The Religions of India

The main content is organized into five major divisions. Part I, “The Vedic Religions,” studies the Rig-Veda, its principal gods, ritual worship, sacrificial theology, cosmology, moral ideas, and the essentially sacerdotal character of early Vedic religion. Part II, “Brahmanism,” examines ritual expansion, the spread of Brahmanical authority, philosophical speculation in the Upanishads, the Sāṅkhya and Vedānta reactions, and the decline or transformation of older dogmatic and ritual forms. Part III, “Buddhism,” presents Buddha and his teachings, the spirit and organization of the Buddhist community, and the historical decline of Buddhism in India. Part IV, “Jainism,” explains its affinity with Buddhism, its creed, ascetic discipline, cultus, and continued historical presence. Part V, “Hinduism,” surveys the major Hindu sects and deities—Śiva, Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma—the avatāra doctrine, the Hindu Trinity, the history and doctrines of Vaiṣṇavism and Śaivism, philosophical and religious influences, reforming sects, Muslim influence, the Sikhs, forms of worship, idolatry, sacred symbols and objects, festivals, pilgrimages, and the retrospective and prospective development of Hindu religious life.