Religions of India

India is the birthplace of four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Several others arrived from outside, including Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Each faith has its own founder, sacred books, sects and places of worship. Together they make the subcontinent one of the most religiously diverse regions on earth. The notes below cover the founders, doctrines, sub-sects and distinguishing features most often tested in the exam.

Hinduism is the largest religion in India and one of the oldest in the world. The name comes from Hindu, originally a term for the people living around the river Indus. It draws its basic principles from pre-Vedic and Vedic philosophy, with the Srutis (revealed texts) at its core.

The four Vedas are:

• Rig Veda: the oldest, about 1,000 hymns to gods like Agni, Indra, Vayu and Soma.
• Sama Veda: concerned with music and hymns.
• Yajur Veda: sacrificial hymns linked to the Rig Veda.
• Atharva Veda: magic and medicine.

Each Veda has attached commentaries: the Brahmanas (ritual), the Aranyakas (mystical "forest" teachings) and the Upanishads (philosophical speculation). The Upanishads describe the four stages of life (ashramas): Brahmachari (celibate student), Grihastha (householder), Vanaprastha (hermit) and Sanyasi (ascetic). At the end of this progression one strives for moksha (salvation).

The four sects of Hinduism:

• Vaishnavism: reveres Vishnu as the Supreme Lord, rooted in the 1st millennium BCE as Bhagavatism/Krishnaism.
• Shaivism: reveres Shiva as supreme, tracing to the Vedic deity Rudra in the 2nd millennium BCE.
• Shaktism: reveres the Devi or goddess as supreme, and is known for its Tantra traditions.
• Smartism: based on the Puranas, it worships five deities as equals (Shiva, Shakti, Ganesh, Vishnu, Surya) and accepts both Saguna Brahman (with attributes) and Nirguna Brahman (without attributes).

Notable sub-sects and traditions include the Varkari Panth of Maharashtra (devotees of Vithoba at Pandharpur, with the Vari pilgrimage), the Ramanandi Sampradaya (the largest Hindu monastic group in Asia), the Aghoris (Shiva-Bhairava devotees who practise in cremation grounds), the Siddhars of Tamil Nadu (saint-physician-alchemists, credited with founding the martial art Varmam), and the Shrautism of Kerala's orthodox Nambudiri Brahmins.

Shramana schools, parallel ascetic movements counted among the Nastika (heterodox) traditions, include:

• Jainism and Buddhism (treated as separate religions below).
• Ajivikas: founded by Makkhali Gosala (5th century BCE). They preached Niyati (absolute fate/determinism) and denied karma, but believed in a material soul. Centred at Sravasti in Uttar Pradesh and mentioned in Ashoka's 7th pillar edict.
• Ajnanas: radical sceptics who held that knowledge of the world is impossible and useless for salvation.

Reform movements in the modern period tried to purge ritualism and social evils:

• Brahmo Samaj: founded by Raja Rammohan Roy (1828). It rejected idolatry and campaigned against Sati.
• Ramakrishna Mission: founded by Swami Vivekananda (1897). It spread Vedantic spirituality and "service to mankind as service to God".
• Arya Samaj: founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati. It upheld the supremacy of the Vedas and ran the Shuddhi (purification/reconversion) movement.

Buddhism originated in the Indian subcontinent and is the world's fourth-largest religion. It traces to Siddhartha Gautama, born at Lumbini (in present-day Nepal) in 563 BCE. His father was King Suddhodana and his mother Queen Maya of the Sakya clan. At 29 he renounced his palace. At 35 he attained enlightenment (Nirvana) under a pipal tree at Bodh Gaya and became the Buddha ("the Enlightened One"). He gave his first sermon, the Dharma-chakra-pravartana, at the Deer Park in Sarnath. He attained Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar at the age of 80 in 483 BCE.

The Three Jewels (Triratnas) are:

• Buddha: the enlightened one.
• Dhamma: his teachings.
• Sangha: the monastic order.

The doctrine rests on the Four Noble Truths:

• The truth of suffering (Dukkha).
• The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudaya).
• The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha).
• The truth of the path to that cessation (Magga).

The way out is the Noble Eightfold Path (right speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, meditation, thought and understanding). This is called the Middle Path (Madhyam Marg). It avoids both luxury and harsh self-denial. Buddhism rejects the authority of the Vedas and denies the existence of a permanent soul (atman).

His teachings were compiled at four Buddhist Councils into the Tripitaka, written in Pali:

• Vinaya Pitaka: monastic discipline.
• Sutta Pitaka: discourses of the Buddha.
• Abhidhamma Pitaka: philosophical analysis.

The four schools of Buddhism:

• Hinayana ("lesser vehicle"): orthodox, rejects idol worship, and seeks individual salvation. It used Pali and was patronised by Ashoka.
• Mahayana ("greater vehicle"): believes in image worship and the Bodhisattva path of universal liberation. It used Sanskrit and was founded by Kanishka of the Kushana dynasty.
• Theravada ("school of the elders"): preserves the Pali Canon. Visuddhimagga by Buddhaghosa (5th century CE, Sri Lanka) is its great treatise.
• Vajrayana (Tantric): built on Mahayana philosophy with mantras, yantras and tantric ritual. Its chief deity is Tara, and it is followed in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia.

A Bodhisattva is one who generates Bodhicitta and delays Buddhahood to liberate all beings. Prominent Bodhisattvas include:

• Avalokitesvara: the Bodhisattva of compassion, also called Padmapani, depicted at the Ajanta Caves.
• Vajrapani: embodies the Buddha's power, also at Ajanta.
• Manjusri: embodies the Buddha's wisdom, shown wielding a sword.
• Maitreya: the future Buddha; the Laughing Buddha is said to be his incarnation.

A modern offshoot, Navayana Buddhism, was founded by Dr B.R. Ambedkar. It reinterprets Buddhism around social equality and rejects karma, rebirth and monasticism.

Jainism takes its name from Jina ("the conqueror"), one who has conquered all desires. It has no single founder. Instead, truth is revealed in each age by a Tirthankara ("ford-maker"). There were 24 Tirthankaras, beginning with Rishabhanatha (Adinatha) and ending with Mahavira, the 24th, who is often wrongly thought to be the founder.

Vardhamana Mahavira was born around 540 BCE at Kundalgram in Vaishali. His father was King Siddhartha and his mother Queen Trishala of the Jnatrika clan. At 30 he renounced the world and attained Kevalya (omniscience) at Pava near Patna. He earned the titles Mahavira ("great hero"), Jitendriya (conqueror of the senses) and Nirgrantha (free of all bonds).

Like Buddhism, Jainism rejects the Vedas. Unlike Buddhism, Jainism affirms the existence of the soul (atman) as the core of its philosophy. Its fundamental doctrine is Anekantavada, the many-sidedness of truth (non-absolutism). Salvation comes through the three jewels (Triratna):

• Right belief (Samyak Darshana).
• Right knowledge (Samyak Jnana).
• Right conduct (Samyak Charita).

Jains observe five vows:

• Ahimsa: non-violence.
• Satya: truthfulness.
• Asteya: not stealing.
• Aparigraha: non-acquisition.
• Brahmacharya: chaste living (the fifth, added by Mahavira).

The two major sects:

• Digambara: monks practise complete nudity and follow all five vows. They hold that women cannot attain liberation. They trace to the exponent Bhadrabahu, who migrated to Karnataka.
• Svetambara: monks wear simple white cloth and follow only four restraints (excluding Brahmacharya). They accept that women can be Tirthankaras (Malli began life as a princess). They trace to Sthulabhadra, who stayed in Magadha.

Major Jain pilgrimage sites include Dilwara temples (Mount Abu, Rajasthan), Palitana and Girnar (Gujarat), Shikharji (Jharkhand) and Shravanabelagola (Karnataka). A notable practice is Sallekhana, voluntary fasting unto death. The Rajasthan High Court banned it as suicide in 2015, but the Supreme Court stayed the ban the same year.

Islam arose in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE. The word means submission to God. Those who submit and follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad are Muslims. Muhammad is regarded as the last of God's messengers (after Abraham, Moses and others). He received God's revelation through an angel. His journey from Mecca to Madina and back gave rise to the Hajj pilgrimage.

The sacred texts are the Quran (compiled before the Prophet's death) and the Hadith (his sayings, compiled afterwards). Together with the Sunnah they form the basis of Sharia (Islamic law). India recognises four schools of law: Hanafi, Shafei, Maliki and Hambali.

Core practices include:

• Belief in one Allah and in Muhammad as the last Prophet.
• Namaz: prayer five times a day, with the Juma Namaz in congregation on Fridays.
• Roza: fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramzan, ending with Eid.
• Zakat: charity, giving a portion of one's earnings to the needy.
• Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime.

The two major divisions turn on who should succeed the Prophet:

• Sunni: followers of the Sunnah; held the successor should come from the Prophet's close companions (e.g. Abu Bakr). The majority in India.
• Shia: partisans of Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law; commemorate his death during Muharram.

Reform movements in the Indian subcontinent included the Ahmadiya Movement (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad), the Faraizi Movement (Haji Shariatullah), the Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya (Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi) and the Aligarh Movement (Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan), which championed modern education for Muslims.

Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. After becoming the state religion of the Roman Empire, it spread rapidly. Later reform movements produced sects such as the Protestants and Methodists. Its central beliefs are one God who created the universe and the Holy Trinity: the Father (God), the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Ghost. The sacred text is the Bible, made of the Old Testament (shared with Judaism) and the New Testament. Key practices include Baptism and the Eucharist (bread and wine). The birth of Christ is celebrated at Christmas, with worship in a Church.

Christianity reached India in two phases:

• Medieval phase: the apostle St. Thomas is believed to have reached Kerala and Tamil Nadu in 52 CE, leading to large-scale conversion. He is said to be buried at the Cathedral of St. Thomas (Mylapore, Chennai). The Portuguese later brought missionaries, and in 1557 the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier made Goa an Archbishopric.
• British/Missionary phase (18th century): missionaries reached Bengal, bringing English education and medical aid. Bodies like the YMCA and YWCA still work among tribal communities.

India also has older denominations such as the Syrian Christians of Kerala.

Sikhism begins with Guru Nanak (1469-1539). He critiqued the existing social and religious order and offered an alternative path to salvation open to all, regardless of birth, caste or sex. He held that salvation comes not through idol worship or renunciation but through right belief, right worship and right conduct. He introduced congregational worship in the dharamsala and the community kitchen, langar.

The line of ten Gurus shaped the faith's development:

• Guru Arjan Dev: executed on Jahangir's orders, called the "First martyrdom of the Sikhs".
• Guru Hargobind (1606-44): militarised the community. He donned two swords symbolising piri (spiritual) and miri (temporal) authority, and built the Akal Takht and Lohagarh fort.
• Guru Teg Bahadur: put to death by Aurangzeb in Delhi in 1675.
• Guru Gobind Singh: the last human Guru. After him, authority passed to the Guru Granth (Adi Granth) and the Guru Panth.

Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa, distinguishing the baptised (men titled Singh, women Kaur) from the Sahajdhari (non-Khalsa) Sikhs. The Khalsa keep uncut hair and the Five Ks:

• Kesh: uncut hair.
• Kangha: a comb.
• Kara: a steel bracelet.
• Kirpan: a sword/dagger.
• Kachcha: short breeches.

Zoroastrianism originated in Persia. It was founded by the prophet Zarathustra around the 6th-7th century BCE. It is monotheistic, worshipping one eternal god, Ahura Mazda, the embodiment of goodness. Ahura Mazda is locked in an eternal struggle with the evil spirit Angra Mainyu until good ultimately triumphs.

The first Zoroastrians reached India around 936 CE, fleeing Islamic invasions in Iran. Known as Parsis, they form one of India's smallest and fastest-shrinking communities, living mainly in Mumbai, Goa and Ahmedabad. Their fire temples are called Atash Bahram. There are only eight in the country. Parsis revere fire and treat air, water and earth as sacred. Because dead matter is held to be corrupting, the dead are exposed in Dakhmas (Towers of Silence) to be eaten by vultures.

Their sacred text is the Zend Avesta, written in Old Avestan. It comprises 17 sacred songs (Gathas) attributed to Zarathustra. The Avesta is divided into five parts:

• Yasna: worship with ceremony and offerings.
• Videvdat: laws against demons.
• Yashts: worship through praise.
• Khordeh Avesta: daily prayers.
• Gathas: the most revered hymns.

The Parsis have three sects, differentiated by calendar:

• Shahenshahi: reckon their calendar from the last Sassanian king, Yasdegard III.
• Kadmi: claim the oldest and most accurate calendar.
• Fasli: follow the traditional Persian calendar.

Judaism is one of the oldest religions, yet among the most persecuted (most horrifically under Hitler in Germany). It is monotheistic, worshipping one God, Yahweh, instituted by Abraham. It predates Christianity and Islam, both of which borrowed from it. Its religious book is the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), supplemented by the Talmud, a body of legal, ethical and historical writing. Jews worship in a synagogue.

Abraham was the ancestor of all Jews. God sent Moses the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. The Torah contains 613 precepts guiding a pious life.

India hosts five distinct Jewish communities:

• Cochini Jews: Malayalam-speaking, settled on the western coast.
• Bene Israel: Marathi-speaking.
• Baghdadi Jews: West Asian traders who settled around Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata.
• Bnei Menashe: Manipuri Jews on the India-Myanmar border (Manipur and Mizoram), comprising Mizo, Kuki and Chin tribes.
• Bene Ephraim: a small group of Telugu-speaking Jews who converted in the 1980s.

The three main sects are the Orthodox (adhering to all ancient customs), the Conservative (a middle path) and the Reformists (adapting rituals to modern times).