Religions of Ancient India  Origins of Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the world's oldest religions. Hinduism developed from the faith of the Aryans. The scared writings, called the Vedas, teach the key ideas of Aryans religion. At first, the Veads had to be memorized by the Brahman priests and spoken out loud. Much later they were written in Sanskrit. Over time, the Aryans religion changed as it blended with the ideas of other people of India. This mix of beliefs eventually became Hinduism.
What is Hinduism ? 
Hinduism is a religion that includes many beliefs and practices. A core belief of Hinduism is that there is one universal spirit called Brahman. Ancient texts known as the Upanishads describe the search for Brahman. The writings say that every living thing has a soul that is a part of Brahman. The body is part of life on earth. At death, the soul will leave the body and join Brahman. The Upanishads say that a soul that becomes one with Brahman is like a lump of salt.
The lump of salt is gone, but the water tastes salty. So the salt becomes one with the water.
Most ancient Indians could not understand Brahman. They believed in different deities that were more like people. Hindus built temples and statues and held ceremonies for these deities. Eventually, three deities became the most important: Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Over time Hindus came to think of all the deities as different parts of Brahman, the one universal spirit. Another part of Hinduism is reincarnation, or rebirth of the soul. Hindus strive for moshka, the ultimate peace. Hindus believe that most souls do not reunite with Brahman immediately after death. Instead, each soul must first pass through many lives. The Upanishads describe reincarnation as a process in this way:"As a caterpillar, having reached the end of a blade of grass, takes hold of another blade, then draws its body from the first, so the Self having reached the end of his body, takes hold of another body, then draws itself from the first." -from Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad, fourth Brahmana, line 3 In Hiduism the idea of reincarnation is closely alike to karma. According to karma , people's status in life is not an accident. It is based on how you lived in your past life. The life choices you make in your life will affect what you will be reborn into. If you are a bad person then that means you will be born into a lower form of life. If you die and  you were a good person then you would be reborn into a higher life form.Hindus believe that in order to get a higher life status in their next life than they must follow dharma, or their personal duty. Everyone has different duties to accomplish depending on their place in society.
Like women would have different duties than men and priests would have different duties than the untouchables.Indians accepted the Hindus beliefs that all life is sacred. Animals and people were treated with kindness and respect.And the beliefs in reincarnation also made Indians believe more in the varna system. A devout Hindu believed that people in a higher jati were superior and deserved their status. But believing in reincarnation made people have hope to live good to be reborn into a higher jati.
Rise of Budhuism
During the 500s B.C, Some people felt unhappy in their life, and they were tired of having such a hard religion so they packed up and left. Some went into the forests or other places to train their minds to only think positively and that was called meditation. Some people developed new ideas and created and became new religious teachers. One of these teachers names was Siddhartha Gautama. He became known as Buddha he found a new religion and called it Buddhism.
The Buddha
Most Buddhists live in Southeast Asia and East Asia. Only a few live in India , Buddhism's birth place which is kinda sad. Sidddhartha Gautama was born in the year 563 B.C. The exact Birth date of him is not known.
He grew up as a prince in a small kingdom in the Himalaya.He was young but  he was very happy and rich. He had a wife and newborn baby with him. But one day he left the palace to explore the life of any other ordinary person. He was shocked to find out that people were really poor and elderly had no one to take care of them. He was shocked that people weren't happy with their lives. So it finally clicked to him that the world was and is suffering.
Siddhartha left everything behind, like his house, money, family, friends and his whole life so he can go find peace and the meaning of life. He dressed in a yellow robe and he traveled throughout cities and villages spreading his teachings known as Buddhism. 
What did the Buddha teach?
Buddha's ideas were mixed in with Hindu. Like Hindus, Buddha believed that the world spirit was more important than the everyday world. He felt that people suffered so much because they worried/cared about the wrong things. These things are fame, money, and personal possession. He believed that wanting these things filled people with greed or anger. But seeking spiritual truth, he believed, led to inner peace. The Buddha taught his followers the Four Noble Truths. He believed these would help people seek spiritual truth.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1. Life is full of suffering.
2. People suffer because they desire worldly things and want to satisfy themselves.
3. The way to end suffering is to stop desiring things.
4. The only way to stop desiring things is to follow the Eightfold Path.
The Buddha's fourth truth says that people can end suffering by following eight steps.
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
1. Know and understand the Four Noble Truths.
2. Give up worldly things and do not harm others
3. Tell the truth, do not gossip, and do not speak badly of others.
4. Do not commit evil acts, such as killing, stealing, or living an unclean life.
5. Do rewarding work.
6. Work for good and oppose evil.
7. Make sure your mind keeps your senses under control.
8. Practice meditation to see the world in a new way.
When people were finally free from all earthly concerns, they would reach Nirvana. 
According to Buddhist teaching, nirvana is not a physical place. It is an emotional or spiritual state, a feeling of perfect peace and happiness.Buddhism spread fast because it welcomed people from all walks of life. The Buddha people's place in life did not depend on the varna into which they were born into. The Buddha explained that success in life depends on people's behavior now.Like Hindus, The Buddha believed in reincarnation, but in a different way. He taught that people could end the cycle of rebirth by following the Eightfold Path rather than their dharma.Many people accepted Buddha's message, especially Untouchables and Indians in the lower jati. For the first time, these groups heard that they could reach enlightenment.For more than 40 years, The Buddha taught his ideas. After he died, his followers disagreed over the meaning of Buddha's ideas. Eventually, the Buddhists were divided into two groups: Theravada Buddhists and Mahayana Buddhists.
Theravada Buddhism
Theravada means "teachings of the elders." Followers see Buddha as a great teacher but not as a god.Theravada Buddhism is a major religion of the modern-day country of Sri Lanka. Buddhist teachers spread the ideas of Theravada to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
Mahayana Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism teaches that Buddha is a god.Followers/believers believe that the Eightfold Path is too difficult for most people. They believe that by worshiping Buddha they will go to heaven after they die. There, they can follow the Eightfold Path and reach nirvana.Boodhisattvas hold a special place in Mahayana Buddhism. Boodhisattvas are enlightened people who don't enter heaven. Instead, they stay on Earth to do good deeds and help others on the path to nirvana.Mahayana spread more north toward China and from there Korea and Japan. There is a special kind of Mahayana Buddhism in a central Asian country of Tibet.Buddhist leaders called lamas led the government in Tibet.The Dalai Lama led the government while the Panchen Lama led the religion. Tibetans considered both leaders to be reincarnations of Buddha.
Jainism
Along with Hidduism and Buddhism, another Indian faith known as Jainism was born about 500 B.C. Today there are over 6 million followers of Jainism in India.
Who is Mahavira?
The exact roots of Jainism are unknown. Its current form was developed by a religious leader named Mahavira. Mahavira lived in India about the same time as Siddhartha Gautama.Like Siddhartha he also came from a wealthy royal family in northern India. After his parents died, Mahavira gave up everything like his wealth and property, and went on the streets to beg for food.Mahavira became known as Jina, or the conqueror.His followers became known as Jains. Many of Mahavira's teachings were like those of the Buddha. Both taught that people needed to stop wanting worldly things. Only by doing so could they escape the cycle of rebirth and reach nirvana. The Jains practiced strict poverty.
What is Ahimsa?
The key value/meaning of Jainism is ahimsa. This means practicing nonviolence on all living things.And believing that all living things are sacred, Mahavira's followers tried really hard to avoid hurting all living things, they would sweep bugs so they wouldn't step on them. Jains would also not farm for fear that they might hurt worms or anything living in the soil.The idea of ahisma has always influenced India in their culture and politics. In the 1900s, the Indian wanted to free India from Great Britain. He led a nonviolent struggle against British rules. Thousands of people would come and listen to Gandhi speak or to just simply sit with him while he prayed. Many protesters refused to pay taxes or buy British goods as a show of protest. Many people were jailed, but India eventually gained its independence. Gandhi himself was jailed many times.Gandhi's method of nonviolent resistance influenced many others. In the United States, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led nonviolent protests to gain rights for African Americans. Like Gandhi, Dr. king was able to use nonviolence to bring about great change in his country.