Hinduism: A Short History

Hinduism: A Short History

Klaus K. Klostermaier

Language: English

Pages: 488

ISBN: 1851682139

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


An informative study of Hindu history that moves swiftly but thoroughly through the ages, from the early emergence of the Vedic tradition, to developments in twentieth-century Hinduism.

History has always been a problematic issue in India, where the dating of many a figure is accurate to only within centuries. So to attempt a definitive history of Hinduism would seem foolhardy. Klaus Klostermaier approximated the impossible in his 715-page Survey of Hinduism, and now he has boiled it all down to about half that size. Hinduism is defined as that family of religions that accept the Vedas as authoritative, but despite the single moniker the differences can be vast. From fertility cults to precise rituals that date back thousands of years, Klostermaier cuts across time to illustrate the major strains of Hindu tradition—Vaisnavism, Saivism, and Saktism, along with the nonsectarian smarta. He includes a short history of Hindu philosophy, which in India is inseparable from religion. Klostermaier is a first-rate scholar who expects a lot from his readers, sometimes too much. Anyone who isn't somewhat versed in Hinduism already would do well to pick up his Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism for handy reference. —Brian Bruya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

speculation. Prāṇāyāma is one of the most widely practiced disciplines and one of the most ancient methods of purification. Perfect breath-control can be carried so far that to all appearances a person does not breathe any more and the heart-beat becomes imperceptible. Thus we hear quite frequently about Yogis who get themselves buried for days or weeks and let themselves be admired on coming out from their graves. According to all indications there is neither fraud nor miracle involved. The

occupy the throne of Indra. “He read the Vedas with one mouth, drank wine with another, and looked with the third as if he would absorb the whole world!”55 He is a staunch tapasvī (ascetic), and Indra becomes afraid lest he might lose his position. Indra first tries to entice him with the help of āpsaras. The attempt fails and Indra kills him with his vajra. Here the author mentions that Indra contracts the sin of Brāhmaṇa-murder. Indra is afraid the asura will come back to life because his eyes

me.” The Bhāgavata Purāṇa locates the Indra-Vṛtra battle on the banks of the Narbada at the beginning of the Tretā yuga “during the very first round of the four yugas.” Two formidable armies meet: the asuras make no impression on the devas and thus they flee, leaving Vṛtra alone. Vṛtra appears self-composed, calm, and virtuous, following the rules of scripture, preaching Yoga to his Mlow-asuras and Viṣṇubhakti to Indra. He curses Indra as a Brahman-murderer and killer of his guru, and he prays to

equally problematic in its application to the Epics and the Purāṇas, who do not use it either. Inversely, today’s Hindus call their living religious traditions “vedic,” defining “Hinduism” as vaidika dharma, and making acceptance of the Veda as scripture the criterion of “orthodoxy.” It would hardly find the approval of those who are critical of the term “Hinduism” to replace it by “Vedic Religion.” In this book “Hinduism” is used as an umbrella designation for all traditions that declare

vi-pralamba (separation). Rati is itself a modification of Kṛṣṇa’s hlādinī-śakti, free from māyā and avidyā and the sthāyi-bhāva (constant mood) of bhakti-rasa; once it has appeared it cannot be lost again. Its bliss is the most intense, higher than that of mokṣa. Kṛṣṇa alone is the akhila rasāmṛta-mūrti, “the complete embodiment of the nectar of all feelings”; he excites different rasās (sentiments) in different devotees according to their different emotional dispositions. In details of the

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