Beliefs and Practices in Ancient India

Beliefs and Practices in Ancient India 

There was no reason at all for the Buddha to introduce another religion because at that time 2600 years ago there were already 62 religious cults in India alone. Since the existing religions during his time could not provide the answers to his questions he decided not to use the ingredients or concepts of these religions  to introduce what he himself had realized. 

What was the religious thinking in India at that time ? "God created everybody; god is responsible for everything; god will reward; god can forgive all our sins; and god is responsible for our lives after our death; god will send us to heaven or he will send us to hell."

These are the basic ingredients of all religions even today. At the same time there were certain other religions also in India which taught that it was necessary for believers to torture their physical bodies, thinking that they could wash away all their sins during their lifetimes so they could go to heaven after death. Another religious group encouraged religious rites and rituals and ceremonies and animal sacrifices to please their gods. 

This group believed that through these practices they could go to heaven. Some others again introduced prayer and worship and asked forgiveness for the sins committed. The Buddha did not recognize the efficacy of all these practices.

But in introducing his doctrine, the Buddha did use the existing religious terms current in India at the time because in this way he would be on familiar ground with his listeners. 

They would grasp what he was alluding to and then he could proceed to develop his original ideas from this common ground.

Dharma, Karma, Nirvana, Moksha, Niraya, Samsara, Atma are some words which were common to all religious groups during his time. But in his teaching the Buddha gave very rational and unique meanings and interpretations to those existing religious terms.

~ Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda