AMAZING EXPERIENCES

Indian Religions

Four of the world's religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism - were founded in India. In addition, India has the third largest number of Muslims in the world and thanks to the European invaders, Christianity also has roots here. Indians weave religion firmly into their lives. They take it very seriously and know their gods like they know their families. We thought it would be interesting to get a taste of some of these religions and the people practicing them. We have selected places in India that will give us a sampling of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Muslim(ism?).

Through reading and observing, I learned a lot about each of these religions. I find it fascinating because so much of the world's history is based on religion - the practice of it, the suppression of it, and the fighting over which one is "right". Learning about religion is like learning about the world.

We experienced Hinduism in Varanasi and Rishikesh - both situated on the mighty Ganges. Over 85%of the Indian population is Hindu. Hindus believe in many gods, including Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The Hindu religion has no single book or god or prophet and communities tend to choose their own to focus on. Therefore, Hindu beliefs and practices from one community to the next can vary greatly. This religion seems to have a lot of superstition involved with it and followers pray to their pantheon of gods for everything they desire.

In Dharamsala, we learned about Buddhism through the Tibetan refugees. This religion sprung from Hinduism and shares many of the same gods and goddesses and rituals. It came about when a prince (Siddhartha Guatama) rejected his privileged life and sought value and meaning through a life of hardship and suffering. Through much meditation and by suppressing the ego, Siddhartha reached enlightenment and became Guatama Buddha. The Buddha is revered and emulated today and buddhist followers practice the art of compassion for all sentient beings.

We got to see Sikhism up close and personal at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. This religion grew out of Hinduism and Muslimism but varies in that Sikhs believe in equality of all people and therefore reject the caste system that the Hindus brought to India. Guru Nanuk, the founder of the Sikh religion, also believed that people should not worship idols and the best way to achieve enlightenment is to simply meditate on God's name. After the assassination of one of the Sikh gurus, the Sikh people vowed to become warriors and fight for the right to practice their religion. You can easily identify a Sikh by the 5 "signs" they wear: uncut hair, a comb, a pair of shorts, an iron bracelet and a sword.

The Taj Mahal is the all-powerful symbol of Islam. This religion is quite different than the other religions we encountered. This religion began around the 7th century with the teachings of Muhammad. Muslims are the followers of Islam and they believe in the total surrender of themselves to God. They also believe that God revealed the Quran to Muhammad and that this book is the complete source of everything they need to know. There are two major denominations of muslims - sunnis and shias. Although there is very little that separates these two groups, they have fought fiercely against one another.

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