This document provides an overview of several major world religions and philosophies, including Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It describes some key details about each, such as their founders, core beliefs, and important scriptures. The document aims to convey basic information about the origins and teachings of these influential religious and philosophical traditions.

1. Standard :IX
Unit :Language, Art, Philosophy
Name : Saranya T L
Roll number: 12
B.ed Social science
Gcte , Thycaud , TVPM

2. BUDDHISM
• Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million
people around the world.
• The word comes from 'budhi', 'to awaken'.
• It has its origins about 2,500 years ago when
Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, was
himself awakened (enlightened) at the age of
35.

3. • To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and
is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'.
• It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means
love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be
summed up as:
(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and
actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.

4. JAINISM
• The exact place where Jainism
started is not confirmed, but India is
most commonly referred to as the
place of origin.
• Jainism, as a religion, was, at various
times, found all over South Asia
including Sri Lanka and what are
now Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma
and Afghanistan.

5. • Jainism started out in the sixth century B.C as
a protest against the overdeveloped rituals of
Hinduism. The actual date is still questioned,
but it is believed that it started no earlier than
850 B.C (7th-5th Century B.C

6. • Buddhism and Jainism became popular during
the 6th century B.C.
• There are several similarities between the two religions.
• Both advise their followers to avoid himsa or
violence.
• Both oppose Vedic rituals and customs.
• Both accept life in Sanghas and stay in Viharas or
monasteries. The supreme teachers of
• Jainism are the Thirthankaras, of whom there
are twenty four. Vardhamana Mahavira, the
last Thirthankara, and the Buddha were
contemporaries.

7. • Kapilavastu of Nepal was the birth place of the
Buddha.
• His father was Suddhodana and his mother,
Mayadevi.
• The Buddha did meditation under the Bodhi
tree at Bodhigaya. This was to find out the
cause and cure for suffering of the world.
• At the end of the meditation, he got
Enlightenment.
• The Buddha advised people to conquer desires
which brought misery.

8. Taoism and Confucianism
• Taoism and Confucianism emerged in China at
the time when the Buddhist and Jaina
philosophies were spreading in India.

9. Taoism
• Lao Tse who was born
in 604 B.C. was the
founder of Taoism.
• Tao means the 'path'.
• Taoism gave great
importance to simplicity
and acquisition of
knowledge.

10. Confucianism
• Confucius, the founder of
Confucianism was born in
551 B.C.
• This philosophy, which
gave importance to happy
co-existence and suggested
that goodness in man was
the solution for all ills,
spread extensively in
China.
Confucius

11. Zoroastrianism
• Zoroastrianism was founded by Zarathustra, who was
born in Persia.
• He held that when fire, which is one of the five
elements, burns, everything is purified.
• Zoroastrians do not cremate dead bodies, believing
that the burning of corpses would pollute fire.
• On the other hand, they leave dead bodies in the open,
offering them as food for birds.
• The solar plate and lamp are the sacred symbols
that reflect the Zoroastrian thought and practice.

12. Jewish
philosophy
• The Torah is the most important scripture in
Judaism.
• It is written in Hebrew.
• The Jews believe in the Ten Commandments
received by their prophet.
• They believe that they are the descendants of
Abraham.

13. Christian
philosophy
• Christian philosophy begins with the efforts
made by Jesus Christ who tried to cleanse the
society of its evils and superstitions.
• The Sermon of the Mount is the essence of his
philosophy.
• The Christian view presents good qualities
such as loving one's neighbor, that heaven
would not be available to those who love
wealth, and so on.
• The Bible is their most important scripture.

14. Islamic
philosophy
• Prophet Muhammed was born in Mecca in 571
A. D.
• It is believed that, at the age of 40, while he
was meditating in a Cave at Hira he had divine
revelation.
• Then he became known as the 'Prophet'.
• He asked all the people to believe in one God
and criticized all the social evils that prevailed
in the Arab society.

15. • Quran is the basic scripture of Islamic religion
and philosophy.
• Islam believes in the permanence of the soul
and in a Final Judgment.
• Islam teaches that in all transactions, honesty
should be maintained.