https://www.humanreligions.info/vedic_faiths.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2019
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The Vedic Faiths all stem from India, with origins in pre-history, growing to become Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism1. They share a belief in continual reincarnation until moksha (escape) is achieved by gaining enlightenment, in a 'samsaric' (cyclic) system, controlled by the rules of karma.2. As such, although there are various powerful spirits, the cosmic doctrines of both Buddhism and Jainism is atheist3,4,5. Predating these belief systems are the Vedas including the Rig Veda and some of the Upanishads. There is immeasurable depth to the cultures surrounding these religions and each and every tenet has a long history of critical debate behind it.
“The Veda is a collection of some of the oldest religious texts in India and is divided into four sections; (1) the Rig-Veda (the oldest part), (2) the Sema-Veda (a collection of chants), (3) the Yajur Veda (liturgical prose) and (4) the Atharva Veda (chants, songs and spells). [...]
The Vedic traditions include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, linked by a common root in the Vedic culture of ancient India and by a belief that all existence is cyclical: Universes arise, exist, decline, and fade to be replaced by other universes, just as every being in these universes passes through many reincarnations [...] rising slowly from the most basic life forms, through insects to humans and on to demigods before finally achieving reunion with the Ultimate Nature of all existence.”
"Religions of the World" by Breuilly, O'Brien & Palmer (1997)3,1,2
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Hinduism is the name given to the cultural religions6 of India and encompasses a wide variety of beliefs and practices7 which are similar to those of other Vedic Faiths, such as belief in karma. It is polytheist, with many gods taking many forms8, and represented by many names in a kaleidoscope of symbolism and meaning. All living creatures embody a spark of the divine ('atman') which is carried into a new body after death8. There are many shrines, points of pilgrimage and places of reverence, such as the river Ganges, "especially where it flows through the city of Varanasi (Benares)"8. The amount of rituals and rites linked to birth, life events and death are wild and varied9, and steeped deeply in irrational superstitions, although it is impossible to divide these into 'cultural' or 'religious' practices, or, to what extent people really believe in them. Nonetheless, products and services in horoscopes and astrology are lucrative markets in India.
There are many texts and scripts that are considered sacred, mostly written in Sanskrit8, one of the oldest written languages of mankind. In fact, most things about Indian religion are sourced from pre-history, and thus it represents one of the oldest traditions of belief that humanity possesses. Hinduism is counted as one of the great world religions10,11,12.
Historically, religion in India was decentralized and disparate rather than a single belief system, with no differential between cultural practices and 'religious' ones13. A process of cultural homogenisation had already centered along trade and pilgrimage routes14 but real change came under the influence of Western categorisers from the 18th century, who simplified all of India's culture under the single title of "Hinduism", an identity which Hindus now accept. During the period of colonial rule Christian powers at first tolerated Hinduism but over time used harsher and harsher language towards it, labelling it as heretical15. Over the last decade or two a "Hindu-ness" movement, Hindutva, has seen a rise in intolerance of non-Hindu culture15 including physical attacks on Muslims and Christians16,17,18.
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The historical evidence does not make it easy to trace the beginnings of Buddhism except that it sprung out of, and shares many basic beliefs, with Hinduism and other Vedic Faiths. "During the reign of emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE) Buddhism became a major Indian religion and was subsequently established across the whole subcontinent and beyond"19 and is now counted as one of the great world religions10,20,12,21. It has grown so diverse that it is very hard to define its core nature - in 1913 one scholar pointed out that "in Japan alone it has differentiated itself into thirteen main sects and forty-four sub-sects"22. Buddhism is a well-liked and respected atheist religion23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34 and in the West; many attend Buddhist retreats, meditation centres and classes. Western Buddhist communities nearly all run such events for the general public. But in the West many who put "Buddhist" on census forms have merely attended some of these and who have an interest, but are not committed Buddhists, which artificially inflates the numbers.
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Jainism is a 'Vedic' religion alongside Hinduism and Buddhism. Jainism is one of the great world religions10,11,12. It was founded in India in the 5th or 4th century BCE35 and was most popular between the 5th and 12th centuries CE36. Jainism, like other Vedic religions, embraces the concept of karma37, and although historically Jains took the idea to an extreme and sought to reduce and remove all desires and all effects of actions to become as passive as possible, modern Jains largely take into account the motives of actions, and so embrace a more moralistic form of karma38. Jainism is divided into two main factions (Digambara and Shvetambara) and the smaller Sthanakavasis; their main point of divergence is the extreme to which they take asceticism (plain living) and self-denial39.
Jainism is most famous for its fundamentalist stance of ahimsa (non-violence)36,40 and this key part of their doctrine even has staunch critics of religion such as Sam Harris speaking positively of Jain's peacefulness41 and its clear and inspiring stance managed to influence all of Indian culture36, and has adherents such as Mahatma Gandhi36. Critically speaking, the rest of Jainism is largely nonsensical and its stories are ahistorical; its doctrines of eternal cycles and 24-teachers-per-cycle (all of which happened to spend their lives in India) is daft, and even non-violence becomes counter-productive when faced with crop parasites and defending communities against violent attackers - Jainism only works as long as others maintain society for them.
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Karma is an important concept in a range of Vedic religions and cultures, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism42,43, all stemming from Indian beliefs. Karma is a universal principal and cosmic law, like the Tao of Taoism44. Unlike Taoism, individual beings (and the entire universe) go through a large number of incarnations45. It is closely linked to the concept of continual rebirth (reincarnation)46. Although belief in Karma is a good tool for improving motivation to treat others well, it also has a worrying implication: Karma creates blames on those suffering from disabilities and other ailments, unfairly insinuating that they deserve their problems.
Original Jain beliefs had it that all actions had negative karma and only complete serenity and detachment could help the situation38. Later Jain beliefs came closer Hindu and Buddhist ideas: Acts of merit such as pilgrimages and worship can improve your next fate47. Eventually, beings can break free from the cycle and scape the evil world in which we all are trapped. In Hinduism and Jainism this liberation is called moksha45 and can come realisation that "the inner atman and the universal brahman are identical"45. It is held back by any accumulated karma45. In Buddhism the result is the attainment of enlightenment and nirvana. Western New Age movements have also taken on the concept "though sometimes with a degree of misunderstanding"47. All in all, more people on Earth believe in Karma through a series of rebirths than in any other religious principle.46,38,47,8,48,49
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