The-Hindus-An-Alternative-History---Wendy-Doniger

praised these texts and translated them in such a way that many people outside the Hindutradition—people who would otherwise go on thinking that Hinduism is nothing but a castesystem that mistreats Untouchables—have come to learn about it and to admire the beauty,complexity and wisdom of the Hindu texts. 27 And, I should have added, the diversity of theHindu texts. To the accusation that I cited a part of the Hindu textual tradition that one Hindu“had never heard of,” my reply is: Yes!, and it’s my intention to go on doing just that. The partsof his own tradition that he objected to are embraced by many other Hindus and are, in any case,historically part of the record. One reason why this book is so long is that I wanted to show howvery much there is of all that the egg faction would deny. And so I intend to go on celebratingthe diversity and pluralism, not to mention the worldly wisdom and sensuality, of the Hindus thatI have loved for about fifty years now and still counting.CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION: WORKINGWITH AVAILABLE LIGHTSEARCHING FOR THE KEYSomeone saw Nasrudin searching for something on the ground.“What have you lost, Mulla?” he asked. “My key,” said the Mulla. Sothey both went down on their knees and looked for it. After a timethe other man asked: “Where exactly did you drop it?” “In my ownhouse.” “Then why are you looking here?” “There is more light herethan inside my own house.”Idries Shah (1924-96), citing Mulla Nasrudin(thirteenth century CE) 1 This Sufi parable could stand as a cautionary tale for anyonesearching for the keys (let alone the one key) to the history of the Hindus. It suggests that wemay look for our own keys, our own understandings, outside our own houses, our own cultures,beyond the light of the familiar sources. There’s a shortage of what photographers call availablelight to help us find what we are looking for, but in recent years historians have produced studiesthat provide good translations and intelligent interpretations of texts in Sanskrit and other Indianlanguages and pointers to both texts and material evidence that others had not noticed before. Ihave therefore concentrated on those moments that have been illuminated by the many goodscholars whose thick descriptions form an archipelago of stepping-stones on which a historiancan hope to cross the centuries.This book tells the story of Hinduism chronologically and historically and emphasizes thehistory of marginalized rather than mainstream Hindus. My aims have been to demonstrate: (1)that Hindus throughout their long history have been enriched by the contributions of women, thelower castes, and other religions; (2) that although there are a number of things that have beencharacteristic of many Hindus over the ages (the worship of several gods, reincarnation, karma),none has been true of all Hindus, and the shared factors are overwhelmingly outnumbered by thethings that are unique to one group or another; (3) that the greatness of Hinduism—its vitality, itsearthiness, its vividness—lies precisely in many of those idiosyncratic qualities that some Hindustoday are ashamed of and would deny; and (4) that the history of tensions between the variousHinduisms, and between the different sorts of Hindus, undergirds the violence of thecontemporary Indian political and religious scene.History and diversity—let me lay them out one by one.HISTORY: AVAILABLE LIGHT