THE JOURNEY OF THE ATTEMPTS TO CONSTRUCT RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN SOUTH ASIA

THE JOURNEY OF THE ATTEMPTS TO CONSTRUCT RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN SOUTH ASIA

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THE JOURNEY OF THE ATTEMPTS TO CONSTRUCT RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN SOUTH ASIA

The South Asian story of religious life began with the river Indus and its tributaries. The Indus is the earliest complex form of urban culture evidenced by Harappan culture or Indus valley. In India, texts filled with prayers, poems, and rituals were the earliest forms of religious traditions. The Brahmins, who are the priests, compiled these texts, referred to as Vedas; they are also responsible for carrying out elaborate rituals in the Vedas. The ceremonies were more mechanical and less personal, whereas it becomes expensive to conduct them. Hence the traditions decreased popularity.

A decrease in Brahmin’s rituals led to the uprising of the Upanishads. It focused more on philosophy, a single force connecting all worldly things, and looked into Veda’s meaning. The beliefs led to the birth of Hinduism. It changed from ritualistic and philosophical religion to one of worship and duty of the gods. Hinduism did it through old rituals, prayers, and as well as songs. It evolved, allowing the ordinary people to become dutiful and selfless hence making the religion progress in the aftermath.

In South Asia, Buddhism was the last major religion to rise. Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism who taught his admirers to crave egoism and identify themselves. It would bring them enlightenment, eliminating hatred and greed amongst themselves. Although Buddhism’s tradition lives on to date and parts of it adopted by Hindu culture, it declined significantly in India.