hinduism

Hinduism, a polytheistic religion, began in the Indo-Gangetic Plain with the assimilation of the Harrapans and the Aryan people. The Aryan people were from Central Asia and were largely pastoralist, moving through the Hindu Kush before settling down in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It was due to this combination of the Harrapans and the Aryans that Hinduism emerged.

Hinduism is based on the Rig Vedas, which were written in Sanskrit during the Vedic Period (1500 - 1000 BCE), and are some of the earliest writings. Later, as the religion expanded, additional teachings written in the Upanishads and Sutras were added. These writings described how Hindu beliefs connected to the social norm and activities.

Some fundamental beliefs of Hinduism include the belief of a Universal Being, or Universal Soul, that is God. God, known as Brahman, is made up of three main gods: Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer). Each of these gods are subdivided further into many specific gods, and a temple is dedicated to a specific deity.

Another large part of Hinduism is the Caste system. The Caste, which is part of Hindu beliefs, contained four basic social levels called Varna. Each person is born into their Varna from their past life through a cycle called Saṃsāra. The four levels include: Brahmin (priests), Kshatriya (warrior/nobles), Vaishya (merchant/artisans), and Shudra (peasants). Brahmin and Kshatriya were originally the top two levels, mostly made up of lighter-skinned Aryans, while Vaishya and Shudra were the lower two levels, mostly made up of darker-skinned Harrapans. These levels then subdivided into specialized castes at each major level.

One notable subdivision is the Dalit, or the Untouchables. The people born into this level are considered the lowest of all levels in the Caste and have been shunned by society.

Intermarriage between Varna was not accepted and many tried to keep this divide. As the Caste existed for centuries, Varnas created enclaves of similar people. However, in 1950, the Caste was outlawed by the 1st Indian Constitution. Regardless, the Caste still differentiates many people in India today.

In addition to the Caste system, Hinduism is also largely based on the idea of a rebirth cycle. In Hinduism, the soul, or Atman, lives through multiple lifes to understand the nature of God. This rebirth cycle is called Saṃsāra, which is eventually ended through Moksha. This occurs when the soul reaches enlightenment about Brahman and enters a state of understanding called Nirvana. Then, when one’s Atman reaches Nirvana, one will become one with the Universe.

However, this cycle could take many, many lifetimes in order to achieve. Furthermore, one may be reborn as a plant, animal or human. When reborn as a human, the soul is placed into a Caste level where duties called Dharma are given. Each Dharma, one’s responsibility and choices, leads to Karma, one’s decisions and actions. Karmic actions then determine the Atman’s Saṃsāra.

Lastly, Hindus worship gods through Puja, statues of the gods, and Avatars, representations of the gods on Earth.

buddhism

Buddhism, like Hinduism, originated in India. However, unlike the previous religion, Buddhism comes from the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama and believes that there are no gods.

Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as “the Buddha,” became enlightened (reached Satori) in 600 BCE in the northern parts of India. He was originally a Hindu, which caused Buddhism to have many concepts that are assimilated from Hinduism, but disagreed with many of Hinduism’s teachings.

As a result, Buddhists differ in three key ways:

1. There is no Universal God or Brahman. In fact, Buddha is not God, he is a Guru (religious teacher) sent to teach others as an “Enlightened Soul.” Buddhism instead focuses on inner peace and harmony, as well as reaching enlightenment/Satori.

2. There is a Universal consciousness that our souls, Atman, are searching for. This consciousness will bring an eternal end to one’s life efforts to reach goals.

3. Souls will reach a Buddhist version of Nirvana, the Nothingness, where the soul is liberated and wants for nothing/strives for nothing. This is due to the soul understanding the nature of the Universe.

Buddhism is also based on The Three Universal Truths of all humans. These include: everything is impermanent and changing, impermanence leads to suffering as life is imperfect, and the self is not personal and unchanging. So, in other words, the desire to fulfill one’s goals leads to disharmony, stress, and unhappiness.

Additionally, Buddhists believe in The Four Noble Truths, which are the Buddha’s way to escape suffering and reach enlightenment. These include:

1. Life is suffering.

2. Suffering is caused by desires, most of which will never be fulfilled due to the changing nature of the Universe.

3. Desire can be ended by following The Eight Fold Path that leads to a life of moderation or happiness in life called the Middle Way. (This is also represented by the Dharma Wheel.)

4. Following a life of moderation will lead to Nirvana. Nirvana is the end of desire where one reaches an understanding and becomes one with the Universe.

Overall, while Buddhism is based on many Hindu ideas, it is still a very separate religion. Compared to Hinduism, Buddhists reject the Caste and believe there is no God. Additionally, the sacred text of Buddhism is the Tripitaka, the three baskets of wisdom, which contain Buddha’s words written by his followers.

Lastly, after Buddha’s death, his teachings and followings were divided into two main sects: the Theravada and the Mahayana. Theravada will spread through most of Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia and are much more orthodox, believing that “The Way” is based on monastic study of the Tripitakas. On the other hand, Mahayana is much less formal and a more progressive form of following the path of the Buddha. The Mahayana don’t reject the Tripitakas but also don’t focus solely on them. It is believed that the path is an individual search and anyone can join that search (mostly through meditation and living a good life).

Buddha’s teachings would also combine with more traditional ideas in China, Japan, and other parts of East Asia to become many subforms like Zen, which focuses on meditation and combines the Samurai codes of Bushido (way of the warrior), a key form of Buddhism in Japan.

chinese philosophies

The ethnic, traditional religions of China are not exactly religious, but rather philosophies since they do not try to answer the metaphysical questions of what happens after death. In fact, the goal of Chinese philosophies is to answer the true nature of man and how society should best reflect these different natures. There are two main Chinese philosophies: Confucianism and Taoism.

confucianism

Confucianism, in many East Asian countries, is the basis of social harmony. It was developed in China by Confucius in 551-479 BC. This philosophy requires filial piety between master and student. Filial piety is a virtue of respect for one’s parents, elders, and ancestors. This means the elder would respect and teach while the younger would honor and imitate. In society, Confucianism believes everyone is both a student and a sage, or an example setter. It is by following a good sage that you also become a good mentor for the next generation.

Additionally, there are five key relationships in Confucianism:

1. Ruler to ruled

2. Father to son

3. Husband to wife

4. Older brother to younger brother

5. Friend to friend

The Japanese later took this concept and tied it to the social order and Bushido, where everyone is expected to follow the example of a sensei (“one who came before”).

taoism

Taoism, also called Daoism, is one of the oldest Chinese philosophies founded by Lao Tzu in around 500 BCE. It was Lao Tzu who allegedly wrote the Tao Te Ching, a fundamentalist text for Taoism that describes the nature of man.

Taoists believe in the harmony and balance of nature (Yin and Yang) that is tied to a Universal energy called Chi. It is believed that as long as there is a balance, there is harmony.

In Taoism, man is considered to be “natural” and acting within the natural laws. So, the government does not need to create a lot of laws since man is naturally “natural.” This contrasts with many other beliefs which describe man as the most disruptive force on the planet. For example, Legalism, which is a policy started by the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, believes man is short sighted and self serving. As such, man opposed the natural order and needed very strict laws to live correctly.

Taoism has also influenced many traditional Chinese concepts, such as Feng Shui (living in harmony with nature), acupuncture (allowing Chi to flow more naturally), martial arts (movement and meditation), and the use of herbal medicine.

japanese religions

Japan has two main religions: Shinto and Zen. These two religions have been largely influenced by other religions from China and India.

shinto

Shinto, “the way of the gods,” is a traditional Japanese religion that is both polytheistic and animistic. Shinto believes everything has a spirit, and the gods were known as “Kami.”

Shinto also assimilated Confucius ideas of the 5 key relationships. As a result, a social order similar to the Caste was formed in Japan. Japan, at the time, was an agrarian society, meaning the social order was based on land. All land was owned by the Emperor, who was thought to be a living Kami. After the Emperor are the rich warlords, known as Daimyo, who controlled the land for the emperor. The most powerful of all Daimyo is the Shogun, military dictators, who are supported by the Samurai, the warrior class in Japan. Finally, at the lowest levels in Japanese society are the peasant class and artisans. The peasant class worked the fields, so they were above artisans, as they were believed to contribute more to society.

zen

Zen, the other major religion in Japan, focused more on the Samurai. Zen believes in death before dishonor and is the combination of many religions.

Zen is the mix of both Buddhism and Confucianism. The Japanese believed in filial piety and accepted the ideas of Confucius as Bushido, “the code of the warrior.” It was thought that death was better than dishonor to yourself, your family, your lord, or the Emperor. Zen also accepted the ideas of Buddhism, such as Samsara and meditation. Meditation was thought to be able to unite the soul and the body into a powerful weapon.

jainism

Jainism is contemporary of HInduism and in many ways very similar. Jainism believes in the importance of all life, the concepts of Samsara, and the eternal nature of all souls being part of the Universe. As a result, most Jainists are very anti-violent and most are vegan, as they try not to harm any other creatures.

sikh

Sikh started in northern India (Punjab provinces) and came out of the assimilation and diffusion between Hinduism and Islam. Sikh believe in monotheism and Samsara. However, they do not believe in the importance of being born into a specific Caste.

bahai

Bahai started in Persia, modern-day Iran, in the 1800’s and is a monotheistic belief. Bahai is based on the teachings of Baha’u’llah (glory of God), who travels around Central and South Asia. The Baha’u’llah is their prophet and combines some ethnic ideas with Islam concepts.

tibetan buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is practiced in the Himalayan Mountains, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, and parts of Russia. They believe in the leadership of the Dalai Lama, who is the reincarnation of all the past Dalai Lamas (there are currently 14). However, the Dalai Lama is currently exiled in India after the 1959 Invasion of Tibet by China.