India is the only country in
the world where a large number of religions
have not only evolved but flourished and have
grown from strength to strength.Religion is an
integeral aspect of life in India. Religion
has a great impact on the personal lives of
poeple of India on a daily basis. India is a
secular state, where the constitution honors
all religions equally. India is one of the few
countries of the world where the social and
religious identity of the nation has remained
intact despite numerous invasions,
persecution, colonialism and political
upsurges.
India has traditionally been a land of faith
and spirituality – it is home to the
adherents of all the major religions of the
world. Out of these, four were born in India
while the others came with invaders,
travellers and missionaries from abroad. While
India is the cradle of Hinduism, Buddhism,
Jainism and Sikhism, Islam can be compared to
an adopted child as it has been part of our
social and cultural fabric for centuries.
Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and
Baha’ism also have their followers in India
but they are very small in number. Despite the
multitude of faiths prevalent in India, the
country has by and large, been free of any
internecine strife. Hindus constitute an
overwhelming majority in the country and it is
a creed which is renowned for its catholicity
of outlook. For Hindus, religion is a tool to
achieve a one-to-one communication between god
and man. However, Hinduism became too
ritualistic; and in the 6th century B.C., a
great social churning took place in the
country – out of which emerged Jainism and
Buddhism. Jains place self-conquest above all
else – it is one of the most ascetic of
faiths, with its votaries living in the most
spartan manner imaginable. Buddhism, on the
other hand was exported to the Far East,
although its philosophy was almost snuffed out
in the land of its origin. An iconoclastic
faith like Buddhism could not compete with
ritualistic Brahminism that cleverly co-opted
Buddha into their 'holy pantheon of gods'.
It is not possible to explore India without
understanding its religious beliefs and
practices. A number of world religions
originated in India, and others that started
elsewhere strengthened here. To understand
India, it is important to understand its
religions as religion casts its shadow on
every Indian, right from their birth. There
are many religions followed here but detail
about some of them is given below.