. On the fourteenth day
of dark fortnight of Magha (Janaury-February) is ce1ebrated Mahashivaratri. It is a
day of fasting and prayer dedicated to Lord Shiva.
In Phalgun (sometime in March) comes the festival of colours, Holi, It
marks the end of winter and beginning of summer and people enthusiastically
throw coloured water (or powder) on one another, and exchange good wishes and
sweets. One the night before Holi, bonfires are lit to symbolize the destruction of
the evil demon Holika.
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In the month of Chaitra (March-April) Ramanavami is celebrated in temples.
Also in this period most of the regional New Year Days are celebrated. Ugadi is
the Telugu New Year that usually comes in March. In Punjab the year starts with,
the first of Vaisakh, coinciding with the ripening of the rabi: harvest Baisakhi
(April 13). At the same time the Nava Varsha‘ of Bengalis begins. The Tamil New
‗Year also begins at this time. ‗The Assamese celebrate their New Year Goru and
Rangoli Bihu, as a cattle festival. The people of Kera1again celebrate Vishu with
the kani (preparation of an auspicious and omen the preceding night so that it is the
first thing one sees on waking up on New Year‘s day).
In May the Pooram festival is held at Trichur in Kerala. The highlight of this
festival is the parade of decorated elephants.
In June-July, Lord Jagannath‘s stately temple chariot goes in procession
from the temple at Pun. The Rath Yatra celebrates Krishna‘s journey to Mathura to
visit his aunt. The images of his brother, Balarama, and sister, Subhadra, are taken
in procession with him.
Naga Panchami comes sometime in July-August. It is dedicated to Ananta,
the serpent on whose coils Vishnu rests. Snakes are believed to have power over
the monsoon rainfall and to keep evil away. On the full-moon day of Shravana
comes Raksha Bandhan. Girls tie coloured chors (rakhi) round their brothers
wrists. It symbolizes the bond between sisters and brothers. The brothers give gifts
to sisters who offer sweets along with the rakhi. On the eighth day of the dark
fortnight in the month of Shravana (or in Bhadra) the anniversary of Krishna‘s
birth—Janmashtami—is celebrated with prayers and rejoicing. Devotees fast till
midnight.
Ganesh Chaturthi falls on the fourth day of Shukia Paksha (period of the
waxing moon) in the month of Bhadon (AugustSeptember). It is celebrated with
particular enthusiasm in Maharashtra. Shrines are erected and a clay idol of Ganesh
is installed, all beautifully made and brightly coloured. Every family buys a clay
idol. It is worshipped for a specific period before being ceremoniously immersed in
a river, tank or the sea. Ganesh is the god of wisdom, the deity who can remove
obstacles from anyone‘s path to success. It may be recalled that Bal Gangadhar
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Tilak popularised this festival on a large scale to invoke nationalistic feelings in the
masses during the struggle for freedom. Also in August-September comes Onam, a
harvest festival of Kerala. The celebrations lasting ten days begin with a colourful
welcome to King Mahabali (the wise and good ruler of ancient Kerala). Beautiful
floral patterns are made on the floor, usually with flowers, and girls dance typical
items like Kaikottikkali. Onam is specially famous for the Aranmula snake boat
races. The earliest record of Onam celebration dates back to AD 861.
Dussehra is a festival of ten days celebrated all over India in Aswin
(September -October). In the north it celebrates Rama‘s victory over Ravana. The
Ramilia is acted out in episodes during the festival and on the tenth
Vijayadashami—the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad are burnt to
symbolise the victory of good over evil. The Bengalis celebrate the festival as
Durga Puja. Gujarat celebrate it as Navaratra (festival of nine nights). In the south
it is Navaratri and there is a tradition of displaying dolls images of gods and
goddesses on steps and inviting women to each other‘s houses. In Kulu, the festival
takes place a little later than elsewhere. But it is a special occasion with images of
gods from all over the valley being brought together, as a fair is held to celebrate it.
That is why Kulu is called, ‗Valley of the Gods‘.
In October-November, that is in Aswin/Kartik, comes popular festival of
Diwali (or Deepavali) which falls on a N Moon or Arnavasya. Several legends are
associated with festival. One legend is that the lights are lit and there• rejoicing
because Rama was returning to Ayodhya after exile. .Bengalis dedicates the
festival to Kali, while in the south it commemorates Krishna‘s victory over
Narakasura. It is considered, especially in West India, as the day on which
Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, emerged from the Milky Way. Diwali is the New
Year for Jains and marks the beginning of the new financial year for some
companies. In the south is also considered as the day of the visit of King Bali
whose arrogance Vishnu suppressed. It is an occasion when people give one
another sweets, and fireworks are exploded in the evening.
Kartikai is a festival of lights held on kartik poornirna Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala. It celebrated in honour of the appearance of Shiva
at the birth of the universe.
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The Assamese observe three Bihus or festivals. The Bohag Bihu, the Magh
Bihu and the Kati Bihu coincide with the Spring, winter and autumn seasons
respectively. The Bohag Bihu or the Spring New Year marks the beginning of
agricultural operations. The Magh Bihu is a harvest festival celebrated in winter
The Kati Bihu held in October-November involves the worship of the tulsi plant in
the house countryard.
Festivals of Muslims
The festivals and religious days of the Muslims are not, fixed butfal1 about
ii days earlier each year. Id-ul-F.itr is a happy and festive occasion. It comes at the
end of the Islamic month of Ramadan (or Ramzan). During Ramadan, Muslims
keep a dawn-to-dusk fast. The Shias mourn the death of the prophet‘s son-in-law
on the 21st arid 22nd of this month. The last ten days of the Ramadan are‘called
Lailut a! Kadar—the nights of power; it was during this period that the Quran is
believed to have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad. On Id-ul-Fitr, every
Muslim must give alms to the poor (fitr means alms), wear clean clothes and join
his brethren in Id prayers. Id-uiZuha (also called Id-ul-Azha or Bakr-Id) is another
occasion of rejoicing. Hazrat Ibrahim was ordered by Allah to sacrifice the person
dearest to him. Ibrahim decided to sacrifice his son ismail at Mina, near Mecca.
Just as he was about to apply the sword to his son‘s throat, it was revealed to him
that his faith and obedience to Allah were being tested and he could sacrifice a ram
in place of his son. Prayers and feasts mark the occasion. Ashura (Muharram)
comes on the tenth day of the first Islamic month. Ashura (Muharram) has been a
day of fasting for Sunni Muslims since the days of the early Muslim community. It
marks two historical events: the day Nuh (Noah) left the Ark, and the day that
Moses was saved from the Egyptians by Allah. Shia Muslims in particular use the
day to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet, in 680.
Though it appears to be a festive occasion with colourful taziahs (a taziah being a
model in wood and paper of the tomb of the matyred Hussain) it signifies
mourning, and the masked persons in the procession are mourners.
Lailat al Qadr, the Night of Power, marks the night in which the Quran was
first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by Allah. Muslims regard this as the most
important event in history and the Quran says that this night is better than a
thousand months (97:3), and that on this night the angels descend to earth. This is a
38
time that Muslims spend in study and prayer. Some will spend the whole night in
prayer or in reciting the Quran. Lailat al Qadr is a good time to ask for forgiveness.
Lailat al Qadr is considered to fall on the 27th of Ramadan, though the Prophet
Muhammad did not mention when the Night of Power would be, just suggesting it
was in the last 10 days of the month. Lailat a!lMiraj commemorates the night
journey and ascert of the Prophet Muhammad, and the revelation of Salat. It is
celebrated by telling the story of how the Prophet Muhammad was visited by two
archangels while he was asleep, who purified his heart and filled him with
knowledge and faith. The Prophet travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem in a single
night on a strange winged creature called Buraq. From Jerusalem he ascended into
heaven, where he met the earlier prophets, and eventually God. During his time in
heaven Muhammad was told of the duty of Muslims to recite Salat (ritual prayer)
five times a day. Lailat ul Barah (Night of Forgiveness) is the 15th night of
Shabaan and rakes place two weeks before Ramadan. It is the time when Muslims
seek forgiveness for their sins and believe that on this night one‘s destiny is fixed
for the year ahead. On this night, Muslims pray and ask God for forgiveness either
at the mosque or at home. Muslims may visit the graves of relatives and the giving
to charity is also traditional. Although not a religious requirement, in some parts of
the world there are firework displays that mark this night. The wording ‗Lailat ul
Barah‘ is Arabic; in Persian and Urdu it is called Shabbe Baraat. Milad un Nabi
marks the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim parents will tell stories of
the Prophet‘s life to their children, Many Muslims, however, do not believe in
celebrating birthdays or death anniversaries because there is no historical evidence
that the Prophet Muhammad ever did this. Despite this, large numbers of Muslims
do commemorate the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet, which falls on 12th of
Rabi-ul-Awwal of the Islamic lunar calendar. Besides these occasions, there are,
several shrines where the urs or death anniversaries of saints are held, for example
the urs at the tomb of Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti at Ajmer, which attract thousands
of pilgrims, Muslim and Hindu.
Festivals of Christians
With a large number of Christians in the population, it is but natural that all
Indians ak familiar with their festivals. Easter is a solemn occasion. It celebrates
the return to life of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Easter is mostly observed on
the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring in the
39
Northern Hemisphere. Thus the festival can occur on any Sunday in the period
from March 22 to April 25. The days associated with the holy week ending in
Easter are Palm Sunday which celebrates the story of Jesus‘ triumphal entry into
Jerusalem; Maundy Thursday which recalls Jesus‘ last meal, his arrest and
imprisonment; Good Friday which observes the death of Jesus on the cross—it is a
day of mourning; Holy Saturday which is a day of solemn vigil; and Easter Sunday
which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe Jesus‘ Resurrection
means that they, too, receive new life after death. The Easter festival celebrates this
belief. Christmas is a festival of joy as it celebrates the birth or nativity of Jesus on
December 25, though no one knows the exact date of Christ‘s birth. The Christmas
season is marked by goodwill and people exchange gifts and decorates their homes
at Christmas time.
Sikh Festivals
The Sikhs observe the birth anniversaries of their Gurus or Gurpurabs. The
birth anniversary of Guru Nanak which comes on Kartik Poomima is celebrated as
a festival. The birth anniversary of the tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, is
also celebrated as a festival. The martydom of some gurus is also observed with
piety.
Festivals of Buddhists
The Buddhists celebrate Buddha Jayanti on Vaisakha Poornirna.. It
commemorates the Buddha‘s birth as well as his enlightenment. Parinirvana is a
Mahayana Buddhist festival that marks -the death of the Buddha. It is also known
as Nirvana Day. Buddhists celebrate the death of the Buddha, because they believe
that having attained Enlightenment he achieved freedom from physical existence
and its sufferings. There are some other special days of celebration. Dharma(or
Dhamma) Day marks the beginning of the Buddha‘s teaching. Soon after his
Enlightenment, the -Buddha sought out -his former disciples and shared his
experience with them. This event which could be seen as the start of the-Buddhist
religion. The first sermon to the Buddha‘s original five disciples is known as ‗The
First Turning of the -Wheel of the Dharma (Dharmachakra). Sangha Day is also known as Fourfold Assembly or Magha Puja Day. Sangha Day is a celebration in
honour of the Sangha, or the Buddhist community. For some Buddhists Sangha
refers only to monks and nuns. -It is a chance for people to reaffirm their
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commitment to ‗Buddhist practices and traditions. Sangha Day commemorates the
spontaneous gathering of 1,250 enlightened monks (arahants) to hear -4he
―Buddha preach at Veluvana Vihara. Here, the Buddha gave his first sermon, or
recitation of the Patimokkha (the rules and regulations of the monastic order). The
Kathina festival, which originated some 2,500 years ago, celebrates the largest —
alms-giving ceremony of the Buddhist year. It occurs at the end of the Vassa, or
monsoon, period, in October and November. During this period, normally nomadic
‗Buddhist monks-will have remained in one place for three months, and the
Kathina celebration marks the time for them to move on. The festival also
celebrates the offerings by lay people of cloth to the monks when they leave. This
ceremony is celebrated by the Theravada Buddhists. At the well-known Hemes
monastery in Ladakh, there is an annual festival to signify birth of Guru
Padmasambhava, the patron deity of the gompa (monastery).
Jain Festivals
To the Jains Mahavira Jayanthi is a day of celebration for on that day was
born Mahavira, the 24th and last of the Trithankaras. Paryushana is another
important festival. The word ‗Paryushana‘ means ‗to stay in one place‘, which
signifies a time of reflection and repentance for the Jain devotee. Originally this
was primarily a monastic practice. This festival consists of eight days of intensive
fasting, repentance and puja. Often monks will be invited to give teachings from
the Jain scriptures. Diwali has a special significance for Jams, as on this day in 527
BC (according to Svetambara tradition) Mahavira gave his last teachings and
attained ultimate liberation. Some very religious Jams follow the example of
Mahavira and will fast for the two days at Diwali. Kartik Purnima is considered to
be an auspicious time by Jains for pilgrimages to the sacred sites associated with
their religion.
Parsi Festivals
The most important festival for the Parsis is Navroze, or ‗New Day‘ which is
held at the time of the spring equinox. It is a joyful celebration of the eternal New
Day, when Ahura Mazda‘s kingdom will come on earth. Pateti marks ‗penitence‘
(from patet ‗confession‘, hence also repentance and penitencc). This is actually a
day of introspection, and originally occurred on the last day (or on the last 5 days)
of the calendar year. However, the last day of Pateti came to fall on the first day of
the New Year‘s Day celebrations, and in India came to be celebrated on New
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Year‘s Day itself. In the Shahenshahi and Kadmi calendars, which do not account
for leap years, the New Year‘s Day has drifted ahead by over 200 days. These
latter two variants of the calendar, which are only followed by the Zoroastrians of
India, celebrate the spring equinox as Jamshed i Nowoz, with New Year‘s Day
then being celebrated in July/August as Pateti. A week after Pateti, Zoroastrians
celebrate Khordad Sal, the birth of Zarathustra. The chosen date is symbolic as the
actual date of Zarathustrá is not known. The feasts to mark the festivals are known
as Gahambara. There are six other gahambaras (besides the Navroze one)
celebrated by Parsis, and they mark the change of seasons.
Festivals of Jews
The Jews have their own holy days. Passover is one of the most important
religious festivals in the Jewish calendar. Jews celebrate the Feast of Passover
(Pesach in Hebrew) to commemorate the liberation f the Children of Israel who
were led out of Egypt by Moses. Rash Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival
and commemorates the creation of the world. It lasts 2 days. Rosh Hashanah is also
a judgement day, when Jews believe that God balances a person‘s good deeds over
the last year against their bad deeds, and decides what the next year will be like for
them. God records the judgement in the Book of Life, where he sets out who is
going to live, who is going to die, who will have a good time and who will have a
bad time during the next year. The book and the judgement are finally sealed on
Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, the most sacred and solemn day of the Jewish year,
brings the Days of Repentance to a close. On Yom Kippur, God makes the final
decision on what the next year will be like for each person. The special day is
marked by Jews in several ways: they abstain from food or drink for 25 hours; they
do not wear perfume; they abstain from sex; they don‘t wash; arid they don‘t wear
leather shoes. Hanukkah or Chanukah is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It dates back
to two centuries before the beginning of Christianity. The festival begins on the
25th day of Kislev and is celebrated for eight days. In the western calendar
Hanukkah is celebrated in November or December. The word Hanukkah means
rededication and commemorates the Jews‘ struggle for religious freedom. The
festival marks the phenomena] victory of a group of Jews called the Maccabees
over the Syrian Greeks, the most powerful army of the ancient world. At the end of
the three-year war, the Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the
temple. Purim commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia
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were saved from extermination by the courage of a young Jewish woman called
Esther. It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim, to perform
plays and parodies, and to hold beauty contests. Every week religious Jews observe
the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day, and keep its laws and customs. The Sabbath
begins at nightfall on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday. God commanded
the Jewish People to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy as the fourth of the Ten
Commandments. The idea of a day of rest comes from the Bible story of the
Creation: God rested from creating the universe on the seventh day of that first
week, so Jews rest from work on the Sabbath. Jews often call the day Shabbat,
which is Hebrew for Sabbath, and which comes from the Hebrew word for rest. Tu
B‘Shevat is the Jewish ‗New Year for Trees‘. It is one of the four Jewish new years
(Rosh Hashns). On Tu B‘Shevat Jews often eat fruits associated with the Holy
Land, especially the ones mentioned in the Torah.
Fairs
India has several fairs on different occasions. The most famous of these is
the Kumbh Mela which is a periodical affair. According to legend, the gods and
demons vied for the pot (kumbha) that held the nectar of immortality (amrit).
During the fight for possession which lasted 12 days, Vishnu was running with the
pot when four drops of the amrit fell to earth. The four places where it fell—Nasik
(Maharashtra), Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), Hardwar and Allahabad (Uttar
Pradesh)— were thus made sacred. The Kumbh Mela is celebrated at each of these
places; it alternates between the four places every three years in January-February.
When it is Allahabad‘s turn, it is a grand affair witnessing the largest gathering—
the Maha Kumbh Mela, for at Allahabad, is Prayag, the meeting place (sangam) of
the Ganga, the Yamuna and the hidden Saraswati. Every year in January-February
the Magh Mela attracts large crowds to Prayag.
On the banks of the Pushkar Lake near Ajmer (Rajasthan), India‘s greatest
cattle and camel fair—the Pushkar Mela—is held on Kartik Poornima (in OctoberNovember). In January the Ganga Sagar Mela is held at Sagar, south of Calcutta,
where the river Hooghly joins the sea. Vast numbers of pilgrims bathe in the holy
waters. Pushkaram is also a festival held once in twelve years along the Godavari
in Andhra Pradesh, especially at Rajamundry and Kovvur. People take a dip in the
river and offer worship.
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