Sufism was a reform movement within Islam which laid great stress on freethinking, liberal ideas and tolerations . the sufi’s believed in theequality of all human beings and brother hood of man.
Hazrat Khwaja Muin-ud-Din Chisti , Nizam-ud-Din Auliya, Nasir-udAuliya, Nasir-ud-Din chirag , sheikh salim chisti are some great sufi reformers of Sufism.
The sufi saints not only saved the masses from social and religious tyranny but also contributed to the cultural evolution of the country. They promoted the feelings of tolerations, brotherhood and equality among the Indians. It was under the influence of Sufism that many rulers like Muhammad TUghlak, Sher Shah, Akbar etc. Treated their subjects alike. Sufism tried to bridge the gulf between the Hindus and the main principles of both the movements were similar. It promoted the growth of vernacular literature of different kinds because the Sufi saints preached their teachings in he spoken languages of the people.

HINDUISM

HINDUISM originally the word “Hindu” did not have a religious connotations, but merely denoted the people in a geographical area-around the river Indus. Hinduism derives is basic ideas and tradition from the Vedas ,considered as sruti,that which is heard or revealed. while Hinduism has often described as a way of life, allowing plenty of flexibility in forms of worship and gods, the fundamental goal of Hindus is to achieve moksha ,or liberation from the cycle of existence. until the attainment of moksha , human beings are subject to rebirth.

JAINISM

The jaina means the conqueror. According to the jain tradition their religion is quite old, even enterior to Aryan Brahmanism. The yajur veda mentions rishabha, Ajinatha and Aristanemi. One of the puanas describes Rishabha as an incarnation of narayana. Mahavira is said to be historical founder of Jainism. The jain split into two groups- the Digambaras (sky clad or naked) and the Svetambaras( clothed in white. indian culture has been deeply influenced by Jainism in ideas such as ahimsa, language development, art and architecture.

BUDDHISM

The Buddha , variously termed Sakyamuni or thathagata . founded this region in thr 6th century B C .Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as Buddha, was born in Nepal around 563 BC. His father was a king. Young Siddhartha grew up knowing only comfort and pleasure. Then one day he discovered that suffering exists, and it troubled him. Why did people suffer, he wondered? How could they be saved?
The philosophy of Buddhism is to avoid the extremes of a life addicted to worldly pleasure and alife of painful asceticism and self-mortification. Buddha taught that happiness lies neither in pleasure nor in self-denial. He advised people to follow a middle way between extremes.

SIKHISM

Guru Nanak was an illustrious product of the bhakti movement in northern india. He founded a new religion , that of the Sikhs ;the term sikh being derived from the Sanskrit word ‘sishya’meaning disciple. guru nanak’s effort lay in trying to unite Hinduism and islam through a creed that could express the devotion of both communities. after nanak came nine gurus. The tenth guru govind ,brought to an end the guru system and organised the Sikhs into a brotherhood of soldiers. he instituted the ceremony of pahul or baptism in water and stirred by a dagger undergoimg which a person would belong to the khalsa and be entitled to use the honorific ‘singh’after his name (and Kaur for females). The khalsa are enjoined to wear the five K’s –kesh (long hair), kanga(comb), kachcha (shorts), kara (iron bangle) and kirpan(short sword).

The Vedas (Hinduism)