Читать книгу Exciting India - Bikram Grewal - Страница 9

land of

many faiths

A multitude of faiths exist side-by-side in India, shaping the country's heritage, life and culture. Devotion to worship and a religious way of life (within the framework of a secular state) is a defining feature of Indian society.

The Hindu festival of Dussehra celebrates the victory of good over evil, of Rama (an incarnation of god Vishnu) over the ten-headed king Ravana after a battle that lasted ten days. The epic story-the Ramlila-is narrated and performed over nine days, and on the tenth day effigies of Ravana are burnt. Seen here is a Ramlila performer.

fOUR OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR FAITHS on Indian soil-Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. The first two took root in India, as did Jainism and Sikhism. India also has significant though small communities of Jews and Parsis or Zoroastrians. Hinduism, which originated as far back as 1500 BC, is the dominant faith with a following of nearly 600 million. Eclectic by nature, Hinduism is the only major religion with no single founder or holy book as the scriptural authority. The Hindu pantheon of gods centres on the trinity of Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver) and Shiva (the Destroyer).