Hinduism
In Hinduism there is no single founder. Instead, Hinduism grew out of the overlapping beliefs of the diverse
groups who settled in India such as the people of the Indus Valley Civilization and the Aryans. Hindus
believe that the universe is part of the unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force called Brahman. Brahman is
too complex a concept for most people to understand, so Hindus worship a variety of gods that give a
concrete form to Brahman.
Hindu gods include Brahma, the creator and Vishnu, the preserver. Shiva is the destroyer and his powerful
wife is Shakti. Shakti is both kind and cruel and a creator and a destroyer. Each god or goddess represents
individual aspects of Brahman. These gods take many forms, both human and animal, and each has its own
family.
Hindu teachings were recorded in sacred texts such as the Vedas and Upanishads. The Bhagavad-Gita
spells out many ethical ideas central to Hinduism. It is a poem of importance of duty over personal desires
and ambitions.
Hindus believe that every person has an essential self called an atman. However, atman is really just
another name for Brahman. The ultimate goal of existence in Hinduism is achieving moksha, which is
union with Brahman. To do that, individuals must free themselves from selfish desires that separate them
from Brahman. Most people cannot do this in one lifetime, so Hinduism promotes the idea of reincarnation.
Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul in another bodily form, and it allows people to continue working
toward moksha through several lifetimes. This idea of an endless cycle of death and rebirth is symbolized by
the image of the wheel in Indian art.
According to Hinduism, all existence is ranked. Humans are believed to be the closest to Brahman, then
animals, then plants, then objects such as rocks or water. According to Hinduism, a person is able to come
closer to achieving moksha by obeying the law of karma. Karma is the belief that all the actions of a
person's life will affect his or her fate in the next life. Therefore, if a person lived virtuously then they will
earn good karma and will be reborn at a higher level of existence. However, if a person did evil in their
lifetime, then they will acquire bad karma and will be reborn into suffering. In order to earn good karma, a
person must fulfill dharma, which is the religious and moral duty of an individual. Duties vary according to
class, occupation, gender or age. By obeying one's dharma, a person acquires merit for the next life. In the
end, karma and dharma helped to support the caste system because if a person was born into a low caste
then their position in society was understood to be because of his or her actions in a past lifetime. It could
also be assumed that a high ranking caste meant that the person was very close to achieving moksha.
In 500 BCE, Mahavira founded Jainism, which was a new religion that grew out of Hindu traditions. He
rejected the idea that Brahmin priests alone could perform certain sacred rites. Jainism emphasized
meditation, self-denial, and extreme ahimsa or nonviolence. Hindus believe that all people and things are
aspects of Brahman and should be respected. Jains believe so strongly in ahimsa that they sweep the ground
in front of them as they walk in order to avoid accidentally stepping on an insect. They also are known for
wearing a mask over their mouth to avoid accidentally breathing in an insect.
Buddhism
Like Hinduism, Buddhism grew from the same traditions. However, unlike Hinduism, Buddhism has a
founder. Buddhism’s founder is Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha was born about 566 B.C.E., to a high
caste family. While pregnant with him, his mother dreamed that a radiant white elephant descended to her
from heaven. These signs led a prophet to predict that the boy would someday become a wandering holy
man. To stop the prophecy from coming true, his father kept him in the palace, surrounded by comfort and
luxury. Siddhartha married a beautiful woman, had a son and enjoyed a happy life. One day he rode
beyond the palace gardens and saw a sick person, an old person and a dead body. For the first time he
became aware of human suffering and became deeply disturbed. He was so disturbed that he left his wife
and son and never returned. He set out to discover "the realm of life where there is neither suffering nor
death". He wandered for years, vainly seeking answers from Hindu scholars and holy men. He fasted and
meditated. For 48 days he sat under a tree meditating the mystery of life. Suddenly he believed that he
understood the cause and cure for suffering and sorrow. At this point he was no longer Siddhartha Gautama
but Buddha, the "Enlightened One".
Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching others what he had learned. His beliefs were stated in the Four
Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are:
(1) There is suffering. Birth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering;
sorrow and grief, physical and mental suffering, and disturbance are suffering. Association with
things not liked is suffering, separation from desired things is suffering; not getting what one wants
is suffering; in short.
(2) Suffering is caused by desire. This is craving that leads to rebirth, is connected with pleasure and
passion and finds pleasure in this or that; that is, craving for desire, existence, and the fading away of
existence.
(3) Suffering can end. This is the complete fading away and ending of that very craving, giving it up,
renouncing it, releasing it, and letting go.
(4) Suffering can be overcome with the eightfold path. This is the eightfold path of the noble ones:
right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness,
and right concentration.
Essentially, if a person can understand the Four Noble Truths, live a moral life by avoiding evil words or
actions, and meditate then he or she will achieve nirvana. Nirvana is the final goal of Buddhism and it is
union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth. Buddhism does not promote a stark existence.
Instead Buddhism promotes a middle way between a life devoted to pleasure and one based on harsh selfdenial. Moral principles such as honesty, charity, and kindness are also stressed.
Like Hinduism, Buddhism also stressed ahimsa, karma, dharma, moksha and reincarnation. However,
Buddhism is different in the respect that it rejected the Brahmin priests, Hinduism’s formal rituals, and the
many gods of Hinduism. Instead, Buddhism urged enlightenment through meditation. Buddhists also
rejected the caste system because they believe that the hope of nirvana is open to all regardless of birth.
Buddhism spread through missionaries, convents and monasteries. Convents and monasteries appealed to
people for its lifestyle of meditation and study. The Tripitaka or the "Three Baskets of Wisdom" are
Buddha's teachings. Like Jainism with Hinduism, Buddhism also had branches form from it. In Theravada
Buddhism, Buddha’s original teachings were followed. It required a life devoted to hard spiritual work,
thus only the most dedicated seekers, such as monks and nuns, could hope to reach nirvana. It spread to Sri
Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana Buddhism made Buddhism easier for ordinary people to follow. It
pictured the Buddha and other holy beings as compassionate gods. People turned to these gods for help in
solving daily problems as well as in achieving salvation. It also described an afterlife filled with many
heavens and hells. Mahayana Buddhism spread to China, Tibet, Korea and Japan.
Although Buddhism was formed in India, it declined over the years. This was because Hinduism eventually
absorbed some Buddhist ideas and made room for Buddha as another Hindu god. In the 1100s the few
Buddhist centers which still existed fell to the Muslim armies that invaded India. Today, India is all Hindu,
while China is predominately a form of Buddhism.