"Souls are not only the property of animal and plant life, but also of rocks, running water and many other natural objects not looked on as living by other religious sects." The above statement reflects one of the core beliefs of which one of the following religious sects of ancient India?

Shows Buddhist ideas/practices emerged through dialogue with other traditions and that sacred natural sites (trees, unique rocks, rivers) were described as chaityas.

A student could check whether Buddhist texts or rituals explicitly ascribe souls/spirits to such natural objects or whether the sacredness reflects adoption of local (pre‑Buddhist) practices.

States that Hindu, folk and tribal systems regard mountains, rivers, trees and sometimes stones as sacred and worship them as deities.

Using this pattern, a student could compare known animistic/folk practices with Buddhist inscriptions/art to see if Buddhism shared or officially endorsed animistic beliefs.

Explains tribal belief systems often treat natural elements as residences of gods and regard them as conscious/sacred.

A student could investigate regional interactions (e.g., tribal–Buddhist contact zones) to test whether Buddhist communities incorporated the idea of consciousness in natural objects.

Notes that many who turned to Buddhism enriched it with pre‑Buddhist and non‑Buddhist beliefs; recurrent motifs and animal imagery show syncretism.

A student could survey Buddhist art and narrative sources (Jatakas, local shrines) for syncretic elements reflecting belief in spirits in natural objects.

States the stupa tradition may have been pre‑Buddhist and that relic veneration turned natural/older sacred places into Buddhist sites.

A student might examine whether conversion of pre‑Buddhist sacred places involved adopting beliefs about spirits in natural objects or merely reinterpreting sacredness in Buddhist terms.

Shows Hindu traditions (explicitly including examples relevant to Shaivism) regard natural elements — mountains, rivers, trees, stones — as sacred and sometimes worshipped as deities.

A student could compare lists of sacred natural features associated specifically with Shaiva shrines/legends to see if this sacralisation maps onto Shaivism.

Notes tribal and Hindu overlap: many groups regard natural elements as sacred because 'there is consciousness behind all of them', suggesting an animistic pattern present in broader Hindu practice.

One could examine Shaiva regional practices (e.g., mountain/peak cults in Tamil Nadu) to test whether Shaivism incorporated this animistic pattern.

Describes Shaivism as a devotional tradition that emphasised worship of a chosen deity (Shiva), implying an orientation to particular forms and sites of worship which might include sacred natural objects.

Check whether Shaiva bhakti literature and temple/ritual traditions identify natural objects (rocks, rivers) explicitly as abodes or manifestations of Shiva.

States Tantric practices influenced Shaivism and that Tantric forms of worship (often linked to non-orthodox rites) were widespread — Tantric contexts historically have included nature-based and animistic elements.

Investigate Shaiva-Tantric texts and regional Tantric sites for practices that treat natural objects as inhabited by spirits or deities.

Gives a clear example (Jainism) where the entire world, including stones and water, is considered animated — this establishes that non-Vedic Indian religions had explicit doctrines of life-in-nature which could be compared with Shaiva doctrines.

Use this as a comparative template: look for parallel doctrinal statements in Shaiva sources or note differences to determine if Shaivism held a similar explicit belief.

Describes Vaishnavism as a devotional tradition centred on Vishnu and his avatars, emphasising bhakti toward a chosen personal deity.

A student could contrast this deity-centred bhakti focus with animistic claims to judge whether animism is central to Vaishnavism.

States that Hindu and many folk/tribal systems regard mountains, rivers, trees, plants, animals and sometimes stones as sacred and worshipped as deities.

Use this to infer that animistic or nature-soul beliefs are documented in broader Hindu/folk contexts and test whether Vaishnavism specifically adopted them as core doctrine.

Explicitly notes tribal, folk and Hindu belief overlap where natural elements are regarded as sacred because 'there is consciousness behind all of them.'

A student can use this pattern to separate tribal/folk animism from organized sects (like Vaishnavism) by checking Vaishnavite texts/practices for such language.

States Jainism holds that the entire world is animated (stones, rocks and water have life), linking explicit animism to Jain doctrine rather than to Vaishnavism.

Compare this clear Jain doctrinal claim with Vaishnavite theological statements to see which tradition explicitly endorses universal animation.

Notes that sacred places often correspond to special trees or unique rocks and that Buddhist literature records chaityas tied to such natural features, showing cross‑tradition recognition of sacred natural objects.

A student could map how multiple traditions treated natural features as sacred and then check whether Vaishnavism treated them as objects possessing souls or simply as sites associated with a deity.