India known as the land of spirituality and philosophy, was the birthplace of

some religions, which even exist today in the world.

The most dominant religion in India today is Hinduism. About 80% of Indians
are Hindus. Hinduism is a colorful religion with a vast gallery of Gods and
Goddesses. Hinduism is one of the ancient religions in the world. It is
supposed to have developed about 5000 years ago. Later on in ancient period
other religions developed in India.
Around 500 BC two other religions developed in India, namely, Buddhism and
Jainism. Today only about 0.5% of Indians are Jains and about 0.7% are
Buddhist. In ancient times Jainism and specially Buddhism were very popular
in India. Indians who accepted Buddhist philosophy spread it not only within
the Indian sub-continent but also to kingdoms east and south of India.
These three ancient religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, are seen as
the molders of the India philosophy. In 'modern' period new religions were also
established in India.
One comparatively new religion in India is Sikhism and it was established in
the 15th century. About 2% of Indians are Sikhs. There were other attempts to
create new religions in India but they did not always succeed. For example, a
Moghul emperor, Akbar, who reigned between 1556 - 1605, tried to establish a
new religion, Din- E- Elahi, but it did not survive. There are other religious
philosophies whose believers see themselves as a separate religion, but they do
not always get this recognition. For example Lingayat of south India see
themselves as a different religion, while others see them as a sect of Hinduism.
There are also some tribal communities who demand to be recognized as
separate religion from Hinduism. In the 19 th century some Hindu reformers
tried to remodel Hinduism to adjust it to modern period.
Along with the religions that developed in India, there are followers of nonIndian religions. The largest non-Indian religion is Islam. They are about 12%
of India's population. Christians are more then 2% of India's population. There
are also Zoroastrians who even though make less then 0.01% of India's
population, are known around India. There are also a few thousand Jews in
India. Judaism and Christianity might have arrived in India before they arrived
in Europe.
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HINDUISM - about 82%

ISLAM - about 12%
CHRISTIANITY - about 2.5%
SIKHISM - about 2%
BUDDHISM - about 0.7%
JAINISM - about 0.5%
ZOROASTRIANISM - about 0.01%
JUDAISM - about 0.0005%

Buddhism
At present Buddhism is one of the major world religions. The philosophy of
Buddhism is based on the teachings of Lord Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama
(563 and 483 BC), a royal prince of Kapilvastu, India. After originating in India,
Buddhism spread throughout the Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast
Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan and
Vietnam.

The Tripitaka (Pali Canon), Mahayana Sutras and the Tibetan Book of the
Dead are three major noncanonical Buddhist texts. The Pali Canon, which
means the word of Buddha, includes some of the Buddha's discourse, but it
also incorporates the teachings of his pupils.
History of Buddhism
The founder of Buddhism in this world is Buddha Shakyamuni. He was born
as a royal prince in 624 BC in a place called Lumbini, which was originally in
northern India but is now part of Nepal. Shakya is the name of the royal
family into which he was born, and Muni means Able One. His parents gave
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him the name Siddhartha and there were many wonderful predictions about
his future. In his early years he lived as a prince in his royal palace but when
he was 29 years old he retired to the forest where he followed a spiritual life of
meditation. After six years he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in
Bodh Gaya, India.
The Buddha Teaches
After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city of Benares
and shared his new understanding with five holy men. They understood
immediately and became his disciples. This marked the beginning of the
Buddhist community.
For the next forty-five years, the Buddha and his disciples went from place to
place in India spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their compassion knew no
bounds, they helped everyone along the way, beggars, kings and slave girls. At
night, they would sleep where they were; when hungry they would ask for a
little food.
Whenever the Buddha went, he won the hearts of the people because he dealt
with their true feelings. He advised them not to accept his words on blind faith,
but to decide for themselves whether his teachings are right or wrong, then
follow them. He encouraged everyone to have compassion for each other and
develop their own virtue, "You should do your own work, for I can teach only
the way."
He never became angry or impatient or spoke harshly to anyone, not even to
those who opposed him. He always taught in such a way that everyone could
understand. Each person thought the Buddha was speaking especially for him.
The Buddha told his followers to help each other on the Way. Following is a
story of the Buddha living as an example to his disciples.
Once the Buddha and Ananda visited a monastery where a monk was suffering
from a contagious disease. The poor man lay in a mess with no one looking
after him. The Buddha himself washed the sick monk and placed him on a new
bed. Afterwards, he admonished the other monks. "Monks, you have neither
mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look after each other, who will
look after you? Whoever serves the sick and suffering, serves me."
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Christians
Christianity is one of the prominent religions in India. At present there are
about 25 million Christians in India. It is interesting to note that the Christian
population in India is more than the entire population of Australia and New
Zealand or total population of a number of countries in Europe.
The Christian holy book is the Bible. It is divided into the Old and New
Testaments. The New Testament explains how God sent his only son, Jesus
Christ, to restore the broken relationship between people and God which had
been caused by human wrong doing.
Christianity developed out of Judaism in the 1st century C.E. It is founded on
the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and those who
follow him are called "Christians." Christianity has many different branches
and forms with accompanying variety in beliefs and practices. The three major
branches of Christianity are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and
Protestantism, with numerous subcategories within each of these branches.
Until the latter part of the 20th century, most adherents of Christianity were in
the West, though it has spread to every continent and is now the largest
religion in the world. Traditional Christian beliefs include the belief in the one
and only true God, who is one being and exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and the belief that Jesus is the divine and human Messiah sent to the save the
world. Christianity is also noted for its emphasis on faith in Christ as the
primary component of religion. The sacred text of Christianity is the Bible,
including both the Hebrew scriptures (also known as the Old Testament) and
the New Testament. Central to Christian practice is the gathering at churches
for worship, fellowship, and study, and engagement with the world through
evangelism and social action.
TEACHING
Its no secret that those of us who claim to follow Jesus Christ consistently fall
short of living up to the way of life of our Rabbi. Being a disciple of Jesus is a
lifelong journey towards conforming ourselves to the image and way of life that
Jesus taught. However, so often, followers of Jesus chose to blatantly ignore
some of the clearest instruction of our Rabbi and obscure it with vague
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theology so that we can get off the hook. Other times, followers of Jesus are
taught something explicitly contradictory to the plain words of Jesus and then
spend their lives obeying the instruction they received instead of the
commands of Jesus.
However we end up at the place of disobedience, all of us who claim to be
followers of Jesus struggle to obey the commands of our Lord. One of the most
transformative periods in my faith was when I took time to re-read the Gospels
of the New Testament and get reacquainted with Jesus himself, in his own
words. As I studied the words of Jesus, I discovered that so much of what he
asks of us as his disciples is incredibly clear and yet so much of it was new to
me. I had never heard it in church or Sunday school or actually heard someone
teach the exact opposite of the words of Christ. It was during that season of my
life where I took inventory of how I lived and what I believed and aligned to the
person and teachings of Christ that my faith was radically transformed for the
better.
Below I have compiled a short list of 4 clear teachings of Jesus that most of us
who exist within Evangelicalism have either never heard, refuse to
acknowledge, or believe the exact opposite of. Its my hope that by rereading
these teachings of Christ, you will be inspired, like I have been, to return to the
Gospels and begin to reshape your faith and life around the way and teachings
of our Master, Jesus. Get ready and buckle up, because most of what Jesus
says is pretty bold and potent. Itll shake up your faith!

Hinduism
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world. Hinduism is world's third largest
religion after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism is the dominant religion in
India, where Hindus form about 84 per cent of the total population. Hinduism
is also known as "Sanatan Dharma" or the everlasting religion.
Teaching
Nine Beliefs of Hinduism
Our beliefs determine our thoughts and attitudes about life, which in turn
direct our actions. By our actions, we create our destiny. Beliefs about sacred
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matters--God, soul and cosmos--are essential to one's approach to life. Hindus

believe many diverse things, but there are a few bedrock concepts on which
most Hindus concur. The following nine beliefs, though not exhaustive, offer a
simple summary of Hindu spirituality.
1. Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both
immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
2. Hindus believe in the divinity of the four Vedas, the world's most ancient
scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These primordial
hymns are God's word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal
religion.
3. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation,
preservation and dissolution.
4. Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each
individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.
5. Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births
until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation from the
cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this
destiny.
6. Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple
worship, rituals, sacraments and personal devotionals create a
communion with these devas and Gods.
7. Hindus believe that an enlightened master, or satguru, is essential to
know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good
conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry, meditation and surrender
in God.
8. Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and
therefore practice ahimsa, noninjury, in thought, word and deed.
9. Hindus believe that no religion teaches the only way to salvation above all
others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God's Light, deserving
tolerance and understanding.

Hinduism cannot be described as an organized religion. It is not founded by

any individual. Hinduism is God centred and therefore one can call Hinduism
as founded by God, because the answer to the question Who is behind the
eternal principles and who makes them work? will have to be Cosmic power,
Divine power, God
Swami
Vivekananda
wrote:
There are these eternal principles, which stand upon their own foundations
without depending on any reasoning, even much less on the authority of sages
however great, of Incarnations however brilliant they may have been. We may
remark that as this is the unique position in India, our claim is that the
Vedanta only can be the universal religion, that it is already the existing
universal religion in the world, because it teaches principles and not persons.
[The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, III,
Books
The main Hindu scriptures are:

the Vedas, a collection of hymns praising the Vedic gods. Veda means
'knowledge'

the Ramayana, long epic poems about Rama and Sita.

the Mahabharata, which includes the Bhagavad Gita.

the Puranas, a collection of stories about the different incarnations and

the lives of saints.

Islam
One of the prominent religions of India, Islam forms about 12 per cent of
India's population. Though India's contact with Islam had begun much earlier,
the real push came in the 8th century when the province of Sindh was
conquered. Though the Muslims form only 12 per cent of the total population
of India but the influence of Islam on Indian society is much stronger.

The Qur'an (Koran) is Islam's holy book, which Muslims believe was revealed
by God to the Prophet Muhammad over 23 years. Qur'anic revelations are
regarded by Muslims as the sacred word of God, intended to correct any errors
in previous holy books such as the Old and New Testaments.
Teaching
The basic essentials in "The Practice of Islam" are summed up in the five
pillars of faith.
1. The confession of faith (Shahda), i.e. the recitation of the
'Kalima' (= word). "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is
the messenger (apostle) of Allah".
2. Prayer (Salat) [in arab. the 't' at the end is not pronounced]. This is
the duty of every Muslim (able to do so). The prescribed ritual
prayers five times daily, at prescribed times, with the prescribed
posture, have to be observed. During these five prayers a fixed
prayer-text must be recited seventeen times altogether (twice in the
morning; four times at noon; four times in the afternoon; three
times in the evening and four times at night). This is called by
many Persian and Indian Muslims 'namaz'. The wording of this
prayer is found in the appendix.
3. The giving of alms (Zakat) [again the 't' is not pronounced] is a
religious duty and should amount to not less than 2.5% of the
income above ones needs.
4. Keeping the Fast during the month of Ramadaan (Sawm) is a
duty for all, except the sick, travellers, pregnant women, nursing
mothers and children. The fast is to last from the rising of the sun
until sunset.
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) is required once in a lifetime during
the month of Zu'l-Hijjah, if the means allow this. There is also a
minor pilgrimage (Umra), which is performed at other times. We
ought to realize that very considerable cost is involved in a
pilgrimage, quite apart from the travel fare.
Founder
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The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him ), who was born in A.D. 570 at
Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, is often regarded as the founder of Islam. He was the
last prophet to be sent by Allah. However the first prophet was Adam.

Jainism
Jains form less than one percent of the Indian population. For centuries, Jains
are famous as community of traders and merchants. The states of Gujarat and
Rajasthan have the highest concentration of Jain population in India. The Jain
religion is traced to Vardhamana Mahavira (The Great Hero 599-527 B.C.).
Founder
Jainism was founded in the 6th century B.C. in the North of India by
Mahavira, "the Great Hero." At the age of twenty-eight, Mahavira left his family
to lead his life as a begging monk in order to escape the burdensome cycle of
reincarnations.
Books
Jainism is an Eastern religion with origins in the Indus river valley dating back
to 3000 B.C. This religion's holy text is referred to as Agam Literature or Sutras
and is a collection of many different written works. These written works are a
transcription of what had for many years been an entirely oral religious
tradition; eventually, it became necessary to preserve Jain teachings in a
written format due to an extended period of hardship that nearly wiped out all
of the religion's learned followers. The Agam Sutras are based on the
preachings of Lord Mahavir, a Tirthankara, or deeply learned person, though
not all of the lessons contained in the literature are directly from Mahavir
himself.
Teaching
1. Ahimsa: The first and foremost principle of Jainism was Ahimsa or noninjury to anyone. It is why many of the Jains walk bare-footed, filter water
before drinking and even tie a band of cloth round their mouth so that they
may not kill small insects. They even take care not to injure any plant or tree,
not to speak of causing pain to men, birds and beasts. This principle was
against the rising rate of animal sacrifice in the Yajnas.
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2. Hard Penance and Self-Sacrifice: The preachers of Jainism believe in hard

penance and giving all sorts of injury to their human bodies. To die while
starving oneself is regarded a virtue by them.
3. God: Mahavira denied the power of the Almighty as the creator and
controller of the whole universe.
5. No Faith in Yajna, Sacrifice and Ritualism: Jainism was a sort of revolt
against the superiority of the Brahmans and their Yajnas, sacrifices and
useless ritualism. They stopped performing all these things. They went further
and refused to accept the authority of the Vedas.
5. Worship of Twenty-four Tirthankaras: Instead of respecting the Brahmans
and worshiping their gods the Jains began to worship their own Tirthankaras.
6. No Faith in the Caste System: Jainism strikes a deadly blow at the caste
system and all sorts of class-distinctions. It preached the equality of human
beings. All who have faith in Jainism are brothers without any classdistinctions.
Sikhism
Sikhs form about 2 per cent of Indian population. In comparison to other
religions, Sikhism is a younger religion. The word 'Sikh' means a disciple and
thus Sikhism is essentially the path of discipleship. The true Sikh remains
unattached to worldly things.
Teaching
If a religion named Humanity is formed today, what all will be its features

Respect for others. Treat others with love. No distinction on the basis of
caste, race, sex, color, region, religion, or whatsoever. Guru Nanak Dev
Ji, the first Guru of Sikhism, started the concept of Langar, where free
food was served to all, who used to sit in rows with people from high
caste and lower caste used to eat together without any discrimination.
This was at a time when Indian society was infected by anti-social
elements of casteism. There were the untouchables who were not allowed
to pray inside the temples, and had to suffer maltreatment from people of
other castes. This was attacked by all the ten gurus. Gurudwaras, the
10

worship temple of Sikhs, allow anyone to pray inside their premises and
eat Langar.

Prohibit killing of animals. Animals too have soul in them. So killing or

torture of them

Forgiveness. If someone committing a sin in past feels remorse for his

doing, then that remorse is his payment for his past. People should
forgive him.

No forceful conversions: Sikhism condemns forcing of people to convert to

other religion. It also prohibits forcing any person to do anything against
his/her wishes.

Books
The Guru Granth Sahib is a collection of teachings and writings by Guru
Nanak and other Gurus as well as Sikh, Hindu and Muslim saints. These
scriptures are written in Punjabi and are greatly respected by all Sikhs as the
living word of God.
Founder
Guru Nanak (14691539), the founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of
Ri Bhi d Talwand, now called Nankana Sahib (in present-day Pakistan). His
parents were Khatri Hindus. As a boy, Nanak was fascinated by God and
religion.

Zoroastrian
Though the total number of Zoroastrians in Indian population is very less yet
they continue to be one of the important religious communities of India.
According to the 2001 census, there were around 70,000 members of the
Zoroastrian faith in India. Most of the Parsis (Zoroastrians) live in Maharashtra
(mainly in Mumbai) and the rest in Gujarat.
Founder

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Zoroastrianism was founded by the Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) in

ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago. The precise date of the founding of
Zoroastrianism is uncertain.
Books
The Zorastrian holy book is called the Avesta. This includes the original words
of their founder Zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the
Gathas. The latter represent the basic source of the religion. The Gathas are
abstract sacred poetry, directed towards the worship of the One God,
understanding of righteousness and cosmic order, promotion of social justice
and individual choice between good and evil. The Gathas have a general and
even universal vision.
At some later date (most scholars say many centuries after the death of
Zarathustra), the remaining parts of the Avestas were written. These deal with
laws of ritual and practice, with the traditions of the faith. The Zoroastrian
community is sharply divided between those who would follow mostly (or
exclusively) the teachings of the original Gathas, and those who believe that
the later traditions are important and equally divinely inspired.

Zoroastrian teaching
Beliefs include:
A single god Ahura Mazda who is supreme. Communication between Himself
and humans is by a number of Attributes, called Amesha Spentas or
Bounteous Immortals. Within the Gathas, the original Zoroastrian sacred
text, these Immortals are sometimes described as concepts, and are
sometimes personified.
One school of thought promotes a cosmic dualism between:
An all powerful God Ahura Mazda who is the only deity worthy of being
worshipped, and
An evil spirit of violence and death, Angra Mainyu, who opposes Ahura
Mazda.
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The resulting cosmic conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity
who is required to choose which to follow. Evil, and the Spirit of Evil, will be
completely destroyed at the end of time. Dualism will come to an end and
Goodness
will
be
all
in
all.
Another school of thought perceives the battle between Good and Evil as an
ethical dualism, set within the human consciousness.
Asha is a form of righteous, an all encompassing, natural law.

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