Why did Indian civilization develop religious traditions?

Question

( cont. of question)
with such distinctive conceptions of space, time gods, and the life cycle, and how did these beliefs shape nearly every aspect of south asian culture?

Answer 1

Religion is a product of abstact thinking & the search for answers to questions that baffle human thinkers. In the absence of answers that were easily explained by science, leaders attributed these mysteries to the supernatural. To protect their status & the political system as they knew it, leaders invented reasons to explain their view of the social system & reasons they were supported by "Gods."
All social systems developed a religion to support their view of what their social & cultural system should be. This either limits & reinforces the things a leader can do. Humans are very curious critters but unfortunately they are lazy too. Therefore attributing (or blaming) certain things to a God or Gods was a good way to get the leaders off the hook.

Answer 2

I imagine that pre-humans had some sort of religion. Did not Og, Son of fire, sit in the mouth of his cave and wonder at the Moon or lightening, or a storm or the sun?

Religion is the invention of ancient man so why wouldn’t he have it?

In my view, religion was the first attempt at science, albeit a failed one.

Answer 3

To the best of my knowledge it is only the Indian Civilisation that has held a world view that every form of life and even static substances have a spirit determining its course of existence and eventual metamorphosis.

The concept of thirty three crores ( three hundred and thirty million) Gods with one Super God and Three Great Gods to Administer the affairs of the Universe ( with their respective female counter parts given equal or higher prominence) is the simplest way of explaining in common man's terms the presence of the Universal Quantum Energy in animate and inanimate existences.Unlike the organised Religions of the Western Society and the Arab world, the Indian civilisation recognized the dangers of monopolistic interpretations of spiritual affairs and gave the freedom to each seeker to explore the world as he /she saw from direct experience and allowed the plurality of such experiences to be considered as not mutually exclusive or antithetic to each other but as complementary.

It taught that whichever God one chose to worship in one's personal preference, all that worship was destined to reach the one and only Super God ( Parameshwar). It also taught that the Super God is not an individual but the IMPERSONAL, BEYOND ATTRIBUTES,Universal Energy that manifests and transforms itself continually in innumerable forms but maintains a continuum of intelligence and power. This high knowledge , of course was reserved for those equipped to grasp it, and the common man was happy to worship God in any form he pleased without fear of being ostracised for his ignorance or immaturity.

The emancipation of the seeker progressed as he/she traversed each path of superficial knowledge and eventually reached to the conclusion " AHAM BRAHMASMI" ( I am the Universe and the Creator) or that "Tat twamasi" ( That Thou ART). Neither of these findings were intended to Glorify oneself .The knowledge actually humbled the seeker.They were the realisation that the external world and the internal world are one undivided continuum and that the difference is the result of ignorance only.

It is this All- Inclusive Approach that made the Indian tradition agreat potential Unifier of the world, through the Maxim " Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" -- the Universe is but ony one family!! It has the immense capacity to embrace every Religion and culture as part of its own existence and experience.

Answer 4

Civilisation can not be defined. It can be described. All civilisations flourished for successful trade. Traders had always shifted from one religion to another soon they found the old religion as obsolete and exploiting their wealth in the name of religion. Traders brought culture as pillion-rider of commodities. Trade is the fond breast of culture and culture is the fond breast of religion. Indian traders were the patrons and organisers too for new culture and religions. Therefore, not only Indian civilisations; but all civilisations are found to be linked with religion.

Answer 5

god is in our programming, in the genes