Essay on “Beliefs and Practices: Judaism, Buddhism And Hinduism” Complete Essay for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Beliefs and Practices: Judaism, Buddhism And Hinduism

The religions of Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism all have their own beliefs and practices. These beliefs play a major and important role in a person’s everyday life, and influence various aspects of their life. In Judaism, it is believed that the Sabbath day should be kept holy, and that one should follow the Ten Commandments, the laws of God. Their diets comprise kosher food, and celebrate their own New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Hindus believe in the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth of which Brahman and Karma are the significant parts. Hindus are assumed to be vegetarians, and posses a fairly complex social composition in the form of caste system. Buddhists believe in teachings of Buddha’s about the Four Noble Truths, which lead to their belief in following the Eightfold Path in order to acquire nirvana.

When we talk about the Judaism two fundamental beliefs exists. One is that the Sabbath is holy, and that one should follow the Ten Commandments. Sabbath, or Shabbat in Hebrew implies “cease” or “desist.” It takes place from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday, and everyone is prohibited from doing any work, unless and until it severely affects his life or health. The mistress of the house lights two white candles and says a blessing. An Omeg is held after Friday night or Saturday afternoon services, where there’s usually refreshments, songs, and lectures. It took God six days to create the world, and on the seventh day he rested. When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, he asked that the people also rest on the seventh day of the week. The Ten Commandments are the principals of God given to Moses at Mount Sinai. These are

(1)One shall have no other gods before me, (2) I am the only god, (3) One should not take the Lord’s name in vain, (4) Never forget the Sabbath day and keep it holy, (5) Honour your Father and Mother, (6) One should not kill, (7) One shall not commit adultery, (8) One shall not steal, (9) One should not bare false witness against your neighbour, and (10) One should not covet (be jealous of) your neighbour. The first four are covenants between a follower and God, and the last six are among the followers. Jewish people eat kosher food, and celebrate the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Kosher, meaning “fit or proper” is used to refer to food in accordance to Jewish dietary laws. The animals must chew their cud and have cloven hooves. Meat must be slaughtered by the method of shehitah, the meat must be salted and soaked to remove all blood and milk will not be mixed with meat. Many Jewish people keep a kosher home every day and on holidays like Rosh Hashanah. This is the Jewish New Year, and means, “head of the year” in Hebrew.

In case of Hinduism, people believe in Brahman, Karma, and do not eat meat. Brahman is the Supreme Hindu God. All other Gods and Goddesses are different aspects of Brahman. In fact, everything in the world is part of Brahman. There is a repetitive cycle of birth, death, and rebirth again. The Hindu’s main goal in life is to reach Brahman, and by following one’s Dharma (rules and regulations one must follow right from birth), one’s soul may eventually be united with him. By observing your Dharma, one may get a good next life and be reborn into a higher social class. The total bad and good deed a human soul carries from one life to the next is Karma. The good and bad deeds you do also reflect in next life. For Hindus the body is like clothes, which are changed in every life, but soul remains same throughout. Hindu social structure is categorized into groups based on birth called castes. These castes are organized from highest to lowest in the following order: priests/Brahmans, warriors, servants/ peasants, and the untouchables.

In case Buddhism, follower believes in the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The four parts to the Four Noble Truths are: (1) Suffering-This elaborates that there is always suffering in life, which can be in the form of aging, death, sickness, grief, or separation from loved ones. (2) Desire-This causes suffering, because when you crave things, you become greedy, and didn’t get what you want, always. (3) Suffering can be stopped, by holding greed for the material gains. (4) Following the Eightfold Path, which leads to rejection of desire/suffering (Moksh), and reaching nirvana, which is ultimate peace. All these beliefs are important to each religion in there own way. They’re what make each religion distinct and special. They’ve affected our cultures today greatly in various aspects.