The Hindu Way

The Hindu Way: An Introduction to Hinduism the new book by bestselling author ShashiTharoor whose last three books have sold over a quarter of a million copies in hardbackis 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 lucidaccessible yet deeply layered account of the religion’s numerous belief systems schoolsof 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 Hinduismand Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s The Hindu View of Life this book captures the essence ofHinduism with brevity insight and an enviable grasp of the myriad layers and intricacies ofone of the world’s greatest religions.It is a book that is especially timely given the rather controversial role that religion hasplayed in countries around the world. The author tells us why Hinduism is a religion thatis well-suited to the needs of the world today: ‘In the twenty-first century Hinduism hasmany of the attributes of a universal religion—a religion that is personal and individualisticprivileges the individual and does not subordinate one to a collectivity; a religion that grantsand respects complete freedom to the believer to find his or her own answers to the truemeaning of life; a religion that offers a wide range of choice in religious practice even inregard to the nature and form of the formless God; a religion that places great emphasison 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 andyet offers an abundance of options spiritual and philosophical texts and social and culturalpractices to choose from. In a world where resistance to authority is growing Hinduismimposes no authorities; in a world of networked individuals Hinduism proposes noinstitutional hierarchies; in a world of open-source information-sharing Hinduism acceptsall paths as equally valid; in a world of rapid transformations and accelerating changeHinduism is adaptable and flexible which is why it has survived for nearly 4000 years.’The text of The Hindu Way is embellished with over a hundred photographs and illustrationsmany of them in colour on various aspects of the religion. Based on Dr Tharoor’s extensivewriting on the subject including the bestselling Why I Am a Hindu this book gives the readeran unrivalled understanding of Hinduism.