The Essential Teachings Of Hinduism
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The Essential Teachings Of Hinduism
(Daily readings from the Sacred Texts, edited by - Kerry Brown)
Preface :
The term Hindu was first used by the medieval Muslim invaders to describe the dwellers of the Indus valley. But the culture we now know as Hinduism and which the Indians call Sanatana Dharma - Eternal Law - predates that label by thousands of years. It is more than a religion in the doctrinal sense that the West understands religion. One can believe in any god or no god and still be a Hindu. It is a way of life, a state of mind.
It is very difficult to find any viewpoint which is riot incorporated in the vast body of knowledge of this culture which is in fact many cultures combined. Therefore, in taking on this book we have not presumed to cover its beliefs totally but merely to give some idea of its enormous wealth and diversity.
At its heart it is neither strange nor exotic but uncannily familiar. It is a sublimely simple and extravagantly complex system of systems which seems, at times, to say everything the West has ever said or is likely to say about anything. We must ask ourselves: why is it that so many great thinkers have admitted their debt to the Upanishads or discovered theories that unwittingly echo the ideas of those books written thousands of years earlier ?
The answer lies to some extent in a gentle piece of advice given by one of our eminent advisers in New Delhi when we began research for the book. Having been presented with a list of Hindu concepts, to which she was asked to put her mind, she then, in the course of discussion, gave an analogy of the world as the lens through which we see Truth. The West has broken up the lens the better to understand it, laying out the pieces each as a separate discipline of knowledge. While the West has taken a long time reshuffling its pieces and learning the ins and outs of every piece, Hindu researchers in the form of the great spiritual masters have used the lens in one piece to look directly at the ultimate Truth.
Despite their pride in the wisdom of their culture, Hindus would be the first to say that the ultimate Truth cannot be found merely by reading a book on it. It lies within the soul of every human being. Nevertheless, we hope our readers might catch a glimpse of Truth through this book as they might catch sight of a long-lost friend across a crowded street thousands of miles from home.
Authors : Shri M. Rama Jois
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Copyright © by Hindu Books Universe All Right Reserved. Published on: 2003-03-28 (3738 reads) [ Go Back ] |
