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Ram Swarup (Set Of 5 Books): A Hindu Buddhist Rejoinder | The Word As Revelation Names Of Gods | Hinduism And Monotheistic Religions | On Hinduism Review And Reflection | Understanding Islam Through Hadis
Publisher:
Voice Of India
| Author:
Ram Swarup
| Language:
English
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Omnibus/Box Set (Paperback)
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- A Hindu Buddhist Rejoinder :- As its very name describes, this volume is a rejoinder to Pope John Paul’s recent book Crossing The Threshold of Hope. While repeating old claims for the Church and its dogmas, his book notices non-Christian religions without the customary derogatory epithets. It is a new thing in Christianity. In the past, other religions were simply handiwork of the devil, and it was the special duty of the Church to overthrow them. The old aim still remains but it is now stated more softly. In his book, the Pope discusses Judaism from which Christianity derives; he also discusses Islam, a sister religion. All of them have a history of conflict though doctrinally they also have many things in common: a common God, common doctrines and common hatreds etc. Pope John Paul also discusses Buddhism and Eastern yogic practices, and also of Europe’s New Age Movement in which he sees clear Eastern influences. For the purpose of this rejoinder, this part of his book is the most important one, and the rejoinder takes it the most into consideration. This volume could be regarded as author’s contribution to the dialogue. It does not accept Christianity’s view of itself and of others. It offers a different view – a Hindu-Buddhist view of both. It continues the work begun in the author’s The Word as Revelation: Names of Gods and carried on in his Hindu View of Christianity and Islam. The book is written in reply to the Pope’s but the intention is not polemical. It could even be delinked from its immediate context and read independently. The idea is not to find faults but to warn against cliches, to promote understanding of the subject and to serve truth.
- The Word As Revelation Names Of Gods :- There are two opposing views about language, both advanced by distinguished thinkers. One view holds that a language is external to objects and thoughts; the other view regards it as fundamental to them. In what sense or senses are these views true? Can they be reconciled? Language has not merely expressed man’s fears; it has also expressed his sense of mystery. Again and again, man has sung of Gods and Divine Life and his idea of the Good and the Beautiful in sublime speech. This sublime speech, these inspired words, he has treasured as his veritable heritage, his Vedas. But in the passage of time, man’s’ thought-habits and speech-mores change and the inspired words become difficult to understand. Can a study of language help us to recapture the meanings of older scriptures? Can this study help us to understand the deeper life of man, his vision of Gods and the Good? Can this study throw some light on religious consciousness in general and the cherished old scriptures in particular? For example, can we understand the mentality of the seers of the Vedas–humanity’s oldest extant scripture–by studying their language? Or can we understand the import of their language by entering into the state of their mind? The book studies human speech in its relation to man’s deeper psyche and religious consciousness. It adds a new dimension to the science of Semantics by showing how physical meanings of a word become sensuous meanings, become concepts and ideas, become names of the powers of the psyche, become Names of Gods, depending upon the organ of mind–indriya, manas, buddhi, — which is using that word as also on the level of purity-bhumi–of the organ concerned. Next, by applying this method of unlocking the highest and the most secret meanings of words, it adds a new chapter to Vedic Exegesis. Thirdly, refuting that Vedic Gods represent the attempt of the primitive human mind, through Nature’s symbols and objects, towards groping for a unitary principle, it asserts that the truths of the Self can be expressed equally well in polytheistic as well as monotheistic terms, and that One God or Many Gods are opposed only on the mental plane while they meet in the unity of the Spirit. Fourthly, it invites us to extend this new approach to promote an understanding of several existing religions and many classical religions of the past–of Egypt, Iran, Greece and Rome. Such a study should help the modern Europeans to have a better understanding of their old Gods as also of the Gods of the Africans and American Indians. Finally, though briefly, the book offers a practical advice. A meditation on the Names and Attributes of Gods has a transforming power not only for the individual but also for his physical, social and cultural environment. As an individual’s consciousness is purified and raised by meditation on the Names of Gods, he becomes increasingly aware of the inertias and impurities around himself and is activated towards achieving a spiritually meaningful environment.
- Hinduism And Monotheistic Religions :- This volume comprises the largest collection of Shri Ram Swarup’s writings ever published between two covers. The book includes critiques of Christian and Islamic thought from a Hindu perspective and suggestions on how Hinduism can be practiced in modern times in tune with its deeper spiritual teachings. It also incorporates several short articles and book reviews written for various newspapers and magazines.
- On Hinduism Review And Reflection :- There are two major groups of religions in the world today. First are the conversion-based monotheistic creeds of Christianity and Islam. Second are the pluralistic dharmic traditions of India, of which Hinduism is the oldest and the largest. Chinese Taoism and Japanese Shinto have an affinity with dharmic traditions. So also the indigenous religious traditions of pre-Christian Europeans, pre-Islamic West Asians, Native Americans, Africans, Australians, and Pacific Islanders which are re-awakening, particularly in Europe and the Americas and Africa. As the world has now moved out of colonial domination by monotheistic creeds, a new respect for dharmic traditions is arising everywhere. At the same time, dharmic traditions are beginning to speak against missionary aggression of Christianity and Islam. But the missionary aggression continues unabated. In fact, the aggression has become more determined and mobilized larger resources in money as well as manpower than ever before. It is this scenario that makes the work of Ram Swarup (1920-1998) so significant. He has understood the current world situation, the dangers to Hinduism, the value of Hinduism for the future of humanity, and a practical way to both overcome the dangers and promote opportunities for the good of all. He outlines a Hindu approach to the problems of the world that offers deep and lasting solutions which go beyond the limitations of Western religions or Western science, following the development of consciousness as the real thrust in civilization. Ram Swarup has thoroughly and critically studied religions of the world. He can speak of these systems with an in-depth knowledge and ability to quote and mirror what they really think. And he has left an important legacy of many works on a broad range of topics including religion and philosophy, yoga, mysticism, and social issues. His Hindu View of Christianity and Islam is a classic in the field of comparative religion, for the first time perhaps introducing a yogic view of altered states of consciousness to understand the powerful and sometimes dangerous workings of religious experience. The present book, On Hinduism, shows how to revive and revitalize the tradition in a practical way and to present it in the modern forum with clarity, conviction and universality. It is a manual of Hindu resurgence. An important issue is how different dharmic traditions should relate given the common missionary assault upon them, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism. A similar important issue is the relationship between India, the fountainhead of Asian culture, and Greece, the fountainhead of European culture. We tend to think of both types of culture as different and as constituting a dichotomy of East and West. But if we really look at ancient Greeks and Hindus we discover much in common. Ram Swarup draws such a connection to enable us to reintegrate these two great sources of world culture. The dialogue between India and Europe is another vital concern. So far there has been little mature interaction between the thinkers of India and Europe, either intellectually or spiritually due to deficiencies in both camps. Ram Swarup addresses this issue with great acumen, using the work of Wilhelm Halbfass as the basis of discussion. He follows this with an important essay on Aldous Huxley, one of the few Western thinkers who had a real understanding of India and its spiritual systems. Huxley provides a good foundation to launch such an East-West dialogue that was unfortunately not followed by other Western thinkers. Ram Swarup sets this process in motion again. Two of his essays address the issue of education. Modern India has followed a British model of education. He shows how the current illiteracy in India is not the product of traditional educational system – which the British dismantled in the nineteenth century – but of the damage to that system which began with them. Old India had a high rate of literacy particularly because of its educational system, its Sanskrit and its gurukulams. Ram Swarup also shows how Hindu models of education remain relevant in the modern world, where we need to reintroduce spiritual values and models of consciousness to prevent the moral decay and decline of intelligence that we see rapidly increasing in the affluent West.
- Understanding Islam Through Hadis :- Understanding Islam through Hadis is a book by Sri Ram Swarup. The book is a study, based on the English translation by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi of the Sahih Muslim, the second most important collection of Sunni hadiths. Ram Swarup states in the foreword that “we have quoted extensively and faithfully from it.” Islam is not merely a theology, or a statement about Allah and his relationship with His creatures. Besides containing doctrinal and creedal material, it deals with social, penal, commercial, ritualistic, and ceremonial matters. It enters into everything, even into such private areas as one’s dress, marrying, and mating. In the language of the Muslim theologians, Islam is a complete and completed religion. It is equally political and military. It has much to do with statecraft, and it has a very specific view of the world peopled by infidels. Since most of the world is still infidel, it is very important for those who are not Muslims to understand Islam. The sources of Islam are two: the QurAn and the HadIs (Sayings or Traditions), usually called the Sunnah (customs), both having their center in Muhammad. The QurAn contains the Prophets revelations (wahy); the HadIs, all that he did or said, or enjoined, forbade or did not forbid, approved or disapproved. The word HadIs, singular in form (pl. ahAdIs), is also used collectively for all the traditions taken together, for the whole sacred tradition. Muslim theologians make no distinction between the QurAn and the HadIs. To them both are works of revelation or inspiration. The quality and degree of the revelation in both works is the same; only the mode of expression is different. To them, the HadIs is the QurAn in action, revelation made concrete in the life of the Prophet. In the QurAn, Allah speaks through Muhammad; in the Sunnah, He acts through him. Thus Muhammad’s life is a visible expression of Allah’s utterances in the QurAn. God provides the divine principle, Muhammad the living pattern. No wonder, then, that Muslim theologians regard the QurAn and the HadIs as being supplementary or even interchangeable. To them, the HadIs is wahy ghair matlU (unread revelation, that is, not read from the Heavenly Book like the QurAn but inspired all the same); and the QurAn is hadIs mutwAtir, that is, the Tradition considered authentic and genuine by all Muslims from the beginning.
Description
- A Hindu Buddhist Rejoinder :- As its very name describes, this volume is a rejoinder to Pope John Paul’s recent book Crossing The Threshold of Hope. While repeating old claims for the Church and its dogmas, his book notices non-Christian religions without the customary derogatory epithets. It is a new thing in Christianity. In the past, other religions were simply handiwork of the devil, and it was the special duty of the Church to overthrow them. The old aim still remains but it is now stated more softly. In his book, the Pope discusses Judaism from which Christianity derives; he also discusses Islam, a sister religion. All of them have a history of conflict though doctrinally they also have many things in common: a common God, common doctrines and common hatreds etc. Pope John Paul also discusses Buddhism and Eastern yogic practices, and also of Europe’s New Age Movement in which he sees clear Eastern influences. For the purpose of this rejoinder, this part of his book is the most important one, and the rejoinder takes it the most into consideration. This volume could be regarded as author’s contribution to the dialogue. It does not accept Christianity’s view of itself and of others. It offers a different view – a Hindu-Buddhist view of both. It continues the work begun in the author’s The Word as Revelation: Names of Gods and carried on in his Hindu View of Christianity and Islam. The book is written in reply to the Pope’s but the intention is not polemical. It could even be delinked from its immediate context and read independently. The idea is not to find faults but to warn against cliches, to promote understanding of the subject and to serve truth.
- The Word As Revelation Names Of Gods :- There are two opposing views about language, both advanced by distinguished thinkers. One view holds that a language is external to objects and thoughts; the other view regards it as fundamental to them. In what sense or senses are these views true? Can they be reconciled? Language has not merely expressed man’s fears; it has also expressed his sense of mystery. Again and again, man has sung of Gods and Divine Life and his idea of the Good and the Beautiful in sublime speech. This sublime speech, these inspired words, he has treasured as his veritable heritage, his Vedas. But in the passage of time, man’s’ thought-habits and speech-mores change and the inspired words become difficult to understand. Can a study of language help us to recapture the meanings of older scriptures? Can this study help us to understand the deeper life of man, his vision of Gods and the Good? Can this study throw some light on religious consciousness in general and the cherished old scriptures in particular? For example, can we understand the mentality of the seers of the Vedas–humanity’s oldest extant scripture–by studying their language? Or can we understand the import of their language by entering into the state of their mind? The book studies human speech in its relation to man’s deeper psyche and religious consciousness. It adds a new dimension to the science of Semantics by showing how physical meanings of a word become sensuous meanings, become concepts and ideas, become names of the powers of the psyche, become Names of Gods, depending upon the organ of mind–indriya, manas, buddhi, — which is using that word as also on the level of purity-bhumi–of the organ concerned. Next, by applying this method of unlocking the highest and the most secret meanings of words, it adds a new chapter to Vedic Exegesis. Thirdly, refuting that Vedic Gods represent the attempt of the primitive human mind, through Nature’s symbols and objects, towards groping for a unitary principle, it asserts that the truths of the Self can be expressed equally well in polytheistic as well as monotheistic terms, and that One God or Many Gods are opposed only on the mental plane while they meet in the unity of the Spirit. Fourthly, it invites us to extend this new approach to promote an understanding of several existing religions and many classical religions of the past–of Egypt, Iran, Greece and Rome. Such a study should help the modern Europeans to have a better understanding of their old Gods as also of the Gods of the Africans and American Indians. Finally, though briefly, the book offers a practical advice. A meditation on the Names and Attributes of Gods has a transforming power not only for the individual but also for his physical, social and cultural environment. As an individual’s consciousness is purified and raised by meditation on the Names of Gods, he becomes increasingly aware of the inertias and impurities around himself and is activated towards achieving a spiritually meaningful environment.
- Hinduism And Monotheistic Religions :- This volume comprises the largest collection of Shri Ram Swarup’s writings ever published between two covers. The book includes critiques of Christian and Islamic thought from a Hindu perspective and suggestions on how Hinduism can be practiced in modern times in tune with its deeper spiritual teachings. It also incorporates several short articles and book reviews written for various newspapers and magazines.
- On Hinduism Review And Reflection :- There are two major groups of religions in the world today. First are the conversion-based monotheistic creeds of Christianity and Islam. Second are the pluralistic dharmic traditions of India, of which Hinduism is the oldest and the largest. Chinese Taoism and Japanese Shinto have an affinity with dharmic traditions. So also the indigenous religious traditions of pre-Christian Europeans, pre-Islamic West Asians, Native Americans, Africans, Australians, and Pacific Islanders which are re-awakening, particularly in Europe and the Americas and Africa. As the world has now moved out of colonial domination by monotheistic creeds, a new respect for dharmic traditions is arising everywhere. At the same time, dharmic traditions are beginning to speak against missionary aggression of Christianity and Islam. But the missionary aggression continues unabated. In fact, the aggression has become more determined and mobilized larger resources in money as well as manpower than ever before. It is this scenario that makes the work of Ram Swarup (1920-1998) so significant. He has understood the current world situation, the dangers to Hinduism, the value of Hinduism for the future of humanity, and a practical way to both overcome the dangers and promote opportunities for the good of all. He outlines a Hindu approach to the problems of the world that offers deep and lasting solutions which go beyond the limitations of Western religions or Western science, following the development of consciousness as the real thrust in civilization. Ram Swarup has thoroughly and critically studied religions of the world. He can speak of these systems with an in-depth knowledge and ability to quote and mirror what they really think. And he has left an important legacy of many works on a broad range of topics including religion and philosophy, yoga, mysticism, and social issues. His Hindu View of Christianity and Islam is a classic in the field of comparative religion, for the first time perhaps introducing a yogic view of altered states of consciousness to understand the powerful and sometimes dangerous workings of religious experience. The present book, On Hinduism, shows how to revive and revitalize the tradition in a practical way and to present it in the modern forum with clarity, conviction and universality. It is a manual of Hindu resurgence. An important issue is how different dharmic traditions should relate given the common missionary assault upon them, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism. A similar important issue is the relationship between India, the fountainhead of Asian culture, and Greece, the fountainhead of European culture. We tend to think of both types of culture as different and as constituting a dichotomy of East and West. But if we really look at ancient Greeks and Hindus we discover much in common. Ram Swarup draws such a connection to enable us to reintegrate these two great sources of world culture. The dialogue between India and Europe is another vital concern. So far there has been little mature interaction between the thinkers of India and Europe, either intellectually or spiritually due to deficiencies in both camps. Ram Swarup addresses this issue with great acumen, using the work of Wilhelm Halbfass as the basis of discussion. He follows this with an important essay on Aldous Huxley, one of the few Western thinkers who had a real understanding of India and its spiritual systems. Huxley provides a good foundation to launch such an East-West dialogue that was unfortunately not followed by other Western thinkers. Ram Swarup sets this process in motion again. Two of his essays address the issue of education. Modern India has followed a British model of education. He shows how the current illiteracy in India is not the product of traditional educational system – which the British dismantled in the nineteenth century – but of the damage to that system which began with them. Old India had a high rate of literacy particularly because of its educational system, its Sanskrit and its gurukulams. Ram Swarup also shows how Hindu models of education remain relevant in the modern world, where we need to reintroduce spiritual values and models of consciousness to prevent the moral decay and decline of intelligence that we see rapidly increasing in the affluent West.
- Understanding Islam Through Hadis :- Understanding Islam through Hadis is a book by Sri Ram Swarup. The book is a study, based on the English translation by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi of the Sahih Muslim, the second most important collection of Sunni hadiths. Ram Swarup states in the foreword that “we have quoted extensively and faithfully from it.” Islam is not merely a theology, or a statement about Allah and his relationship with His creatures. Besides containing doctrinal and creedal material, it deals with social, penal, commercial, ritualistic, and ceremonial matters. It enters into everything, even into such private areas as one’s dress, marrying, and mating. In the language of the Muslim theologians, Islam is a complete and completed religion. It is equally political and military. It has much to do with statecraft, and it has a very specific view of the world peopled by infidels. Since most of the world is still infidel, it is very important for those who are not Muslims to understand Islam. The sources of Islam are two: the QurAn and the HadIs (Sayings or Traditions), usually called the Sunnah (customs), both having their center in Muhammad. The QurAn contains the Prophets revelations (wahy); the HadIs, all that he did or said, or enjoined, forbade or did not forbid, approved or disapproved. The word HadIs, singular in form (pl. ahAdIs), is also used collectively for all the traditions taken together, for the whole sacred tradition. Muslim theologians make no distinction between the QurAn and the HadIs. To them both are works of revelation or inspiration. The quality and degree of the revelation in both works is the same; only the mode of expression is different. To them, the HadIs is the QurAn in action, revelation made concrete in the life of the Prophet. In the QurAn, Allah speaks through Muhammad; in the Sunnah, He acts through him. Thus Muhammad’s life is a visible expression of Allah’s utterances in the QurAn. God provides the divine principle, Muhammad the living pattern. No wonder, then, that Muslim theologians regard the QurAn and the HadIs as being supplementary or even interchangeable. To them, the HadIs is wahy ghair matlU (unread revelation, that is, not read from the Heavenly Book like the QurAn but inspired all the same); and the QurAn is hadIs mutwAtir, that is, the Tradition considered authentic and genuine by all Muslims from the beginning.
About Author
Ram Swarup (1920–1998), born Ram Swarup Agarwal, was a prominent Indian author and a key figure in the Hindu revivalist movement. Born in Sonipat, Haryana, he graduated in economics from Delhi University in 1941. Swarup founded the Changer's Club in 1944 and worked for Mahatma Gandhi's disciple Mira Behn in 1948–49. In 1949, he established the Society for the Defence of Freedom in Asia, known for criticizing Soviet publications. Swarup's influence extended to American policymakers and Congress members with his book "Gandhism and Communism." He contributed to various Indian publications and, in 1982, founded the Hindutva publishing house, Voice of India. Swarup, a proponent of polytheism, rejected the concept of one God and advocated for a "Pagan renaissance" in Europe. He corresponded with figures in European Neopaganism, emphasizing the importance of reconnecting with spiritual roots. His extensive bibliography includes works on communism, Gandhism, Hinduism, Islam, and critiques of Christianity. Notable works include "The Word as Revelation: Names of Gods," "Hinduism vis-à-vis Christianity and Islam," and "On Hinduism: Reviews and Reflections." Swarup's contributions made him a significant thought leader in the Hindu revivalist movement, and his influence reached beyond India to Western Pagan circles.
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