Originally published: as A short introduction to Hinduism. 1998

1.

Origins of Hinduism -- Sources of Hinduism -- India : the holy land of Hinduism -- Is there a religion called Hinduism - -

2. The

scripture of Hinduism : the Veda -- Śruti : the Veda as revelation -- Smṛti : sacred tradition -- Other authoritative literature -- Pramāṇa : interpretation of sacred texts --

The

power of the revealed word --

3. The

Vedic ordering of life --

A

day in the life of a Hindu --

The

four stages of life --

The

four varṇas : castes and sub-cates --

4.

Vedic ritual -- The vedic sacrifice --

The

Hindu sacraments --

The

meaning of karma -- Revival of vedic ritual --

5. The

heart of Hinduism --

The

Purāṇas : the bibles of Hinduism --

The

Mahābhārata : the great epic of India -- The Rāmāyaṇa : the Hindus' favorite book --

The

Bhagavadgītā --

6.

Lord Viṣṇu and his devotees -- Viṣṇu avatāras -- Image worship and its rationale - Vaiṣṇava saṃpradāyas --

7.

Śiva means grace --

The

sources of later Śaivism -- Śaiva schools of thought -- Śaiva asceticism -- Śiva in art --

8. The

goddess and her worshippers -- Goddess myths and celebrations -- Tantras and yantras --

The

renewal of Goddess worship --

The

making of new goddesses --

9. The

wisdom of the Upaniṣads --

The

four stages of knowledge --

The

self and the all : ātman and brahman -- Liberation from rebirth : mokṣa --

The

great sayings --

10. The

philosophy of yoga --

The

sāṁkhya system --

The

yogasūtras of Patañjali --

The

eightfold practice of yoga -- Reaching kaivalya --

11.

Śaṅkara and his advaita vedānta --

The

life and achievement of Śaṅkara -- Advaita vedānta as philosophy -- Advaita Vedānta as religion --

12.

Vaiṣṇava theistic vedānta --

The

Ācāryas of Śrīaṅgam -- Viśiṣṭādvaita : the teachings of Rāmānuja -- Anti-Advaita polemics -- Madhva's dvaita vedānta -- Vallabha's Puṣṭimārga --

A

trend towards devotionalism --

13.

Hinduism welcomes modern western ideas -

The

first stirrings of Hindu reform : Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) and the Brahmo Saāj --

An

unwilling patron saint of a Hindu missionary movement : Ramakrishna (1834-1886) --

The

first modern Hindu monk : Vivekananda (1863-1903) --

A

Hindu political saint : Mahatma Gandhi --

14.

Hinduism rejects the modern West -- Dayananda Saraswati's Ārya-Samāj --

The

first Hindu political party -- Militant Hinduism : the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh --

The

Vishwa Hindu Parishad --

15.

New faces of Hinduism -- Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) -- Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950) -- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1977) -- A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (1896-1977) -- Śrī Krishnaprem Vairāgi (1898-1965) -- Bābās and Mās -- Sāthya Sāī Bābā (1926- ) -- Ānandamayī Mā (1896-1983) -- Mā Jñānānanda (1931- ) --

16.

Hinduism and the challenges of today