Buddhism
Buddhism
Lord Gautam Buddha was the founder of the great religion in the sixth century BC.
He was the originator of Buddhism.
His life is reflected in legends, religious literature, paintings and sculptures.
Buddha said the following
Preached the four noble truths-
1) There is suffering,
2) There is a community of suffering,
3) The cause of suffering is craving,
4) The way to avoid suffering is – Dukh Nirodhgamini PratiPradha.
That is, to control desires (cravings).
To get freedom from the bondage of coming and going or to end suffering,
man should be familiar with the right path,
which he called the Eightfold Path,
which includes the following eight things.
1) Samyadrishti,
2) Samyaksankalpa,
3) Samyakvaka,
4) Samyakkarma,
5) Samyakajiva,
6) Samyadvyayama (labour),
7) right memory and
8) right concentration.
Buddha emphasized the importance of the middle path.
According to him, to lead a holy life a man should avoid both types of extremes.
One should neither perform extreme penance nor indulge in worldly pleasures.
Needed Like Mahavira, Buddha also preached non-violence,
but he did not give so much emphasis on it.
As much as Mahavir did.
Buddha did not accept the Vedas as evidence and did not accept social inequalities based on the caste system.
According to him any person could join the Sangh.
Buddhist Sanghas were very disciplined and democratic organizations.
Throughout the year Buddhist monks and nuns traveled around preaching the principles of their religion.
They lived in monasteries only during the rainy season.
Emperor Ashoka helped in the spread of Buddhism in India and other countries of Asia.
Over time, this religion spread to Sri Lanka, Burma, Western and Central Asia, Tibet and China and from there to Korea and Japan.
Some features of Buddhism later became a part of Hinduism.
Even Buddha was included among the incarnations of Vishnu.
Later, the followers of Buddha got divided into two sects, Hinayana and Mahayana.
The Hinayana sect emphasized the nirvana of the individual through direct following of the Eightfold Path.
On the other hand, the Mahayana sect started worshiping Buddha as God
and emphasized that not only monks and nuns but all people can attain Nirvana.
Since the beginning of worshiping the idol of Buddha
Indian sculpture developed a lot.
Religious institutions up to the Gupta period compared to the Vedic period
And there had been a lot of change in behaviour.
The most important aspects of Brahmin religion were the Devatrayi or Trimurti.
In this Devyatri there were Brahma (creator of the world), Vishnu (protector) and Shiva (destroyer).
Brahmin religion now got divided into three sects, Vaishnav, Shaiva and Shakta.
Krishna worship began to develop.
Krishna’s identity with Vishnu was established.
In some areas people also remained worshipers of the Mother Goddess.
The worship of Mother Goddess started in the Harappan period.
Later this goddess started being worshiped in the name of welfare form of Shakti like Uma, Bhavani, Annapurna etc.
and in the form of destroyer of sins like Kali, Karali, Chamunda, Chandi etc.
Brahmanism professes the existence of a supreme universal soul (Ishwar or Parabrahma).
But he gives freedom to every worshiper to worship God in whatever way he wants.
Thus Brahmanism is a theistic religion.
According to Brahmin religion, the existence of a living being is determined by its actions for living.
Good deeds will bear fruit in the next life.
Similarly, bad deeds will also yield results.
According to this belief, the soul present in the body does not die, only the body dies and is born again and again.
According to Brahmin religion,
there are three main goals of human life.
The first goal is religion.
Dharma means virtue, which is the source of good deeds.
The second is goal-meaning. Artha means the collection of all those moral and useful things
which are obtained by following religious activities.
The third goal is lust.
Kama means the enjoyment of sensual pleasures.
But this use should be different from animalistic pleasures,
that is, it should be in accordance with a polite and cultured mind.
Correct pursuit of these three goals leads to salvation.
Another feature of Brahmin religion is Varnashrama religion.
According to this, every person should follow the varna law and perform the duties prescribed for different ashrams.
Four varnas and four ashrams are considered as the theoretical division of society and ideal system of life respectively.
Brahmin religion has never been uniform, stable and unchanging.
He has been able to adapt himself to the changing circumstances and living conditions.
Due to its diverse principles and rituals, it gave rise to many sects within the Brahmin religion.
Over time these sects developed their own methods of worship.
But the members of each sect, while following their own system,
had a respectful attitude towards the thoughts of others.
Like Buddhism, some branches of Vedic religion have also spread outside India,
especially in the countries of South Asia.
The number of religious texts is large,
the most important of which are Charveda, Rigveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda and Yajurveda.
Vedang, Brahmin and Upanishad are also texts of this category.
Bhagwat Geeta is also an important religious text.
The epics – Mahabharata and Ramayana, theology and Puranas also have an important influence on the lifestyle of Hindus.
Brahmanism with all its sects remained the most popular religion of India.
