Hinduism Vs Sikhism

Hinduism is a term used to denote the constellation of a myriad of religious paths and traditions that originated from the Indian subcontinent which interact or blend will with one another. Together with Buddhism, Sikhism, and one other faith not discussed in this paper (Jainism), these religions form a category known as the “dharmic” traditions. What is important to recognize when searching for commonalities is that Hinduism, or rather the concepts and doctrines encapsulated by Hinduism and Hindu traditions, pre-date both Buddhism and Sikhism. Furthermore, Buddhism (in its earliest centuries) and Sikhism are also both religions that were founded by people that reside in the Indian Subcontinent and were more than likely considered Hindu by …show more content…
The major differences in the dharmic traditions can largely be attributed to significant differences in opinion regarding the conceptualization of these common elements that are sourced from Hindu thought and tradition. These differences ultimately enabled the “newer” derivative faiths to expand upon these concepts in distinctly transformative ways. As such, it is therefore necessary to explain what the most distinctive features of Hinduism are explicitly in order to have a basis from which the deviations from it may be …show more content…
and is usually simply referred to as the Buddha, practitioners of this dharmic tradition believe it was he who set into motion the “wheel of the Dharma”: a term ascribed to the body of teachings referring to the cause and end of suffering (dukkha) that encapsulates the primary theme of Buddhist teaching. The ultimate aim of the tradition that is unique in a dharmic context is to reach a state called nirvana: the extinguishing or cessation of desire and suffering. In Buddhism it is believed that suffering is something intrinsic to life and an ailment that is caused by one's desire, and that in order to put an end to both one must follow the way of what adherents refer to as the Noble Eightfold Path: essentially a list that practitioners may follow in order to mirror the Buddha’s footsteps in eradicating attachment, aversion, ignorance, and earthly wants/needs to ultimately reach this state of enlightenment. Another distinguishing feature of Buddhism is the concept of “no-self” or anatman. In Hinduism, the atman refers to one’s soul or eternal self that is successively reincarnated until release from samsara through moksha. In contrast, the anatman is the doctrine that there is no independent eternal self or soul underlying personal subjective existence--a concept that is key in the attaining enlightenment. Furthermore, Buddhism