Modern Hinduism is divided into four major devotional sects: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism. Vaishnavism and Shaivism are generally regarded as monotheistic sects: each believes in one Supreme God, who is identified as Vishnu in Vaishnavism and Shiva in Shaivism. Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism are the most prevalent Hindu sects, among these, Vaishnavism is the largest. The devotional sects do not generally regard other sects as rivals, and each sect freely borrows beliefs and practices from others. Vaishnavites, like Shaivites, believe that there is only one Supreme God, who simultaneously permeates all creation and exists beyond it, being both immanent and transcendent. Like other Hindu denominations, Vaishnavism acknowledges the existence of many lower Gods under the supreme one. Shaivism is a form of nondual spiritual practice and philosophy originating in India. Shaivites believe that the entire creation is both an expression of conscious divinity and is non-different from that divinity which they call Shiva. The book is an attempt by authors to understand the factors and forces that proved catalyst in the march of history in the subcontinent.
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