BACK
attempt to gain a state of goodness by mortifying the flesh, that is, by their own efforts. Sins are supposed to be washed away by immersion in sacred rivers. There is no looking to God for salvation, nor any real faith without which it is impossible to please God. The hair shirt of the Romanist may be said to correspond to the bed of nails of the Hindu Fakir. Two main tenets are the doctrines of reincarnation and the right way of living (dharma). The idea of reincarnation was quite widespread in the ancient world (called the transmigration of souls if reincarnation as an animal is involved) and it is thought that the idea may have been in the mind of Christ’s disciples when they asked if the blindness of the man born blind was due to his own sin (John 9:1/2).
Jainism

Similar in some ways to Hinduism, its origins are thought to be very ancient. However, it became a distinctive religion about the time that Buddhism arose, circa 500 BC. It is similar to Buddhism in that there is no real god in Jainism and it may be distinguished from Hinduism in that sacrifice and the caste system are rejected. Salvation is achieved by following a code similar to the ten commandments and through asceticism. What is advocated is right faith, right knowledge and right conduct as the way of salvation. The object is to attain through one’s own efforts a state of felicity (Nirvana). God is not involved nor invoked and there is nothing for God in it. Society may benefit to some extent from the Jain principle of respecting all life and other right principles such as honesty and respect for others rights, but that is about all one can say in its favour. It is thought that there are about 3 million Jains in the world and that these are concentrated mainly in India. Jains have a monastic order as well as laity and go in for the adoration of saints. The similarity in this to Roman Catholicism is obvious.

Sikhism

This is another Indian based religion. It differs from the other religions in that it arose about 1,500 AD so that it is a relatively new religion. There are reckoned to be about 22.5 million Sikhs world-wide. As will be noticed, this religion arose about the same time as the Reformation in Christianity. It is thought to be

NEXT