by Judy Merrill

Created on: April 25, 2008

India is considered the cradle of races and religions, the cultivator of contemplation and the originator of the religion of the spirit. And most religious ideas have their source in Indian.

Hinduism is the ancient and central religion of India and out of it rose Buddhism. Hinduism, one of the great eastern religions, advocating charity and humanity, is possibly the oldest 'living' religions in the world today; an extremely complex religion embracing over 500 million adherents and found worldwide.

Hinduism is polytheistic, however, though divinities appear in separate forms, these forms are part of one universal spirit called 'Brahman'. Hindus believe that many divinities make up Brahman; the three most important being, Brahma - the creator of the universe, Vishna - it's preserver and Shiva - it's destroyer. Moreover this divine trinity can reincarnate and Vishu is identified with Krishna.

These gods periodically are re-born and return to earth to become great spiritual teachers. Hindus also look for guidance from Gurus who are considered re-born highly developed spirits.

Central to Hinduism is a belief in re-incarnation; that the soul never dies. When the physical body dies, the soul is reborn. The soul may be reborn in either an animal or in a human being, but Hindu doctrine is not clear on this point.

The 'Law of Karma' is closely related to reincarnation. It states that every action of a person, no matter how small it is, influences how his or her soul will be born in the next incarnation. The 'Rig Veda' says: "Don't do anything wrong for the evil will return to you in increased form" and "That which you have given in alms shall be your safety at the last day."

The Hindus believe that the aim of man is to seek release from the never ending cycle of successive existences. According to the Hindu, this can only be done by transcending it - by attaining a liberation in a transcendental sphere where the self is freed from mental and physical burdens. This is achieved by the practice of austerity and yoga; for self denial and self discipline are means of destroying that which leads to rebirth.

Karma mean 'action' but it can be called a force, or 'law' which allows destinies to individuals according to their actions. Individual life is enormously long because of continuous reincarnation and the whole cyclical process of change and rebirth is called 'samsara'. Yoga, rebirth, karma, samsara, liberation - these are the elements of Hinduism.

Buddhism rose in India approximately

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