Hindu Religion & Myths. Buddhism. Indian religions. Ganesha, a deity common to Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists.
Primarily a widely-worshipped Hindu deity. Indian religions are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. [web 1][note 1] These religions are also classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent.
[web 1] Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings. The documented history of Indian religions begins with the historical Vedic religion, the religious practices of the early Indo-Aryans, which were collected and later redacted into the Vedas. The Reform Period between 800-200 BCE marks a "turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions". The early Islamic period (1100-1500 CE) also gave rise to new movements. History Periodisation. Jainism.
Jainism (/ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm/[1] or /ˈdʒaɪnɪzəm/[2]), traditionally known as Jin Sashana or Jain dharma (Sanskrit: जैन धर्म), is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of nonviolence (ahimsa) towards all living beings.
Practitioners believe that nonviolence and self-control are the means by which they can obtain liberation. The three main principles of Jainism are non-violence (ahimsa), non-absolutism (anekantavada) and non-possessiveness (aparigraha). Followers of Jainism take 5 major vows: non-violence, non-lying, non-stealing, chastity, and non-attachment. Asceticism is thus a major focus of the Jain faith. Jainism is derived from the word Jina (conqueror) referring to a human being who has conquered inner enemies like attachment, desire, anger, pride, greed, etc. and possesses infinite knowledge (Kevala Jnana). Doctrine[edit] Sikhism. Sikhism, known in Punjabi as Sikhi,[note 1] (/ˈsiːkɨzəm/ or /ˈsɪkɨzəm/; Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖੀ, sikkhī, IPA: [ˈsɪkːʰiː]) is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, by Guru Nanak[3] and continued to progress through the ten successive Sikh gurus (the eleventh and last guru being the holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
The Guru Granth Sahib is a collection of the Sikh Gurus' writings that was compiled by the 5th Sikh Guru). It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world, with approximately 30 million adherents.[4][5] Punjab, India is the only state in the world with a majority Sikh population. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples). According to Devinder Singh Chahal, "The word 'Sikhi' (commonly known as Gurmat) gave rise to the modern anglicized word 'Sikhism' for the modern world. Philosophy and teachings[edit] The origins of Sikhism lie in the teachings of Guru Nanak and his successors. Proto-Indo-Iranian religion. Proto-Indo-Iranian religion means the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples prior to the earliest Vedic (Indo-Aryan) and Zoroastrian (Iranian) scriptures.
These share a common inheritance of concepts including the universal force *rta (Vedic rta, Avestan asha), the sacred plant and drink *sauma (Vedic Soma, Avestan Haoma) and gods of social order such as *mitra (Vedic Mitra, Avestan and Old Persian Mithra, Miϑra), *bhaga (Vedic Bhaga, Avestan and Old Persian Baga). Proto-Indo-Iranian religion is an archaic offshoot of Indo-European religion.[1] Introduction[edit] Indo-Iranian languages include three subgroups: first Indo-Aryan languages (including the Dardic languages); second Iranian languages (east and west) and third Nuristani languages.
From these various and dispersed cultures, a set of common ideas may be reconstructed from which a common, unattested proto-Indo-Iranian source may be deduced.[1]