Hinduism and other religions

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Hinduism compared with other religions.

Contents

[edit] Indian religions

Further information: Indian religions and Eastern religions

Hinduism has a history of co-existence with Buddhism and Jainism (the Shramana traditions), and more recently, with Sikhism, within the Indian subcontinent. Consequently, these religious traditions share a number terms and concepts such as dharma, karma or yoga.

[edit] Hinduism and Islam

Main article: Hinduism and Islam
See also: Islam in India, Islamic conquest of South Asia

Hinduism and Islam, from the of arrival of the Arabs as far back as the 8th century AD, has had a checkered history. In Islam, Hinduism found a very different concept of god and civic society than it had encountered earlier. This coincided with the peak of Hindu vedanta revival and its idelogical reintegration of Buddhism and Jainism. During the Muslim conquests Islam gained many converts on the Indian sub-continent primarily from Hinduism or Buddhism; the two dominant local religions. The prime drivers for conversion are contested issues. Inter-marriage and immigration from other Islamic landshas have helped in instilling this idea in the people of greater India. Many of the new Muslim rulers looked down upon the idea Hinduism as having Iconodulistic religious practices and were to various degrees iconoclastic. Prominent examples of these are Mahmud of Ghazni and the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on either end of the timeline for Islamic rulers. In addition, Muslims in India also developed a caste system that divided the Arab-descended "Ashraf" Muslims and the "Ajlaf" converts, with the "Arzal" untouchables at the lowest rung[1][2][3][4][5] The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded" and the Arzal castes are further subdivided into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc.[4][5][6]

In contrast there were also many Muslim kings who wished to live in harmony with the Hindus. Akbar and Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur Adil Shah dynasty are notable examples. Akbar's court was home to intellectuals and saints both Hindu and Muslim, among them the great musician Tansen, and he even went so far as to try and create a new religion (the din ilahi) to create a rapprochement of both creeds.

The arrival of Sufi movement conversing with other mystic traditions of Vedanta and Yoga led to the rise of the syncretic Bhakti movement. Sheikh Muhammad was a Sufi saint who embraced the Hindu God Rama as his chosen bhakti ideal. Kabir wrote poetry and preached to the people, advocating a blend of philosophy and spiritual practices challenging the religious clergy of both Islam and Hinduism and claiming to be neither Hindu, nor Muslim.

The synergy between certain Sufis and Bhaktas in many regions of India led to Muslim and Hindu laity worshiping together at a mazar (Sufi shrine) attended by a Vaishnav priest[citation needed]. However, Muslim and Hindu conflict still exists in India feuled by a history of regional politics, nationalism, continued conflict and the history of the partition movements during independence from the British Raj.

Mughal art forms, especially miniatures and even certain niches of Urdu poetry, were quick to absorb classic Hindu motifs, like the love story of Krishna and Radha.[citation needed] Hindustani classical music is a complex and sonorous blend of Vedic notions of sound, raga and tala and absorbed a many instruments of either Middle Eastern origin or Indian-Muslim invention.

Today while Hinduism and Islam, have irreconcilable ideological differences and tensions, they share a common historical and social experience over a thousand years to result in a common social outlook.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Aggarwal, Patrap (1978). Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India. Manohar. 
  2. ^ Muslim Caste in Uttar Pradesh (A Study of Culture Contact), Ghaus Ansari, Lucknow, 1960, Page 66
  3. ^ Singh Sikand, Yoginder. Caste in Indian Muslim Society. Hamdard University. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  4. ^ a b Ambedkar, Bhimrao. Pakistan or the Partition of India. Thackers Publishers. 
  5. ^ a b Web resource for Pakistan or the Partition of India
  6. ^ Dereserve these myths by Tanweer Fazal,Indian express

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links