Survey of Hinduism - A Great Recollection

INTRODUCTION 3
always found itself in a situation of cultural and religious pluralism. Hinduism
has aroused the curiosity not only of scholars of religion but equally that of
sociologists and anthropologists, political scientists and archaeologists, philosophers
and historians, not to forget the philologists who were the first to get
seriously interested in Hindu literature. We must remind ourselves, however,
that Hinduism was not primarily created by its sages and saints to provide
material for doctoral dissertations for European and American scholars or to
enable anthropologists and sociologists to do their obligatory field work but for
the physical and spiritual sustenance of its population: it interprets the world
to Hindus, makes life meaningful to them, provides them with a theoretical
and practical framework for their individual and corporate existence, educates
them intellectually and morally, and finally, fulfills their aspirations for transcendent
freedom and salvation.
In contrast to Ancient Greece and Rome, whose classical literatures and
traditions have been the major inspiration of Western humanities, but whose
modern successor nations have little in common with them, India is a modern
country in which much of its ancient tradition is still alive. It is alive not only
in the age-old rituals that continue to be performed, in its ancient temples and
places of pilgrimage that attract millions of worshipers, or in the popular stories
from epics and Purāṇas that are still enjoyed by contemporary audiences in
theaters and films, but also in the structure of its society and many of its laws,
in its institutions as well as in its popular customs. It would be wrong, however,
to portray Hinduism as a relic of a fossilized past, a tradition unable to change,
a museum exhibit that must not be touched. On the contrary, Hinduism in its
long history has undergone many changes, rapidly adapting to modern times,
constantly bringing forth new movements, and taking new directions. Hinduism
has always been more than a religion in the modern Western sense, and it
aims at being a comprehensive way of life as well today, a tradition by which
people can live.
Much scholarly writing on Hinduism focuses on the past of India—the
literary and architectural monuments, the practices and institutions of ancient
India. A great amount has been written—and continues to be written—on
Vedic ritual and ancient Indian kingship, topics no doubt of great historic significance
but of very marginal relevance today. Many a book on Hindu mythology,
on the gods and goddesses of India more often than not does not attempt
to tell the reader how contemporary Hindus understand these divinities and
how and why they worship them, but frequently tries to prove a Freudian, a
Jungian, or some other psychological or anthropological thesis, playing around
with structuralist, functionalist, or other theoretical models which are clever
and appear plausible to Western intellectuals, but explain little and often distort
a great deal of Hindu reality. Given the enormous mass of writings associated
with Hinduism, it is very easy to find supportive quotes for each and every
thesis. It is another question whether the thesis would be acceptable to Hindus
and whether it fits the context in India. Hindu resentment against the “endless