Religion is an integral part of life in India, where nine major religions, along with several other beliefs, coexist with the highest and most complex philosophies.
This book is the result of years of reading and study, accompanied by inner reflection and thought. It reflects the ideas of the greatest thinkers and spiritual leaders of India, who saw that all religions are different aspects of One Truth, and that a truly religious person can never be divisive. From the sages of the Upanishads, to the Bhakti saints, the Sufi mystics, and the spiritual gurus of more recent times, they all emphasize the Oneness of life and the sense of universal love that underlies every spiritual experience.
The quotes given below are a few examples of thousands of similar sayings:
‘God has no country, dress, form, limit or hue. God is omnipresent, his universal love is everywhere.’ (Guru Gobind Singh, Jap Sahib)
‘In every age and dispensation all Divine Ordinances are changed and transformed according to the requirements of time, except the law of love.’ (Bahaullah)
‘I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added lustre. I have not come on behalf of any religion.’ (Sathya Sai Baba, 4 July 1968)
Recognizing that all religions, spirituality and philosophy represent One Truth, each religion, sect and group has equal importance in this book. However, there is no one religion that is the sole representative of Truth, or has all the answers.
‘Truth cannot be shut up in a single book, Bible or Veda or Quran, or in a single religion. The Divine Being is eternal and universal and infinite,’ says Sri Aurobindo, and adds, ‘All religions have some truth in them, but none has the whole truth; all are created in time and finally decline and perish.’ (The Integral Yoga: Selected Letters, p. 352) This can clearly be seen in India, where so many religious beliefs coalesce, and where religions change over time, and are re-created, emerging in different forms.
There are several different approaches to religion, including the sociological approach, the Marxist approach, the psychoanalytical approach, as well as the anthropological, historical and phenomenological approaches. In a descriptive book of this kind, it is not possible to use any one approach, or to go into extensive analyses. In general, this book explains religion in a historical and social context, and looks at the ways in which religion is practised. It incorporates philosophy, ethics, deities, rituals, beliefs, myths and legends. It examines the expression of religion in material form, as images, and in temples, mosques and other religious monuments. It emphasizes the spiritual essence behind all forms.
The sources for the study of religion are immense. They include artefacts and material remains, discovered through archaeological explorations and excavations; texts of all kinds, beginning with the Rig Veda; coins, seals and inscriptions; sculptures, images, and various extant structures.
Each of these religions is equally vast but in this book the nine religions and other miscellaneous beliefs dealt with are approximately proportionate to the number of their followers, and their significance and antiquity within India. For worldwide religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism, apart from some basic principles, the emphasis is on the specific nature of the religion within India. For Buddhism, which originated in India but then spread to other parts of the world, the focus is on its origin, growth and decline within India, and its re-introduction in the last two centuries.
Hinduism is the most widely prevalent religion, practised in most parts of India. It has a wide variety of beliefs and practices, with some common underlying concepts. In India, even adherents of other religions accept some of its basic principles such as karma and reincarnation. Included within the broad framework of Hinduism are the six ancient philosophies of Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Yoga, Samkhya and Vedanta.
Jainism has ancient origins, but emerged in its present form in the sixth century BCE. With its emphasis on non-violence and asceticism, and its unique method of philosophical analysis, it has an important role in India.
Buddhism originated in India, and after a period of decline, is reviving. It spread to different parts of the world, and the Buddhism of Tibet has returned to India over the last fifty years. Buddhist concepts of compassion and social equality are important in the India of today, while the visual imagery and esoteric philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism are slowly becoming known.
Islam was known in India from the seventh century, but gained prominence with the advent of Islamic kings and dynasties. Sufis and other saints of Islamic origin are revered by all communities, and the influence of Islam can be seen in some of the sects of medieval days. There were once a number of syncretic cults, particularly in rural areas, where the differences between Islam and Hinduism were blurred, and even today some of these continue to exist.
Sikhism originally arose in the fifteenth century with aspects of both Hinduism and Islam, though it gradually grew closer to Hinduism. The concept of a formless God, and of an active life in the world, rather than an ascetic life of retreat, are among its many contributions.
Christianity is said to have existed in India from the first century CE, but became more widespread after the sixteenth century. Its emphasis on helping and serving disadvantaged groups has had an impact in India, with other religious groups incorporating these principles.
Judaism is thought to have been in India from ancient days. After 1948, most of the Jews in India migrated to Israel. However, new groups are emerging, claiming Jewish ancestry.
Bahais became prominent in the twentieth century. Though official figures do not reflect this, India perhaps has the largest number of Bahais in any country in the world.
Zoroastrianism, despite the small number of its followers, is important for two reasons. Firstly, there are similarities between the Gathas, the earliest Zoroastrian text, and the Rig Veda. Secondly, after the migration of Zoroastrians to India in the eighth century and later, India is the country where Zoroastrian beliefs and practices are best preserved.
Tribal religions are many and varied, and only a small sample could be included in this book. They are not so different from the major religions, each believing in a creator god or a creator couple, and incorporating myths and stories on the creation of the world.
Other: There are other systems of belief and philosophies, materialistic schools of thought, ancient sects that no longer exist, and modern philosophers who cannot be placed in any category.
Different aspects
The dictionary looks at several different aspects of these religions. Among them are:
Sacred geography: Sacred geography is a well-known aspect of ancient religions. A place of exceptional beauty, a mountain peak, a waterfall, or any unique natural phenomenon, was once considered sacred all over the world. The gods were thought to dwell in these places and spiritual power was thought to be contained in them. India has preserved these ancient traditions, and mountains, rivers, trees, and other aspects of nature are still invested with sanctity. Some of the sacred rivers, streams, plants and mountain peaks are described in this book.
Animals, birds, snakes, aquatic creatures: All living creatures are considered aspects of the divine, particularly in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, and animals, birds and other creatures are also represented in this book.
Places: In India, there is probably not a single village, town or city without a place of worship. Large cities have monuments representing all religions; other cities usually have Hindu and Jain temples, mosques, gurdwaras and churches, and sometimes Buddhist stupas. Small towns have monuments representing two or three religions, while the smallest village has at least one temple or other religious structure. In addition there are places which are specifically associated with a particular religion, such as Bodh Gaya with Buddhism. Out of these millions of places, a few which have widespread religious significance have been chosen for this book. For some of the places, only the more important religious significance has been mentioned. For instance, Ajmer is primarily associated with the Dargah of the Sufi saint Muinuddin Chisti and Kurukshetra with the Bhagavad Gita.
Religious monuments: There are thousands of religious monuments in India. The territory of Delhi has over 8000 religious structures, whereas a small state like Kerala has more than 10,000 temples. The monuments chosen for this book are therefore those which are specially popular today, or those which are historically or architecturally significant.
Ideas, concepts and terms: This book looks at a number of different ideas and concepts, and explains the ways in which certain terms are used. It includes topics related to philosophy, logic and methods of analysis, as well as cosmic and real time, and great and vast ages.
Deities: Deities in India reflect every aspect of form and belief. All major deities have been described in this book, as well as several others; deities of south India have been given equal importance as those from north India. Local deities are innumerable. Practically every village has its own deity or set of deities, apart from those more widely worshipped, and only a few of these could be included here. Semi-divine beings, yakshas, nagas, asuras, daityas, rakshasas, etc., are also described.
Texts: There are thousands of religious texts in India. These include Sanskrit texts, texts in Pali, in various Prakrits, in Arabic, Persian and Urdu, in regional languages, and in English. New texts are constantly being written. Major texts have separate entries in this book, while several others are mentioned.
Legends and myths: Myths, legends and religious stories are found in all texts, in Sthala Puranas of temples, and in oral tradition. There is no one version of a myth or legend; a different account can be found in each text, and many more in local stories. Those narrated and analysed in this book represent some of the commonly accepted versions.
Festivals: Hundreds of festivals take place in India every year. The main festivals have been described here, as well as some local festivals. At one time there was much syncretic worship and deliberate attempts to tolerate and participate in rituals and festivals of other communities. Such participation still takes place, but has reduced.
Saints and gurus: There are innumerable saints and gurus in India, both in the past and in the present. Saints of any kind are revered by people of all religions. It is impossible to include them all, and the choice has to be selective. Choosing from gurus of present times is particularly difficult; a few of those who are known worldwide have been selected.
Dates: Dates of texts, saintly figures and founders of philosophies in ancient days are usually controversial. In this book dates accepted by reputed scholars have been used. In spiritual traditions, some of the saints and religious leaders are placed thousands of years earlier. For instance the philosopher Shankara, who is believed to have lived in the eighth and ninth centuries CE, is placed in some traditions in 2500 BCE.
In Islam, dates are calculated from the Hijrah era, using a lunar calendar. Different methods of converting these to CE can lead to marginally different dates.
Lists are provided of the entries pertaining to each religion. Some topics may occur in more than one list.
Cross references to entries are indicated through words in small capitals. The main religions, Hinduism, Buddhism etc. are not cross-referenced, as entries relating to each religion appear in the lists.
For quotes used in the text, the name of the translator is given wherever known, with the full reference in the Bibliography.
For Sanskrit and languages derived from it, a standard system of spelling has been used, based on Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit–English Dictionary, though without diacritical marks. Spellings for Arabic, Persian and Urdu names and terms are based on the pronunciation used in India. Thus, for example, we have Nizamuddin, rather than Nizam al-Din, and Ramzan rather than Ramadan. In general, for all languages, a simplified system is used, closest to the approximate sound, without using diacritical marks. Variant spellings are given in many cases. In all cases, there is some divergence based on popular usage, as for instance, Swami, not the more correct Svami. Spellings of place names and names of gods may vary, e.g. ‘Badrinath’ is the modern name of the place, while ‘Badrinatha’ is the name of the deity; old and new spellings of places may be used depending on the context, e.g. Vrindavana or Vrindavan. Where the name has changed, the old name is given in brackets, e.g. Mumbai (Bombay). For identification purposes, a place may be located in a district or state; modern names are used here.
CE, BCE: The use of CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era) in place of AD and BC, is now quite usual. They have specially been chosen for this book which represents all religions, as they have no religious connotation.
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Udayan Mitra of Penguin India for suggesting this book, and Archana Shankar for editing it. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement, and for the many discussions over the years which have contributed to this book.