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Hinduism is a very broad term for the religious practices and doctrines of the Indian people. This tradition is believed to have begun circa 1800 BCE with religious poems known as the Vedas. Hinduism is best known in the West through the doctrines of Advaita, the belief that there is only one ultimate reality. Advaitans, however, worshipped a range of icons that represented the separate manifestations of the ultimate Brahman. After the decline of Vedic religion, bhakti devotional cults arose, and remain a predominant form of Hindu worship up through the modern era.
The Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality series describes the beliefs, religious practices, and the spiritual and moral commitments of the world s great religious traditions. It also describes a religion s way of understanding scripture and discusses its relationship to society."
The Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality series describes the beliefs, religious practices, and the spiritual and moral commitments of the world s great religious traditions. It also describes a religion s way of understanding scripture and discusses its relationship to society."
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First published September 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 23, 2021
If you want an overview of the Hindu scriptures look elsewhere.
This is a missionary narrative of Hinduism. Not sure what the authors credentials are on the subject or how deep he has read any scripture or understood if at all any other than superficially going over some translations.like you would search for all the times killing has been mentioned in Quran and bible.or how scientific is bible …lol…remember night and day before creation of sun and helio centrism?
This narrative deals with overemphasis on mausmrithi which happens to be one of the minor smritis far from the final word or set of rules. what Abrahamics fail to understand partly due to their religious structure is that Himduism is not prescriptive. we are bot going to come for your throats based on some verse in a book .books are meant to be read and interpreted and adopted according to the time.author has no insight or depth into into concepts like origin of universe etc. discussed in Vedas
About spirituality ,I found very little discussed about purusharthas and misquotes about four ashrams as only make centric 2h3nit8s applicable for everyone
Long story short this is a narrative by someone who has neither in depth grasp on the scriptures not has spent any time reading or understanding any itihaasas
The author's expertise seems to be in modern Asiatic studies centered around politics rather than hinduism
book is riddled with inaccuracies:
Nobody considers Gandhi as a great Hindu .he is non the other hand often times seen as an apologist who had asked Hindus to sacrifice when Muslim mins came to rape and loot
Hindu extremists didn't unleash violence but rathe the political party of Indira[Indian National Congress ] after her assassination. Hindu organizations saved many persecuted sikhs
Indira was not a Hindu but a mixed parsi and muslim
When the author reached at Ram temple the intent of the book was quite clear .HE misquoted asi as saying a Buddhist stupa stood below babri masjid.Today it has been established that a temple stood at the point and reconstruction of the same has begun
while he has maintained a straight face in some parts it is mostly Typical information you will find from someone hailing the lord on Sundays and calling bible the truth revolving around manusmiriti and highlighting few fringe shlokas branding everything else as myths
had to laugh at his quote of some Hindus believe Mahabharata was millions of years old. this is called selective church mongering
This is a missionary narrative of Hinduism. Not sure what the authors credentials are on the subject or how deep he has read any scripture or understood if at all any other than superficially going over some translations.like you would search for all the times killing has been mentioned in Quran and bible.or how scientific is bible …lol…remember night and day before creation of sun and helio centrism?
This narrative deals with overemphasis on mausmrithi which happens to be one of the minor smritis far from the final word or set of rules. what Abrahamics fail to understand partly due to their religious structure is that Himduism is not prescriptive. we are bot going to come for your throats based on some verse in a book .books are meant to be read and interpreted and adopted according to the time.author has no insight or depth into into concepts like origin of universe etc. discussed in Vedas
About spirituality ,I found very little discussed about purusharthas and misquotes about four ashrams as only make centric 2h3nit8s applicable for everyone
Long story short this is a narrative by someone who has neither in depth grasp on the scriptures not has spent any time reading or understanding any itihaasas
The author's expertise seems to be in modern Asiatic studies centered around politics rather than hinduism
book is riddled with inaccuracies:
Nobody considers Gandhi as a great Hindu .he is non the other hand often times seen as an apologist who had asked Hindus to sacrifice when Muslim mins came to rape and loot
Hindu extremists didn't unleash violence but rathe the political party of Indira[Indian National Congress ] after her assassination. Hindu organizations saved many persecuted sikhs
Indira was not a Hindu but a mixed parsi and muslim
When the author reached at Ram temple the intent of the book was quite clear .HE misquoted asi as saying a Buddhist stupa stood below babri masjid.Today it has been established that a temple stood at the point and reconstruction of the same has begun
while he has maintained a straight face in some parts it is mostly Typical information you will find from someone hailing the lord on Sundays and calling bible the truth revolving around manusmiriti and highlighting few fringe shlokas branding everything else as myths
had to laugh at his quote of some Hindus believe Mahabharata was millions of years old. this is called selective church mongering
April 23, 2018
An extremely brief work for such a vast, and complex topic. I appreciated the focus more on building an understanding of how Hinduism is practiced today-- that is, with a billion people claiming to be Hindu, the variety of belief, and practice, is astonishing. Also, discussing the points of Hinduism that Europeans, and Americans may be more familiar. So many people have an idealized, and minimal knowledge of this belief system that a broad overview is a good start.
I was pleased to hear, within the first five minutes, an explanation of the use of 'Hindu', and 'Hinduism', in his historical context as a regional name, rather than a religious term. It goes on to explain that the usage for a religion is rather recent--once Colonial powers sought to learn about the belief systems, assigning it a single term when so many more are applicable.
Framing the story within its history is one I am excited to learn.
The roots are at least 4000 years old, and, in that time, much has changed, naturally. During the Vedic times, there was belief in an afterlife, heavy ritualized use of Soma, and meat eating, particularly cow. When Jainism, and Buddhism arrived, it caused a reform within Hindu thought from the philosophical, and theological; dwindling Vedic practices, and reverence of those gods. Asoka, and his successors gave royal support to them for about a thousand years, and thus, partly accounts for the absence distinctly Hindu religious monuments, before the 9th century C.E.. The oldest surviving religious structures that are known in India.
Most introductions to Hinduism contain thoughts from the Advaita school; the word literally means 'not two', therefore, all is one. The belief moved from a polytheistic ideology, to one that is pantheistic.
Sharing names of various Hindu philosophers does give a better sense of the modern manifestation of Hinduism.
The significant works such as the large Vedic library (claimed to be millions of years old), the many Upanishads, then the Mahabharata (composed between 300-600 C.E., tradition claims it happened in the Vedic period, 100, 000 years ago), and Ramayana.
The third, to thirteenth century had many works created. Puranas provide the theological, and mythological basis for the cults that organized around the present, major Hindu gods; later the most popular divinities. Shiva, and Vishnu were distinctly minor characters in the early books. Krishna did not appear in those works. Then the female consorts who can be seen as incarnations of the god himself, or personification of his female power- his shakti.
Shiva has Parvati, who is kind, and Kali, who is as cruel as kind as Parvati. Shiva as creator, and destroyer.
The body of Purusha as the origin of the caste/ varna system. Northern Indian languages, e.g. Punjabi, Bengali, are largely descended from Sanskrit, while the southern languages are Dravidian, e.g. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and that linguistic difference created a natural divide when spreading ideas of the Puranas; the people of the region often choosing which elements they preferred. By the 9-19 century there was Muslim movement on the edges of the subcontinent, and that also shaped Hindu ideas. The Bhakti movement continued to gain momentum, most notably by the 7th century.; as they were more concerned with devotion, than philosophical debates, or legalism. They were more egalitarian in nature, and focused on a personal relationship with divinity; most often Vishnu- commonly when incarnated as Krishna, or Rama, and Shiva. Devotional poetry most often in the vernacular. Regional, and caste influences often dictate which deity is preferred. Bengali higher caste prefer Kali; Bengali lower caste prefer- Krishna; Northern India Shiva
By the 19th century, Hindus began to define themselves more distinctly from the other religions around them. The British were the first to develop the term as a religious category. They came in the early 17th century, making deals with the Mogul emperors, who were Muslim. Eventually realizing the majority were not Muslim, the British, following the Portuguese usage, called the non-Muslims, Gentile- Gentoos. By the early 19th century, "Hinduism" come into wide use, the Indians picked up the term from the British.
A reformer of Hindu customs, and practices, Ram Mohan Roy (1772 –1833) who wanted to create a "purer" religion that was based on the writings; believing that the British presence in India, could facilitate this. He was educated by Muslims, and had many Unitarian friends, that could have ideologically influenced his insistence on scriptural basis, and the urgency to remove "idolatry".
Madame Blavatsky is also covered because of her founding of Theosophy which brought many concepts of Advaita Hinduism, diluted, to the West. Also, reinforced the trend of India as the home of enlightened masters.
The work continues to explain how politics and religion began to intermingle, in the early 20th century, especially while seeking independence, and how that played out when India was established as a secular state, in its constitution. Nehru, an agnostic, then his daugher Indira Gandhi worked to establish that ideal despite fundamentalist opposition.
I was pleased to hear, within the first five minutes, an explanation of the use of 'Hindu', and 'Hinduism', in his historical context as a regional name, rather than a religious term. It goes on to explain that the usage for a religion is rather recent--once Colonial powers sought to learn about the belief systems, assigning it a single term when so many more are applicable.
Framing the story within its history is one I am excited to learn.
The roots are at least 4000 years old, and, in that time, much has changed, naturally. During the Vedic times, there was belief in an afterlife, heavy ritualized use of Soma, and meat eating, particularly cow. When Jainism, and Buddhism arrived, it caused a reform within Hindu thought from the philosophical, and theological; dwindling Vedic practices, and reverence of those gods. Asoka, and his successors gave royal support to them for about a thousand years, and thus, partly accounts for the absence distinctly Hindu religious monuments, before the 9th century C.E.. The oldest surviving religious structures that are known in India.
Most introductions to Hinduism contain thoughts from the Advaita school; the word literally means 'not two', therefore, all is one. The belief moved from a polytheistic ideology, to one that is pantheistic.
Sharing names of various Hindu philosophers does give a better sense of the modern manifestation of Hinduism.
The significant works such as the large Vedic library (claimed to be millions of years old), the many Upanishads, then the Mahabharata (composed between 300-600 C.E., tradition claims it happened in the Vedic period, 100, 000 years ago), and Ramayana.
The third, to thirteenth century had many works created. Puranas provide the theological, and mythological basis for the cults that organized around the present, major Hindu gods; later the most popular divinities. Shiva, and Vishnu were distinctly minor characters in the early books. Krishna did not appear in those works. Then the female consorts who can be seen as incarnations of the god himself, or personification of his female power- his shakti.
Shiva has Parvati, who is kind, and Kali, who is as cruel as kind as Parvati. Shiva as creator, and destroyer.
The body of Purusha as the origin of the caste/ varna system. Northern Indian languages, e.g. Punjabi, Bengali, are largely descended from Sanskrit, while the southern languages are Dravidian, e.g. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and that linguistic difference created a natural divide when spreading ideas of the Puranas; the people of the region often choosing which elements they preferred. By the 9-19 century there was Muslim movement on the edges of the subcontinent, and that also shaped Hindu ideas. The Bhakti movement continued to gain momentum, most notably by the 7th century.; as they were more concerned with devotion, than philosophical debates, or legalism. They were more egalitarian in nature, and focused on a personal relationship with divinity; most often Vishnu- commonly when incarnated as Krishna, or Rama, and Shiva. Devotional poetry most often in the vernacular. Regional, and caste influences often dictate which deity is preferred. Bengali higher caste prefer Kali; Bengali lower caste prefer- Krishna; Northern India Shiva
By the 19th century, Hindus began to define themselves more distinctly from the other religions around them. The British were the first to develop the term as a religious category. They came in the early 17th century, making deals with the Mogul emperors, who were Muslim. Eventually realizing the majority were not Muslim, the British, following the Portuguese usage, called the non-Muslims, Gentile- Gentoos. By the early 19th century, "Hinduism" come into wide use, the Indians picked up the term from the British.
A reformer of Hindu customs, and practices, Ram Mohan Roy (1772 –1833) who wanted to create a "purer" religion that was based on the writings; believing that the British presence in India, could facilitate this. He was educated by Muslims, and had many Unitarian friends, that could have ideologically influenced his insistence on scriptural basis, and the urgency to remove "idolatry".
Madame Blavatsky is also covered because of her founding of Theosophy which brought many concepts of Advaita Hinduism, diluted, to the West. Also, reinforced the trend of India as the home of enlightened masters.
The work continues to explain how politics and religion began to intermingle, in the early 20th century, especially while seeking independence, and how that played out when India was established as a secular state, in its constitution. Nehru, an agnostic, then his daugher Indira Gandhi worked to establish that ideal despite fundamentalist opposition.
January 8, 2022
It was alright considering that it was a 3-hour free audiobook.
Much of its writing is bogged down by the old pathologies which have plagued the field of religious studies through its growth phases, such as the impression of an armchair-theologian approach, frequent essentialising of the religion and its practitioners, and a mental framing heavyset in the conventions of Europe and Christianity. At one point, while describing the practice of Shakti Puja as basically an indulgent sex orgy unanimously (implied) practiced by all Hindus once a year, the author found it prudent to quote a French Missionary who visited India in the 1700s who described such a ritual. Professor Kozlowski puts a disclaimer after this recounting, saying to the effect that the man’s interpretation was certainly coloured by his nature as an outsider and colonizer, but then he completes the 360 rotation and concludes that despite this, such rituals “almost certainly happened in one form or another.” I remain unconvinced.
The story improved as it approached modern times and focused more on the political evolution of Hindu movements, and I actually felt as though I were receiving some insight in these few later chapters (such as regards the rise of Hindu nationalism and fundamentalisms, and the great growing rift between Hindu and Muslim populations in India), so it wasn’t an entirely bad experience.
Would I recommend it though? Absolutely not.
Much of its writing is bogged down by the old pathologies which have plagued the field of religious studies through its growth phases, such as the impression of an armchair-theologian approach, frequent essentialising of the religion and its practitioners, and a mental framing heavyset in the conventions of Europe and Christianity. At one point, while describing the practice of Shakti Puja as basically an indulgent sex orgy unanimously (implied) practiced by all Hindus once a year, the author found it prudent to quote a French Missionary who visited India in the 1700s who described such a ritual. Professor Kozlowski puts a disclaimer after this recounting, saying to the effect that the man’s interpretation was certainly coloured by his nature as an outsider and colonizer, but then he completes the 360 rotation and concludes that despite this, such rituals “almost certainly happened in one form or another.” I remain unconvinced.
The story improved as it approached modern times and focused more on the political evolution of Hindu movements, and I actually felt as though I were receiving some insight in these few later chapters (such as regards the rise of Hindu nationalism and fundamentalisms, and the great growing rift between Hindu and Muslim populations in India), so it wasn’t an entirely bad experience.
Would I recommend it though? Absolutely not.
October 19, 2021
This short intro. to Hinduism is more an intro. to the relations between Hinduism and Islam. The author is a Christian specialist on Islam. The book focuses on monotheistic strains in Hinduism and the politics of modern radical Hinduism. The section on differences between Vedic and modern Hindu practice was interesting, but my impression was that the most time was spent on the Vedic period (up to 300 BCE) and then Muslim-and British-dominated times, skimming over the vast Classical period in which Sanskrit literature flourished. The little Classical material covered dealt with the cult of Krishna. Not what I was hoping for.
October 5, 2019
Not quite what I was expecting, I thought it was going to be more about Hindu beliefs, was sort of surprised when it roped in Madam Blavatsky and modern Indian politics that it didn't exactly tie in seamlessly with the rest of the book. Glad I read it, but wish there were more audiobooks available on Hinduism.
February 4, 2022
When I was in India, I was gently told by a Brahmin, that one could not become a Hindu without a Guru…. One is born into this spirituality, rather than become a Hindu as in other religions. And there is much argument that Hinduism is NOT actually a religion, as it is a lifestyle. So this was a first book for me to read and I can attest it is complicated and diverse and has changed so much since the beginning, and yes, it is something even practicing Hindus do not always understand about how it has changed thru the centuries. Different leaders, and different rules, as in any belief system. More than the spirituality aspect, I found the History of the changes extremely interesting, especially as it became modern. There is much racism in it now, more so than in its varied past. This may have been a brief telling, but it was enough to wet my whistle and explore more. Fascinating Topic.
August 23, 2022
This is a great book for the novice trying to get a basic understanding of the origins, development and present day religious (or not) practice of Hinduism.
The audio version is just over three hours.
If one finds a particular area of the history or belief system by practitioners within the history of particular interest, I suggest you expand your study elsewhere.
The story of hinduism is complex as it constantly changes, shifts, splits to the point that a pictorial graph would need a large wall or ceiling to project the full image.
Personally, I plan to go through the book a number of times in future in hopes of capturing a skeleton of the ideas and history.
I do appreciate the writer gearing this towards basic understanding rather than delving deep into each idea.
Ben Kingsley does a fine job with the narration. Other speakers are occasionally used to tell certain aspects.
The audio version is just over three hours.
If one finds a particular area of the history or belief system by practitioners within the history of particular interest, I suggest you expand your study elsewhere.
The story of hinduism is complex as it constantly changes, shifts, splits to the point that a pictorial graph would need a large wall or ceiling to project the full image.
Personally, I plan to go through the book a number of times in future in hopes of capturing a skeleton of the ideas and history.
I do appreciate the writer gearing this towards basic understanding rather than delving deep into each idea.
Ben Kingsley does a fine job with the narration. Other speakers are occasionally used to tell certain aspects.
September 24, 2019
I listened to the audio version.
Really good. It is great if what you want is a survey of the basic teachings of Hinduism with the history of Hinduism thrown in. It especially shines in the places that show how Buddism, Islam, and Jainism interact, influence, and are influenced by Hinduism.
Really good. It is great if what you want is a survey of the basic teachings of Hinduism with the history of Hinduism thrown in. It especially shines in the places that show how Buddism, Islam, and Jainism interact, influence, and are influenced by Hinduism.
June 10, 2021
Wonderfully informative narration of the history and beliefs of Hinduism and how it has affected and been affected by the world. Sir Kingsley did a fabulous narration. Can't wait to listen to another book in this series.
I listened to this book using chirpbooks.com.
I listened to this book using chirpbooks.com.
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August 15, 2021Challenge: Read a NF about religion
NOTE: Perspective of a non-Hindu white person, coming to this for educational purposes. Not an own-voices review.
Hm. The composition of this was strange. Very thin, especially considering the vast amount of history and literature regarding the Hindu pantheon.
NOTE: Perspective of a non-Hindu white person, coming to this for educational purposes. Not an own-voices review.
Hm. The composition of this was strange. Very thin, especially considering the vast amount of history and literature regarding the Hindu pantheon.
February 5, 2022
I was hoping more of scripture and teachings, but very interesting book of the history of Hinduism. Thus showing how vast the religion actually is and how subtly it changes with the social and political world around it.
Overall a great introduction to the subject.
Overall a great introduction to the subject.
January 1, 2023
I imagine this book is probably considered "outdated" now, given it doesn't white-wash Hinduism or its oriental sister, Buddhism, presenting it as the uber cool, no doctrinal strings-attached, alternative to Western Christianity you usually get now. In fact, I wonder if Kozlowski is an adherent, as the book takes a refreshingly neutral tone altogether towards Hinduism - absolutely respectful, of course, but also thorough and unfiltered. Of the few books I have read on the subject so far, this is easily the best one.
July 25, 2021
If you have never been to a Hindu temple I recommend it.
March 13, 2024
Listened to the audiobook.
Informative!
Informative!
December 26, 2021
Less about the actual beliefs or spiritual aspects, more about the history and evolution of what is now called Hinduism. It’s brief but I can appreciate the breadth and academic lens.
April 8, 2020
>>Narrated by Ben Kingsley + voice actors
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June 28, 2015
This 3-hour introduction to Hinduism cherry picks some colorful aspects of a hugely diverse set of beliefs and culture. This entertaining grab.bag of descriptions is a fitting appetizer. It is too short.
January 20, 2025
The only thing I think I learned is that various sects of Hinduism – and religions that have spawned from it or adjacent to it – all believe totally different things. The book is organized in such a way that I really didn't learn much else and nothing I will retain.
August 16, 2023
This was ok. It was an interesting introduction to Hinduism but I can't really say more than that, since I'm not all that familiar with the religion. I wish there were more audiobooks on the subject for western audiences. Maybe there are and I just haven't stumbled onto them yet.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews