India,
being a secular country, does not recognize any religion as State
religion. The Constitution allows for freedom of faith, worship,
and religion. The amazing diversity of India is reflected in the number
of religions and faiths practiced by the Indian people, some of which
were born on this land while others were brought in by the successive
political and cultural invasions and assimilated by the people of this
country. Among the major religions in India, Hinduism is the
largest, followed by Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism,
Zoroastrianism and Judaism.
Religion |
Description |
Hinduism
|
Hinduism is among the most ancient religions of the world. The
Hindus, i.e., the followers of Hinduism, account for over 80% of India's
total population. Hinduism teaches the existence of one Supreme
Universal Spirit, but allows its adherents to worship the Almighty (Ishwar,
Paramatma or Parama Brahma) in any form they like. This makes
Hinduism a henotheistic religion where the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaish
and Shudras have been assigned strictly compartmentalised functions.
However, with the passage of time, the caste distinctions have become
loose, and with the growing social awakening, the lower caste people who
had been looked down upon by those belonging to the higher castes, are
now getting their rightful place in the Hindu society.
Hinduism
has a profound philosophy. The main scriptures of the Hindus are
the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Gita, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
_______________________________________________________________________
|
Islam
|
The Muslims, as the followers of Islam are known, form the second
largest religious community in India accounting for over 11 percent of
her total population. Though spread over all parts of India, the
ratio of Muslim population exceeds the national average in Lakshadweep
Islands, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and West Bengal. Islam came to
India along with the Muslim invasions. It is a strictly
monotheistic religion which professes the fatalistic acceptance of God's
(Allah's) will. It allows no 'graven images' to profane His
worship. Equality of all believers and a caste-free society are
two other features of Islam.
Prophet
Mohammed is believed to be the last and greatest of the prophets, and
the Holy Koran, as revealed to him, is the sacred book of Islam.
The devout Muslim has five duties: belief in the one true God, i.e.,
Allah; praying five times a day, giving alms, a month's fast every year,
and a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime.
_______________________________________________________________________
|
Christianity
|
Christians comprise about 2.5% of India's population. They are
largely concentrated in Goa, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the last three States accounting for over 60
percent of the total Christian population in the country. The
essence of traditional Christian theology is that Jesus was the
son of God who came it save the world, was crucified,
resurrected and will come again to judge mankind. The core
of the Christian ethic is the commandment: 'Thou shall love thy
Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbour as
thyself.' The belief is that God has three natures - The
Father, The Son (Jesus) and The Spirit.
The
various Church groups in India include Catholic Church, Syrian
Church, Church of North India, Church of South India, Armenian
Church, & Anglican Church. There is also an Anglo-Indian community in India. _______________________________________________________________________ |
Sikhism
|
The
Sikhs are a sturdy martial race known for their valor and
broadmindedness. They constitute a little less than 2% of India's
population. Though dispersed widely over the entire country, their
concentration is in Punjab, where they form the majority of the State's
population.
Sikhism
which emerged in the 15th century tried to bridge the gap between
Hinduism and Islam. The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev,
preached against humbug and hypocrisy in religion. However, it was
Guru Gobind Singh who forged the Sikhs into a martial community.
Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, is the most important Gurdwara (Sikh
Temple).
_______________________________________________________________________
|
Buddhism
|
Though
Buddhism originated in India, the followers of this religion,
viz, Buddhists form less than three quarters of one percent of
India's population. Maharashtra has 85% of Buddhists
living in India. Arunachal Pradesh and the higher
Himalayan habitats of north-western India too have some Buddhist
population.
Gautam
Siddhartha (563-483 BC) also known as Buddha or 'Enlightened
One' is the founder of Buddhism. Beliefs: Life is misery
and decay, and there is no ultimate reality in it or behind
it. The cycle of endless birth and rebirth continues because
of desire and attachment to the unreal 'self'. Right
meditation and deeds will end the cycle and achieve Nirvana,
the Void, nothingness. _______________________________________________________________________ |
Jainism
|
The Jains form about half a percent of India's population and are largely spread in the States of
Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. They believe that Mahavira was the last of the Tirthankaras who was preceded by 23 such other perfect souls.
Jainism was born in India about the same period as Buddhism. It was established by Mahavira in about 500 B. C. Mahavira like Buddha belonged to the warrior caste. Mahavira was called ‘Jina’ meaning the big winner and from this name was derived the name of the religion. Jains believe that every thing has life and this also includes stones, sand, trees and every other thing. They are vegetarians. But the religious Jains will do everything possible to prevent hurting any being.
There are two Jain philosophies. Shvetamber and Digamber. Digamber monks like Mahavira don’t wear any clothes, but normally they don’t walk like that outside their temples. The Digambers include among them only men. The Shvetambers monks wear white clothes and they include women.
_______________________________________________________________________ |
Zoroastrianism
|
The Parsees, as the followers of Zoroastrianism are known, fled their
native Persia in the face of Muslim religious persecution and arrived in
India in the 7th century. Since then, most of them have remained
in the region of Mumbai.
The Parsis believe in the existence of one invisible God. They believe
that there is a continuous war between the good forces (forces of light)
and the evil forces (forces of darkness).
The holiest place for them is the village of Udvada in Gujarat, India.
The holy language of the Parsis is an ancient language spoken in Iran,
Avesta. The Parsis believe that fire, water, air and earth are pure
element to be preserved and therefore they do not cremate or bury their
dead ones but leave them on high towers, specially built for this
purpose, to be eaten by hawks and crows.
_______________________________________________________________________ |
Judaism |
The
Jews of India aren't one singular community. Among themselves
they are divided into different communities. Each community has
its own different culture, background and origin. Each community
claims its arrival in India in different ways and it is not
always clear how they really came to India. The three main
Jewish communities of India are: Bene Israel, Cochini and
Baghdadi. Besides there were Ashkenazi Jews and a community in
east India which claim Israeli origin and call themselves Bne
Menashe. The first three communities had some social religious
connections with each other but most of the social religious
connections of each community were within their own community
and they regarded the other as ‘outsiders’.
_______________________________________________________________________ |
|
|
Home
Page
|