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1. Hinduism
2. Buddhishm
3. Tantrism
4. Islam and Christianity
1. Hinduism:
It seems that the first people to set foot in the ancient
Nepal were Aryans. The Aryans' basic beliefs are recorded
in the Vedas, a collection of over one thousand religious
hymns that were to form the foundation of the polytheistic
religion of Hinduism.
Hinduism has a basic trinity of three gods-Brahma the Creator,
Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Most Hindus,
while revering Brahma, do not usually include his worship
in religious ceremonies as his role in the universe is regarded
to be essentially completed. Vishnu and Shiva, however,
are very important to all the Nepalese Hindus.
Vishnu, whose primary duty is to assure the preservation
of the world and all living forms, is believed to have visited
the earth ten times as "avatars" or incarnations.
He is also believed to have come to the earth as a Varaha,
as Prince Rama, as the god Krishna and as Lord Gautam Buddha.
Shiva, the Destroyer, is believed to have three forms-Natraj
the god of artistic skill, an anthropomorphic form and the
Lingam form, the latter being the most famous Lingam is
situated in the north-west of Katmandu. In front of any
Shiva temple, one usually sees a statue of Nandi, the divine
bull that serves as Shiva's vehicle. In anthropomorphic
form, Shiva is depicted with his consort Parbati and usually
holds a trident and a small drum. Another popular form of
Shiva is terrifying Bhairav, who himself has a number of
different forms.
Two of Vishnu's other incarnations- Rama and Krishna-are
especially important to the Hindus. Rama and Krishna are
the heroes of the classic Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharat
respectively.
Another widely venerated god is Ganesh, one of the sons
of Shiva. Ganesh is revered in Nepal as the god of wisdom
and the deity responsible for deciding between success and
failure.
In practice, the Nepalese Hindus may choose one particular
god as a favorite deity to be worshipped daily, or more
likely will give due deference to all the above-mentioned
gods and goddesses, along with many other incarnations and
deities. Nepal's many Hindu festivals are dedicated to dozens
of different deities and are participated by all Hindus,
as well as Buddhists.
2. Buddhism
Beliefs and practices of Buddhism in Nepal date back to
the time of its founder, Prince Siddhartha Gautam who was
born in Lumbini in the southern Terai region of the country
in about 543 B.C. Up to the age of twenty-nine, the young
prince led a very sheltered life in the royal palace of
his father, completely unaware of the problems and suffering
of everyday life outside of the palace walls.
One day, he convinced his charioteer to take him outside
the palace and was shocked at the sight of an old man, a
cripple and a corpse. The realization that there was much
misery and unhappiness in the world persuaded the prince
to abandon his luxurious life in the royal palace in order
to search for enlightenment and the real meaning of life.
For many years, Gautam wandered from place to place looking
for a solution to the problems he saw all around him. Finally,
while meditating under a Pipal tree, he became spiritually
enlightened. Henceforth known as Lord Buddha or the "
the enlightened one," began to preach the "Four
Noble Truths" to all who would listen. According to
this doctrine, people suffer because of their attachment
to things and people; in other words, the root of all the
problems is desire. These desires and consequently, all
problems and sufferings, can be totally eliminated by following
the "eightfold path"-right views, right intent,
right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort
right mindfulness an right meditation.
Buddha journeyed from place to place, teaching and converting
hundreds of followers and died at the age of eighty. However,
his many disciples continued spreading his teachings. At
the same time Buddhism splitted into two main schools of
thought: Hinayana and Mahayana. The Followers of Hinayana
do not worship idols of Buddha as the enlightened prince
taught against idolatory. Very few other Nepalese Buddhists
have adopted the Hinayana school of thought, choosing rather
to follow Mahayana teachings. One of the central beliefs
of Mahayanists is that one can achieve nirvana by following
the example of Bodhisattvas, Bodhi meaning enlightenment
and Sattva meaning essence.
3. Tantrism
Both Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal have been strongly
influenced by the beliefs and practices of Tantrism. "
Tantra" is a Sanskrit word referring to the basic warp
of threads in weaving. Difficult to define due to its varying
types and forms, Trantrism is a religion of moral percepts,
meditation, yoga, mantras and a philosophy that believes
in interwovenness of all things.
Tantrism has greatly influenced Nepalese Buddhism by creating
the path of Vajrayana, the Path of the Thunderbolt. The
main object used in Vajrayana Buddhist rituals is a small
thunderbolt-like sceptre that is said to represent the infinite
in three dimensions. A large thunderbolt, or Vajra as it
is commonly referred to, can be seen at the entrance of
Swayambhu temple at Katmandu on the top of a long flight
steps.
There are basically two types of Tantric gods and goddesses:
Dharmapalas and Yidams. The former is often depicted with
flaming red hair, several arms, legs or heads and three
eyes. Yidams are tutelary deities often found depicted in
thangkas; like their Dharmapala counterparts, they are ferocious
deities with many hands and fiercesome weapons.
Islam and Christianity
In addition to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Trantrism, a very
small minority of Nepalese adheres to Islam and Christianity.
Muslims and Christians believe and practice in much the
same way as their counterparts in the western and other
countries.
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