Dharmic religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Faith is an integral part of each of us. Our religions (from Latin "to unite") differ, but there is something that unites them - the desire to get closer to God, the search for protection from Him. This truth is independent of creed.

What are Dharmic religions?

Dharmic religions are a group consisting of four religious directions, which are united by belief in Dharma - the universal law of being. Dharma has many designations - this is Truth, the path of piety, penetrating, like the rays of the sun, in all directions of the universe. In simple terms, Dharma is a set of methods and teachings that help to understand and feel how human life works, what laws prevail over it.

Dharmic religions

Which religions are Dharmic?

• Buddhism;
• Jainism;
• Sikhism;
• Hinduism.

Interestingfact! The term "Buddhism" was introduced by Europeans, Buddhists themselves call their religion Dharma.

Let's consider separately each of the above religions.

Buddhism is the oldest world religion

So what is Buddhism? Briefly about religion and its foundations, the following can be said.

Christianity and Islam - two other world religions - are much younger than Buddhism. This religion originated in 500-600 years. BC e. Its founder was, according to historians, a real person - Siddhattha Gautama, a sage from the Shakya tribe. He later received the name Buddha Shakyamuni. "Buddha" means "enlightened one". According to legend, Siddhattha unsuccessfully searched for an answer to the question of why the world is filled with suffering, and one day, after 7 years, enlightenment descended on him, and he received an answer.

Development of Buddhism

Buddhism created a whole civilization, with its own education system, literature, art. Buddhism can be attributed to both a religious and a philosophical movement. For example, Buddhists believe that the world has no beginning and no end - it is created every second millions of times, and one day this process will simply end.

Let's talk briefly about religion (Buddhism) and its concept.

The basic idea is that the whole life of a person is suffering. And the cause of this suffering is our attachments and weaknesses. Freed from them, a person reaches the divine state, called nirvana. In addition, dharmic religions are united by belief inreincarnation.

To get rid of desire, Buddhism offers the eightfold path of salvation - right intentions, thoughts, deeds, efforts, thoughts, speech, lifestyle, understanding, concentration.

Buddhism is divided into 2 directions - Hinayana and Mahayana. They differ significantly from each other, but converge in the basic concept.

Hinduism is the main religion of India

This unique Dharmic religion does not have a founder to spread his teachings to followers. Most concepts of Hinduism were formed at the time of Christ, but the gods worshiped by Hindus today were worshiped by their ancestors as early as 4,000 years ago. This world religion is constantly evolving, absorbing new knowledge and interpreting it in its own way.

The main Hindu texts are the Vedas, as well as the Ramayana, the Upanishads and the Mahabharata. They contain philosophical teachings, incantations, verses, prayers and rituals and are considered the foundation of religion. So, in the texts there are 3 options for the birth and structure of the Universe. In addition, Hindus believe that everything in the world is cyclical. Whether it is a series of reincarnations of the soul or the evolution of the cosmos, one day it will repeat again.

Hindus worship 330 gods, but Brahma is considered the supreme among them. They believe that Brahma, impersonal and unknowable, resides in every atom of the universe. He incarnates in 3 forms: Creator, Preserver and Destroyer.

In the photo - Ganesha, the god of we alth and prosperity in Hinduism.

Despite the fact thattoday Hinduism is so vast that it is divided into many branches, there are fundamental concepts that we will now consider.

The soul does not die. When a mortal body dies, it moves to another body, not always human. The law of karma is inviolable: no sin and no virtue will remain unanswered, if not in this incarnation, then in the next. And it depends only on the person who he will be born next. The cycle of birth and death is called the Wheel of Samsara.

In the sacred texts, you can find 4 goals that every person should strive for. These are artha (power, money), kama (pleasures, primarily carnal), moksha (cessation of cyclic reincarnations) and dharma. The last one is debt. For example, the duty of gold is yellow and brilliance, the duty of a lion is ferocity. The Dharma of man is expressed in different ways. This may be respect for religion, non-violence, a virtuous lifestyle. Dharma differs between the two sexes and among representatives of social strata. Following your dharma means improving the quality of life in future reincarnations.

Moksha is something like the final stop of spiritual development. Getting rid of the endless circle of suffering that a person is forced to experience again and again in new incarnations. The term can be found in Hinduism and Buddhism. The soul that has reached this stage of spiritual development becomes an infinite being. This state can be achieved even while living.

Jainism - "do no harm"

Jainism is another Indian religion, lessmore common than Hinduism and Buddhism, but also related to Dharmic religions. The main idea is not to harm any living being.

Previously, Jainism did not go beyond its homeland, but today in America, Australia and even Europe, communities are being created that support the philosophy of Jainism.

This religion presumably originated in the 9th-6th centuries. BC e., but whether this is actually so, no one can say. The founder of Jainism is the prophet Jina Mahavir Vardhamana. The term "jina" (in Sanskrit - "winner") is used in religion to refer to people who have managed to free themselves from the Wheel of Samsara and achieve dharma.

Jainism has a very interesting philosophy. His followers believe that in the Universe all processes occur independently, without the help of the Divine Beginning. The main goal of religion is the correctness of thoughts and actions, the rejection of violence in order to achieve divine consciousness. It consists in stopping the rebirth of the soul, achieving the divine state, called nirvana in all Indian religions. Only an ascetic can achieve moksha.

It is noteworthy that in this respect Jainism is similar to Buddhism, but it denies caste differences. Religion teaches that any living being has a soul that can be saved from Samsara. In addition, Jainism is very strict about the observance of moral standards.

Sikhism is India's youngest religion

Religion Sikhism ("Sikh" - "student")prevails in the Indian state of Punjab, but today the followers of this teaching can also be found in Canada, America, Great Britain. She is the last of the Dharmic religions we are discussing today.

The founder of Sikhism was Guru Nanak, who lived at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. He believed that God is the Truth, which is known through a teacher, a spiritual mentor. Nanak claimed that God is love, virtue, beauty, God is present in everything beautiful and good.

Nanak taught that all people are equal, did not divide them into men and women or into castes. He also opposed the rite of self-immolation of widows practiced by the Hindus. Religion has formed several fundamental statements.

1. One can approach God only through good deeds and selfless love for God and others. The main form of worship is meditation.

2. Sikhs highly value freedom and condemn those who try to manipulate people.

3. All people are brothers.

It is noteworthy that in the 17th century the tenth Guru of the Sikhs created a fighting squad, which included everyone who could hold a weapon. The reason for its creation was the severe persecution that the Sikhs were subjected to by the Indian emperors. These people fought for independence and even got it for a while. But soon they fell in the fight against the British.

Conclusion

So, today we looked at dharmic religions and their features. Each of the aforementioned religions is not only alive, but is spreading through followers all over the world.