Religions in India
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 colourful religion.
Hinduism is a religion with different Gods and Goddesses. According to Hinduism are three Gods rules the world. Brahma: the creator; Vishnu: the preserver and Shiva: the destroyer.
Hindus believe in reincarnation. The basic belief is that a
person’s fate is determined according to his deeds. These deeds in Hinduism are called ‘Karma’. A soul who does good Karma in this life will be awarded with a better life in the next incarnation. Good souls will be liberated from the circle of rebirth and get redemption, which is called ‘Moksha’ meaning freedom.
The main Hindu books are the four Vedas. They are Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
Hindus have many holy places and some rivers. Hi
indus also worship and respect some animals and birds like cobra, monkeys, peacocks and cows. Hindus also respect some trees and bush trees. The famous and the most respected bush tree is Tulsi.
Jainism was born in India about the same pe
Buddhism developed in India. Buddhism began with a prince called Siddhartha Gautama. And Siddharta was named Buddha. Buddhism emphasis non- violence. The Buddhists are vegetarians. But many Indians believe that Buddha died because he ate a sick animal. Buddhism does not ha
ave a God. But many Buddhists keep images of Buddha. Buddha is not seen as the first prophet of the religion.
There are two main doctrines in Buddhism, Mahayana and Hinayana. Mahayana Buddhist believes that the right path of a follower will lead to the redemption of all human beings. The Hinayana believes that each person is responsible for his own fate.
About 2% of India’s population are Sikhs. Sikhism is comparatively a new religion in India. Guru Nanak was the first Guru. Af
