Overview and Goals

In a radical change of structure, Hinduism, unlike the three great monotheistic religions, has neither a single canonical text nor a centralizing organization to determine the development of fundamental beliefs and practices. Beliefs range from monotheism to polytheism, from an ethic of nonviolence to the justification of holy war, from monism to materialism, from philosophical theory to mystical experience. So what does hold together the most pluralistic religion in the world and the third largest world religion?

CHAPTER GOALS

• To gain a better understanding of the broadness of the spiritual tradition that the West has labeled “Hinduism.”

• To examine the changes in Hindu traditions with the passage of time.

• To look at the extraordinary continuities in India’s religious life today despite significant modern and postcolonial change.