Unity in Diversity - this concept of unity is as old as India itself. Wise men devised many ways of re-emphasizing it, in epics and teachings and by the pilgrimages they enjoined upon us. India is a sub continent with immense variation in geography, climate, manner of life, language and taste. There is no pure unalloyed India. He can be a Dravidian, an Aryan, an Australoid or a Mongoloid. His hair may be fair or dark, straight or curly, the skin very fair or wheat coloured, beige, brown or ebony. India is also home to scores of cults and religions, including all the major religions of the world. For India has always accepted races, tribes, ways of thoughts and life, without demanding from them conformity which would negate individuality, yet stamping on them the unmistakable mark of Indianness. Yet the ideals in life, the goal to be reached, the spiritual yearnings and ethical principles bring together these apparently diverse people into one integrated nation that makes up 'Bharat'.

HINDUISM

That all religions could not only coexist but also flourish in India has a lot to do with the eclectic nature of Hinduism. Although as a religion, Hinduism is considered among the oldest, its oldest source, the Rigveda (one of the four Vedas), can be traced only up to the 2nd millennium BC. The religion, unlike many of the modern religions, has no identifiable beginning. Hinduism is not an 'ism'. It is considered more a way of life than a religion. There is no founder, no prophet, no book and no dogma. It has no central authority, organizational hierarchy or organization. It includes a variety of elements. It is a complex religion with many spiritual, social, literary and artistic aspects. It is an amalgamation of diverse doctrines, cults, and ways of life. Almost 80% of India's population are Hindu.

India is widely believed to be the land of spirituality, whose native philosophy detects the presence of the supreme divinity in the flower as well as in the thorn, in stone and in rust, in everything animate and inanimate. Just as Indians see spirituality in diverse forms, they also practice diverse forms of spirituality. It has many gods - the conventional strength of the pantheon is 330 million. And this pantheon's elasticity is put to good use even today as revered social leaders and sages make the transition from exalted human beings to deities to be venerated. This polytheism also lends Hinduism enormous flexibility in terms of modes of worship, rituals and so on. A characteristic feature of Hinduism is the division of society into a hierarchy of castes.

Like India herself, Hinduism is incapable of confinement or description in words. It is a philosophy, all embracing, all accepting, tolerant of other thoughts, giving vast freedom of choice in worship. The manner of it and even whether there need be any at all - is God a being or the divinity in man or the force or quintessence of all that is. Dharma or the ethical mode of life has dominated Indian thought. Philosophy has deepened and widened the people's outlook and helped an affectionate approach towards not only fellow beings but towards all nature, especially animals, birds, trees and rivers. The much-discussed myriad of gods and goddesses are but different images of the formless, all pervasive 'energy' of this universe and many others beyond it.

Most Hindus believe in reincarnation. All human beings and other living creatures are reborn as a result of their past actions in other lives. Higher beings come on the earth by a voluntary action in order to face a special situation. In the sacred book the Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna says, "To protect the righteous, to destroy the wicked and to establish the kingdom of God, I am born from age to age".

Through the ages, within the Hindu fold, sages have broken away from any kind of crystallization. Some founded sects and even new religions, offering greater liberty to those who felt or were made to feel, fettered and suffocated. One must admit that large numbers think of religion in terms of idols and Indian practice has not always lived up to the precepts laid down. At different stages, large segments of our society have surrendered to intolerance and insolence. Customs or rites still persist which may have had some significance in an earlier age but are now anachronistic or even actually obstruct progress. A case in point is the caste system.

The Caste System

Early societies all had their hierarchies. Caste of one kind or another has been known in all old lands. In India caste became a set feature of life. People were divided into four groups: Brahmins (priests and scholars), Kshatriyas, (kings and warriors), Vaishyas (traders and landowners) and Shudras (the workers and lowly people). In the early beginnings there was caste flexibility. Inter marriage between the Aryans and the indigenous people appear to have been common. The children of these marriages gave rise to mixed castes.

Another factor responsible for the proliferation and crystallization of the caste structure was the establishment of craft guilds. Initially there was fluidity that made possible the absorption of people within their structure. This was common as late as the 6th and 7th centuries. An inscription of this period at Mandasaur in Rajasthan records silk-weavers who had migrated from Gujarat taking up professions ranging from soldiering to astrology. In early Tamil literature there is no evidence of caste.

By the late medieval period the caste structure had hardened, the lowness or highness being determined by the functions in which the group was engaged. What is worse, a large segment of the population was placed beyond the pale of these varnas (as castes were called) and sentenced to untouchability. The Hindu mind, which discovered the zero, also invented a system by which the human being was reduced to a zero. Indescribable injustice has been visited upon the so-called untouchables through the centuries. The only extenuating plea that can be made for India is that in other lands such groups would have been killed off but here they were not extirpated.

The Four Stages Of Life

Indian ethics laid down four main ends to man's life - Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Dharma is a difficult word to translate. It means that which sustains or upholds, a way of life resting on right action, respect for others and being true to one's self-nature. Artha was the earning of wealth by a right and honest vocation. Kama was the fulfillment of lawful desire or pleasure and Moksha was liberation from rebirth by the perception of the ultimate reality.

In answer to man's need to learn, to enjoy, to understand and finally to become detached, Hinduism offers four stages or ashrams in man's existence that allow him to accomplish his life in harmony with Dharma (the law of universal harmony) at all levels. These four stages are essential for a full and meaningful life. Brahmacharya covers the beginning of adolescence and includes the practice of celibacy, the study and knowledge of the sacred teachings transmitted by a Guru. Grihastha, when man married, had children and undertook the responsibilities inherent in the life of a householder. Vanasprastha, the first step towards moving away from the life of the householder and preparing the mind and body for withdrawal from all worldly pursuits and for the involvement in social and religious action. Sanyasa, the final stage when man put on the saffron robe, abandoning home, family, wealth and society, and entered the forest to meditate and seek liberation, before his ultimate departure from the earth.

Religious Life & The Sacred Texts

The religious ethos of India was given flexibility, tolerance and strength by the absence of a single religious doctrine, based on a 'bible' or sacred dogma; by the multiplicity of forms and faiths that collectively formed India's religious beliefs and the Vedic and break-away traditions of our sages and seers. It was an inclusive attitude, drawing the alien heretical belief within a total ambience, extending and absorbing while representing the beliefs of other religions. Heresy was unknown and religious persecution was minimal.

From the earliest times the Indian has envisaged a continuum between God and Nature and Man. The gods were human, but godhead was inherent not only in man but also in all animals and in all creations animate and inanimate. In words of the Bhagvad Gita, a section of the epic Mahabharata, 'All gods lead to God as all rivers lead to the Sea'. And again it was said 'Truth is one, the wise perceive it in many ways'. This recognition of the possible limitation of one's own viewpoint, this hospitality to the opinion of others, this refusal to condemn mankind to a single interpretation of Reality, this high reverence for the quintessence of Truth as distinct from phenomenal forms demonstrates a marvelous maturity of thought. This is the source of much that is most distinctive in our civilization and also the secret of our endurance.

The first millennium BC was a period of abounding creative activity. The sacred worship of the Upanishads where the sublime thinking of centuries coalesced and found expression treads beyond priestly dogma and belief. Anti-theology and anti-ritual, the Upanishads established a new relationship between man and the Brahman, the all-transcending principle. After the Upanishads came our great epics - the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Their influence on the masses has not diminished over the centuries. They continue to enthrall grown up and child alike. In fact we can say that the heroes of these classics have blended with the lives of our people. Typical of India is their method of reaching out simultaneously to different levels of mental development, from intellectual to illiterate. Their stories have been a kind of Open University, quickening our people's senses of right and wrong and endowing them with examples with whom they can identify themselves and exalt their moral sense. Through a backdrop of heroic tradition and ethical living these classics give harmony to a society which was graded in castes and had many divisions and discords.

Of the two epics, the Ramayana is the much more popular, presumably because it is easier to understand. The epic centres around the hero Rama but there are many subsidiary stories each with its own moral and significance. The Mahabharata is the treatise on the science of society. It is a monumental work, a compilation of not only tradition and legend but also of the political and social institutions of that time. The Mahabharata makes a very definite attempt to stress the fundamental unity of India. What is important about it is not the story that concerns a feud between the Kaurava and Pandava princes for the sovereignty of the country but the sheer abounding wealth of knowledge and the fullness of life, no less than the moral and ethical percepts. In the Mahabharata is a gem of a poem, the 'Bhagvad Gita' or the Song of God. The wisdom of the doctrine of the Vedas, Brahmanas and the Upanishads come together in this teaching. It is the most important and the best known of all Hindu scriptures. It comprises a dialogue between Krishna the Lord and Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers, of whom he is the friend and charioteer. The Bhagvad Gita expounds the nature and attributes of God. Its teaching is universal and deep. It is a general spiritual philosophy as applied to a specific crisis and relating to the application of ethics and spirituality to the problems of man. In simple language Krishna explains the imponderable truths that are the basis of Indian religious thought.

Through the centuries Indian religion has grown richly and deeply psychological, and has attempted to provide different forms and methods appropriate to different categories of people. There is the Spiritual Man for whom Indian religion provides an utter freedom from all dogma, ceremony and creed. It offers him numerous paths of direct experience of the spiritual verities. There is the Intellectual Man to whom is offered different systems of knowledge, countless philosophies and unending literature of commentaries and of commentaries on commentaries. Then there is the Vital Man, the man of emotion, passion and action for whom there is a vast literature of stories, Kathas, a plethora of accounts and practices, as in the Puranas and Tantras, which will stimulate his imagination and experience and connect them to the deeper truths of the spirit. And finally there is the Physical Man for whom Indian religion is a system of outer symbols and rituals, of festivals and other such occasions, which even in his daily routine, bring him into contact with the deeper truths that, govern the cosmos. It is in this light that the complexity of Indian religious life can rightly be understood.

The Hindu pantheon is prolific; some estimates put the total number of deities at 36 crore (330 million). No beliefs or forms of worship are rejected by Hinduism. All are regarded as a manifestation of Brahman, the One and ultimate reality, and the particular object of veneration and supplication is often a matter of personal choice or tradition at a local or caste level. Brahman is often described as having three facets, the trimurti: Brahma (The Creator), Vishnu (The Preserver) and Shiva (The Destroyer, also known as Mahesh). Within the Shaivite (followers of Shiva) cult, Shakti, the goddess as mother and creator is worshipped as a force in her own right and has many of her own manifestations.

Cults of Nature & Sacred Animals

The cults of Nature and ceremonies of temples have their own superficial and profound significance, although many of them are discouraged by those who feel able to pursue the deeper and higher disciplines of emotions, action and knowledge. In India the river is considered as a loving mother dispensing bounty, fertility and prosperity. The cult of rivers is especially important. The sea in the Indian cosmology is the reservoir of all. Bathing in the sea is considered the most purifying since all the sacred rivers run to the sea.

The love of trees is so strong especially among Indian women that they are regarded as companions. The kalpvriksha or tree of blessing is deeply rooted in Indian belief. Some plants also have strong spiritual significance. The Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) is so sacred that only in times of dire need people would pick its leaves or otherwise interfere with it. It symbolizes the Trimurti (trinity) and a pilgrimage to a sacred banyan is equal to 12 years of sacrifice. Its ashes are said to have the power to eradicate sin. Mango trees (Mangifera indica) are symbolic of love; Shiva is believed to have married Parvati under a mango tree and so mango leaves are often used to decorate marriage pandals (marquees).

Animals, particularly snakes and cows have been worshipped since ancient times in India. The cow represents fertility and nurturing, benign aspects of the mother goddess and is a symbol of Mother India. In the State of Tamil Nadu, on the third day of the Pongal (harvest) festival, sacred cows are washed, decorated and painted before being fed a mix of rice, sugar, dal (lentil) and milk, a dish that ensures prosperity and abundance for the following year. The bull is more aggressive but its association with Lord Shiva as his mount Nandi, accords it enormous respect. Snakes, especially cobras, are also sacred and associated with fertility and welfare. Naga (snake) stones protect humans from snakes and are shrines to fertility.

Folk & Tribal Religion

Folk deities are frequently viewed as being more accessible to the ordinary person and more competent for dealing with everyday village life. Deities identified with mountains or forests may be represented simply by a pile of stones or tree branches, which devotees add to as they pass by. Others may have simple shrines erected in their honour to which devotees bring offerings of flowers, rice and fruit. Some are little known beyond a village. Others such as the goddesses of pestilence like Mariyamma in South India are widely recognized. In South India folk deities are frequently female. A notable exception is Ayannar or Ayappan (ostensibly he is vegetarian and therefore ritually superior), who is worshipped in Tamil Nadu as a protective deity and for whom votive offerings, in the form of terra cotta horses are made in times of need.

Tribal religions have so merged with Hinduism and other mainstream religions that few are now clearly identifiable. But in the Nilgiri hills of South India, the Toda people still cling to their own beliefs even though they have adopted some Hindu and Christian customs over the years. The vegetarian Toda venerate the buffalo upon which they depend for milk, butter and ghee. This relationship extends into the afterlife. When a Toda dies, a buffalo is killed to accompany them into the next world where it will continue to provide milk and its by-products for sustenance and ritual purposes.

Religious Tolerance

Polytheistic eclecticism lends Hinduism a capacity to co-exist with other religions that goes beyond tolerance. Religious tolerance is an Indian concept, coined by cultures that accept the idea of a single, true god. Monotheistic religions see other religions as false. These deviant religions can either be transformed or converted, to the true faith or they can be tolerated. Hinduism, in contrast, accepts plurality of gods and plurality of the ways of spiritual fulfillment. At a theological level, therefore, Hinduism does not recognize any religion as being deviant; all represent valid ways of attaining man's goal of spiritual fulfillment. This perspective has informed the attitude of Indian society and Indian rulers to non-Hindu faiths that have travelled to this land from different parts of the world. Judaism, Christianity and Islam made their way to India across the Arabian sea, aboard the sailing ships that ferried timber, spices, gold and perfumes between the Malabar coast and the Levant.

A small Jewish settlement in Kochi, Kara, has earned for India the distinction of being the only country in the world where the Jews have not been persecuted. Legend has it that St Thomas; one of Christ's original 12 disciples travelled to Kerala and converted a section of the local population to Christianity. Whatever the veracity of this claim, it is a historical fact that Christianity reached Kerala before it reached Europe and that the liturgy of several Christian denominations in Kerala continues to be in the ancient languages of the Middle East. Nor was Islam borne to India at the point of the sword, as many people believe.

The western coast has been home to Muslim settlements since the 7th century. True, subsequent invasions by Muslim rulers and the experience of colonialism have helped these religions spread in other parts of the country. This does not negate the fact that the original response of Indian rulers and society at large to the advent of external religions was hospitable rather than hostile. In fact, the only religion known to have invited active Hindu antagonism is Buddhism, with its streak of agnosticism and subversion of the caste hierarchy.

Hinduism, while receptive to theological diversity, punishes infringements of caste divides with ferocity, even today in rural India. It has been observed that certain recent attempts to mobilise Hindus politically on the basis of hostility towards other religions have met with only limited success because such attempts go against the traditional culture of Hinduism. Unity in diversity continues to the only viable collective imperative for many splendour India.

Yet in its philosophical groundwork, Hindu society does not aim at exclusiveness. From this has risen India's unrivalled capacity to accept and assimilate. It is also true that religious people respect and accept the saints and great souls of their religions. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs will go with equal fervour to obtain the blessings of a Shankaracharya or a famous Muslim diviner. You will often see a church, a mosque, a temple or a gurudwara all on the same road or in the same vicinity.

Temples

In India there are as many temples as gods who conceived the world. But for the Indian the temple is not the only place of worship of the divinity. Even if the sanctuaries disappeared the religious life would not change an iota. The temples of the Hindus are at the same time the entire universe and their own bodies. In the Hindu concept of existence (Sanatan Dharma) there is no separation between sacred and profane activity. The temple is the centre of the cosmos as well as of man. Believers come to render homage to one of the major figures of the Indian pantheon or to seek protection of the god of their choice. The two main rites are individual worship (puja) and ritual sacrifices (yagna). The rites are a most complex and painstaking art. There are a number of symbolic gestures in all the rites. The idea of worshipping images is to venerate the invisible through what is visible.

There is a saying that if the measurement of the temple is perfect, then there will be perfection in the universe. For Hindus, the square is the perfect shape and complex rules govern the location, design and building of each temple, based on numerology, astrology, astronomy and religious law. These are so complicated and important that it is customary for each temple to harbour its own particular set of calculations as though they were religious texts.

Essentially a temple is a map of the universe. At the centre there is an unadorned space, the garbha griha (inner shrine or sanctum sanctorum), which is symbolic of the 'womb-cave' from which the universe emerged. This provides a residence for the deity to which the temple is dedicated. Above the shrine rises a superstructure known as shikara in North India and vimana in South India, which is representative of Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain that supports the heavens. Caves and mountain are linked by an axis that rises vertically from the shrine's icon to the finial atop the towering spire. As a temple provides a shelter for the deity, it is sacred. Devotees acknowledge this by performing a parikrama (clockwise circumambulating) of it, a ritual that finds architectural expression in the passageways that track around the main shrine. Some temples also have mandapams or halls connected to the sanctum by vestibules. These halls also contain spires.

Visitors please note - dress conservatively, remove your shoes before entering. Please do not attempt to enter the inner shrine room if you are not a Hindu.

PILGRIMAGES

The ancients understood the urgency of providing centripetal forces and of establishing tenets deep within the racial unconsciousness that made possible a unitary feeling for the land and its contours. From the time of the Puranas, pilgrimage was regarded as a necessity for the regeneration of the spirit and the quickening of cultural exchange. Considered practically obligatory pilgrimage became a milestone in man's life, when h left home and travelled the dusty paths to unknown lands. Holy sites were established at the cardinal points of the country - to the north were the snow peaked highlands of Badrinath, Kedarnath and Amarnath, to the east Puri, to the south Rameswaram and Kanya Kumari, to the west Dwaraka and in the centre, the heart Kashi (Varanasi), Prayag (Allahabad), Ujjain and Mathura.

Pilgrimage was an integrating of peoples and customs and a sensing of the integral unity of the land. The ancient trade routes along which the pilgrim traveled were the same as taken by the warrior, the adventurer, the trader, the jogi, the seeker and teacher of wisdom. The Sage, Agastya travelled along these routes to take the sacred Vedas and the Upanishads south of the Vindhyas. Sage Valmiki who wrote the Ramayana nearly three thousand years ago, displays knowledge of the geophysical condition of the lands that lay along Rama's travels to Lanka in search of Sita. For centuries the Buddhist Bhikkus (monks) and the Jain Munis (saints) trod these paths. Along them came Fa-Hsien and Huen-Tsang all the way from distant China eager to follow in the sacred footsteps of the Buddha.

Important factors in our cultural integration were the bauls (singers), the jogis and fakirs (ascetics, sages or holy men) and the katha vachaks (storytellers). Traveling along these old paths they visited villages, festivals and places of pilgrimage. The story of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata reached all parts of the country. Thus did the magnificent lyrical Asthapadi of poet Jayadev's 'Geet Govind', written in Bengali in the 12th century, travel to Assam, Orissa, Gujarat, Andhra and Kerala. The terse lyrical imagery of the verses has inspired painters, wood carvers and sculptors.

India is a land of Kathas (stories). The early stories incorporated into the Puranas dealt with magic, song, social relationship, religious performance, heroic encounters and the loves of gods and men. Stories sung or spread by word of mouth, the art of the katha enriched the vernaculars. A vast number of stories on the sagacity of animals and birds appear in the 'Panchatantra' and the 'Jataka' tales. Somdev's 'Katha Sarit Sagar' or Ocean of Story written in the 11th century is the earliest known compendium of these ancient tales. The original was claimed to have been written in aboriginal language. In them Hindu mythology, Buddhist doctrine and Tantric ritual co-exist.

Kutiyur is the most ancient pilgrimage of Malabar. It takes place for thirty-four days at the beginning of the monsoon in July. In the heart of a deep jungle that can be reached only at that time, Lord Shiva appears under his aspect as destroyer, Rudra. White robed pilgrims walk three times around the sanctuary surrounded by the river. Some go the whole way by rolling in the riverbed. Before making the pilgrimage to Sabarimalai dedicated to the child-god Ayappan, the pilgrim will fast severely for forty days, dress in black and let beard and hair grow.

In Kerala, the first Syrian Christians were joined by the Hindus converted to Catholicism by Portuguese and French missionaries in the 16th century AD. On the feast of St. Thomas, who according to legend evangelized the area, relics and statues of the holy apostles are brought out in procession.

For the Muslims, the Dargah Sharif at Ajmer is one of the most important pilgrimages next only to Mecca.

In August, in Pahalgam (Kashmir) a silver stick, symbolizing Shiva, opens the procession of the pilgrimage to Amarnath and is preceded by singers to proclaim the glory of the Great Lord. Thousands of pilgrims fervently climb the narrow path and cross the highest Pass at 4800m that leads uphill to Amarnath. To die on the way is a blessing given by the Almighty.

The Maha Kumbha Mela is a festival held once every twelve years in Allahabad, Varanasi, Ujjain and Nasik. From all parts of India millions of pilgrims throng the holy rivers in these cities to bathe and offer prayers.

Among the pilgrimages to the sources of the Ganga Haridwar is the staring point. This city is the door to the holy places of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamnotri and Gangotri and is the site where the Ganga leaves the mountains and comes down to the Plains.

SOME OTHER RELIGIONS PREVALENT IN INDIA

Buddhism
Christianity in India
Islam in India
Jainism
Sikhism
Zoroastrianism

BUDDHISM

Can you think of a religion without an all-controlling deity ? That is the story of Buddhism - born in a period of great religiosity, in 6th century BC. Buddha was an historical figure who is generally believed to have lived from about 563 - 483 BC. Tormented by human suffering and misery, young Prince Siddhartha of the Sakya Dynasty, left his wife, children and political involvements at the age of 29 and embarked on a quest for enlightenment and relief from the world of suffering. It was an accepted practice at the time for some men to leave their family and lead the life of an ascetic. He finally achieved nirvana (the state of full awareness) aged 35 at Bodhgaya. He assumed the title Buddha (one who has awakened). He is also referred to as the Sakyamuni, (sage of the Sakya clan). His teachings were oral, but were eventually recorded by his disciples. Critical of the caste system, dependence upon Brahmin priests and the unthinking worship of gods, Buddha urged his disciples to seek truth within their own experience. He preached a new way of life to attain Nirvana or liberation from the sufferings of life. He promoted The Middle Way, rejecting both extremes of the mortification of the flesh and of hedonism as paths toward the state of Nirvana.

Two and a half centuries later, a council of Buddhist monks collected his teachings and the oral traditions of the faith into written form, called the Tripitaka. This included a very large collection of commentaries and traditions; most are called Sutras (discourses). The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC contributed to the spreading of Buddhism and it was his effort that helped the spread of Buddhism to Sri Lanka, Burma and the Far East.

In course of centuries, Buddhism disappeared from the land of its origin. However, the great historical remnants associated with Buddhism are a great feast for the tourists, especially the Buddhist trail of Sarnath, Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali, Sravasti and Kapilavastu. In the present Buddhism is restricted to certain areas of the Himalayan region like Ladakh and Sikkim.

Buddhist Beliefs

Buddhism began as a response to the strict Brahmanical traditions and the ritualistic stand taken by Hinduism. It was also a rejection of supremacy accorded to status by birth, hence, an absolute denial of Brahmin supremacy. Yet, with all this Buddhism accepted the basic structure of Hindu thought as expressed in the law of Karma and rebirth. It is essentially a religion of kindness, humanity and equality. It denounces all claims to superiority on grounds of birth or caste. The eminence or lowness of a human being is determined solely by his or her own conduct.

Buddha taught that Life is based on Four Noble Truths:

• Life is rooted in dukha (suffering)
• Suffering is caused by trishna (craving) for worldly goods
• One can find release from suffering by eliminating craving
• And the way to eliminate craving is by following the Noble Eight-Fold Path.

The Eight-Fold Path consists of:

• Right understanding
• Right intention
• Right speech
• Right action
• Right livelihood
• Right effort
• Right awareness
• Right concentration

By successfully complying with the above, one can attain nirvana.

Buddhism is not a single monolithic religion. It is divided into a number of different traditions. Many of its adherents have combined the teachings of the Buddha with local religious rituals, beliefs and customs. It is a religion, which shares few concepts with Christianity. For example, they do not believe in a transcendent or immanent or any other type of God or Gods, the need for a personal savior, the power of prayer, eternal life in a heaven or hell after death, etc. They do believe in reincarnation: the concept that one must go through many cycles of birth, living, and death. After many such cycles, if a person releases their attachment to desire and the self, they can attain Nirvana. Little conflict occurs, because Buddhism at its core is a philosophical system to which such additions can be easily grafted.

Buddhist Sects

In the centuries after Buddha's death, Buddhism split into two groups: Hinayana (or Theravada) and Mahayana (known as the lesser and the greater vehicles respectively). Hinayana stresses the importance of austerity and monastic life. Lay people are therefore excluded from the means to salvation. This is why it is called the lesser (hina) vehicle (yana) because it offers the means of salvation to a few. Here, Buddha is worshipped in the form of symbols like the lotus, the wheel etc.

Mahayanas view Buddha as just one of many manifestations of the godhead and stress the compassionate role of Buddha as teacher. The ideal in the Mahayana tradition is the Bodhisattva who sacrifices their own enlightenment in order to help others to attain salvation. Lay people are not excluded. However, women are. They must seek a male rebirth before they can attain enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhism is practiced mainly in Tibet, China, Korea and Japan and devotees worship Buddha as an idol.

Buddhism has mostly died out in India by the turn of the 20th century. However it enjoyed something of a revival among intellectuals disillusioned with Hinduism and later received a further boost with the influx of Tibetan refugees from the 1950's onward and the inclusion in 1975 of Sikkim within India. Ladakhi Buddhists follow traditions similar to those found in Tibet. Today, some 6 million people practice Buddhism in India, fewer than either Christianity or Sikhism.

Place of Worship

Stupas, which characterize Buddhist places of worship, essentially evolved from burial mounds. They were never designed to hold congregations, but were to serve as repositories for relics of the Buddha and later other venerated souls. A relatively recent innovation is the addition of a chaitya (hall) leading up to the stupa itself. Devotees circumambulate the stupa in a clockwise direction. Bodhgaya in Bihar where the Buddha achieved enlightenment, is an important centre of pilgrimage. The Tibetan Gompas found in Ladakh and Dharamsala are quite unlike anything else found on the subcontinent, embellished as they are with colourful distinctly Tibetan motifs dedicated to the propagation of Mahayana Buddhist beliefs.

Visitors please note - you should remove your shoes and hat or furl your umbrella, before entering the precincts of a stupa. You should also cover your legs and shoulders. Always walk around a stupa in a clockwise direction and never turn your back on an image of Buddha.

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CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA

Christianity is said to have arrived in India in the South, specifically the Malabar Coast, with the Apostle St. Thomas in 52 AD. However, scholars say that it is more likely Christianity arrived around the 4th century with a Syrian merchant Thomas Cana who set out for Kerala with 400 families to establish what later became a sect of the Syrian Orthodox Church. This sect survives today. Services are in a mixture of Aramaic and Malayalam and the Patriarch of Baghdad is the sect's head.

Other eastern sects include the Jacobites, Canaanites and orthodox Syrians. Catholicism established a strong presence in the wake of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama's visit to Calicut (in present Kerala) in 1498. Sects that have been active in the region include the Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits. Protestantism arrived with the British, Dutch and Danish and their legacy lives on today in the Church of South India. India has about 18 million Christians, around three quarters of whom are South Indians.

Churches in India, reflect the fashions and trends of typically European ecclesiastical architecture. Gothic arches and flying buttresses, baroque ornamentation and elegant classical lines are all to be found in places like Goa, which has been heavily influenced by European style. Local artisans also lest their imprint on these places, as a closer inspection of some of these embellishments and ornamentations reveals.

The Portuguese and others far from home, made impressive attempts to replicate the great churches and cathedrals of their day. Old Goa's church of the Lady of Divine Providence for example, is a copy of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Kerala, another Portuguese enclave, also has many churches. One of the most significant from the point of view of historical importance, is St. Francis Church at Fort Cochin. It was built in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscan friars and for 14 years housed the remains of the first recorded European to traverse the Indian Ocean, Vasco da Gama.

Visitors please note - there are no requirements peculiar to churches in India, with the exception that you must remove your shoes (as for temples and mosques) before entering the church. As with other places of worship, dress conservatively; women should wear a skirt or dress. When investigating plaques and other sights, please do so quietly and discreetly. Ask before taking photographs and don't approach the altar unless you know it's OK to do so.

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JAINISM

Jainism is a syncretistic religion, which contains many elements similar to Hinduism and Buddhism. Jainism was founded by Mahavira (The Great Hero) a contemporary of Buddha. Like Buddhism, Jainism, too, arose as a challenge to the Vedic and Brahman orthodoxy in the 6th century BC. The name Jainism derives from the Sanskrit word jina (to overcome or a conqueror). The first Jina is traditionally believed to have been a giant who lived 8 million years ago. The most recent and the last Jina was Vardhamana a.k.a. Mahavira. According to Jain tradition, Mahavira is the 24th Tirthankar (apostle or religious Guru of the Jains) in a series of Tirthankars, stretching back through Parsvanath the 23rd , Neminath the 22nd to Rishabha the 1st. There is very little historical evidence of the earlier Tirthankars until Parsvanath, the 23rd Tirthankar, who died in the 8th century BC.

Mahavira was born in a Kshatriya (warrior) family and his father was chief of the Nata clan. Hence, Mahavira is also called Nataputra (son of Nata). At the age of 28 he became an ascetic. After 12 years of penance and meditation he attained enlightenment. The knowledge that he is said to have attained was free from limitation of time and space. His was a career of supreme detachment. He was called Nirgrantha, one without any ties whether internal or external. Mahavira preached Ahimsa or universal love and his metaphysics was based on common sense realism and intellectual reconciliation. He preached the principles of Jainism for 30 years and died at Pavapuri (Bihar) in 527 BC. His followers consisted the monks, nuns, householders and their womenfolk and a well knit Sangha or Socio religious organisation, was formed in his own time.

Unlike Buddhism, which soon spread far and wide, with numerous monasteries in India and abroad, Jainism has shown quite a modest yet steady growth. The influence of Jainism gradually spread to the western parts of India. After Mahavira, eminent teachers such as Gautama, Jambu received patronage from great rulers of those times such as Bimbisara of Magadha and Chandragupta Maurya, India's first great emperor. The ruling and mercantile classes were often attracted by the rigorous asceticism and religious life of the Jain monks and adopted the Jain way of life.

Jain Beliefs

The universe exists as a series of layers, both heavens and hells. It had no beginning and will have no ending. It consists of:

• Supreme Abode - is located at the top of the universe and is where Siddha, the liberated souls, live.
• Upper World - the 30 heavens where celestial beings live
• Middle world - the earth and the rest of the universe
• Nether world - the 7 hells with various levels of misery and punishments
• The Nigoda - or base where the lowest forms of life reside
• Universe Space - the layers of clouds which surround the upper world
• Space beyond - an infinite volume without soul, matter, time, medium of motion or medium of rest.

Everyone is bound within the universe by one's karma (the accumulated good and evil that one has done).

Moksha (the liberation from an endless succession of lives through reincarnation) is achieved by enlightenment, which can be attained only through asceticism.

The followers of the Jain Dharma are expected to follow five principles of living:

• Ahimsa - or non-violence in all parts of a person -- mental, verbal and physical. Committing an act of violence against a human, animal, or even vegetable generates negative karma, which in turn adversely affects one's next life
• Satya - speaking the truth; avoiding falsehood
• Asteya - to not steal from others
• Brahmacharya - or soul conduct; remaining sexually monogamous to one's spouse only
• Aparigraha - detach from people, places and material things. Avoiding the collection of excessive material possessions, abstaining from over-indulgence, restricting one's needs, etc.

Jains believe that only by achieving complete purity of the soul can one attain liberation. Purity means shedding all karman, matter generated by one's actions, which binds itself to the soul. By following various austerities like fasting, meditation, retreating to lonely places etc, one can shed karman and purify the soul. Right conduct is essential and can really only be fully realized by monks as opposed to the laity.

Jain Sects

Differences in ascetic practices led to a split in Jainism and two major sects emerged: the Digambaras and the Shvetambaras. The basic religious principle remained the same but they differed amongst themselves on minor dogmas and mythological details.

The Digambaras (literally "sky clad" or naked): Their monks carry asceticism to the point of rejecting even clothing (even when they appear in public).

The Shvetambaras (literally "white clad"): their monks wear simple white robes. The laity are permitted to wear clothes of any color.

Place of Worship

From the outside Jain temples resemble Hindu temples. but, inside Jain temples are a riot of sculptural ornamentation. This is partly explained by the Jain notion that beauty is found within. Most Jain temples are aligned on an east-west axis.

Visitors please note - you should remove your shoes and hat before entering a Jain temple. In some places like Ranakpur, all leather items (like belts, camera covers etc) are to be removed before entering. Cover your legs and shoulders. Please do not take photographs unless you have permission to do so.

This religion has survived in India for almost 2,500 years and is the only Sanskritic non-Hindu religion to have done so. Its contribution to Indian heritage is significant than might be expected for its numerical strength. As an institutionalized religion it has held its ground all along. It has sometimes enjoyed the royal patronage and has produced worthy monks and layman of whom any society could be proud. Today, this religion has some 3 million followers in India. They are concentrated in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, and there are thriving communities in larger cities like Ahmedabad and Bombay.

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ISLAM IN INDIA

More than 11% of India's population is Muslim, making it the largest minority religion in the country. Islam was introduced to North India by the invading armies and in the South by Arab traders.

Islam as a religion was founded in Arabia by Prophet Mohammed in the 7th century AD. The Arabic term Islam means to surrender and believers undertake to surrender to the will of Allah. The will of Allah is revealed in the Koran, the sacred scriptures of Islam and it was Mohammed to whom God revealed His will spurring him to act as his messenger. All the prophets from Adam to Muhammad and all the books revealed to them are regarded as the religious heritage of Islam; but as the Muhammad is the last prophet, Islam is the last word in the cycle of divine revelation.

Islam is monotheistic; God is unique and has no equal or partner. Everything is believed to be created by God and is deemed to have its own place and purpose within the universe. Only God is unlimited and self-sufficient. The purpose of living things is submission to the divine will. Although God never speaks to Humankind directly, his word is conveyed through messengers, the prophets - who are never themselves divine; Mohammed being the most recent prophet.

Islamic Beliefs

Islam condemns idol worshipping. According to Islam, only Allah is to be worshipped for he is the creator and Lord of Judgement, with unlimited sovereignty over his creation. In return the Lord demands that Muslim treat all God's creature with kindness, for he who loves God's creatures best, is best loved by him.

All Muslims share a belief in the Five Pillars of Islam:

• Shahadah - or the declaration of faith that 'there is no God but God; Mohammed is his prophet
  v Prayer - five times a day and on one's own if one cannot make it to a mosque. With their faces turned towards Mecca, Muslims are enjoined to pray in a prescribed form
• Zakat - or tax which today is usually a donation in the form of charity. Muslims are obligated to give a fixed proportion of certain categories of his property as alms.
• Roza - or fasting during the month of Ramzan (Ramadan), the ninth of the Muslim calendar during which the Koran was first revealed, by all except the sick, the very young, the elderly and those undertaking arduous journeys.
• Haj - or pilgrimage to Mecca , something a Muslim aspires to do at least once in their life.

Islamic sects

It is believed that Mohammed appointed no successor, and left this matter to the discretion of the elite community. In the years after Mohammed's death a succession dispute split the movement on political as well as religious grounds and the legacy today is the Sunnis and the Shi'ahs. The religious differences between the sects arose over the interpretation of verses of the Koran and over the Hadis or corpus of traditions about Mohammed's saying and doings. Koran is common to both sects, their Hadis differ.

The Sunnis, the majority, emphasize the 'well-trodden' path or the orthodox way. They look to tradition and the customs and views of the greater community. The rulers of Northern India were of Sunni faith, so were most of their subjects.

The Shi'ahs assert that the Mohammed being the last of the prophets does not end man's need for intermediaries between themselves and God. They call these intermediaries or exemplary leaders Imam and believe that only the Imams are able to reveal the hidden and true meaning of the Koran.

Most Muslims in India are Sunnis, although Kargil in western Ladakh has a Shi'ah majority. Kashmir is the only state in India with a Muslim majority.

Place of Worship

The basic elements of a typical mosque are essentially the same worldwide. A large space or hall is dedicated to communal prayer. In the hall is a mihrab (niche), which marks the direction of Mecca. Outside the hall there is usually some sort of courtyard which has places where devotees may wash their feet and hands before prayers. Minarets are placed at the cardinal points and its from here that the faithful are called to prayer. The Jami Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri in the State of Uttar Pradesh is said to be modelled on the mosque in Mecca.

Visitors please note - many mosques do not admit non-Muslims, and some do not admit women. Always inquire to see if you are allowed into a particular mosque. All who enter must remove their shoes and cover their legs. Women are required to cover their heads and sit separately from the men

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SIKHISM

Sikhism is a relatively young religion with around 18 million followers, the majority of whom can be found in the Punjab province of India, where the Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak in the late 15th century. The word Sikh derives from the Pali word Sikkha or the Sanskrit sishya, meaning disciple. Sikhs are an enterprising community of people who have migrated to all parts of the world. Sikhism is not an ethnic religion and invites converts from any part of the world. Sikh men stand out in a crowd on account of their characteristic turbans and uncut beards.

No consensus exists on the origins of this religion. Historians and specialists in Eastern religions generally believe that Sikhism is a syncretistic religion, related to the Bhakti movement within Hinduism and the Sufi branch of Islam to which many independent beliefs and practices were added. The Bhakti movement had started as a reaction against the caste system and Brahmin domination of ritual and laid great stress on devotion as a means of self-realisation. It was conceived at a time of great social unrest and was an attempt to fuse the best of Islam and Hinduism. Many Sikhs, however, disagree; they believe that their religion is a direct revealed from God - a religion that was not derived from either Hinduism or Islam. Sikhism does contain many unique postulates and principles that are quite different from both Hinduism and Islam.

Its founder was Shri Guru Nanak Dev, (1469-1538) who was born in the Punjab area of what is now Pakistan. He was one of the spiritual leaders of the Bhakti tradition and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs. Before he started preaching his own vision of the world, Nanak practiced asceticism, wandered around with Hindu as well as Muslim holy men and absorbed the essence of the teachings of both Islam and Hinduism. His saying "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" has since become one of the pillars of Sikhism. Guru Nanak lay emphasis on social equality and rejected all forms of caste distinctions. The collective welfare of all and the concept of seva (service) of the community are the central social themes of Sikhism. In essence, his social vision teaches one to love the divine name, to work hard, and to share the fruits of one's labour with others.

The teachings of the 10 Sikh Gurus along with hymns and verses written by some Muslim and Hindu saints of the Bhakti movement like Kabir, Baba Sheik Farid, Bhagat Namdev etc comprise the Sikh scriptures. These have been compiled into the Adi Granth (the first book); respectfully referred to as the Granth Sahib. The holy text was completed by the 5th Sikh Guru and declared by the 10th to be a guru in its own right, capable of providing leadership to the community.

Sikh Beliefs

The Sikhs worship no idols and consider their holy text, the Granth Sahib as the only object worthy of veneration. Singing the hymns of the holy book would lead to realisation of the one god, known by many Hindu and Islamic names but most popularly called Wahe Guru. This single formless god is omnipresent, omnipotent and timeless. They do not deny the existence of the countless Hindu deities. They consider God as having made many lesser gods and to be superior to them. But only the one God can be worshipped; lesser gods are not worshipped.

They believe in samsara (the repetitive cycle of birth, life and death), karma (the accumulated sum of one's good and bad deeds and reincarnation the belief of a rebirth following death. These beliefs are similar to Hinduism. They have rejected the caste system of the Hindu religion. They believe that everyone has equal status in the eyes of God. This is a very important principle that permeates all Sikh belief and behavior. Sikhs emphasize collective methods of realizing godhood with emphasis on collective singing of Gurbani (the Guru's words), community eating in a community kitchen maintained through collective contributions and work as moral obligation.

Fundamental to the Sikhs is the concept of Khalsa or belief in a chosen race of soldier-saints who abide by strict codes of moral conduct (abstaining from alcohol, tobacco and drugs) and engage in a crusade for dharmayudh (righteousness).

There are five emblems associated with the Khalsa. These Five K's are clothing practices followed by the Khalsa saints:

• Kesh (a Khalsa must not cut his hair)
• Kangah (comb)
• Kaccha (short pants, drawers worn by soldiers)
• Kara (steel bracelet usually worn on the right wrist). The kara is usually said to be a charm against evil. Some claim it's to remind believers that they are shackled to god.
• Kirpan (a ceremonial dagger or sabre)

During the 18th century, there were a number of attempts to prepare an accurate portrayal of Sikh customs. None received the support of most Sikhs. Sikh scholars and theologians started in 1931 to prepare the Reht Maryada -- the Sikh code of conduct and conventions. It is the only version authorized by the Akal Takhat, the seat of supreme temporal authority for Sikhs. Its implementation has successfully achieved a high level of uniformity in the religious and social practices of Sikhism throughout the world.

There are a number of traditions within Sikhism. Thousands of Sikhs, both in India and worldwide, follow living gurus who have lineages traceable back to the 10th Guru Gobind Singh. In Canada and elsewhere, major strains are becoming evident between liberal and conservative wings of the religion, as some Sikhs accommodate to the surrounding culture.

Place of Worship

Sikh temples are called Gurudwaras. There is no special requirement for the design of the building but they usually have a nishan sahib (flagpole) flying a triangular flag bearing the Sikh insignia. There are no idols and priests in the temple although the Granth Sahib (holy book), the granthi, (the keeper of the holy book) and the raagi (the singer of hymns) are key components of the Gurudwara. The Golden Temple at Amritsar is the holiest Gurudwara of Sikhism and is also the seat of the Akal Takhat, the temporal authority of the Sikhs. The Sikhs have a democratically elected body, the Sri Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, to run the affairs of the Gurudwaras

Visitors please note - everyone is welcome to enter the shrine but your shoes must be removed and heads should be covered.

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ZOROASTRIANISM

Zoroastrianism had its inception in Persia and was certainly known to the ancient Greeks. Zoroastrianism is a small religion with about 140,000 members. Yet its importance to humanity is much greater than its numbers might suggest, because of the important impact their theology has had on the evolution of Christianity and Judaism and other later religions; in the beliefs surrounding God and Satan, the soul, heaven and hell, saviors, resurrection, final judgement etc. It is one of the oldest religions still in existence and may have been the first monotheistic religion.

The religion was founded by Zarathustra (Zoroaster in Greek; Zarthosht in India and Persia). Conservative Zoroastrians assign a date of 6000 BC to the founding of the religion; other followers estimate 600 BC. Historians and religious scholars generally date his life sometime between 1500 and 1000 BC on the basis of his style of writing. Zarathustra himself was a priest about whom little is known except that he lived in Persia, modern day Iran. Legends say that his birth was predicted and that attempts were made by the forces of evil to kill him as a child. He preached a monotheism in a land, which followed an aboriginal polytheistic religion. He was attacked for his teaching, but finally won the support of the king. The religion that bears his name, however, became the state religion of various Persian empires, until the 7th century AD.

The Zoroastrian holy book is called the Avesta. This includes the original words of their founder Zarathustra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the Gathas. The latter represent the core text of the religion. The Gathas are abstract sacred poetry, directed towards the worship of the One God, understanding of righteousness and cosmic order, promotion of social justice and individual choice between good and evil. The Gathas have a general and even universal vision.

At some later date, the remaining parts of the Avestas were written. These deal with laws of ritual and practice, with the traditions of the faith. The Zoroastrian community is sharply divided between those who would follow mostly (or exclusively) the teachings of the original Gathas, and those who believe that the later traditions are important and equally divinely inspired.

When followers of Islam invaded Persia in 650 AD, most of the Zoroastrians emigrated to India in the 10th century where they are concentrated today. Those who remained behind have survived centuries of persecution and now number only about 17,000. In India they became known as Parsis (Persians). These Parsis settled in Gujarat, becoming farmers and adopting the Gujarati language. When the British ruled India, the Parsis moved into commerce and industry, forming a prosperous community in Mumbai. They adopted many British customs, including British dress and banned the marriage of children. Parsis are endogamous, that is they only marry within their group, but the 85,000 or so left in India, remain economically and politically influential.

Zoroastrian Beliefs

Zoroastrianism has a dualistic nature whereby good and evil are locked in continuous battle, with good always triumphing. While Zoroastrianism leans towards monotheism, it isn't quite: good and evil entities c0-exist, although believers are enjoined to honour only the good. Humanity therefore has a choice; purity is achieved by avoiding contamination with dead matter and things pertaining to death. Unlike Christianity, there is no conflict between body and soul. Both are united in the good versus evil struggle. Zoroastrianism, therefore rejects such practices as fasting and celibacy except in purely ritualistic circumstances. Humanity, although mortal, has components such as the soul, which are timeless.. one's prospect for a pleasant afterlife depends on ones deeds, words and thoughts during one's earthy existence. But not every lapse is entered on the balance sheet and the errant soul is not called to account on the day of judgement for each and every misdemeanor.

They believe in a single god Ahura Mazda who is supreme. Communication between Himself and humans is by a number of attributes, called Amesha Spentas or Bounteous Immortals. Within the Gathas, the original Zoroastrian sacred text, these Immortals are sometimes described as concepts, and are sometimes personified.

One school of thought promotes a cosmic dualism between: an all powerful God Ahura Mazda who is the only deity worthy of being worshipped, and an evil spirit of violence and death, Angra Mainyu, who opposes Ahura Mazda. The resulting cosmic conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity who is required to choose which to follow. Evil, and the Spirit of Evil, will be completely destroyed at the end of time. Dualism will come to an end and Goodness will be all in all. Another school of thought perceives the battle between Good and Evil as an ethical dualism, set within the human consciousness.

The universe will go through three eras:

• Creation
• The present world where good and evil are mixed. People's good works are seen as gradually transforming the world towards its heavenly ideal;
• And a final state after this renovation when good and evil will be separated.

Eventually, everything will be purified. Even the occupants of hell will be released. Members are dedicated to a Three-Fold Path, as shown in their motto: "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds"

Zoroastrians do not generally accept converts. One has to be born into the religion. This belief is however, disputed by some members.

Place of Worship

Parsis worship in fire temples where eternal flames symbolize their god. Their worship includes prayers and symbolic ceremonies. The rituals are conducted before the sacred fire. This sacred fire and sacrifice (in the form of haoma or sacred liquor) still play a fundamental role in Zoroastrian ritual, but perhaps the most famous practice involves the tower of silence. The tower, a place of burial, is composed of three concentric circles (one each for men, women and children). The corpse is placed within, naked and exposed to vultures, who pick the bone clean. The bones, once they have dried by the sun, are swept into a central well. The fourth day of the burial rites is the most important for it is on this day that the deceased's soul reaches the next world and presents itself before the deities for judgement.