Religions of the World - Assignment Example

RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD HINDUISM Hinduism is the third largest religion of the world. It is mainly practised in India. The religion Hinduism is also known as the ‘Sanatana Dharma’ which means the eternal religion and the ‘Vaidika Dharma’ which means the religion of the Vedas. The word Hinduism is derived from the ancient transcription which is translated as, ‘the country lying between the Himalayan Mountains and the bindu sarovara is known as Hindustan (India) formed by a combination of ‘hi’ of ‘Himalaya’ and ‘ndu’ from the word ‘bindu’. According to the classical theory the religion Hinduism was originated during the period of Indus valley civilization. Hinduism is known as the most ancient religion of the world. And therefore the Hindu religious texts are perhaps the most ancient religious texts still surviving today. The primary sacred texts of the Hindus are the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda is the oldest of the four. An important text in Hinduism is the Ramayana. It is a moving love story with moral and spiritual themes that has deep appeal in India. Ramayana was written by Valmiki. Another important text in Hinduism is the Mahabharata which is a group of books written by Vyasa. Hindus are normally viewed as Trinitarian because Brahma is considered as the god with three persons – Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). The four main aims of Hinduism are called the ‘doctrine of the fourfold end of the life’ which are – dharma (righteousness in the religious life), artha (success in the economic life), kama (gratification of the senses, moksa (liberation from the world). Hinduism has a deserved reputation of being highly tolerant of other religions. Buddhism Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world. It has nearly 365 million followers. Buddhism was founded in India (northern India) by Siddharta Gautama. Buddhism is not a monolithic religion. It is a combination of the teachings of the Buddha with local religious rituals, beliefs and customs. After the death of Buddha splits occurred in the religion. It was divided into three main systems of thoughts within Buddhism which are geographically and philosophically separated. The three groups are – Theravada Buddhism which is otherwise known are southern Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism which is otherwise known as northern Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism which is otherwise known as Tantric Buddhism. Buddha preached the four noble truths of Buddhism which are – there is suffering, there is cause for suffering, there is cessation of suffering, and there is path leading to the cessation of suffering. Buddhism is mainly a path to eliminate the sufferings. Buddhism is documented in the form of Tipitaka. Tipitaka was documented in 83 BCE in Srilanka. Tipitaka is almost 11 times the size of Bible. The main aim of Buddhism is the attainment of enlightenment which can be attained by following the eight fold path which includes right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Buddhism is mainly followed in China, Srilanka, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kalmykia, Thailand, Tibet, Japan, Korea and Nepal. Buddhism believes in Karma (the sum total of the individual’s actions of body and speech), dharma (which includes the teachings of Buddha) and reincarnation which is rebirth of a living being after death. Christianity Christianity is the world’s largest religion. It is followed by around 2.1 people in the world. Around one third of the world’s population are Christians. Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Christianity is based on the life and teachings of the Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. According to Christians Jesus is the son of God. God is the saviour of humanity. Therefore Jesus is commonly referred to as Christ or Messiah. Christians believe that Jesus suffered, died from crucifixion, was buried and was resurrected from dead to open heaven to those who believe in him and trust him for the remission of their sins. Christians also believes that Jesus bodily ascended into heaven where he reigns and rules with God the father. They also believe that Jesus will return to judge the people both the living and dead and will grant eternal life to his followers. The holy book of Christians is the Bible. Bible is a collection of canonical books which is two parts – the Old Testament and the New Testament. Christians believe that the bible is written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and therefore many consider it to be an inerrant word of God. Christians believe in trinity which refers to the teaching that one God comprises three distinct eternally co-existing persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Together these three persons are called as the Godhead. Those Christians who believe in this trinity are called Trinitarians and those who do not believe in the doctrine of trinity are called non-Trinitarians. Christians consider Jesus as the model of virtuous life, and both the revealers and the physical incarnation of God. The message of Jesus is called as the gospel or the good news. Islam Islam is the second largest religion of the world. The name ‘Islam’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘salam’ which means peace. The followers of Islam are known as Muslims. Muslim is an Arabic word which refers to a person who submits himself to the will of God. Islam was founded in 622 CE by Muhammad Prophet. He lived for 62 years from 570 to 632. Islam was originated in Mecca when the angel Gabriel read the first revelation of the Muhammad. However many Muslims believe that Islam existed before Muhammad was born and the origin of Islam dates back to the creation of the world. Muslims believe in Allah which means ‘one true God’. Muhammad Prophet was born in 6th century CE, in 570. When he was young he was sent to a desert to be raised by a foster family. He was orphaned at the age of 6 and was brought up by his uncle. After marriage, he spent most of his time in meditation. In 622 he moved to Medina due to the increased persecution of his teachings in Mecca. In Medina he became a powerful leader and Islam was firmly established throughout the area. The duties of Muslim are described as the Five Pillars of Islam which are to recite atleast once in his lifetime the shahadah (there is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet), to perform the salat (prayer) five times a day, to donate regularly to charity through Zakat, to fast during the lunar month of the Ramadan, to make atleast one pilgrimage to Mecca. The holy days of Islam are the Muharram or the Muslim new year, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, Ramadan, Id al-fitr and Id al-Adha. Judaism Judaism is an Abrahamic religion – a faith which recognises Abraham as a Patraich. The followers of Judaism are called Jews. Jews comprises of only 0.2% of the human population. In 2000 BCE the ancient Israelites established a divine covenant with Abraham, making him the Patraich of many nations. There are four religions which trace back their roots to Abraham – Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha’i faith. Christianity was developed initially as a Jewish sect centered in Jerusalem. Christianity was led by Jesus Christ. Judaism was led by James one of the four brothers of Jesus and the followers of Judaism are often referred as Jewish Christians. The Tanakh corresponds to the Jewish scriptures. It is composed of three groups of books which included the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim. The Talmud contains the stories, laws, medical knowledge, including the series of laws from the Hebrew Scriptures. It is composed of materials which come mainly from two sources – the Mishnah’s and the Gemara. Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, is generally accepted as one of the most important Jewish scholars from Medieval times. He wrote a list of 13 principles of Judaism faiths. 1. Judaism exists. 2. Judaism is one and unique. 3. Judaism is incorporeal. 4. Judaism is eternal. 5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other. 6. The words of the prophets are true. 7. Moses was the greatest of the prophets, and his prophecies are true. 8. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses. 9. There will be no other Torah. 10. Judaism knows the thoughts and deeds of men. 11. Judaism will reward the good and punish the wicked. 12. The Messiah will come. 13. The dead will be resurrected. Read More