Ancient India was influenced by three major religions that developed on the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is the oldest of the three and is said to be the oldest living religion in the world. The other two major religions were Jainism and Buddhism, founded in the same period. Each of these three religions had something to offer the people of India. These religions also have some similar concepts while having important fundamental differences. Each of these religions has developed a way of life that has survived through the centuries to this day. Hinduism was formally known as the ancient Brahmanical religion or Brahmanism. Brahmanism has no single founder but can be traced back to the late Neolithic at the beginning of the Harappan period (5500-2600 BC) (Nikhilananda, pp 3-8). Modern Hinduism was born from the Vedas which are the fundamental scriptures of the religion and outline the dharma (McKay, pp 41-42). Other central principles of religion also outlined in the Vedas are karma, samsara and ultimately moksha which is the goal of Hinduism. Dharma, natural or moral law, is what structures a person's daily duties and obligations in their respective varna or class. Dharma is influenced by a person's age, caste, class, occupation and gender. This allows dharma to be the regulative moral principle of the universe. The next principle of Hinduism is karma. Karma is the causality of choices and actions made in one's life, whether physical or mental. Karma was basically a kept score of all the good and bad deeds done by an individual that would determine his or her status in the next life (McKay, p 36). This status would occur with the rebirth of a person who was part of the next principle known as samsara. Samsara was seen... middle of paper... by Brahmanism to maintain the status quo in the power structure by upholding the caste system. Buddhism had no such caste system and was not founded on the support of this idea, but on the fact that everyone was able to reach nirvana because everyone was equal from the beginning. Overall, religions push people to strive to be more than they were. Indian religions do an amazing job of laying the foundation that allows this and to live and contribute good to those around you. These, in my opinion, are a great idea. Seeing that the central idea is to be a better person and not simply a person with a rigid list of rules is almost deceptively liberating. This is obviously not for everyone as we have many other religions, but it has worked favorably for India for centuries and it looks like it will continue for centuries more. Works Cited History of World Societies