Question
Explain the variety of sources used by the historians to reconstruct histories of religious traditions.
Solution
The sources that we can use to reconstruct exciting world of ideas and beliefs include Buddhist, Jaina and Brahmanical texts, material remains etc
1. The mid-first millennium BCE is generally considered as a turning point in world history it saw the emergence of thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kong Zi in China, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece and Mahavira and Gautam Buddha among many others in India.
2. The tried to find answers to fundamental questions about the meaning of existence and the relationship between human beings and the cosmic order.
3. There were several pre-existing traditions of thought, religious belief and practice. The best known amongst there is the Vedic traditions.
4. The early Vedic tradition is known from the Rigveda, compiled between C. 1500-1000 BCE, consisting of hymns in praise of variety of deities, especially Agni, Indra and Soma. Sacrifices were performed collectively as well as individually by the people, where they prayed for cattle, sons, good health, peace, long life, rain etc.
5. Some people began speculating on the significant of the sacrifice. There were physical actions sufficient, or was there a deeper meaning? Many of these ideas are found in the Upanishads, which show that people were concerned about the meaning of life, the possibility of life after death, and of rebirth. If people were reborn, was this due to their past actions? These questions were hotly debated. We get a glimpse of lively discussions and debates from Buddhist texts. These texts were preserved in manuscripts for several centuries in monasteries in different parts of Asia. Modern translations have been prepared from texts in a variety of languages— ? Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan. The basic philosophy of the Jains was already in existence in north India before the birth of Vardhamans, who came to be known as Mahavira, in the 6th century BCE.
6. According to Jaina tradition Mihavira was preceded by 23 other teachers or Tirthankaras, literary those who could guide men and women across the river of existence.
The main ideas or principles of Jainism are-(i) ahimsa, (ii) karma and (iii) monastic existence. Jaina monks and nuns took five vows: to abstain from killing, stealing and lying; to observe celibacy and abstain from possessing property.
7. One of the most influential teachers of the time was the Buddha. Historians have tried to reconstruct details of his life from hagiographies. According to historical records, Sidhartha, as the Buddha was named as a child, was son of the ruler of the Sakya clan. At the age of 30 years he left the palace in search of his own truth. After a number of experiments with bodily mortification and near death he finally attained enlightenment-that is he found a way out of the misery that had affected him so deeply when he was first confronted with the pain of old age, disease and death. After this he came to be known as the Buddha or the enlightened one and had a long career as a teachers who taught the dharma or the path of righteous living.
