By Shambhu Sharan
A driving force in the life of India is spread across four major beliefs and across 44 languages. Many Americans do not realize how religiously diverse India is.
The President is a Hindu woman, the Vice-president is a Muslim man, the Prime Minister is a Sikh man, and the chairperson of the ruling party is a Christian woman. What many in America also may not know is that while religion plays a great role in most Indian’s lives, all get along in this secular country.
Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, four major world religions, are an integral part of India, with the majority of people following Hinduism. According to cia.gov, the Indian population is 80.5% Hindu, 13.4% Muslim, 2.3% Christian, 1.9% Sikh, 1.8% other, and 0.1% unspecified.
Other religions are also present such as Jainism and Sikhism, which are offshoots of Hinduism. Hindu followers worship various gods and goddesses as their religion demands.
There are two epics-poems, two scriptures, and a holy book. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two epics, the Vedas and the Puranas are Hindu scriptures, and the Bhagavad Gita is equivalent of the Christian Bible. All contain moral teachings, rituals, and praise the greatness of gods and goddesses.
Hindus believe there are four classes for individuals: Brahmans (intellectuals), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (business people), and Shudras (laborers). Most people demand their children marry within their caste, or class.
Directing the lives of Hindus is done by four duties prescribed with respect to age. In the student’s life, one should study and follow celibacy. After that, he should be married and have children. Then when children have grown up, the individual should do service and meditate.
Buddhism, which started in northern India, spread over Asia and the western world.
Siddhartha Gautama was a prince who went in search of truth. Siddhartha became Buddha, the enlightened one, after years of meditation. He established a new religion, called Buddhism. Buddha said, life is suffering, there is a cause of suffering and there is a way to get rid of suffering. Nirvana, or liberation is a way to end suffering.
Buddha advocated the Eight-Fold Path (Ashta Shilas) as a path of human progress, to lead people from humanity to divinity.
This Eight-Fold Path consists of (1) Proper Philosophy, or understanding leading to an ideal life; (2) Proper Determination, (3) Proper Speech, or using a vocabulary devoid of curses; (4) Proper Occupation, being honest in dealing with others; (5) Proper Exercise, (6) Proper Work, or work that helps others; (7) Proper Memory [i.e., meditation] and (8) Proper Attainment of Samadhi.
Buddha exhorted people to follow these progressive steps, and his teachings laid a solid base for human morality.
Muslims who came to conquer India brought their Islamic religion to the country; many Indians adopted Muslim culture and religion. In bringing their religion, Muslim scholars also learned Sanskrit in order to acquaint themselves with India.
Islam is India’s second largest religion. The Arabic term Islam means surrender, which implies surrender to the will of Allah (Arabic, God). The Quran is the sacred scripture for Muslims. Kaba in Mecca is the holiest place for Muslims. Five pillars of Islam are: profession of faith, five daily prayers, purification by charity, Fasting and the Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca.
The British brought Christianity and the English language to India in the 1800s.
The 44 languages spoken in different parts of India each have different scripts and accents. Twenty-two languages are recognized and taught in the schools. Although, Hindi is their national language they speak local dialects. English is a link language between the southern part and the rest of India.
In spite of different religions, languages, customs, and politics, Indians live together in a democracy, enjoying India’s emerging prosperity.
Published in Richland’s newspaper, Richland Chronicle on 04/11/08