Methodological Studies in the History of Religions: With Special Reference to Hinduism and Buddhism

In this book, the methods adopted by traditional scholars for the study of World’s religions have been examined with a view to suggesting a more rigorous methodology for it. While recognizing the pioneering efforts of Western scholars like the missionaries, academic men and civil servants, it has been found that most of their approaches suffer from parochialism, Eurocentrism and from what the author calls ‘the elder brother complex’.

The author rejects the identification of comparative religion exclusively with comparative theology. The sociological and the anthropological approaches are also criticised for being too one-side. Selecting Hinduism and Buddhism as examples, the author seeks to demonstrate the many colourful facets of the religious phenomenon, none of which can be neglected by the students of comparative religion-or rather, of Religionswissenschaft.The stress here is on what Mircea Eliade has called ‘total hermeneutics’. i.e. totality of perspective of Worlds’s religions in all their various aspects.