The story of the Buddha:

• The original name of Gautama Buddha was Siddhartha.
• Sidhhartha was born about 2500 years ago at Lumbini in Kapilvastu which is in modern day Nepal.
• He was a kshatriya and belonged to the Sakya gana.
• Sidhhartha was a prince.
• He was given all the comforts during his childhood.
• Once he became an adult, many questions regarding the true meaning of life used to come to his mind.
• In search of true meaning of life; he left the comforts of his home.
• He began to wander in search of true meaning of life.
• He consulted many learned men but could not find the real answer.
• Finally, he began meditating under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya.
• After meditating for many days; Sidhhartha finally attained the enlightenment.
• After that he became the Buddha.
• The term ‘Buddha’ means the ‘enlightened one’.
• After becoming the Buddha; he gave his first sermon at Sarnath (near Varanasi).
• Then he went to spread his learning among the people.
• Buddha died at Kushinara (Kushinagar).

Preaching of Buddha:

• This life is full of desires.
• Once a desire is fulfilled, we crave for more.
• This marks the beginning of an unending cycle of cravings and desires.
• According to Buddha; this is called thirst or ‘tanha’.
• Life is a suffering because of endless cycle of cravings and desires.
• This cycle can be removed by following moderation in everything we do.
• One should be kind to others; including animals.
• The results of our actions (karma); whether good or bad; affect us in this life and also in the afterlife.
• Buddha used the prakrit language to give his preaching.
• This was the language of the common people at that time.
• Due to use of the common language; Buddha was able to spread his preaching far and wide.
• He encouraged people to stop blindly following him and to think for themselves instead.

Upanishads:

• Upanishads are a collection of philosophical texts.
• The Upanishads were composed at around the same time; or somewhat earlier; when Buddha came on the scene.
• The Upanishads are written in the style of dialogue between teachers and disciples.
• Thinkers; especially Brahmin and Kshatriya men; were the main composers of the Upanishads.
• However, some women also contributed to the Upanishads. 
• Gargi is an example of such women.
• She used to participate in the debates in the royal courts.
• Poor people seldom took part in such discussions.
• But Satyakama Jabala was an exception.
• He was the son of a slave woman Jabali. Satyakama Jabala was accepted by a Brahmin teacher; Gautama; as a disciple.
• The human mind always tried to find answers to difficult questions about life.
• The ideas in the Upanishads were a result of this pursuit.
• People always wanted to know the meaning of life and the afterlife.
• Many people were beginning to question the practice of sacrifices and meaningless rituals.
• Many thinkers believed that there must be something permanent which exists even after the death.
• They called it atman or the individual soul.
• The universal soul was called the Brahman.
• Those thinkers believed that the atman and Brahman were ultimately the one.

Mahavira:

• Mahavira came at the same time as Buddha.
• He was the 24th tirthankar of the Jainism.
• Mahavira was a kshatriya prince of the Licchavi.
• He belonged to the Vajji sangha.
• When he was about 30 years of age; he left his home.
• He roamed in forests in pursuit of the ultimate truth of life.
• He lived a lonely and tough life.
• After spending a long period of 12 years of hardships; Mahavira attained enlightenment.

Preaching of Mahavira:

• People, who wish to know the truth, must leave their home.
• The truth seeker must follow the rules of ahimsa.
• The rule of ahimsa means not hurting or killing any living being.
• Life is dear to all living beings.Mahavira too preached in prakrit.
• The use of the language of the common people helped in making a better connect with the common people.
• The followers of the Jainism had to live a simple life.
• They had to do begging for food.
• A jain had to be absolutely honest.
• He must desist from stealing.
• The followers of Mahavira had to observe celibacy, i.e. the person was not allowed to marry.
• Men had to give up everything; including clothes.
• It is obvious that sticking to the rules of Jainism was very difficult for most of the people.
• In spite of that, thousands of men and women left their homes to become followers of Mahavira.
• Many others supported the monks and nuns and provided them with food.
• The trading community made the largest supporter base for Jainism.
• But for farmers, it was not possible to follow the rules because farmers needed to kill pests for improving crop production.
• Jainism spread to different parts of north India and to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
• For many years; the teachings of Mahavira and his followers passed down orally through generations.
• About 1500 years ago, they were composed in written form.
• They are presently available in that form at Valabhi in Gujarat.

Sanghas:

• Mahavira and Buddha arranged for sanghas where their followers could stay together.
• A sangha was an association of those who left their homes.
• Both Mahavira and Buddha believed that leaving one’s home was must to find the ultimate truth.
• The rules for the Buddhist sanghas are contained in a book called Vinaya Pitaka.

Some of the rules are as follows:

• Both men and women could join the sangha.
• There were separate branches for men and women.
• Any man could join the sangha.
• But a child had to take permission of his/her parents.
• A slave had to take permission of his/her master.
• A woman had to take permission of her husband.
• A person who worked for the king had to take permission from the king.
• A debtor had to take permission from the creditor.

Life in the Sangha: 

• People living in a sangha had to live a simple life.
• Most of the time was spent in meditation.
• The members of a sangha could go to the cities or villages for begging for food.
• There was fixed timing for begging.
• They were known as bhikkhus and bhikkhunis (which are the Prakrit words for beggars).

Monasteries:

• The Jaina and Buddhist monks travelled from one place to another; spreading the preaching of the enlightened ones.
• But traveling was not possible during rainy season.
• Hence, they had to stay at some place during rainy seasons.
• Many of their supporters built temporary shelters in gardens.
• Many monks also lived in natural caves in hilly areas.
• With gradual elapse of time, many monks and their supporters felt the need for a permanent shelter.
• So, monasteries were built for them.
• These monasteries were called the Viharas.
• Rich merchants, landowners and kings donated land and money for building the Viharas.
• Initially, the Viharas were made of wood.
• Later on, they were made of bricks.
• Some monasteries were built in caves; especially in the western part of India.

The system of ashramas:

• Around the same time, the Brahmins also developed a new system of ashrama.
• As per the ashrama system, life was divided into four stages or four ashramas.

They are as follows:

Brahmacharya: 

• This stage encompassed the early years of life.
• During this stage, a person was supposed to lead a simple life and study the Vedas.

Grihastha: 

• This stage began at the beginning of adulthood.
• During this stage, one was supposed to marry and lead a domestic life.
• He had to take responsibilities of a family.

Vanaparastha: 

• During this stage, one had to live in the forest for meditation.

Samnyasa: 

• During this stage, one had to renounce everything.

The ashrama system was made for Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Women were not allowed to study the Vedas. Women could not choose a particular ashrama. Women had to follow the ashrama as per the husband’s stage of life.