Introduction of the

Ten Religions

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Bahá’í Faith

Since its inception in 1844, the Bahá'í Faith has embraced adherents from virtually every coun-try and every ethnic, cultural and socio-eco-nomic group. With more than five million fol-lowers, it is among the fastest-growing of the world’s religions and the most geographically widespread independent religion after Christi-anity. A Bahá'í means a follower of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith. The Holy Book of laws and ordinances revealed by Baha’u’llah is Kitab-i-Aqdas. However, the writings of Baha’u’llah are equivalent to 100 volumes.

Bahá’u’lláh is the most recent in a line of divine Messengers including Abraham, Krishna, Zo-roaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb. Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) was born in Persia (now Iran) to a noble family; however, after announcing His universal message of peace and unity to the people of Persia, was subjected to torture, imprisonment and exile for over 50 years at the hands of the Persian and Ottoman Governments. He and His family were exiled from Persia to Palestine (now Israel) often un-der unbearable circumstances.

Bahá’u’lláh’s mission was heralded by the Báb (1819-1850). “The Báb” means “The Gate”, which refers to His mission of preparing people for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh. The Báb was an independent Messenger of God. His message urged religious and social reform and aroused great interest among tens of thousands of fol-lowers throughout Persia.

Buddhism

Buddhism is an utmost virtuous education taught by the Buddha for the benefit of all be-ings. Its purpose is to help all beings to awaken from delusions, to recover their true nature, and to leave sufferings behind and achieve true hap-piness.

Sakyamuni Buddha, founder of Buddhism, was born 2600 years ago in modern-day Nepal as a prince of the Sakya clan. He became a monk in search of the Way that can liberate humankind from the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Having attained perfect enlightenment, he became a Buddha. His teachings are the Dharma, and his noble disciples are the Sang-ha. The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha form the key notion of Buddhism, known as the Three Jewels, which all Buddhists take refuge in. The Three Jewels embody awakening, cor-rect understanding, and purity, three attributes of true nature that one can recover through cultivating precept observation, meditative concentration, and wisdom. The three stages of enlightenment, namely, arhat, bodhisattva and Buddha can be achieved according to the degrees of cultivation. From arhat onwards, ego-attachment is eradicated so there is no more transmigration in the Six Paths and, thus, no more suffering.

The Pure Land method is a special Buddhist cultivation method in which to attain enlight-enment in one lifetime. It requires one to have firm belief in Amitabha Buddha, to recite his name, and to vow to seek rebirth in his Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Christianity

Christianity is the world’s largest religion, taking many different forms. An ‘Abrahamic’ faith, which grew out of Judaism, it shares the longing for, and active commitment to, God’s ‘kingdom’ of ‘shalom’ (love, peace and justice for all). Centred on the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth and the continued significance of his life, teaching, death, and resurrection, it has 3 main bodies: Catholic (the largest group), Or-thodox & Protestant/Reformed. Its holy scrip-ture is known as ‘the Bible’ (66 books of teach-ing, history, law, prophecy and spirituality, variously interpreted by different Christians).

Key beliefs are:

◎ ‘love God (with all that you are) and love your neighbour as yourself’ (‘the two great commandments’)

◎ One God who is Creator of all, but best known as the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)

◎ in Jesus, God is fully revealed in human form, fulfilling Hebrew prophecies and offering ‘the Way’ to the ‘fullness’ of life, truth & love

◎ through Jesus Christ the powers of sin and evil are overcome by God’s love, offering forgiveness and salvation for all of crea-tion

◎ by sharing in the community of Jesus Christ, human beings can grow like Jesus and share in his transformed life, here & after death

Hinduism

The original name of Hinduism is ‘Sanathana Dharma’ meaning ‘The Eternal Truth. The term ‘Hinduism’ is used to describe that the follow-ers originated from the region of the Indus Riv-er and the Indus Valley civilisation (3300-1700 BC). It has no known founder and is a conglom-erate of diverse beliefs and ideas, with one basis for being united – all its beliefs originate from the Vedas. Hinduism is considered the world’s oldest religion and has about a billion followers. It focuses on self-improvement with the general aim of attaining first hand spiritual experiences, and it recognises that there are several methods (yogas) for reaching the goals.

Hinduism relies on the concept of Brahman and Atman (spirit or soul, the true ‘Self’ of every person). Hindus worship celestial entities called Devas (the shining ones), and the particular de-ity worshipped as one's chosen ideal is a matter of individual preference and needs, influenced by regional and family traditions. They believe in Karma, Samsara and Moksha.

◎ Karma, the moral law of cause and effect, relates to reincarnation, notions of free will and destiny.

◎ Escaping the world of Samsara (cycle of birth, death and rebirth) through Moksha is believed to ensure lasting peace and happiness.

◎ Moksha, the ultimate goal of life also re-ferred to as nirvana, is described as reali-sation of the unity of all existence.

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◎ It is based on the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different per-sons in different times.

The scriptures were initially transmitted orally, and later written in the Sanksrit language. The scriptures are collectively referred to as Shas-tras and are classified into two classes: Shruti and Smriti.

◎ The Shruti (that which is heard) or re-ceived through revelations consists of four Vedas (books) –Rig-, Sāma- Yajus- and Atharva-. The RigVeda is considered the most important.

◎ The Smriti (that which is remembered) or traditions consist of all texts that are not Shruti, and include the Upanishads, Ma-habharata and the Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita and Hindu Āgamas.

Islam

BISMILLAH: ASSALAMUALAIKUM WR WB – PEACE BE UPON YOU.

Islam is a world religion with more than a bil-lion followers spread around the globe. The word Islam has a two-fold meaning: Peace and Submission to the will of (Allah) God. A Mus-lim is expected to whole-heartedly submit to the one Almighty God. Only with complete submission can a Muslim establish peace in his or her heart, which in turn will then be mani-fested in his or her external conduct. Muslims pray five time a day at Suboh (dawn), Zuhr (mid-day), Asar (afternoon), Magrib (sunset), and Isha (evening).

The fundamentals of Islam are the Five Pillars and the sixth articles of faith.The Five Pillars of Islam are:

◎ Shahadah (profession of faith)

◎ Salat (five daily prayers)

◎ Zakat (alms tax)

◎ Sawm (fasting)

◎ the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)

The sixth articles of faith are:

◎ Belief in Allah

◎ Belief in Allah’s angels

◎ Belief in Allah’s books

◎ Belief in Allah Prophets and Messengers which includes Jesus, Abraham, Moses

◎ Belief in the Day of Judgement

◎ Belief in the Divine Degree

Islam establishes the balance between the world and the hereafter, the material and the spiritual and attaches great importance to moderation and balance.

Besides the relationship between humans and Allah, the relationship between humans and all of God’s creatures and creations is also central to Islamic belief.

Islam has laid out specific guidelines in ensur-ing that peace and harmony are maintained throughout humanity. These guidelines cover aspects such as justice, compassion, inclusive-ness and universalism, tolerance, respect for human rights and freedom. Islam demands that its followers interact and build harmonious re-lationship with the society at large beyond their own local Muslim community.

Jainism

Jainism is primarily an Indian religion. Tradi-tionally known as Jain Dharma (जैनधर्म), it belongs to the dharmic group of religions and philosophy originating in ancient India. Jains are the followers of the teachings of Jinas/Tirt-hankaras.

Jains believe in God as the unchanging traits of the pure soul of each living being, with inher-ent qualities of infinite perception, knowledge, energy, and bliss ~ (AnantDarshan, Anant-Gyän, AnantVirya, and AnantSukh). They also believe that Devas (angels or celestial beings) cannot help jiva to obtain liberation. This must be achieved by individuals through their own efforts. In fact, devas themselves cannot achieve liberation until they reincarnate as humans and undertake the difficult and mandatory act of re-moving karma.

Lastly Jains believe that – all living beings are potentially the same as souls and desire life and happiness. Jains treat the elements of nature as life: earth, water, air, fire and plant life are living beings. Hence Jains do not harm living beings in any form and are vegetarians. Jain-ism’s stance on nonviolence goes much beyond vegetarianism. Jains refuse food obtained with unnecessary cruelty, and the Jain diet excludes root vegetables as roots are believed to be in-finite life.

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Taoism

Taoism is about learning, cultivation and prac-tice, that is, learning about the TAO, self-culti-vation to achieve TAO and practising the teach-ings of Taoism.

Traced to the time of the Yellow Emperor about 4713 years ago, promoted by the philosophical writing of Lao Zi, the Spring and Autumn Peri-od and finally organised as a formal religion by Zhang Dao Ling, during the Eastern Han Dy-nasty (AD 25-220).

Taoism is the indigenous religion of China, it is polytheistic, worships many deities. It embod-ies beliefs and traditions of Chinese civilization and as the great Chinese writer Lu Xun puts it, “The root of the Chinese people is Taoism.”

Taoism draws its philosophy and teachings from Lao Zi’s ‘Tao Te Ching’ a short text of five thousand characters. Taoism emphasizes the paramount importance of understanding the universe and all its manifestations as operating according to a set of unchanging natural laws.

Taoism’s main precepts are ‘loyalty’ and ‘filial piety’. In practices, it calls on its faithful to “re-spect Heaven and Earth, honour ancestors, and be compassionate to man and all things under the Heaven”. In cultivation, it adheres to the principles of liberty, equality, peace and harmo-ny.

Jain ethical code is taken very seriously. Five vows are followed by both: ascetics at absolute level, and laity at conditional level.

These are:

◎ Ahimsa (Non-violence)

◎ Satya (truth)

◎ Asteya (non-stealing)

◎ Brahmacharya (Chastity)

◎ Aparigraha (Non-possession or Non-pos-sessiveness)

Judaism

Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion. Its foundation lies in the original covenant made between Abraham and God, c1900 BCE, when Abraham was called to leave his home in Ur and travel to Canaan, a land that God promised to give to his descendants.

450 years later Moses led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt (the Exodus) back to the lands of Ca-naan. At Mt Sinai, God gave the Jewish people the Torah and the Oral Traditions marking the beginning of Judaism as a structured religion. The 613 Mitzvot contained in the Torah cover all aspects of Jewish life.

Around 100CE, the canon of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was fixed. Between 200 and 700 CE, scholars compiled the Mishnah, the definitive code of Jewish law. The Talmud (written inter-pretation of the Oral Traditions) was compiled and the rules for the Jewish calendar were laid down. These scriptures and teachings were the basis of the religious worship that is still prac-ticed around the world during the Jewish Dias-pora (exile).

With the Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the local synagogue became the heart of the Jewish community. All worshippers can approach God without an intermediary.

Judaism today is not hierarchical although there are multiple networks and associations between Synagogues and Communal organisations.

A Third Temple will be constructed by the Mes-siah and we pray to merit his coming.

Sikhism

The Sikh faith was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak Dev Ji the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Sikh means the “a learner, a seeker of truth”.

The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, in 1706 passed the Guru ship to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji – Sikh Holy Scriptures and thus began the reign of the Shabad Guru as the spiritual light and guide to the Sikhs. Sikhs regard the Sri Guru Granth Sahib as their perpetual Guru and the Holy Scriptures are treated with utmost devotion and respect.

The ten Gurus acknowledged the power of the Shabad Guru and taught:

◎ Ik Oan kaar - There is One God. We are all His creation and everything is His creation including the universe and all living crea-tures; and He resides in His creation

◎ To do devotional simran (remembrance of God) and to perform Nishkam seva (self-less service) for the benefit of all

◎ The equality of men and women

◎ No group of human beings was greater than another. We are all His children

◎ To create a society based on collective hu-manity of all people

◎ To work honestly and diligently and to share dasvandh (a tenth) for the better-ment of all His creation

Taoism symbol is called the Tai Jimeaning “Great Ultimate” and is a circle divided into two parts, one part is lightthe force of yang (positive) and the other is dark the force of yin (negative), which embody the TAO.

The yin and yang complement and counterbal-ance each other, they are opposites and co-exist but neither is good or bad in itself.

Taoists greet each other by cupping left hand in the right before one’s chest. Similar to the com-mon way of greeting in traditional Chinese cul-ture, Taoists will cup the hand in a unique way to form the symbol of Tai Ji.

TAOIST DAY – Birthday of Dao Zu Tai Shang Lao Jun (Lao Zi),

Taoists worldwide celebrate the Supreme Re-vered Day - 15th Day of the 2nd Lunar Month.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. Historically it had sever-al millions of followers, however presently it is the world's smallest religions with less than two hundred thousand followers worldwide. The religion was founded by prophet Zarathushtra (Greek: Zoroaster) in ancient Iran approximate-ly 3500 years ago. Prophet Zarathushtra had divine revelation from his God - Ahura Mazda - to bring the religion to the mankind.

The most important Zoroastrian Scripture are the Hymns composed by the Prophet known as the Gathas, meaning songs. They are in an ancient Iranian language known as Avesta. The three basic tenets of the Faith are Humata mean-ing Good Thoughts, Hukhata meaning Good Words, andHvaresta meaning Good Deeds.

Zoroastrians believe in afterlife. Their ceremo-nies and rituals include praying five times a day. They are initiated into the religion between the age of 7 to 15. The initiation ceremony is called Navjote, involves: Ablution, Recitation, the Investiture of sacred shirt called sudreh, and a waist band known as kusti.

Zoroastrians uphold a moral character, by wag-ing a constant battle against evil. They believe in freedom of choice and assuming responsibil-ity for the choice. On the Judgment Day their-deeds are evaluated when the good will go to House of Song, and the bad will fall into House of deceit.

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