Eastern Religions

Note: Yoga is not a religion, but rather a collective term for various spiritual practices and disciplines common to most branches of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita is the archetype of Yoga scripture. Capturing the essence and at the same time going into detail about the various Yogas and their philosophies, it was the groundstone to Yogic thought, and constantly refers to itself as such, the "Scripture of Yoga" (see the final verses of each chapter).

Vedic religions (Hinduism)

• Vaishnavism is the branch of Hinduism in which Vishnu or one of his avatars is worshipped as the supreme God. Vishnu is one of the gods of the Vedic pantheon. The majority (75-80%) of today's Hindus consider themselves Vaishnavas. Of the remainder, most are Saivites. Vishnu and Shiva are sometimes visualized as a single divinity named Harihara.
  

• Swaminarayan sect
  
• Gaudiya Vaishnavism
  
  • ISKCON (Hare Krishna) The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is the best-known organization of the religious movement popularly known as Hare Krishna. It is a sect of Vaishnava Hinduism which practices bhakti yoga in the worship of Lord Krishna who is popularly known as the eighth avatar of the god Vishnu and, according to ISKCON beliefs, his highest form ("the supreme personality of Godhead").

• Saivism or Shaivism is a branch of Hinduism whose followers worship Shiva as their chief god. Shiva in the Vedas is called Rudra. He is also called Pashupati, the lord of beings. Shiva is the heart of consciousness, just as Vishnu is the moral law. Vishnu and Shiva are sometimes visualized as a single divinity named Harihara.

• Saktism

• Smartism

Note: Yoga is not a religion, but rather a collective term for various spiritual practices and disciplines common to most branches of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita is the archetype of Yoga scripture. Capturing the essence and at the same time going into detail about the various Yogas and their philosophies, it was the groundstone to Yogic thought, and constantly refers to itself as such, the "Scripture of Yoga" (see the final verses of each chapter).

Non-Vedic Indo-Persian religions

• Buddhism (article)
• Hinayana (Sanskrit lit. lesser vehicle) is a term often used to identify Early Buddhist Schools that are now mostly extinct. There are various views on the use and meaning of the term Hinayana.

• Mahayana (Sanskrit lit. Great Vehicle) is one of two major schools of Buddhism. Followers originate in China, Japan, Korea, and a decent portion of adherents in Vietnam and Taiwan. From Mahayana developed the esoteric Vajrayana which claims to combine all previous schools.

The way of the Mahayana, developed from the earlier and more austere Theravada school of Buddhism, tends to be characterized by a greater emphasis of the supernatural. These include from celestial realms and powers, to a spectrum of Bodhisattvas, both human and seemingly godlike, who can assist believers.

• Vajrayana also known as Tantric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism, is often viewed as the third major school of Buddhism, alongside the Theravada and Mahayana schools. This classification is useful when talking about schools by geographic areas. Others classify Vajrayana as a subset of Mahayana Buddhism, a useful scheme when studying the practices of the schools. Vajrayana Buddhists themselves often classify their school as the final stage in the evolution of Buddhist theory which they enumerate as: Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana (see dharma wheel). None of these classification schemes are particularly inconsistent with the others when the context is understood.

• Regional variations of Buddhism (main Buddhism article)

• Jainism (article)

• Sikhism (article)

• Zoroastrianism (article)
  
  

Religions of Far Eastern origin

• Caodaism Cao Dai (Cao Đài) is a religion founded in 1926 in Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, by God, who revealed himself to Ngo Van Chieu, an official in the French colonial government.
  

Caodaists believe that there is only one God, the same one who created all the major religions of the world such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Spiritualism.
Adherents engage in ethical practices such as prayer, veneration of ancestors, nonviolence, and vegetarianism with the goal of, minimally, obtaining a favorable rebirth, or, better yet, entering heaven, or, ultimately, escape from the cycle of birth and death. Three Saints revered in Cao Dai are Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925), Victor Hugo (1802-1885), and Nguyen Binh Khiem (1492-1587). They are depicted in a painting, signing a covenant with God.
God is symbolized by the Divine Eye, specifically the left eye.
The faith has a hierarchical organization resembling that of the Roman Catholic Church, with a pope, cardinals, bishops, and priests. Ordained women may attain ranks up to cardinal.Followers of Cao Dai believe that its teachings, symbolism and organization were communicated directly from God; even the construction of the Tay Ninh Holy See had divine guidance.
Cao Dai currently has an estimated seven to eight million adherents in Vietnam, and an additional 30,000 (primarily ethnic Vietnamese) in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

• Confucianism (article)

• Mohism Founded by Mo Zi (whose actual surname was Di, and whose given name was Mo), Mohism (墨家), or Mohism, is a Chinese philosophy that evolved at the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism (Hundred Schools of Thought). It disappeared during the Qin dynasty. Mo Di's philosophy was described in the book Mo Zi, compiled by his students from lecture notes.

• Oomoto (also known as Omoto-kyo) is a Japanese religion, often categorized as an offshoot of Shinto. The religion was founded, in 1892, by Nao Deguchi. The Oomoto tend to recognize notable religious figures, from other religions, as kami.
  

• Shinto (Japanese: 神道 Hepburn: shintō, Nippon-shiki/Kunrei: Sintô, JSL: Sintoo) is the native religion of Japan. It involves the worship of kami, or nature spirits. Some kami are very local and can be regarded as the spirit or genius of a particular place, but others represent major natural objects and processes, for example, Amaterasu, the Sun goddess. (full article)

• Taoism or Daoism (from Chinese 道, in pinyin dào) is usually described as an Asian philosophy and religion, though it is also said to be neither but rather a "way of life". Translated literally, it means "Way" or "Path". The Tao is the natural order of things. It is a force that flows through every living or sentient object, as well as through the entire universe. (full article)

• Tenrikyo (天理教; lit. Teaching of Divine Reason) is a universal religion of Japanese origin with a following of several million. It was founded by a female peasant, Nakayama Miki, who underwent a revelatory experience from 1838 onwards. After this date she is referred to as Oyasama (lit. Honoured Parent) by followers.
  The focus of the religion is to attain the 'joyous life' on Earth through charity and abstention from greed, a self-serving life, hatred, anger and arrogance.Adherents believe in a single god, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto (lit. "Lord of Divine Reason", but the term is used as a name-label rather than as a description), who is defined as the creator and caring parent of all mankind. Continuing reincarnation is part of the religion, but is not a major emphasis. Key teachings include: Moto-no-Ri - the principle of origin; Kashimono-Karimono (a thing lent, a thing borrowed) - the nature relationship between the human body and God; Hinokishin - voluntary effort (often charitable or public-service); Tanno (true acceptance) - a constructive attitude towards troubles, illness and difficulties; and Juzen-no-Shugo - ten principles or providences involved in the creation which exist in Futatsu Hitotsu (two-in-one relationships).
  In Tenrikyo there are three successive levels of understanding of the nature of God: the first is Kami which is God as understood in every day terms, the second is Tsukihi (lit. Moon Sun), or God as the creator of nature and natural laws, and lastly Oya (Parent), or God as the parent of human beings. It is important to note that these terms refer to three successive levels of people's understanding of one single God as they grow in spiritual maturity.
  The spiritual center of the religion is in what was formerly Shoyashiki Village, now part of Tenri city in the Nara prefecture. The main shrine complex centres around the Jiba, believed to be the central point of the creation. The senior religious leader is referred to as the Shimbashira (lit. Main Post). Many metaphors from building and carpentry are used in Tenrikyo teachings which view the construction of a better, joyous world as a step-by-step process in which people can make small steps towards progress through working together collaboratively.
  Tenrikyo teachings, despite emphasising group effort, allow for a significant degree of individuality among different followers - differences are seen as complimentary, and the overall organisation is subdivided into many different groups with common goals but differing focus. These range from different regional Daikyokai (lit. Great Teaching Groups), to disaster relief corps, medical staffs and a hospital, a university, an extensive museum, one of the largest libraries in Japan, various schools and several others.
  Tenri Judo is renowned as a successful competition style of Judo that has produced many champions, and there are also other sporting and arts interest groups within Tenrikyo. © 2004