Religion in India

Hinduism is a collection of various belief systems, generally related by a few unifying works of religious literature. Possibly the oldest of these are the four Vedas. More recent Hindu thought has been shaped by the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part, and the Upanishads.

Sikhism started about 303 years ago -- so it started in 1699? [RFC]

Buddhism originated in northern India and rapidly gained thousands of adherents during Gautama Siddhartha's lifetime. Up to the 9th century, followers of this way of life amounted into the hundred-millions. While the decline of Buddhism in India and its exact cause is disputed, Muslim invaders are recorded to have caused massive devastation on monasteries, statues, and libraries. Clashes with Islamic and Hindu fundamentalists are also to blame which left Indian Buddhists open to genocide & conversion. Many escaped to China, Sri Lanka (formally Ceylon), Tibet, and other Asian countries.

Recently, a revival of Buddhism in India has made adequate progress. Ambedkar, a Dalit[?] or untouchable (the lowest caste in Hindu society, and his followers, led millions willingly towards converting to Buddhism in protest against the caste system. This mass conversion has added to the adherents of Buddhists in India along with the Tibetans refugees displaced by the Chinese conquest of Tibet.

Jainism also originated in India, at roughly the same time as Buddhism. A form of ancient Zoroastrianism continues as the Parsi faith.

Lately, Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi is asserting the unity of all the above faiths and preaching to embrace love.