Towards the end of the Vedic period,
the minute details of yajna rites acquired
undue importance. Only the priestly class
had knowledge of those details. Others no
longer had the freedom to gain that
knowledge. The Varna System restrictions
became very hard in the course of time. A
person’s social position was decided by the
varna into which he was born rather than
by his achievements. That is why, from the
Upanishad period, we see that attempts
were made to give a wider scope to religious
thought and not restrict it only to yajna rites.
However, the thought in Upanishads
focussed on the existence and nature of the
soul. It was difficult for ordinary people to
understand it. This gave rise to different
sects that emphasized the worship of
particular deities. For example, the Shaiva
sect of Shiva worshippers and the
Vaishnava sect the of the worshippers of
Vishnu. Different Puranas were written
with reference to these deities.
Certain trends around the sixth century
BCE made attempts to express religious
thought in such a way that the common
man would understand it easily. Many
people realized that every person is free to
find ways of his own upliftment. This led to
the establishment of new religions. These
religions emphatically stated that
discrimination on the basis of caste has no
place in an individual’s upliftment. The
work of Vardhaman Mahavir and Gautama
Buddha is of special importance among the
proponents of new thoughts.
Vardhaman Mahavir
5.1 Jainism
Jainism is one of the ancient religions
in India. This religion gives importance to
the principle of non-violence. According to
the Jain tradition, a person who reveals
religious knowledge is known as a
Tirthankar. There have been 24 Tirthankars
in all. Vardhaman Mahavir is the twentyfourth Tirthankar in the Jain religious
tradition.
Vardhaman Mahavir (599 BCE to 527
BCE)
There was a mahajanapada known as
Vrijji in what is known as the State of Bihar
today. Its capital was Vaishali. Vardhaman
Mahavir was born in Kundagram, a part of
Vaishali. His father’s name was Siddharth,
and mother’s, Trishala.
Vardhaman Mahavir left his home and
all comforts for the attainment of
knowledge. He attained enlightenment after
twelve and a half years of rigorous tapa.
This knowledge was pure or keval.
Therefore, he is also known as Kevali. He
was called Jina or Conqueror because the
joy derived from physical comforts and the
discomfort felt due to undesired things had
no impact whatsoever on him. The term
Jain derives from the word jina. Vardhaman is said to be Mahavir because he had the
resilience, the courage to conquer all
passions. After the attainment of knowledge,
he preached for about thirty years to explain
the essence of religion to people. To make it
easy for people to understand it, he spoke to
them in Ardhamagadhi, a people’s
language. The religion that he expounded
laid stress on good conduct. The essence of
his teachings for good conduct is contained
in the Five Great Vows (Pancha
Mahavratas) and the Three Jewels
(Tri-ratna). The assembly held by the
Tirthankar to preach to people was known
as ‘Samavasaran’ in Ardhamagadhi.
Samavasaran was based on equality. People
of all varnas had entry to it.
The Pancha Mahavratas (The Five
Great Vows) : These are five rules to be
followed strictly.
1. Ahimsa (Non-violence) : No living
being should be hurt, injured or harmed
through one’s behaviour.
2. Satya (Truth) : Every speech and
action should be true.
3. Asteya (Non-stealing) : Asteya
means theft. Taking what belongs to others
without their consent is theft or stealing.
Asteya means ‘not stealing’ anything.
4. Aparigraha ( Non-attachment) :
Man tends to accumulate property due to
greed. Aparigraha means not hoarding or
accumulating anything in this way.
5. Brahmacharya (Chastity) : It
means leaving bodily pleasures and
following the vows.
Tri-ratna (The Three Jewels) : The
three jewels are the three principles.
1. Samyak Darshan (Right Faith) 2. Samyak
Jhan (Right Knowledge) and 3. Samyak
Charitra (Right Conduct) Samyak means
‘balanced’.1. Samyak Darshan : To understand
the truth in the preaching of the Tirthankar
and to have faith in it.
2. Samyak Jnan : Studying the
preaching and philosophy of the Tirthankar
regularly and learning its deep meaning.
3. Samyak Charitra : Strictly following
the Five Great Vows.
Essence of his teachings : Among the
teachings of Mahavir, Anekantavada is
considered to be very important in the quest
for truth. It means pluralism or multiple
viewpoints. In our quest for truth, if we
focus on only one or two aspects or
veiwpoints and draw conclusions, the whole
truth is not known. Therefore, it is necessary
to pay attention to all aspects of an issue. If
people follow this, they develop tolerance
towards the opinions of other people in
society, and give up the attitude of stubborn
adherence to their own opinions.
Vardhaman Mahavir taught the people
that the greatness of man does not depend
on his varna, but on his excellent conduct.
In the Vedic tradition, the doors of
knowledge had slowly been closed to
women. But Vardhaman Mahavir gave the
right of sanyas (the right to renounce the
world) to women, too. His teachings were :
‘Love all living things’, ‘Have mercy and
compassion’, and ‘Live and let live’.
5.2 Buddhism
Buddhism spread in India and in many
countries outside India. Gautama Buddha
was the founder of Buddhism.
Gautama Buddha (563 BCE To 483 BCE)
Gautama Buddha was born at Lumbini
in Nepal. His father’s name was
Shuddhodana and mother’s, Mayadevi. His
birth name was Siddharth. He had attained
knowledge of human life in its entirety.
That is why he came to be known as theBuddha’. He wanted to know why there is
sorrow and suffering in human life. He left
his home and all comforts in pursuit of the
answer to this question. On Vaishakha
Purnima, he was sitting in deep meditation
under a pipal tree at Uruvela near the city
of Gaya in Bihar. That is when he attained
‘Bodhi’ - enlightenment or the highest
knowledge. The tree is now known as the
‘Bodhi’ tree (Bodhivriksha) and the place
Uruvela is known as Bodhgaya. He
delivered his first sermon at Sarnath near
Varanasi. His teachings in the first sermon
are termed dhamma. He set in motion the
wheel of dhamma in this sermon. Therefore
this event is called dhamma-chakkapavattan in Pali and dharma-chakrapravartan in Sanskrit. Later, he travelled
on foot (charika) for nearly forty-five years to preach dhamma. He preached in the
people’s language, Pali. In Buddhism, the
concept of taking refuge in Buddha,
Dhamma and Sangha is important. It is
known as Trisharan. The essence of the
dhamma he expounded is as follows :
Aryasatyas (Noble Truths) : There are
four truths at the root of all human affairs.
They are called Noble Truths or Aryasatyas.
1. Dukkha (Suffering) : There is
suffering in human life.
2. The Cause of Dukkha : There is a
cause of suffering.
3. Dukkha-nivaran : It is possible to
end suffering.
4. Pratipad : Pratipad means the ‘way’.
This way leads to the end of suffering. This
is the way of good conduct. It is known as
the Ashtangik or Eight-fold Path.
Panchasheel : Gautama Buddha asked
people to follow five rules. The rules are
called Panchasheel.
1. Stay away from killing animals.
2. Stay away from stealing.
3. Stay away from unethical conduct.
4. Stay away from telling lies.
5. Stay away from intoxicants.
Bauddha Sangha : He created a
sangha of bhikkhus to preach his religion.
Followers who gave up their domestic life
and entered the sangha were called
bhikkhus. They, too, travelled on foot like
the Buddha to preach dhamma to the people.
There was a separate sangha of women.
They are called bhikkhunis. People of all
varnas and castes could embrace Buddhism.
Essence of his teachings : Gautama
Buddha announced the freedom of human intelligence. He refused the discrimination
based on things like varna. No one is greater
or smaller by birth. Greatness depends on
one’s behaviour or conduct. One of his
famous quotes is that ‘Even the little quail
can chirp freely in her nest’. This shows his
thinking on the values of freedom and
equality. He preached that like men,
women, too, had the right to their own
upliftment. He opposed the rituals of yajna.
His teachings of wisdom (Prajna), moral
virtue (Sheel), and other values are aimed
at the welfare of man. Compassion (Karuna)
for all living beings was an extraordinary
feature of his personality.The tolerance preached by Gautama
Buddha is a guiding principle not only for
the Indian society but for all mankind even
today.
Lokayat
The ancient trend of thought known as
Lokayat or Charvak is also important. It
emphasized independent thought, and
rejected the authority of the Vedas.
In the ancient period, new religious
trends and thoughts went on emerging in
India. Later on, religions like Judaism,
Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism also
took root in the Indian society.
5.3 Judaism
People belonging to the Jewish religion
may have arrived in Kochi in Kerala around
the first to third century of the Christian
Era. They believe that there is only one
God. Judaism emphasizes justice, truth,
peace, love, compassion, humility, charity,
ethical speech and self-respect. Their prayer
house is known as a synagogue. 5.4 Christianity
Christianity is a religion founded
by Jesus Christ. It has spread all over the
world. St. Thomas, one of the 12 disciples
of Christ, came to Kerala in the first century of the Christian Era. He established a
church at Pallayur in Trichur district, in
52 CE. According to the teaching of
Christianty, there is only one God. He is the
loving father of all and is omnipotent. It is
believed that Jesus Christ is the son of God
who came to the earth for the salvation of
mankind. According to the teachings of
Christianity, we are all brothers and sisters.
We should love everyone including our
enemies. We should forgive those who err
or go wrong. The Bible is the holy book of
Christianity and their prayerhouse is known
as a Church.
between India and Arabia. Arab traders
used to visit the ports on the coast on Kerala.
Islam spread in Arabia in the 7th century
CE. Islam arrived in India in the same
century through the Arab traders. The
prayer house of Islam is known as a mosque
or masjid.
Mosque
Church
5.5 Islam
Islam is a monotheistic religion. There
is only one Allah and Muhammad is his
Prophet. The message of God is revealed
through him in the holy book of Quran
Sharif. The word Islam means peace. It
also means surrender to Allah. The teaching
of Islam is that Allah is eternal, absolute,
all powerful and merciful. The purpose of
human existence is to worship Allah. The
Quran Sharif provides guidance on how
man should behave in life. Since ancient
times there have been trade relations
5.6 Zoroastrianism
Since ancient times, the Zoroastrian
people and Vedic people have shared ties.
The sacred text of the Parsee or Zoroastrian
people is the ‘Avesta’. The language of the
Rigveda and Avesta is similar. The Parsees
came to India from the Pars or Fars province
of Iran. Therefore, they are known as
Parsees. It is mostly believed that they first
came to Gujarat in the eighth century CE.
Zarathushtra or Zoroaster was the founder
of their religion. ‘Ahur Mazda’ is the name
of their God. The elements of fire and water
are very important in their religion. The
sacred fire burns in the temples which are
known as Agyaris. At the core of Parsee
thinking are three main principles of
conduct, namely, good thoughts, good
words and good deeds.
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