Chapter 1
The world has numerous religions- Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, and many more. Each religion has its own Gods and Goddesses. Each religion claims to be “the religion” and wants the whole world to believe in it as well as follow its God.
Each religion has created its own theology, belief system, culture, values, rituals and customs. As we go through them, we realize that each religion follows a different philosophy of life and that philosophy is prescribed to its followers. Though the “do’s’” and “don'ts” of these religions are different, what is it that is common amongst all religions? What is that underlying idea about God that all religions agree upon?
Let us very briefly glance through the beliefs of the most widespread religions of the world to find out about this.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the oldest religion that over the years has evolved on its own, with more than 828–1,000 million followers in India and all over the world. Hinduism has no founder per se and dates back to antiquity. There is some supportive evidence which proves that it existed centuries ago, even as far back as 3000 BC.
The root word for “Hindu” comes from “Indus.” People who inhabited the shores around the Indus River came to be known as Hindus and their religion came to be known as Hinduism. The term and the community were identified as such, as a result of the various invasions across time.
Hinduism, more than a religion, is considered to be “a way of life”. Its principal pillar is dharma, which stands for “right action” or “duty and obligation”. Hinduism uses the concept of soul power or atma shakti to explain occurrences in the inner and outer world. These explanations are derived from personal experiences of various sages who appear in the Vedas. Hindus fall under sects and subsects, following different practices and rituals and possess different philosophical texts that explain God’s existence through the knowledge of specific gurus. Most Hindus believe that God is one, but known by different names. Some believe in the trinity theory of God, which states that there exist three different and important Gods by the name Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. Although torn between different experiential and logical claims, all Hindus ultimately believe in the power of devotion to Gods and Goddesses.
An important way in which Hinduism has guided the way of life of people is by emphasizing on four basic objectives or purusharthas; namely: 1. dharma or righteousness in duty; 2. artha or wealth spent as per dharma; 3. kama or desire as per dharma; and 4. moksha or liberation from desires. Moksha is the ultimate goal. Hindus largely believe that liberation should be pursued until the end of one’s life in order to escape the vicious cycles of rebirth (i.e.dlife after death) and this is based on the law of karma.
Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. That is, it believes in or worships more than one God. The most popular Gods amongst Hindus are Lord Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Rama, Ganesha and Mata (Mother). The list of festivals that the Hindus celebrate is long and endless. Each God has a day of festival dedicated to him/her alone. For example; Shiva is worshipped on Maha Shivaratri, Ganesha on Ganesha Chaturthi, Rama on Diwali and Krishna on Krishna Janmashtmi. The Goddesses are worshipped during Navaratri and are associated with season changes and harvest.
The Vedas are considered to be the fountainhead of knowledge in India. They have been the source of numerous other forms of knowledge such as Yoga (a physical, mental and spiritual discipline that leads to acquisition of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility), Jyotishya (science of understanding the subtle influences that come to us from the greater universe), Ayurveda (a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine), Yagna (a ritual of sacrifice derived from the Vedas, which is performed to please the Gods or to fulfill sankalpas (auspicious resolves), Vastu (the “science of construction” borne out of a traditional and archaic view on how the laws of nature affect human dwellings), Tantra (an accumulation of practices and ideas, characterized by rituals that seek to access the supramundane through the mundane while identifying the microcosm with the macrocosm) and so on.
Hinduism, therefore, is a vast ocean, with inputs from various saints and learned people; it has evolved over the years to suit present times. It is a religion that advocates all religions are different paths leading to the one Supreme God.
Christianity
Christianity is the world’s largest religion with around 2,000 million followers.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion. It is dominant in the West and is the most popular religion today in the world with followers spreading all across in large numbers. It originated in the early 1st century AD. Jesus Christ is the cent