Why I Am a Hindu

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I read it for a different reason: There is no end of English-language literature on Hinduism written from one of two perspectives: either erudite, academic analysis or wit a specifically Christian, and usually missionary, view. (There's a lot of material that amounts to, "How to talk to a Hindu about Jesus" which presumes that Hindus need to be something other than what they are.) The problem, as Tharoor himself accepts, is that Hinduism is composed of many and often incompatible strands. It is therefore difficult to find an authentic and authoritative tradition that can hold up a mirror to Hindutva. What is regarded as a dominant tradition, the Vedanta — highly metaphysical, Brahmanical and Sanskritised — was constructed by colonialists. Throughout the decades after Independence, the political culture of the country reflected these ‘secular’ assumptions and attitudes. Though the Indian population was 80 per cent Hindu and the country had been partitioned as a result of a demand for a separate Muslim homeland, three of India’s eleven presidents were Muslims; so were innumerable governors, cabinet ministers, chief ministers of states, ambassadors, generals, and Supreme Court justices. During the war with Pakistan in 1971, when the Pakistani leadership was foolish enough to proclaim a jihad against the Hindu unbelievers, the Indian Air Force in the northern sector was commanded by a Muslim (Air Marshal, later Air Chief Marshal, I. H. Latif); the army commander was a Parsi (General, later Field Marshal, S. H. F. J. Manekshaw), the general officer commanding the forces that marched into Bangladesh was a Sikh (General J. S. Aurora), and the general flown in to negotiate the surrender of the Pakistani forces in East Bengal was Jewish (Major-General J. F. R. Jacob). They led the armed forces of an overwhelmingly Hindu country. That is India.” Scholars in other countries, shuddering under the impact of religious politics, have tried to appeal beyond politics to texts and syncretic practices. The strategy has simply not worked. We might have to counter and dare dominant formulations with alternative forms of politics. That is precisely what the leaders of the Indian National Congress did in the early 20th century. They introduced the language of minority rights in the 1928 Constitutional Draft and secularism after the major Kanpur communal riot in 1931, as a part of constitutional democracy. Shall we think of politics as a radical critique of an inequitable religion as well as religion as politics?

In the contemporary Indian society the politicians and media make all the noise but those who really control the discourses are the English speaking urban elite with western style education and probably with a degree from a British or American university. When asked about their religious identity, they typically answer that they are “born Hindu” or “spiritually Hindu” or something vague and noncommittal. They would not be able to explain what Hinduism is or what it means to them to be Hindu, either born or spiritual. In this environment it is refreshing that Sashi Tharoor, a member of this crowd, and a distinguished one for that matter, proudly declares that he is a Hindu and presents his understanding of Hinduism and what it means to him to be a Hindu. A) There are nude male and female sculptures in Hindu temples (B) There are idols of goddess in temples (C) From A and B, it is perfectly logical for MF Hussain to paint Goddress in the Nude and no one should complain about it. Hinduism’ is thus the name that foreigners first applied to what they saw as the indigenous religion of India. It embraces an eclectic range of doctrines and practices, from pantheism to agnosticism and from faith in reincarnation to belief in the caste system. But none of these constitutes an obligatory credo for a Hindu: there are none. We have no compulsory dogmas. This is, of course, rather unusual. A Catholic is a Catholic because he believes Jesus was the Son of God who sacrificed himself for Man; a Catholic believes in the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth, offers confession, genuflects in church and is guided by the Pope and a celibate priesthood. A Muslim must believe that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet. A Jew cherishes his Torah or Pentateuch and his Talmud; a Parsi worships at a Fire Temple; a Sikh honours the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib above all else. There is no Hindu equivalent to any of these beliefs. There are simply no binding requirements to being a Hindu. Not even a belief in God.”It is only the period immediately before and after India's Independence, which has seen the rise of political figures with a fundamentalist view of Hinduism where the author has stated his own views. Increasingly this age-old religion is being used by politicians to manipulate voters, and like many free-thinking Indians of today, the author has expressed the worry of India turning into a fundamentalist religious country much like our north-western neighbour. This should not come as a surprise, knowing the author's political affiliations. Though he does not claim this to be an unbiased work, I would have rated it 5-star if he had managed to keep it objective till the very end. The Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, 18 Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata are also considered important texts in Hinduism. Origins of Hinduism In the second half, Tharoor who belongs to Congress Party (opponent of Modi's BJP Party), writes littanry of complaints against BJP Party. At one point in Orhan Pamuk’s perceptive novel Snow, the protagonist Ka highlights the supreme paradox of religious mobilisation in his part of the world. Defenders of militant Islam draw upon religious vocabularies to justify their politics, without once mentioning God or faith. It is precisely the distinction between politics in the name of religion, and faith, that Shashi Tharoor in this rather charming book on Hinduism and Hindutva seeks to emphasise. Discovered the link of the existent to the non-existent. And they stretched their cord of vision across the void,

Hinduism embraces many religious ideas. For this reason, it’s sometimes referred to as a “way of life” or a “family of religions,” as opposed to a single, organized religion. Even as Orientalists, colonial administrators and intellectuals in Western universities set about translating, codifying and reducing a complex philosophic system to manageable proportions, we witnessed the creation of a homogenised Hinduism. This was upheld by nationalists as the anchor of an Indian identity. Such is the power of intellectual colonialism! In the process, a highly textualised Hinduism was abstracted from the social context as well as from contestations. Philosopher J.N. Mohanty suggests that the wisdom of the Vedas was constantly challenged both by supporters and opponents of the philosophy. The main division was between philosophical schools that believed in the Vedas, and those that did not: the Sramanic tradition. Within the Vedic tradition we discern considerable self-criticism. For instance, Samkhya philosophy, that belonged originally to the Vedic tradition, developed a strong strain of atheism and naturalism. This is paid scant attention. Also excluded from metaphysical conceptualisations of Hinduism is the heretical materialist school of Carvaka philosophy that nurtures a robust anti-Vedic materialism. Other sceptics refused to accept the claim that the Vedas code absolute knowledge. The construction of a hegemonic tradition has spectacularly marginalised critical philosophies within and outside Hinduism.Vaishnavism is considered the largest Hindu sect, with an estimated 640 million followers, and is practiced worldwide. It includes sub-sects that are familiar to many non-Hindus, including Ramaism and Krishnaism. The period when the Vedas were composed became known as the “Vedic Period” and lasted from about 1500 B.C. to 500 B.C. Rituals, such as sacrifices and chanting, were common in the Vedic Period. The om symbol is composed of three Sanskrit letters and represents three sounds (a, u and m), which when combined are considered a sacred sound. The om symbol is often found at family shrines and in Hindu temples. Hinduism Holy Books

This book is not meant for the reader who wants to learn about Hinduism per se – she could learn much more by reading the works of Swami Vivekananda or Dr Radhakrishnan – or perhaps more recent authors like Dr Karan Singh and Wendy Doniger. The primary sacred texts, known as the Vedas, were composed around 1500 B.C. This collection of verses and hymns was written in Sanskrit and contains revelations received by ancient saints and sages.Well researched book on the Hindu religion, rediscovering its origins in the Vedas, its journey through several seminal writings like the Upanishads, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, several reformers including Adi Shankaracharya and Swami Vevakananda and finally to the current version of political Hinduism called 'Hindutva' or 'Sanghism' that we have seen sprout and recently flourish in our lifetime. Older Hindus will feel a sense of deja vu during the course of reading this book, when they come across many tolerant beliefs and practices that were commonplace during their childhood but that have been marginalised in today's restricted and narrow view of politicised Hinduism. But Vivekananda’s thesis neatly flattened out the challenge that Buddhism had posed to Brahmanical power, the monarchical state, ritualism, and caste discrimination. It simply assimilated Buddhism into Hinduism. The Medieval Period of Hinduism lasted from about A.D. 500 to 1500. New texts emerged, and poet-saints recorded their spiritual sentiments during this time. There was that One then, and there was no other. In the beginning there was only darkness, veiled in darkness, Shaivism is one of the largest denominations of Hinduism, and its followers worship Shiva, sometimes known as “The Destroyer,” as their supreme deity.