Chapter Two : Hindu Influences on Different Communities
| Hinduism - The Essence Of India |
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India is the birthplace of many religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are all progeny of this part of our globe. But they are not the only religions that exist here. Adherents of Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrainism and Judaism also to be found in India. Hinduism does not have a formal priesthood.
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| Buddhism - Our Message Of Peace And Goodwill |
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The second great religion that originated in India is Buddhism. Ironically though Buddhism flourished overseas; in the land of its birth it was ti11 recently non-existent. It received a lease of life after independence, when Dr. B.R. Ambedkar decided to embrace Buddhism.
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| Jainism - Gave Us Non-Violence As An Ethical Outlook |
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Parallel to Buddhism another religion has flourished in India since ancient times. This is the Jaina religion or Jainism. The term Jaina or Jain implies follower of Jina which means 'the victorious one'.Jina is the formal title of the 24 spiritual teachers (Tirthankaras) of the Jaina religion. In this sense the term 'Jina' is similar to the term 'Buddha.
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| Vedanta, Sankhya And Lokayata |
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In the history of religious beliefs in ancient India, philosophical and speculative thought played a very important role. There existed various philosophical schools of which Vedanta, Sankhya and Lokayata could be considered as representative of the three major schools of thought.
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| Judaism - The Lost Tribes Found A Safe Haven In India |
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Judaism, the religion of the Jews has many features common with Hinduism. We now turn our attention towards a much misunderstood and much maligned religion which was in fact the mother of Christianity. Judaism has had a very traumatic and tragic history for the past two thousand five hundred years.
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From the 11th century onward North India was subject to invasions from the Afghans and Turks. Punjab which has been the gateway into India since ancient times, bore the brunt of the Islamic onslaught. This saffron flag Defended Our Self-Esteem and Re-asserted Our Original Humanist and Rationalist Outlook.
The Kaaba is pre-islamic in its origins. It has been mentioned by Diodoros Siculus, a Greek historian in the 1st century Before Christ i.e. 700 years before Prophet Mohammed. A discussion on the above topic is bound to be a sensitive one for many of our countrymen.
The second largest religious minority in India is that of the Christians. The Indian Christians consist of three main sects viz. the Syrian Christians, Roman Catholics and Protestants. Christianity was, we are told, first brought into India only a few decades after the passing away of Lord Christ.
A community in whose religious ceremonies the invocation of fire occupies the central place, who wear the sacred thread, whose ancestors worshipped gods named Mitra Vayu, Veretraghna, whose society was traditionally divided into various orders of priests, warriors and peasants, who consider themselves descendants of the Aryans.
