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Religions of India
India, home to over a billion people is in its true sense unity in diversity with different faiths going hand in hand. Secular India is abode to Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and several other religious traditions. Hinduism, the predominant faith, is followed by over 80% of the population and is one of the ancient religions in the world which dates back to 6000 years. In addition to Hindus, Muslims are the second most prominent religious group and are an integral part of the country.
Hinduism
The Hindu religion was conceptualized about 6000 yrs ago by the early Aryans. It is a way of life and highly philosophical, not just a religion. Hinduism does not originate in the preaching of any one prophet or a holy book. Its principal concept teaches the immortality of the human soul and the three most important paths to the final union of the soul with the omnipresent spirit. The essence of the Hindu faith is embodied in the holy Bhagavad-Gita. It respects other religions equally and does not encourage conversions.
Jainism and Buddhism
Mahavira proliferated Jainism in the 6th Century B.C .Its concepts are non - violence, asceticism and austerity .Buddhism came into being around the same time propagated by Gautama Buddha, a prince who renounced the world and gained enlightenment. His teachings spoke about 'Nirvana', conquering the self and discarding worldly pleasures. Buddha's teachings later spread to China and parts of South East Asia.
Islam
Islam was brought by the Arab traders to South India in the seventh century. The traditions and religious practices of Islam were unique and preached universal brotherhood and submission to Allah - the God Almighty. Muslim invaders in the 12th century and the Mogul rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries helped spread Islam in India .Islam scaled to new heights in India through the centuries and has contributed to its rich culture.
Sikhism
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism in the 15th century, stressed upon the unity of God and the brotherhood of mankind. Sikhism, with its assertion of God as the one and only supreme truth and its ideals of spiritual living, rapidly won many followers. It was perhaps possible only in this open and generous land that two religions as varied as Hinduism and Islam could come together in a third, namely, Sikhism.
Christianity
Christianity reached India soon after Christ's own lifetime, with the arrival of St. Thomas, the Apostle. The Syrian Christian Church in the south traces its ancestry to the visit of St. Thomas. With the coming of St. Francis Xavier in 1542, the Roman Catholic faith was established in India. Today Christians of several denominations observe their faith liberally. After Hinduism and Islam, Christianity is most prominent in India.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism was the foremost religion in West Asia, in the olden days of the Persian Empire, and in the form of Mithraism, it later spread over to the Roman Empire, to as far as Britain.
After the Islamic conquest of Iran, a few fearless Zoroastrians left their homeland and sought asylum in India. The first group is said to have reached Diu in about A.D 766. The entire number of Zoroastrians perhaps does not exceed to more than 130,000. With the omission of some 10,000 in Iran, almost all of them reside in India, the vast majority concentrated in Mumbai are famously called the Parsees. They excel in industry and trade, and contribute abundantly to the logical and artistic life of the nation.