The full moon day of waxing

The four requisites

The bhikkhu must limit his needs to a minimum. He is content with whatever is given to him, without ever asking for anything. Thus, he renounces everything that is superfluous, he avoids anything that could induce pleasure, comfort or distraction. His needs are of four kinds: nutrition (food, drinks, etc.); housing (monastery, hut, etc.); clothing (robes); and medicine (medicaments, remedies, first aid, hygienic products, etc.)

It is clear that everything the bhikkhu obtains must be exclusively to provide him the conditions required by his dhamma practice. It is only with this state of mind that the bhikkhu should use – or consume – the things at his disposal. For example, when he eats, it is only for nourishment, not for pleasure.

During the process of integration in the saµgha, a new bhikkhu is told that he must henceforth go out for alms to collect his daily food, live under a tree, make his robes out of discarded cloth, and drink cow's urine as medicine. They are also told that if, on their part, the laity offer him other requisites, he is authorised to accept them (invitations for meals, lodging, new robes, medicines...)

A bhikkhu must never ask for anything from anyone. If a dáyaka invites a bhikkhu to ask for what he needs, he could simply report his needs, but he should not under any circumstances request anything. However, a sick bhikkhu is allowed to ask for whatever he needs to be cured.

The Food

Accepting and consuming food

Food collection.

If a bhikkhu is invited for a meal or served a meal in his monastery, he can accept it. If not, he must take his bowl and go out to do his alms round (pišðapáta). For this, he stops in front of the houses that he finds along his way, without entering (unless he is invited). When stopping in front of a house, he must stand still, silent, with his gaze lowered and his attention focused on the bowl. He must do nothing else than offering the laity the opportunity to cultivate merit through the food that they offer. When someone has placed food in his bowl, or after some time without anyone approaching, the bhikkhu continues his way towards the next house. He does this until he reckons that he has obtained enough food.

During the round, there are six places where a bhikkhu must avoid making a habit to go searching for food, even if he is invited: the house of a prostitute; the house of a widow; the house of an elderly celibate woman; the house of a homosexual; a bhikkhunís monastery; place of sale of alcoholic drinks. Although it is inadvisable to go frequently to these places in the daily alms round, it is however allowed to pass by them occasionally. Also, it is proper to accept the food that people from these places place in his bowl as he approaches on their path (or on the road), as well as the food that they bring to the monastery.

When, what and how to accept?

There are periods during which certain types of food are forbidden, or cannot be stored. See the pácittiya 37 and 38. Also, the food can only be accepted if certain factors are respected. See the pácittiya 40. A bhikkhu must never show his preferences with respect to food. He must not even show whether he likes or not what is served to him. If a dáyaka offers to choose a dish or a menu for him, he must answer that bhikkhus do not choose, that they eat whatever is given to them.

The forbidden meats

The bhikkhu must not be fastidious: he is content with what "falls into his bowl". However, he must not accept meat of an animal who has been slaughtered purposely for offering to the saµgha or to him, or meat from ten animals considered at the time of the Buddha (and still today) as noble or sacred by a part of the population. To avoid offending those people, the Buddha forbid the bhikkhus to eat these ten kinds of meats which are: human flesh, dog, horse, elephant, leopard, tiger, lion, bear, hyena and snake.

The flexibilities

Concerning accepting or consuming food, there are, in special cases, certain flexibilities: in case of famine, the fruits requiring to be made authorised by a kappiya (See the pácittiya 11) stored food, and food cooked by himself, are allowed; in case of health problems and in accordance with the needs of his medical treatment, a bhikkhu can ask for a particular type of food, or eat a meal at any time – of day or night. Under normal conditions, a bhikkhu who has not obtained any food must fast until the next day.

The frame of mind when consuming

It is important to take into account the spirit in which a product is consumed; if salt or sugar are taken for a medical reason, he can store the first for life, and the second for seven days. However, if the same salt or sugar are taken for flavouring, they cannot be consumed or stored after the solar noon on the same day of their acquisition.

The pátimokkha includes numerous rules regarding accepting and consuming food. See especially the sekhiya 27 to 56.

Conduct to observe when eating

As at all other times, during his meal, the bhikkhu must pay attention to his smallest actions and gestures. In this way, it will be easy for him to adopt the proper manners.

The best places must be reserved to the more senior. All the members of the saµgha must eat at the same time. Those who arrive first must meditate whilst waiting for others. Nobody must eat before the majority have already arrived at the table. Each bhikkhu must make an effort to arrive punctually. The conduct at the table must be based on equanimity and moderation. The dishes must not be kept close to oneself but passed around the table to allow everybody equal access. Reasonable amounts of food must be served in the bowl (or plate) to avoid leaving remainders at the end of the meal. Every bhikkhu must avoid leaving the dining room with any food. The taking and chewing of each mouthful of food must be done with attention. He must abstain from any conversation at the table, eat in silence and not make noise with the ustensils. Every bhikkhu must eat properly, using a spoon to serve himself and wash his hands before eating, especially if he eats with his hands. He must avoid spitting, coughing or sniffling. If this is unavoidable, the bhikkhu is required to do it discretely by turning the other way or moving away from the table. A bhikkhu must not take away a cup, a spoon or any other ustensil without a good reason. If he has to do so, he must report it as soon as possible.

Although not obligatory, it is very important for a bhikkhu to adopt the habit of going to the village (or town) to collect his food with his bowl. This daily round is fundamental for bringing together and relate the lay world and that of bhikkhus.

The offerings

With regard to food, see the pácittiya 40. With regard to the rest, if it is an object that can be carried (soap, robe, etc.), the same factors as for food, as well as the ensuing conditions, must be respected (substituting eating utensils by the appropriate ones). If, in contrast, it is an object that cannot be carried (monastery, tree, etc.), it is sufficient that the donor indicates the object and the beneficiary of his donation without ambiguity, for this to be acceptable. It is more appropriate to address large gifts to the saµgha rather than to a single individual.

Remarks: A bhikkhu is authorised to gather discarded cloths – to make himself a robe – without it being offered. See the dhutaýga 1.

The five improper ways to obtain gifts

1. Lies: by pretending qualities that one does not have.
2. Flattery: talking in such a way as to flatter a donor.
3. Suggestion: suggesting offerings through veiled allusions.
4. Harassment: harass a donor to extract an offering.
5. Gain through gifts: give presents, or render services, with the purpose of obtaining more.

A bhikkhu who uses an object that he has obtained incorrectly commits a dukka†a. This object must not be used by another bhikkhu, otherwise he too commits a dukka†a.

Way of abandoning things

Whether it is food or not, a bhikkhu can abandon what is offered to him. An abandoned object can no longer be used – even by another bhikkhu – unless it is re-offered. Attention: food that has not been abandoned cannot be re-offered on another day. To abandon something, two factors are necessary:

• the bhikkhu must renounce the possession of the object by telling himself by word or thought that he abandons this object;
• the object must be separate from the bhikkhu by a minimum distance of two cubits and one span (around 70 centimetres).

When these two factors are met (in whichever order), the object is considered to be abandoned.

The dáyaka and the kappiya

The dáyaka

A dáyaka is a benefactor who supports the bhikkhu materially. To do this, he provides, within the measure of his capabilities, for the needs of one or more bhikkhus. A bhikkhu can communicate his needs to a dáyaka only if the latter has expressly invited him to do so. A dáyaka can offer food, robes, soap, lodging or books. See also "What are a bhikkhu's means of support?"

The kappiya

A kappiya is a person who offers to help the bhikkhu to carry out various tasks, notably, that which he is not authorised to do by the vinaya (open a fruit with seeds or stone, re-offer the food abandoned the night before, make payments, etc.)

As a bhikkhu cannot receive or handle money, if anyone wishes to offer him something but has no time to buy this, he/she can send the money needed to buy this thing to a kappiya (temporary or not). The kappiya then uses this money when paying for what was intended for the bhikkhu's need(s). For example, a robe, transport tickets during a trip, medical consultation. After this, any remaining money must be returned to the donor. When the bhikkhu has been informed by the kappiya that money has been sent to him for the purchase of something, the bhikkhu can simply say that he needs that particular thing. Under no circumstances should he ask "Buy me this. Buy me that!"

A kappiya cannot be a bhikkhu, a bhikkhuní, a sámašera or a sámašerí, because these persons are also forbidden to handle money. A bhikkhu must not accept anything that has been bought by another bhikkhu, a bhikkhuní, a sámašera or a sámašerí. See also the nissaggiya 10 and the pácittiya 11.

The vassa

Every year, the bhikkhu is obliged to reside for three months at the same place; from the full moon of July (sometimes August) until that of October (sometimes November). In South Asia, this period corresponds to the rainy season, translated in Pali by the word vassa. During the vassa, a bhikkhu cannot spend a night in another place unless he has a good reason (teaching the dhamma, visiting a sick parent, etc.) and then only for six nights in succession. At the end of these, it is enough for him to spend at least one night in the monastery where he started to observe his vassa so as to be able to absent himself again for a few nights. As soon as the bhikkhu enters the enclosure of the vihára where he observes his vassa, even if he has spent the previous night somewhere else, he is obliged to spend the following night at this vihára.

There are cases in which the bhikkhus are not at fault if they change their place of residence during the vassa. These are extreme situations in which the bhikkhus no longer have the possibility of satisfying their vital needs: the village is about to be deserted (burnt, flooded, attacked, infected); dangerous animals threaten or attack the monastery; the monastery is destroyed; access to the village becomes impossible; etc.

The bhikkhu who, for any reason, cannot observe the vassa from the full moon of July (or beginning of August), has the possibility of entering in the "second vassa", that is, after the following full moon (August or beginning of September). He will then end his vassa a month after the others, but will not be at fault. However, he will not be able to benefit from the "kathina privileges" (see below).

Taking refuge on entering the vassa

The day of entering the vassa, each bhikkhu recites a short formula indicating that he will spend the vassa at the vihára where he is. This then implies that the latter has chosen the place where he will reside during the whole of the three months of the vassa. To do this, he will say in Pali (three times in succession):

"imasmiµ viháre imaµ temásaµ vassaµ upemi"
"I will reside in this vihára (monastery) during the three months of the vassa (rains season)."

Invitation at the conclusion of the vassa (pavárašá)

On the last day of the vassa, each bhikkhu recites a formula, in Pali (three times in succession), which is an invitation to all the members of the saµgha to make comments on the offences that he has committed:

"saµghaµ bhante paváremi, di††hena vá sutena vá parisaýkáya vá, vadantu maµ áyasmanto anukampaµ upádáya, passanto pa†ikarissámi." " dutiyampi... tatiyampi..."
"Venerables, if you have seen, heard or suspected any faults whatsoever in me, I invite you to admonish me as required." " For the second time... For the third time..."

The kathina

The period starting on the day of the full moon marking the end of the vassa, until the following full moon, is called the kathina.

The kathina privileges, which are five in number, are expressed by flexibilities in the vinaya. These are valid during the whole month of the kathina. The bhikkhu who has observed his vassa without breaking it can benefit from them:

1. he can be distanced – by about 1.20 metres or more – from his robes at dawn;
2. he can leave the vihára after noon without asking for consent from another bhikkhu;
3. he can accept an invitation (even if addressed to more than three bhikkhus) for a meal that has been formulated incorrectly;
4. he is authorised to keep an additional robe – not determined – for more than ten days;the "kathina robe", offered to the entire saµgha, can be shared with every bhikkhu in the monastery (this is not always obligatory, except for those who have observed the vassa right until the end.

The kathina takes place in a great ceremony during which the bhikkhus of the monastery gather at the símá to proceed to the presentation of the "kathina robe". At this time, no lay person – and no sámašera – is allowed in the símá. After agreement, the saµgha presents the famous kathina robe to the bhikkhu who has shown the most remarkable conduct, and who, a fortiori, must not have broken the observance of the vassa. According to tradition, this robe will have been sewn during the night by the villagers, before being offered to the saµgha for the occasion. The bhikkhu to whom this is presented can keep it in addition to his own robe, during the whole month of the kathina. However, he will have to share it with the other bhikkhus beneficiary of the kathina privileges.

Miscellaneous

• The bhikkhus are obliged to shave the head and, if present, "the hairs that the women lack", i.e. the beard. Other hairy parts are not shaved. The maximum length allowed for hair and beard is two fingers.
• Outside the precinct of the monastery, the bhikkhu is not allowed to wear sandals (or shoes). When accepting an offering, a bhikkhu should never have footwear on. Footwear is a sign of wealth and comfort, which the bhikkhus are supposed to renounce. Besides, this forces them to keep the sight constantly lowered, permitting them to remain always attentive and preventing them from being distracted by the surroundings.
• Outside the precinct of the monastery, the bhikkhu is not allowed to carry a parasol. In case of rain, umbrellas are tolerated.
• The Buddha strictly forbade the bhikkhus to make use of astrology, numerology, palm reading, amulets, etc.
• A bhikkhu must not water a tree (or a plant) that produces ornamental flowers or edible fruits. He must not even wash himself or shower near it, hoping to water it in this way. However, he can water a tree that provides shade or which serves as a fence.
• It is not proper for a bhikkhu to transmit messages for any person except a bhikkhu, a sámašera, someone who offers food to the saµgha, his mother, his father or those persons who carry out various tasks on behalf of the saµgha (sweeping, table service etc.)
• If a bhikkhu needs to acquire something and there is no dáyaka in the immediate vicinity, he is authorised to do a round in the afternoon, stopping in silence in front of the houses (as during the food round in the morning). He can communicate his needs only if anyone asks him, if not, he continues his way and stands in front of another house.
• A bhikkhu must avoid all forms of distraction and any futile action or word. He must watch his speech, avoiding vulgarities. In addressing anyone, he must be polite and measured in every single word. He must be vigilant to keep always a proper distance from lay people, he must not shake their hand or treat them informally. When a bhikkhu goes to the toilet, he is obliged to be restrained and silent. In anything he does, his conduct must be blameless.

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The origin of religion through different kinds of approachs

The origin of religion through different kinds of approaches

Introduction

First, some philosophers of religion hold that historians of religions are essentially philosophers of religion, or they ought to be if they are not already. To them, the religion-scientific inquiry of the history of religions is an important tool to develop an adequate philosophy of religion, which transcends the regional and subjective elements involved in all religious systems. Or, to put it differently, they may say that all religions are manifestations of, or a search for, one underlying primordial "religion" and the task of the history of religions is, in co-operation with the philosophy of religion, to study the relation between religion and religions and to enlighten a confused humanity so that it will eventually move toward the absolute truth.

Second, there are those who hold that the so-called objective approach of the history of religions is not objective enough, because of the very nature of the subject matter. Thus they urge historians of religions to concentrate more on the historical, phenomenological, and institutional aspects of religions, depending heavily on the co-operation and assistance of anthropologists, sociologists, philologists, and universal as well as regional historians.

There is a third group who hold that the history of religions does not take seriously enough the subjective elements involved in the study of various religions. They sometimes compare historians of religions, uncharitably to be sure, to "flies crawling on the surface of a goldfish bowl, making accurate and complete observations on the fish inside . . . and indeed contributing much to our knowledge of the subject; but never asking themselves, and never finding out, how it feels to be a goldfish. " (Wilfred Cantwell Smith,” "The Comparative Study of Religion," Inaugural Lectures [Montreal: McGill University, 1950], p. 42.) What is important, according to this line of thinking, is to let the adherents of each religion speak for themselves about the nature of their own religious experiences, their views of the world and of life, and their own forms of beliefs and worship.

Finally, there are still others who rule out the possibility of religion-scientific approach to the study of religions on the grounds that each investigator is incurably conditioned by own religious and cultural background. On this basis they advocate the necessity of what might be termed as a theological history of religions, be it Islamic, Christian, or Hindu, as the only legitimate discipline. Closely related to this perspective is that of missionology or Missionswissenschaft, which utilizes the data and findings of Religionswissenschaft for apologetic purposes from the standpoint of Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, or Hindu faith.

All these criticisms have been raised by men and women in all walks of life. However, what concerns us particularly is the fact that the basic un-clarity of the discipline of the history of religions has created confusion regarding the place of the history of religions in the academic curriculum in this country. Generally speaking, there are three kinds of educational institutions which are concerned with the teaching of the history of religions. In the undergraduate colleges and universities the question of the history of religions is discussed in connection with the problem of the teaching of religion. In the graduate institutions questions are raised as to the legitimacy of the history of religions as an academic discipline, and also the relations of the research method to other disciplines. In the theological schools and seminaries, the questions of the history of religions are involved in the relations of Buddhism to other religions.

It must be made abundantly clear that the history of religions is not proposed as the only valid method of studying religions. Actually, it is only one among many different approaches, such as philosophy of religion, psychology of religion, sociology of religion, and theology. Unlike philosophy of religion and theology, however, the history of religions does not "indorse" any particular system offered by the diverse religions of the world, nor does it advocate, as many ultra-liberals think it ought, any new universal synthetic religion. On the other hand, there are those who study other religions much as the commander of an invading army investigates enemy territory, and with much the same motivations. Such an approach is, of course, not acceptable to the history of religions, for this discipline does not prove the superiority of any particular religion over others.

There are three essential qualities underlying the discipline of the history of religions: First is a sympathetic understanding of religions other than one’s own. Second is an attitude of self-criticism, or even skepticism, about one’s own religious background. And third is the "scientific" temper.

Historically, the encounter of different peoples and religions has often resulted in serious conflicts and the subjugation of one group by another, but in some cases it has also fostered sympathetic understanding and mutual respect among individuals of different backgrounds. Sometimes, knowledge of other religions, or a crisis in one’s life, leads one to question one’s own religious faith. Therefore, they are the origin of religion through different kinds of approach in the introduction.

I m grateful to professor for his kindness in preparing the origin of religion through different kinds of approach and thank the religion of Pali Commission professor for giving to use the origin of religion through different kinds of approach prepared by my writing. I express my gratitude to professor for kindly preparing the assignment. Finally, my thanks are due to professor of B.P.U for his kind help and advice in many ways and to the origin of religion through different kinds of approach for bringing out the procedure of assignment.

The origin of religion through different kinds of approaches

According to historical point of views, one cannot discuss the origin of religion through different kinds of approach without taking into the prevailing views because theory of the origin of religion is the prevailing views, religion accept the views of the highest of right understanding. These are Jiana, Brahma, Hindu, and Buddhism. Therefore these are called the origin of religion through different kinds of religion approach. Hence, historian and scholars believe that the history of the origin of religion through different kinds of an approach in India begin with Ariyan inversion until 19 century. In the same way, prehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France. It came into use in France in the 1830s to describe the time before writing, and the word "prehistoric" was introduced into English by Daniel Wilson in 1851.

The term "prehistory" can be used to refer to all time since the beginning of the universe, although it is more often used in referring to the period of time since life appeared on Earth, or even more specifically to the time since human-like beings appeared. In dividing up human prehistory, prehistorians typically use the Three age system, whereas scholars of pre-human time periods typically use the well defined Rock record and its internationally defined stratum base within the geologic time scale. The three-age system is the periodization of human prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies; the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. The occurrence of written materials (and so the beginning of local "historic times") varies generally to cultures classified within either the late Bronze Age or within the Iron Age. Historians increasingly do not restrict themselves to evidence from written records and are coming to rely more upon evidence from the natural and social sciences, thereby blurring the distinction between the terms "history" and "prehistory." This view has recently been articulated by advocates of deep history.

Though, the history of religion is not concerned with theological claims apart from their historical significance. Some topic of this disciplines are historicity of religious figures, events, and evolution of doctrine matters. Because, by definition, there are no written record from human being prehistory, dating are prehistoric materials is particularly crucial to the enterprise. Clear techniques for dating were not well developed until the origin of religious. The primary researches into human prehistory are historic religion of archaeologists and physical aspects of religion are anthropologists who use excavation, geologic and geographic surveys, and other religion analysis to reveal and interpret the nature and various behaviors of preliterate and non literate people. Human population geneticists and historical linguists of religious are also providing valuable inside these questions. Religion culture anthropologist’s help to provide context of married and trade, by whish object of human origin are passed among people, thereby allowing for a rich analysis of any topic that arises in a human prehistoric and the origin of religion prehistoric context. Therefore, data about prehistory is provided by an individual variety of natural and social religion, such as Buddhist biology, archaeology, geology, comparative linguistics, anthropology, and many others.

On the other hand, Buddhism is one of the world's major religions. The teachings known as the Four Noble Truths are generally recognized as the core of Buddhism. The first truth is that life is suffering. Suffering continues through an endless chain of rebirths. The second truth is that suffering is caused by desire. The third is that desire can be ended, and the fourth is that right living according to Buddhist precepts (known as the Eightfold Path) is the way to end desire. With the ceasing of desire, beings enter nirvana, a state of release from existence. The striving toward nirvana also involves dedication to the Three Jewels. The first jewel is Buddha himself. The second is the dharma, or "universal law," the truth taught by Buddha. The sangha, or community of monks, is the third.

The founder of Buddhism, Siddhārtha Gautama, also known as Gautama Śākyamuni, was born in the kingdom of the Śākyas in northeastern India. The most commonly accepted dates for his life are c. 566 to c. 486 B.C.E. During this period, India was in a state of rapid political, social, and economic change. By about 600 B.C.E., a number of republics and kingdoms had arisen in northern India, and settled towns became a prominent part of life. Trade with western Asia and other parts of the world contributed to the growth of merchant and artisan classes.

The development of new urban centers and new social classes led to a tendency to pose fundamental philosophical questions, and the time was rich in philosophical and religious teachers. One of those was Vardhamāna, the founder of India's Jain religion, who lived and taught at roughly the same time as Buddha. According to Vardhamāna, the universe works according to an eternal law and everything in the universe has a soul. The purpose of living, in Jainism, is the purification of the soul in order to release the soul from the body. Although there are important differences between Jainism and Buddhism, there are also similarities, such as the idea of universal law, adherence to the principle of nonviolence, and the view of life as a movement toward release. These similarities suggest some of the ideas that were current at the time of the birth of Buddhism.

The details of the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are based on tradition because the first written accounts of his life and actions date from about two hundred years after his death. Siddhārtha is said to have been a prince. At his birth, the Brahmans, or priests, at his father's court foretold that the prince would either become a world-conquering monarch or a Buddha, which means "awakened one" or "enlightened one" in the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. Wishing to keep his son from taking up the life of a holy man, King Śuddhodana attempted to surround the child with luxury and comfort. Nevertheless, as a young man, Gautama saw old age, sickness, and death, which convinced him of the misery of the world. He also saw a wandering holy man and was inspired to leave home to seek wisdom.

For a time, Gautama starved himself and followed a regimen of extreme asceticism and self-mortification. He decided that his self-imposed suffering would not lead him to enlightenment, and he began to live in a more moderate manner. One morning, he sat down under an banyan tree, and according to Buddhist teaching, he vowed not to rise until he had achieved enlightenment. After struggles with the evil spirit Mara, the lord of passion, Gautama realized the truth about existence.

Buddha, as he had become, meditated on his realization for several weeks and then began to teach others. He preached his first sermon at the Deer Park in Sārnāth, about five miles from modern Banāras. As a result of this sermon, Buddha attracted his first five disciples, and these were followed by others. The full-time disciples of Buddha became monks and were known as the sangha, which means "community" or "order." Therefore, the major religion of Buddhism appeared in the earliest prehistory.

For example, once mankind develops a sophisticated level of speech, religion of some kind cannot be far behind. Superstition is an instinct which many of us today profess to be ashamed of. But in a primitive community, among all the dangers of nature, it is little more than common sense. Clearly everything that grows and recreates itself, whether animal or plant, has a living spirit of some sort. And the wind and the water and the fire of the natural world seem far from dead, as they swirl about in their various ways. Mankind needs the cooperation of these aspects of nature. Religion, in the primitive form of animism (the need to befriend and appease the spirits within natural objects), is designed to secure it.

What can humans do to influence nature? Carrying out an appropriate ritual, whether in the form of dance, sacrifice or chant, seems to offer the best chance. As with any superstitious habit, a primitive religious custom is thought likely to work because it is believed to have worked in the past. A ritual, by the time anyone is aware of its ritual nature, gives the impression of having been done from time immemorial. And the proof of its power is plain for all to see. The sun has gone on rising, the bison have reproduced themselves, and these crops have come up.

Rituals require people to carry them out - special people who have done this routine before, experts who have been taught the secrets, initiates with a link to the spirit world. There can hardly be religion without priests. In primitive tribes the priests are the medicine men, known also as shamans. Their ability to communicate with the spirits is evident from the way they fall into trances - achieved usually either by self-hypnosis or by drugs. The medicine man's advice, when emerging from such a state, has uncanny force. Priesthood and politics, in any deeply religious society, are never far apart.

Ritual also requires explanation, and explanation involves one of the most basic human talents, that of storytelling. The spell-binding riches and infinite variety of the world's mythologies go back to such basic questions as how it all began, or why things happen as they do. The gods of importance to primitive societies vary with the circumstances of the tribe, though nearly all give precedence to the sky. The sky is the largest fact of nature. With its ever-changing face, its sudden temper tantrums, its resident sun and moon, it is clearly a force to be reckoned with. In the creation stories of most mythologies a sky god is involved.

Hunter-gatherers are likely to have cults involving the animals of the chase (very probably a religious purpose lies behind the cave paintings at Altamira and elsewhere). Pastoral groups will tend to have rituals linked with sheep or goats. Farmers, tilling the fields, worship with the fruits of the land. In Genesis Cain offers the Lord some of his crops, and Abel brings the first-born of his flock (the Lord prefers Abel's offering). Primitive ritual frequently involves sacrifice. The life destroyed is offered to the god. If an animal's throat is cut, the blood on the altar carries the life force to the deity. If plants are consumed in flames, as a burnt offering, the smoke achieves the same purpose.

The rituals of agriculture are attached to specific moments in the year, such as the times of sowing or of harvest. The year itself also has moments of crisis which require the attention of the priests. New year is the prime example, just after the shortest day, when the sun must be congratulated and encouraged in its recovery. The rhythm of human life demands similar care. In all religions there are rites of passage, marking some or all of the great events of birth, puberty, marriage and death. Life beyond death is important too. Everything necessary must be done for the spirit of the departed ancestor, who can in turn be relied on to help his living descendants.

All these elements can be found in tribal cults of the present day and traces of them survive in more sophisticated religions (ancestor worship is a central element in Confucianism, the Christian Eucharist symbolizes sacrifice). We have no direct evidence of the religious practices of mankind more than about 5000 years ago. But it is probably safe to assume that the rituals of hunter-gatherers and early farmers were at least similar to those of tribal societies today. Precise knowledge of a past religion only becomes possible with written records, so ancient Egypt provides the first detailed mythology. But more mysterious traces of early religions survive also in prehistoric monuments such as Stonehenge.

All of these mention that an ambitious effort to study religious phenomena from a comparative perspective was impossible before the realization of the existence of religion through different kinds of approve. The acceptance of the origin of religion through different kinds of approaching of interpretation of social and physical universe coincided with the discovery of vast new territories and enabled the realization of the great variety of human religious experiences and belief in, particularly, all the world. The idea of regarding Buddhism as merely one of the religions, with no need to label other beliefs as heretical or pagan, preceded and enabled the development of comparative study of religions. The whole appearance of the concept of religion as a plural phenomenon required a shift from the monopoly of the religion into a plural interpretation of religion itself in the world. It is also important to realize that comparative religion is not atheistic other but includes atheism as object of study as well. It should be added that comparative religion, maintaining the goal of a greater understanding of these religions and secularization processes, does not advocated any single faith or ideology. Comparative religion originated through different fields of inquiry; philology, psychology, and anthropology. All of these scholars were credited with establishing the philological strands are comparative religion in the earliest history. They were specializes in Indian classical languages in the Origin of religion different kinds of approaches. The philological study of that period relied mainly on the textual sources of such great ancient religion as Hinduism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, and others. The anthropological approaches to the study of religions were developed by the whole scholars. This orientation was based on the origin of religion cultural evolution and these research material consistent reports produced by people other than the scholars themselves and centered on the problem of the origin of religion so god primitive religion. The term origin of religion is usually qualified as general or comparative in other countries, for example, field is referred to either as the word of Buddhism or other word of religion; in the Anglophonic world the term comparative religion or academic origin of religions are predominated. These have gained an established position, denoting the study of religion and general even though history of religion is usually defined as only one of the five main branches of study of religion long way the phenomenology of religion, the sociology of religion, the psychology of religion and the Anthropology of religion. The term comparative religion is thus a kind of an umbrella of many different approaches to an methods of dealing with religion as a historical, cultural and individual phenomenon consider in space and time. This list of subject reveals how varied the view point and problems uncounted and the original religions are. The methods used in different branches of religious origin often are not profoundly different from those applied in the corresponding general disciplines. The history of religion of religion focuses on the centered problems of the origins of religions and their historical development. Through source criticism of the obtained material in order to prove its historical and religious value is fundamental part of such origin, and the methods used depend on the nature and quality of the material. It is common practice to divide religions into two categories, dependent on whether their sources are principally in written documents or oral traditions. In the former case—in the so-called historical analysis of texts and documents. In the case of cultures not based on written materials, known as primitive or illiterate (non-literate) religions, conclusions concerning their history have to be arrived at on the basis of oral tradition. However, there are called the origin of religion through different kinds of approach.

In conclusion, there are many kinds of religious an India which are these and those characteristics of mention about the historical point of view. We may find out the assignment of the topic as much as we would like to write down that there is some information about the religious in those days. Somehow, we express our gratitude to professor of B.P.U for kindly preparing the topic. Finally, my thanks are due to professor for his kind help and advice in many ways, and to the origin of religion through different kinds of approach bringing out this topic.

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