ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the three main religions in the Indian tradition: Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The association of Hinduism with the unique type of society indigenous to India is therefore something essential to the religion. The society contributed many elements to later Indian civilization: the caste system, the overwhelming tendency toward bureaucracy, the concern for purificatory bathing, the fertility cult, the worship of animals, especially the sacred cow, and probably the practice of yoga. The religion of the Aryans was polytheistic. They worshipped the personified forces of nature. For a Jain, moksha or release is defined as a state of complete isolation or kaivalya. He is now ridding himself of the last attachments, attachments to clothing and food. Buddhism, like Jainism, is not a natural growth; it did not evolve from the customs of society. The monks and nuns are closest to the Buddhists’ ideal of release or moksha, which is called Nirvana.
