P.Desikan, Bangalore
Flip side? No way! When you browse through Narayan's brilliant
account of what he considers the non religious symbolism of Hindu religious
practices, you end up admiring the practices all the more. He takes you
expertly through the steps in the evolution of this vibrant way of life,
telling you here how its own adherents and rebels modified it, and there
how non-Hindu cultural threads too found themselves woven into its texture,
without affecting its basic qualities. The impression gained is of a
religion whose hoary past included its future and whose distant future will
have to include its past. The philosophical enquiry of the Upanishadic era,
the emotional interplay of the Bhakti cult with the telling of puranic
stories, and the renewal of interest in the historic content of the
religion in the minds of modern world citizens born into it seem to form a
continuous web. You marvel at ancient minds which could build Darwinian
evolution concepts into divine descent on earth.
You wonder at the ease with which good ideas from outside the religion
too quickly got absorbed into the Hindu mosaic and became indistinguishable
from the mosaic. You enjoy the retention of Hindu practices in Indian
families converted to other religions, with no offence meant to either
side. And Narayan conducts the entire tour through symbolisms, which speak
more eloquently than religious texts can do. His work is definitely not
religious. But then, Hinduism itself is just sanathana dharma, an ancient
way of life flowing perennially but allowing dynamic inputs into it all the
time.
A must read for every modern student of Hinduism.
Synopsis
Hinduism is one of the major religions of the world with considerable antiquity and complexity. It is identified by its ancient scriptures called Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Epics, its iconography and temple culture visible in India and abroad. The popular epics Ramayana and Mahabharata attract interest all over the world for their thematic stories. Many books publicise the spiritual symbolism of these facets of Hinduism. Author of this book deviates from this general trend and analyses Hindu symbolism in the light of sociological perspectives and scientific parallels visible in the ever changing Indian society in the form of cultural expressions.
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