THE HINDU WAY (HB)

The Hindu Way: An Introduction
to Hinduism, the new book by bestselling author Shashi Tharoor, whose last
three books have sold over a quarter of a million copies in hardback, is the
perfect introduction to one of the world?s oldest, largest and most complex
religions. Although there are hundreds of books on Hinduism, there are only a
few which provide a lucid, accessible, yet deeply layered account of the
religion?s numerous belief systems, schools of thought, sects, tenets,
scriptures, deities, rituals, customs, festivals and philosophies. This book
is one of them. In the tradition of classics of the genre like K. M. Sen?s
Hinduism and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan?s The Hindu View of Life, this book
captures the essence of Hinduism with brevity, insight and an enviable grasp
of the myriad layers and intricacies of one of the world?s greatest
religions. It is a book that is especially timely given the rather
controversial role that religion has played in countries around the world.
The author tells us why Hinduism is a religion that is well-suited to the
needs of the world today: ?In the twenty-first century, Hinduism has many of
the attributes of a universal religion?a religion that is personal and
individualistic, privileges the individual and does not subordinate one to a
collectivity; a religion that grants and respects complete freedom to the
believer to find his or her own answers to the true meaning of life; a
religion that offers a wide range of choice in religious practice, even in
regard to the nature and form of the formless God; a religion that places
great emphasis on one?s mind, and values one?s capacity for reflection,
intellectual enquiry, and self-study; a religion that distances itself from
dogma and holy writ, that is minimally prescriptive and yet offers an
abundance of options, spiritual and philosophical texts and social and
cultural practices to choose from. In a world where resistance to authority
is growing, Hinduism imposes no authorities; in a world of networked
individuals, Hinduism proposes no institutional hierarchies; in a world of
open-source information-sharing, Hinduism accepts all paths as equally valid;
in a world of rapid transformations and accelerating change, Hinduism is
adaptable and flexible, which is why it has survived for nearly 4,000 years.?
The text of The Hindu Way is embellished with over a hundred photographs and
illustrations, many of them in colour, on various aspects of the religion.
Based on Dr Tharoor?s extensive writing on the subject, including the
bestselling Why I Am a Hindu, this book gives the reader an unrivalled
understanding of Hinduism.