Eternal India Encyclopedia

RELIGIONS

Eternal India encyclopedia

Buddhism, especially in Maharashtra. The Buddhist population according to the 1981 census was 4,700,000. Jainism, the "Religion of the Conquerors" was founded by Mahavira (the "Great Hero") who was born circa 540 B.C. and was a contemporary of the Buddha. Though he was educated as a prince and was married and had a daughter, his real interest lay in the quest for salvation. At the age of thirty when his parents were dead he embarked on a life of asceticism. In the thirteenth year of his asceticism during which he wandered from place to place beg- ging for food and subjecting his body to austerities of all kinds he found full enlightenment and became a Jina (a "Conqueror of pas- sions"). Jainism in India has three million followers, mostly well-to-do merchants. Jainism spread rapidly amongst the trading community because the vow of non-violence which every Jaina takes pre- vented agriculturists from becoming Jainas since cultivation in- volved killing insects and pests. Jainas wore a muslin mask cover- ing the mouth and nose to prevent the involuntary inhalation of even the smallest insects. Even the unconscious killing of an ant while walking was regarded as a sin. Jainism, like Buddhism, is fundamentally atheistic in that while not denying the existence of the Gods, it refuses them any role in the creation and the governance of the world. The world for the Jaina is not created, maintained or destroyed by a personal deity but functions only according to universal laws. Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak. He was bom in Nankana, near the city of Lahore (now in Pakistan) in 1469 A.D. He preached the unity of God and the gospel of universal tolerance based on all that was good in Hinduism and Islam. Guru Nanak died in 1539 after nominating one of his followers, Angad, as his successor. Angad was followed by seven gums, two of whom Gum Arjun and Tej Bahadur became martyrs when they were killed by the Mughal rulers. Religious persecution paved the way for the transformation of Sikhism into a militant faith under the 10th and last Guru, Gobind Singh. He realised the importance of raising the morale of the Sikhs by giving them a new identity. This he did by introducing a new form of baptism. All disciples were enjoined to wear the five Ks and follow four rules of conduct: not to cut the hair, abstain from tobacco and alcoholic drinks, avoid eating kosher meat and refrain from adultery. India is home to non-Indian religions like Christianity, Juda- ism, Islam and Zoroastrianism. The entry of Christianity into India in the first century A.D. is associated with the legend of St. Thomas, one of the disciples of Christ. He is said to have arrived in Malabar in about A.D. 52. After establishing a number of Syrian churches along the coast he travelled overland to the east coast to a place near Madras city where he began to preach. But his preaching of a new religion was strongly opposed and he was killed in A.D. 68 at a place near Madras which was subsequently named St. Thomas Mount. His tomb is in a cathedral in Madras. The Syrian church survives on the west coast of India in Kerala. The Jews first came to Kerala as traders well before the beginning of the Christian era. Later they came as refugees and in the first century A.D. there was a large settlement at Cochin. According to Christian tradition when St. Thomas arrived on the west coast he was received by a Jewish girl. He stayed in the

Jewish quarter of Cranganore. Forty Jews agreed to be baptised by him but the majority stuck to their faith. A further ancient commu- nity of Indian Jews, the Beni Israel, has lived for many centuries on the west coast and is now centred in Bombay. The term Zoroastrianism is derived from Zoroaster, the Greek form of the original name of Zarathushtra, the great prophet of Persia(Iran), who lived about 700 years before Christ. Zoroastri- anism does not advocate asceticism or celibacy. The Zoroastrians, now generally known as Parsis came to India when Islam stamped out Zoroastrianism in Persia. One band of refugees from Persia after the Arab conquest settled first in Diu in Saurashtra and then in 785 set sail for Sangan, a small fishing village on the west coast of Gujarat where the local Hindu Raja, Jadi Rana, gave them shelter. In return for the permission to settle the Raja imposed five conditions on them: 1) The Parsi's high priest would have to explain their religion to the King. 2) They would have to give up their native Persian language and adopt Gujarati as their mother tongue. 3) The women would give up their Persian dress and adopt the customary dress of the country. 4) The men should lay down their arms and 5) They should hold their wedding processions only in the dark. The Raja then asked them what they wanted. They asked for freedom of worship, freedom to bring up their young in their own tradition and a small piece of land that they could cultivate. The Raja asked them what they would do for the country of their adoption in return. The high priest asked for a bowl to be filled with milk and brought. He then stirred a spoonful of sugar in the bowl and asked, "Do you see the sugar in this bowl of milk?" All shook their heads. "Sire", said the priest, "We shall try to be like this in- significant amount of sugar in the milk of your human kindness" The coming of the Arabs, Turks and Afghans brought a new religion to India - Islam - which was founded in Mecca (Arabia) by the Prophet Mohammed who was born in the year 570. The Prophet preached the unity of God. The Arab conquest of Sind took place in the 8th Century. Apart from the Muslim invaders, the initial impact of Islam came with the arrival of mystics from Persia. The Sufis, as they were called, first settled in Sind and Punjab from where their teaching spread to the Deccan and Bengal. Thus India, while remaining loyal to her indigenous faiths, provided a home to the religions which came, across the waters from the West. And except the martyrdom of St.Thomas there is no evidence of persecution. This capacity for toleration is charac- teristic of Hinduism. QUOTE "India is not an important but perhaps the most im- portant country for the future of the world. All the conver- gent influences of the world run through this society: Hindu, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jew, Christian, secular, Stalinist, lib- eral, Maoist, democratic, socialist, Gandhian. There is not a thought in the East or West which is not active in some Indian mind." - E. P. Thomson