New Questions and Ideas

Buddha taught that life is full of sufferings and unhappiness because we have unlimited cravings and desires. Buddha described this as thirst or tanha.

Shankaracharya, with his remarkable reinterpretations of Hindu scriptures such as Upanishads or Vedanta, had a profound influence on the growth of Hinduism. He was born in 788 AD in a village named Kaladi on the banks of the river Purna in Kerala

He was the prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was part of the Vajji sangha. At the age of thirty, he left home and went to live in a forest. For twelve years he led a hard and lonely life, at the end of which he attained enlightenment.

Labourers, slaves and merchants joined the Sangha. Other groups of people like the barahmins, kshjastriyas and courteseans also joined it. This is one of the reasons for the spread of Jainism among the common people.

Gargi was one amongst few learned women, who had contributed in the creation of Upanishads. She was the daughter of sage Vachaknu and her inclination towards academics was very conspicuous from an early age. She has composed several hymns, questioning the origin of all existence.

These were the members of the Buddhist sangha. They meditated for most of the time and went to villages and cities for begging food. They taught others and helped one another.

The literal meaning of Upanishad is 'approaching and sitting near' and the texts contain conversation between teachers and students. Mostly the ideas were presented through simple dialogues.

Around the time that Buddha was preaching, other thinkers also tried to find answers to difficult questions. They tried to understand life after death. Others wanted to know the purpose of sacrifices.

During the period of Buddha some thinkers tried to understand what existed after the death in the universe. They felt that soul existed even after death; they called it as the atman or the individual soul, and Brahman the universal soul as. They believed that ultimately, both the atman and the Brahman became one.

Buddha spent the rest of his life travelling on foot, going from place to place, and teaching people.

When Buddha was a young man, he left his house leaving his luxurious life in search of knowledge. He wandered for several years meeting and holding discussions with other thinkers. He finally decided to find his own path to realisation, and meditated for days on end under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he attained enlightenment. It was only after attaining that knowledge that he was known as the Buddha or the Wise One. He gave his first sermon at Sarnath, near Varanasi. For the rest of his life he travelled on foot went from place to place and taught people.

Both Jaina and Buddhist monks went from place to place spreading the principles of their teachers throughout the year except during rainy season. It was very difficult to travel during the rainy season. During this season, their supporters made temporary shelters for them in gardens or the monks stayed in natural caves. With time the monks and nuns and their supporters realised the need for more permanent shelters and so monasteries were built. These were known as viharas.

The word ashram was used for a stage of life. Brahmin, kshatriya and vaishya men were expected to follow the system of ashrams.

1. They were to lead simple lives and study the Vedas during the early years of their life (brahmacharya).
2. Then they had to marry and live as householders (grihastha).
3. Then they had to live in the forest and meditate (vanaprastha).
4. Finally, they had to give up everything and become samnyasis.

The system of ashramas allowed men to spend some part of their lives in meditation. Generally, women were not allowed to study the Vedas, and they had to follow the ashramas chosen by their husbands.

The followers of Mahavira were known as Jainas. The teachings of Jainism were:

1. They had to lead very simple lives, begging for food.
2. They had to be honest and should not steal. They had to observe celibacy.
3. Men had to give up everything, including their clothes.
4. Despite these strict rules and regulations, many followed the teachings of Mahavira.

According to Vinaya Pitaka, there were separate branches for men and women. All men could join the sangha. But children had to get permission from their parents and slaves from their masters. Those who worked for the king had to take his permission and debtors that of creditors. Women had to get permission from their husbands.

The people gave gifts of food, clothing and medicines to the monks and nuns. In return, the monks taught the people.

The Upanishadic thinkers were men especially Brahmins and rajas. Occasionally, there is a mention of women thinkers such as Gargi, who was famous for her learning and participated in the debates in the royal courts. Poor people rarely took part in these discussions.

The seers predicted that either the young prince would become a great king or he would be a great holy man.

Having seen the four sights, Siddhartha decided to search for answers to the mystery of life and death and find a solution to the suffering of mankind.

Other sanghas were a group of people who took decisions on policy matters and issues of day to day management. The Buddhist Sangha was a group of people who detached themselves from day to day issues of life and devoted their time in the quest of truth.

Mahavira taught living a simple life and was against rituals and animal sacrifice. His teachings are known as the tri-ratnas.

Buddha gave the society a new religion in the form of Buddhism. Jainism however existed before Mahavira. Mahavira reformed the practice of Jainism and made it simpler.