Jainism: Nonviolence and Spiritual Independence
Coming as a close second after Buddhism in the list of the most common Indian religions, Jainism, also known as Jaina dharma, is a religious philosophy that holds nonviolence as its fundamental principle. Tamil and Tulu Jains are said to be the people creating the cult following in question (Palaniappan 1).
Two major forms of Jainism exist in India, one being Digambara and the other called Śvētāmbara. The name of the religion was derived from the verb Jin, which means to conquer. In other words, only those who are in a position to overcome bodily pleasures and passions can embrace the wisdom of Jainism.
The influence of Buddhism is fairly distinct in Jainism, seeing how both are based on the principle of nonviolence as the key to spiritual enlightenment. Defining the reasons for the given religion to emerge, one must mention that it bridges the Hindu culture with the one of Tamil.
Sikhism: Return to Worshipping Practices
Sikhism is a monotheistic form of religion that is practiced around the Punjab region in India, particularly by the Guru Nanak (Sidhu 13). Those practicing this form of religion are referred to as Sikhs, a word meaning the students or disciples.
When it comes to Sikhism, tracking its relation to Buddhism, Hinduism, or any other religion, for that matter, is practically impossible. While it admittedly has basic points of contact with, say, Jainism and its concept of the spiritual evolution of self, the emphasis is shifted in Sikhism from personal evolution to worshipping God.
The latter, in His turn, however, should be sought within one’s self, which brings one back to the postulates of Taoism for a moment, and then abruptly switches to Buddhism and Hinduism.
Compared to Jainism, Sikhism is much more independent and, weirdly enough, embraces much more aspects of human life. While Jainism merely suggests integrating the concept of nonviolence into its adepts’ life, Sikhism offers much more detailed instruction on leading a righteous life.
For instance, it introduces the principle of a Worldly Illusion, which borders the Buddhist concept of non-self; it mentions the existence of the Timeless Truth, which makes the given religious movement rub elbows with Taoism and its mythology of the path; finally, Sikhism provides its interpretation of justice, which, once again, returns its adepts to Buddhism and its concept of Karma.
Taoism: The Path Paved with Moments of Enlightenment
Perhaps, the most well-known religious philosophy of India, Taoism, supposedly introduced by Laozi, presupposes, in a very basic way, that the world and its numerous elements must be arranged in the universal order so that harmony could be maintained.
The ethics of Taoism has a lot in common with the one of Buddhism and Hinduism. With Tao and Te being its key elements, the given movement crosses the concept of the path of liberation, which Buddhism includes. At this point, the similarities with Sikhism should be mentioned.
The reasons for the changes that were made to the traditional Buddhism and Hinduism principles in order to produce Taoism (also chiming in with Jainism concept of nonviolence) are quite obscure; however, it can be assumed that Taoism allows for more options in terms of personal evolution; instead of following the example of the Enlightened One, the given movement involves choosing one’s path.
Confucianism: See No Evil
Started by Confucius, the famous Chinese philosopher, the given religion diverges from the global Good vs. Evil conflict, the search for one’s self or spiritual enlightenment and, instead, focuses on much simpler and down-to-earth issues, such as focuses on practical issues, such as maintaining good family relations.
Jainism nonviolence, Taoist search for one’s self, and Sikhism attempts at searching for god within self are integrated into the given religious movement.
Shintoism: Lost in the Sands of Time
Also known as kami-no-Michi, Shintoism does not have its exact founder; in fact, the given religion dates as back as Chinese animalism. Seeing how Shintoism presupposes the existence of numerous Kami, or gods, it can be assumed that the given religion was influenced greatly by Hinduism, with its big family of deities.
Questioning the reasons for Shintoism to exist, one must pay special attention to the fact that it ties in the old Chinese culture and the modern one. Therefore, it serves as the link between the traditions and the present-day culture, allowing the Chinese of the XXI century honor ancient traditions.
Much like Confucianism, Shintoism does not attempt at drawing a clear line between good and evil. Instead, it offers a similar concept of personal evolution that Taoism provides. With the Jainism nonviolence concept and the Sikhism principle of deity worshipping, Shintoism has its principles rooted deeply in the Oriental cultural tradition.
Hinduism and Buddhism: Influence
As the examples above show, each of the five religious listed previously has something to do with either Buddhism or Hinduism; even Sikhism, which is traditionally considered a philosophy isolated from the rest of the religious and philosophic movements in India, incorporates the principles that stem from Buddhism and Hinduism.
However, the impact that the two religions have had on the rest of the philosophical movements in India seems to have been rather subtle. The given phenomenon owes much to the specifics of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the environment in which the two religious philosophies were born.
Works Cited
Palaniappan, Sudalaimuthu. “On the Unintended Influence of Jainism on the Development of Caste in Post-Classical Tamil Society.” International Journal of Jaina Studies 4.2 (2008), 1–65.
Sidhu, Sarjeet Singh. “Uniqueness of Guru Nanak’s Philosophy: Revelation of Philosophy?” Understanding Sikhism, 13.1–2 (2011), 13–17, 84.