India A Land of Many Religions

"India: A Land of Many Religions" traces the Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian & Islamic faiths in India.

The faiths are in chronological order.

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, and goes back 4000 years which makes it the oldest religion in the world. The book contains temples & festivals.

The Buddhist faith goes back to 588 BCE when Buddha attained enlightenment at "The Mahabodhi Temple" is featured is featured in this book. The Hemis Festival at "The Hemis Monastery" is also featured.

The Jewish people started to come to India during the Greek & Roman Empires to help with the spice trades. In 52 CE St.Thomas The Doubting One came to India in 52 CE. He landed at the seaport of Muziris now Koungallur. He founded seven churches in the area. He was a member of the Jewish sect that followed the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Marthoma Pontifical Shrine is built over the original church he founded at Muziris now Koungallur.

The fourth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Ram Das, excavated a lake in 1577. (The land was deeded by Akbar.) The city that grew around it became known as Amritsar, meaning pool of the nectar of immortality. In due course, a splendid Sikh edifice, the Harmandir Sahib (Temple of God), was constructed in the middle of this lake, which became the supreme center of Sikhism (The Golden Temple). 

The Cheraman Juma Mosque is a mosque in Methala, Kodungallur Taluk, Thrissur District in the Indian state of Kerala. It was built in 629 CE, which makes it the first mosque in India and the oldest mosque in the Indian subcontinent.

It is believed that the earliest Jews in India were sailors from King Solomon's time. Following the destruction of the First Temple in the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE some Jewish exiles came to India.    

    Only after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE are records found that attest to numerous Jewish settlers arriving at Muziris, an ancient seaport near Cochin.

In 1524, on the pretext that the Jews were tampering in the pepper trade, the Moors made an onslaught on the Jews, burning their houses and synagogues. The destruction was so complete that when the Portuguese arrived in Cranganore in the beginning of the 16th century they found only a few destitute Jews, who continued to eke out a miserable existence for forty more years. Due to the devastation of the country the Jews deserted their ancient settlement of Anjuvannam and fled to Cochin and placed themselves under the protection of the Hindu Raja of Cochin. He granted them a site for a town by the side of his own palace and temple, this became Jew Town and was built in 1567 The Paradesi Synagogue was built, it's still in use today. Older synagogues are featured in my book.

    In 1968, the synagogue celebrated its 400th anniversary. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, inaugurated the celebration and issued a special stamp of the synagogue to commemorate the event.