 |
| The Hindu Phenomenon |
|
A UNIQUE PHENOMENON |
|
|
|
|
| Hinduism
has been called a confederation of religions by apologists as well
as detractors. That definition cannot, and does not, do justice to
the spirit of the Hindu people. For, religion as such is a Semitic
enterprise. It must, by definition, draw a boundary between the
believer and the unbeliever; the chosen and the rejected; the
blessed and the damned; the truly faithful and the heretic. It must
divide. It just cannot do otherwise unless it comes to be tempered
by other influences, as Christianity has been tempered gradually by
the upsurge of the Graeco-Roman civilization since the Renaissance
in Europe in the fifteenth century. That was a sister civilization
to ours. That is why its coming in via British rule could help
stimulate and renew Hindu civilization despite its Christian
undertones and attempts at proselytization by the missionaries.
|
|
|
|
