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This site is dedicated to helping students understand the basics of major world religions.

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Basic Buddhism for kids | Introduction to basic Buddhism

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Basic buddhism for kids. Introduction to Buddhism. History of Buddhism.

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Ganga is first mentioned several times in the Rig Veda, considered to be the earliest of the four Vedas (the principle sacred texts which form the base of Vedic and Hindu thought). In Rig Veda 3.58.6 it says, "Your ancient home, your auspicious friendship, O Heroes, your wealth is on the banks of the Jahnavi [another name for Ganga]."

The Birth of Ganga

While there are many stories regarding the birth and life of the Goddess Ganga, one main story of her birth relates to the story of the dwarf Vamana, the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

There once was an evil king by the name of Bali who was extremely prideful and arrogant. In a plan to end his unrighteousness, Vamana went to Bali and asked him for three steps of land. Bali arrogantly agreed, thinking it only to be the three small steps of a dwarf. However, Vamana then took on His cosmic form and placed one foot on the earth, one foot in the heavens, and one foot on Bali's head.

According to the story, it was during this time when Lord Vishnu took a step into heaven that the Goddess Ganga was born. When He stepped into heaven, Lord Brahma reverently washed Vishnu's feet. The water fell from Vishnu's feet into Brahma's kamandalu, or pot, and out of this water Ganga was born.

The Descent of Ganga

How the goddess Ganga came from the heavens to the earth is another story in the Hindu tradition, and it is this story that forms the basis of the Hindu belief that Ganga is a purifier of sins.

There was once a king named Sagara who had sixty thousand sons. One day, King Sagara decided to perform the Ashvameda ceremony, a ritual in which a horse is sent all over the land to conquer and acquire new kingdoms and establish sovereignty.

However, Lord Indra was jealous of Sagara and decided to steal and hide the horse in the underworld. King Sagara sent his sixty thousand sons to find the horse and after searching the entire earth, they found it in the underworld next to the meditating sage, Kapila. Believing Kapila to be the thief, they began to hurl insults at the great sage, thus disturbing his practices. Kapila opened his eyes - eyes which had not been opened for years - and by his spiritual power burned all sixty thousand sons to ashes.

Upon death, there are many long and intricate rituals that must be performed for the Hindu, including the immersion of ashes. However, as these sixty thousand sons were deep in the underworld, no one was able to perform their funeral rites, so they wandered as ghosts for years.

For generations, the descendants of King Sagara tried, unsuccessfully, to coax Ganga into coming onto Earth to purify the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara. Years later, a descendant of King Sagara by the name of Bhagiratha vowed to do intense penance in order to bring Ganga herself down from the heavens to purify the ashes of his ancestors, thus washing away their sins and freeing their souls. After much penance, Brahma agreed to Bhagiratha's wishes and ordered Ganga to flow down to the earth.

However, Ganga is full of Shakti, divine energy. She is rambunctious and intractable. Hence, as she began her descent she swept away everything in her path. Bhagiratha prayed to Lord Shiva to stop Ganga from doing so, as he was the only one strong enough to stop her flow. Thus, as Ganga fell from the heavens, she was caught in the locks of Shiva's hair. Ganga was sanctified through the touch of Shiva and was released in calm streams from his hair to flow both on the earth and into the underworld, to purify and release not only the ancestors of Bhagiratha but all inhabitants of the earth.
To read another interesting interpretation of Ganga's story, click here.
Ganga also plays a role in many other Hindu stories. In the Ramayana, Lord Rama and his wife Sita perform tapasya along her banks. In the Mahabharata, Ganga gives birth to Devavrata, later known as Bhishma, the preceptor of the Kuru and Pandava clans. Later in the epic, Bhishma relates to Yudhisthara the greatness of Ganga and her ability to purify one of all sins. In the Bhagavad Gita 10.31, Lord Krishna declares when imparting the highest spiritual knowledge to Arjuna:
"Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rama,
of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganga."

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Ganga is first mentioned several times in the Rig Veda, considered to be the earliest of the four Vedas (the principle sacred texts which form the base of Vedic and Hindu thought). In Rig Veda 3.58.6 it says, "Your ancient home, your auspicious friendship, O Heroes, your wealth is on the banks of the Jahnavi [another name for Ganga]."

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Just Fun Facts | Fun and interesting site

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The River Ganges, also known as the Ganga, flows 2,525 kilometers (1,569 mi) from the Himalaya mountains to the Bay of Bengal in northern India and Bangladesh.

The Ganges River begins in the Himalayas' Gangotri Glacier. The glacier sits at an elevation of 3,892 meters (12,769 feet).

The River Ganges flows through the countries of and Bangladesh.

For most of its course the Ganges flows through Indian territory, although its large delta in the Bengal area, which it shares with the Brahmaputra River, lies mostly in Bangladesh.

It is the third largest river in the world by discharge.
It is 34th longest river in the world by length.
The average depth of the river is 16 meters (52 feet), and the maximum depth, 30 meters (100 feet).

The major rivers which flow into the Ganges are: Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandaki, Burhi Gandak, Koshi, Mahananda, Tamsa, Yamuna, Son, and Punpun.

The Ganges Basin with its fertile soil is instrumental to the agricultural economies of India and Bangladesh.

The Ganges and its tributaries provide a year round source of irrigation to a large area. Chief crops cultivated in the area include rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes, and wheat.

The Ganges basin extends over more than 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles). It has the highest population of any river basin in the world. It contains over 400 million people.

The Ganga Basin supports numerous diverse ecosystems, from the alpine forests near Gaumukh to the plains of northern India to the mangrove forests and saline mud flats of West Bengal.

The mouth of River Ganga forms the world's largest delta, known as Sunderbans, and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. It covers more than 105,000 square kilometers (41,000 square miles)

The Ganges was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world in 2007.

Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species.

Ganga is also the home for fresh water dolphins and Ganges sharks, both of which are endangered species with Ganges shark being critically endangered.

Many varieties of birds are found, such as seagulls, mynah birds, parrots, crows, kites, partridges, and fowls. In winter, ducks and snipes migrate south across the high Himalayas, settling in large numbers in water-covered areas.

The Ganges River is extremely important to the people of India as most of the people living on its banks use it for daily needs such as bathing and fishing.

The river flows through 29 cities with population over 100,000, 23 cities with population between 50,000 and 100,000, and about 48 towns.

On the Ganges banks are India's greatest pilgrimage sites like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi, Allahabad and Kolkata, which are visited by millions of people from every corner of the world to quench their thirst for knowledge and liberation.

Along the Ganges and its tributaries banks lay countless archeological sites, national heritage sites, and world heritage sites such as Nanda Devi Wildlife Sanctuary, Valley of Flowers National Park and the Taj Mahal,one of the seven wonders of the world.

In Hinduism the Ganges River is the most sacred river, and is worshipped as the Goddess Ganga.

Ritual bathing in the Ganges was and is an important part of Hindu pilgrimage and the ashes of the cremated are often spread across her waters.

The river is, along with two other sites, the location of the extraordinary Kumbh Mela ritual which dates back to at least the 7th century CE. Now held every three years, Hindu pilgrims of all social status perform a ritual bathing in the river which is thought to purify body and soul, wash away karma, and bring good fortune. The event, involving from 70 to 100 million people, grows ever bigger and can claim to be the largest human gatherings in history.

In 1896, a British bacteriologist Ernest Hanbury Hankin tested the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae that causes the deadly disease cholera, and found that this bacterium died within three hours when put into the waters of Ganga.

Studies have shown that the Ganges River decomposes organic wastes at a rate 15 to 25 times faster compared to other rivers in entire world.

In a study conducted by Malaria Research Center in New Delhi it was observed that water from the upper ambits of Ganga did not host mosquito breeding, and also prevented mosquito breeding if added to other water sources.

The Ganges River system is fed from a variety of sources including the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas, the July to September monsoon rains, and cyclones.

The Ganges River is becoming shallower in some area. Some attribute this water level change to climate change and global warming.

As a part of natural process (and as scientists believe, with a little help of deforestation and pollution), Ganga is sifting! In Haridwar, Ganga has shifted by 500 meters from its original course. This continued shifting trend can wreak havoc on farming settlements in Ganga plains. In last 30 years, the shift has increased significantly. In Bihar, the river has shifted by 2.5 kilometers (1.55 miles) since 1990.

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Interesting facts about River Ganges | Just Fun Facts

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The River Ganges, also known as the Ganga, flows 2,525 kilometers (1,569 mi) from the Himalaya mountains to the Bay of Bengal in northern India and Bangladesh. The Ganges River begins in the Himalayas' Gangotri Glacier. The glacier sits at an elevation of 3,892 meters (12,769 feet).

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The Ganges River is a 1569 mile long river flowing across India and Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges River begins in the Himalayas' Gangotri Glacier and by the time it reaches its mouth it is the world's third largest river by discharge.

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BBC has good links to different religions

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BBC has good links to different religions

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Religion can be explained as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

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Guides to world religions and beliefs. Includes Atheism, Christianity, Islam, Paganism, Jainism, Zoroastrian and many more.

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Kiddle is a safe search engine, offering a safe web, image, and video search. Results are vetted by editors.

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Buddhism overview

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Buddhism and the Buddha for Kids

A very long time ago, in ancient India, a new baby was born in the royal palace, a boy. His parents named him Prince Siddhartha Gautama. His parents loved him very much. All his life, growing up, his parents gave the prince excellent food to eat, fine clothes to wear, and good servants to wait on him. When he became a man, his parents gave him a different palace for each season of the year. The prince and his wife were blessed with the birth of a baby, a new son, who was strong and healthy. You might say the prince had everything!

But all the prince could see was suffering. It had bothered him greatly, all his life, that pain and old age, and sickness and death were all part of life. The thought of this had always made him very unhappy.

One day, the prince met a monk. That changed his world. He could not believe the monk could find happiness in a world that held such misery. The prince made a startling decision. He decided to leave his parents, his wife, and his newborn son, and become a monk.

The prince traveled ancient India, in search of peace and calm in the face of suffering and sadness. He traveled for six years, as a monk. He was beginning to despair. Perhaps there was no answer. Perhaps all his life he would be unhappy. It was a miserable thought.

It was when he was resting under a fig tree that the way to end all suffering occurred to him! That was the day the monks began to call him "the Buddha", or the Awakened One.

Four Noble Truths: What Buddha has realized, while resting under the fig tree, is that life is ruled by four truths, truths the Buddha called the Four Noble Truths. Those truths are:

Life is filled with suffering

Suffering is caused by people's wants.

Suffering can be ended if people stop wanting things, like more pleasure or more power.

To stop wanting things, people must follow 8 basic laws, called the Eightfold Path.

Eightfold Path: These are the eight basic laws that all people must follow if they wish to end suffering:

To know the truth

To intend to resist evil

To not say anything to hurt others

To respect life, property, and morality

To work at a job that does not injure others

To try to free one's mind from evil

To be in control of one's feelings and thoughts

To practice appropriate forms of concentration

The Middle Way:Buddha realized that people could not follow rules if the rules were too strict. That's why the Eightfold Path is also called The Middle Way. The rules demand a certain behavior, but it is behavior that costs nothing except effort and care.

Buddha continued to travel around India, telling everyone he met about the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Many people listened. They too had trouble finding happiness in a world full of suffering. Some who listened became monks, and helped to spread the word.

Proverbs: The rules of the Eightfold Path are simple to list, but are sometimes difficult for people to follow. To help people better understand and remember the rules, Buddha's teachings were written down as proverbs many years ago. Here are two proverbs written down around 2,000 years ago:
As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind,
even so the wise are not ruffled by praise or blame. Hatreds never cease by hatred in this world;
by love alone they cease.
This is an ancient law.
Many statues of the Buddha show him laughing. The Buddha is laughing to remind us that we need to greet each day with joy.

Another goal of Buddhism is to become the greatest person in the world. This teaching is often misunderstood. It does not mean that you are better than everyone else. It means that you are the best person you can be. The famous example that Buddhists use is the story of the ant. When an ant puts his best effort into carrying a grain of rice, the ant is no longer just an ant; he is the best ant he can be, and thus the greatest ant in the world. But, when a horse carries a grain of rice, it is not much of an achievement.

The Growth of Buddhism: After a time, many people began calling the prince "the Buddha". Buddhism spread rapidly throughout Southern and Eastern Asia.

Today, Buddhism is a world religion. People who follow Buddha's teachings are called Buddhists. There are over 500 million Buddhists in the world. Buddhists value goodness, self-control, wisdom, calm, and love.

Great Links for Kids
The Buddha - story, explore, challenge game
Buddhism for Kids (from Mandy Barrow)
The 3 Teachings (Confucius, Taoism, Buddhism) for Kids
For Teachers
Free Presentations (PowerPoint format) about Buddhism Lesson Plans about Buddhism for Teachers

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Buddha & Buddhism for elementary and middle school Kids and Teachers - Who was the Buddha? - Ancient Civilizations for Kids and Teachers

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A very long time ago, in ancient India, a new baby was born in the royal palace, a boy. His parents named him Prince Siddhartha Gautama. His parents loved him very much. All his life, growing up, his parents gave the prince excellent food to eat, fine clothes to wear, and good servants to wait on him.

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Don't forget about Destiny resources

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The Ganges River is a 1569 mile long river flowing across India and Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges River begins in the Himalayas' Gangotri Glacier and by the time it reaches its mouth it is the world's third largest river by discharge.

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Hindu weddings

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Hindu sacraments are called 'sanskars' and the sacraments performed at the time of a wedding are called 'Vivah Sanskar'.

This sanskar marks the start of the second and the most important stage of life called the 'Grihistha Ashrama' which involves setting up of a new family unit.

Two individuals who are considered to be compatible form a lifelong partnership at this ceremony in which the responsibilities and duties of a householder are explained.

The precise details and rituals performed in a wedding ceremony vary from region to region and often take several hours to complete.

The main stages of a Hindu wedding are:

Jayamaala
Firstly, the bride's parents welcome the bridegroom and his family at the boundary of the house where the wedding is taking place. A red kum-kum (kind of powder) mark is applied to their forehead. Members from both families are formally introduced, marking the start of relationship between two families. The bride and the bridegroom then exchange garlands (jayamaala) and declare: "Let all the learned persons present here know, we are accepting each other willingly, voluntarily and pleasantly. Our hearts are concordant and united like waters."

Madhu-Parka
The bridegroom is brought to a specially decorated altar called 'mandap' and offered a seat and a welcoming drink - a mixture of milk, ghee, yoghurt, honey and sugar.

Gau Daan and Kanya Pratigrahan
'Gau' means cow and 'Daan' means donation. Nowadays, the symbolic exchange of gifts, particularly clothes and ornaments takes place. The groom's mother gives an auspicious necklace (mangala sootra) to the bride. Mangla sootra is the emblem of marital status for a Hindu woman. 'Kanya' means the daughter and 'Pratigrahan' is an exchange with responsiveness on both sides. The bride's father declares that their daughter has accepted the bridegroom and requests them to accept her.

Vivaha-homa

A sacred fire is lit and the Purohit (Priest) recites the sacred mantras in Sanskrit. Oblations are offered to the fire whilst saying the prayers. The words "Id na mama" meaning "it is not for me" are repeated after the offerings. This teaches the virtue of selflessness required to run a family.

Paanigrahan

This is the ceremony of vows. The husband, holding his wife's hand, says "I hold your hand in the spirit of Dharma, we are both husband and wife".

Shilarohan and Laaja Homa

Shilarohan is climbing over a stone/rock by the bride which symbolises her willingness and strength to overcome difficulties in pursuit of her duties. Both gently walk around the sacred fire four times. The bride leads three times and the fourth time the groom leads. He is reminded of his responsibilities. The couple join their hands into which the bride's brothers pour some barley, which is offered to the fire, symbolising that they all will jointly work for the welfare of the society. The husband marks the parting in his wife's hair with red kumkum powder for the first time. This is called 'sindoor' and is a distinctive mark of a married Hindu woman.

Sapta-Padi

This is the main and the legal part of the ceremony. The couple walk seven steps reciting a prayer at each step. These are the seven vows which are exchanged. The first for food, the second for strength, the third for prosperity, the fourth for wisdom, the fifth for progeny, the sixth for health and the seventh for friendship. In some regions, in stead of walking the seven steps, the bride touches seven stones or nuts with her right toe. A symbolic matrimonial knot is tied after this ceremony.

Surya Darshan and Dhruva Darshan

The couple look at the Sun in order to be blessed with creative life. They look in the direction of the Dhruva (Polar star) and resolve to remain unshaken and steadfast like the Polar star.

Ashirvada (Blessings)

The couple are blessed by the elders and the priest for a long and prosperous married life.

It is important to clarify two misconceptions about Hindu marriages: arranged marriages and child marriages.

Hindu scriptures prohibit use of force or coercion in marriages.

Arranged marriages are based on agreement from both the bride and the groom, and should not be confused with forced marriages.

In the Vedic period, child marriages were strictly prohibited. Later, due to political and economical changes, some new social traditions started which deviated from the Vedic teachings.

Child marriages and the associated tradition of dowry were some of the deviations which reformist movements in modern times have attempted to correct. Child marriages are now banned by law in India, although reports suggest that the practice has not been eradicated.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions

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In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions Hindu sacraments are called 'sanskars' and the sacraments performed at the time of a wedding are called 'Vivah Sanskar'.

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For Kids: The Indian subcontinent is host to many religions. One of those religions is Hinduism.

Today, Hinduism is a major world religion. It began in ancient India. Hinduism is different than other major religions because there is no single founder. Hinduism is based on the Vedas, the sacred texts and teachings of the Aryans, the ancient people who settled in India around 1500 BCE.

Hinduism is a religion of many gods. However, all Hindus worship one supreme being who created a bunch of gods to be his helpers. One of the unique beliefs in Hinduism is that God is not up in some remote, far away heaven, but is instead inside each and every soul, waiting to be discovered. Knowing God is always with them gives Hindus great hope and courage.

There are Hindu temples all over the world. Each temple has one or more priests. Most Hindu priests today still come from the top caste as they did in ancient times. This caste is called the Brahmin.

Some of the main concepts of Hinduism are called dharma, karma, and reincarnation.

Dharma is a person's religious and moral duties

Karma is the Hindu idea that sums up a person's deeds during their lifetime. The phrase "what goes around comes around" comes from a belief in karma.

Reincarnation is the belief that the individual soul of a person is reborn in a different form after death, based on their karma, or their deeds in their prior life or lives. A belief in reincarnation or rebirth is part of both Buddhism and Hinduism. This is something these two major religions have in common.

Dharma, karma, and reincarnation, which comes first? It's pretty simply. How well you perform your dharma (duty) determines your karma (fate). If you do a good job, you'll earn good karma, and have a good rebirth. If you do a bad job, you'll earn bad karma, and have a bad rebirth. This continues until you get it right. If you have trouble remembering the order, think CAR for karma - a car gets you where you are going next.

If you ever visit the Ganges River area of modern day India, you'll see a great many people bathing in the Ganges River. As in ancient times, many Hindus still believe the waters from the Ganges River will help purify their souls.
For Teachers

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For Kids: The Indian subcontinent is host to many religions. One of those religions is Hinduism. Today, Hinduism is a major world religion. It began in ancient India. Hinduism is different than other major religions because there is no single founder.

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Language | The Story of India - Photo Gallery | PBS

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The dizzying number of languages spoken in India is matched only by the number of gods and goddesses who are worshipped. There are thought to be around 400 main languages and dialects of which 22, in addition to English, are officially spoken in Parliament.

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Harappa was an ancient urban settlement of the Bronze Age, located near the former course of the Ravi River, in northeast Pakistan, uncovered in the 1920s. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, a similarly-planned city situated further south, near the banks of the Indus River, are considered part of the same vast civilization, the Indus Valley Civilization, which thrived from 2600 to 1900 BCE.

Remnants of Harappa's citadel wall, made of mud brick, are still visible, even though many of its bricks were plundered during the construction of a railway in the 19th century. Archaeological excavations indicate that the city's granaries were situated north of the citadel, while a cemetery was located to its south. Similar to the other cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, the streets were laid out in a grid-like pattern, running either north to south or east to west. The settlement's flat-roof homes, of one or two stories, featured indoor plumbing that connected to a highly-developed drainage and waste removal system.

Painted pottery, bronze and copper tools, terra cotta figures, and numerous inscribed stamped seals, decorated with animal motifs, are among the artifacts that have been unearthed at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. Even with these finds, the identities of the cities' rulers remain in doubt.

Related Web Site:
The Indus Civilization
http://www.harappa.com/har/har0.html

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Harappa was an ancient urban settlement of the Bronze Age, located near the former course of the Ravi River, in northeast Pakistan, uncovered in the 1920s. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, a similarly-planned city situated further south, near the banks of the Indus River, are considered part of the same vast civilization, the Indus Valley Civilization, which thrived from 2600 to 1900 BCE.