New Focus on Hindu Studies

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This work surveys the state of Hindu studies over the ages by studying the history of Hinduism in four periods: Vedic Hinduism and Modern Hinduism. Commencing the study with some general observations on the study of Hinduism such as confinement of the study by and large to India and lack of a political history of Hinduism, it examines features of Hinduism that established themselves during the different periods. Critically analyzing the literature that emerged during various periods and the light they shed on Hindu thought, it focuses especially on the Hindu-Muslim encounter at various levels â€“ especially political, religious and mythic â€“ in the medieval period with particular bearing on the mystical encounter between them as available through royal records and literature. Considering the views of religious thinkers and scholars like Raja Rammohan Roy, s. Radhakrishnan and Mahatma Gandhi, it examines the source material especially in English and authored by Hindus themselves for study of history of Hinduism in the modern period. Delving into the ideological forces modern Hinduism has had to contend with â€“ to wit Islam, Christianity and science; it analyses the concept of conversion and secularism in India and deals with the origin of Hindu fundamentalism in Hindu society. The book will be useful for students and scholars of Hindu political thought, philosophy and religion and especially those concerned with Hindu studies as a discipline, as it throws up new areas for research in Hindu studies which have so far been neglected.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arvind Sharma

ARVIND SHARMA was born in Varanasi, India. He earned a B.A. in History, Economics, and Sanskrit from Allahabad University in 1958 and continued his interests in economics at Syracuse University, earning an M.A. in 1970. Pursuing a lifelong interest in comparative religion, Dr. Sharma gained an M.T.S. in 1974 and then a Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University in 1978. He succeeded to the Birks Chair of Comparative Religion at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and was the first Infinity Foundation Visiting Professor of Indic Studies at Harvard University. He has published over fifty books and five hundred articles in the fields of comparative religion, Hinduism, Indian philosophy and ethics, and the role of women in religion. Widely cited as an authority on Hinduism, amongst his most note-worthy publications are The Hindu Gita: Ancient and Classical Interpretations of the Bhagavadgita (1986), The Experien-tial Dimension of Advaita Vedanta (1993), Our Religions: The Seven World Religions Introduced by Pre-eminent Scholars from Each Tradition (1994), The Philosophy of Religion: A Buddhist Perspective (1995), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction (2000), and The Study of Hinduism (2003).