Download Religions of India

Religions of India
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world and its beginnings can be traced to
India. Hindus believe in many gods, but they do recognize one supreme God. Hindus
consider the other gods to be part of the one universal God, so their religious beliefs are
a different form of polytheism. The three most important deities are Brahma, the
creator, Vishnu, the protector and Shiva, the destroyer. Hindus also believe in
reincarnation. Reincarnation is a repeating cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. This
means that people have many lives. What a person does in each lifetime determines
what he or she will be in the next life according to a belief called karma. Karma is the
belief that the consequences of a person’s action in this life determine his or her
position in the next life. The cycle only ends when the person reaches a mystical union
with God by following his/her own individual paths. Hindus also practice meditation and
yoga to bring them closer to God.
Another major world religion that began in ancient India is called Buddhism.
Buddhism was started by a young prince named Siddhartha Gautama. When
Siddhartha was young, he discovered the world was full of suffering and this troubled
him greatly. He left all his princely goods and set out on a journey of self-discovery to
end world suffering. After six years of fasting, meditating and searching for true
happiness, Gautama became Buddha. Buddha means “Enlighted One”. He believed
the only way to find nirvana, true happiness, was to live a life in moderation, not too
much or too little. He called his teachings the Middle Way. He developed The Four
Noble Truths to explain suffering and greed.
1.
Human life is full of suffering and sorrow
2. Suffering is caused by the desire to want more than you have.
3. Suffering will end when people overcome their greed.
4. People can overcome their greed and find happiness by following the 8-fold
path.
This path gives eight steps to living a correct life. Buddha believed by following the 8fold path, one would reach a level of enlightenment and end the cycle of reincarnation.
The following principles are the foundations for how a true Buddhist should live and
make up the basis of the eight fold path.:
Know and accept the truth about life, resist evil, say nothing hurtful, respect all life, work
in the service of others, think deeply and practice meditation.
Buddhism originated in India, but eventually found its way to the eastern part of Asia
where it became a very popular religion that is still practiced today.