A survey of Hinduism / Klaus K. Klostermaier.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Klostermaier, Klaus K., 1933-2024.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hinduism.

Physical Description:

xviii, 700 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Edition:

Third edition.

Place of Publication:

Albany : Sate University of New York Press, [2007]

Summary:

This third edition of the classic text updates the information contained in the earlier editions, and includes new chapters on the origins of Hinduism; its history of relations with Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam; Hindu science; and Hindu measures of time. The chronology and the bibliography have been updated as well.

A comprehensive survey of the Hindu tradition, the book deals with the history of Hinduism, the sacred writings of the Hindus, the Hindu worldview, and the specifics of the major branches of Hinduism-Vaisnavism, Saivism, and Saktism. It also focuses on the geographical ties of Hinduism with the land of India, the social order created by Hinduism, and the various systems of Hindu thought. Klaus K. Klostermaier describes the development of Hinduism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including present-day political Hinduism and the efforts to turn Hinduism into a modern world religion. A unique feature of the book is its treatment of Hinduism in a topical fashion, rather than by chronological description of the development of Hinduism or by summary of the literature. The complexities of Hindu life and thought are thus made real to the reader, and Hindus will recognize it as their own tradition.

Contents:

Note on Transliteration and Pronunciation xvii

Part I Hinduism: Sources and Worldview 15

Chapter 1 The Beginnings of Hinduism 17

Chapter 2 Hindu Dharma: Orthodoxy and Heresy in Hinduism 30

Chapter 3 The Veda: Revelation and Scripture in Hinduism 45

Chapter 4 Itihasa Purana: The Heart of Hinduism 59

Chapter 5 The Bhagavadgita 74

Chapter 6 The World of the Hindu 86

Chapter 7 The Many Gods and the One God of Hinduism 101

Part II Trimarga: the Three Hindu Paths to Liberation 119

Chapter 8 The Path of Works: Karmamarga 122

Chapter 9 Purity and Merit: The Twin Concerns of Karmamarga 136

Chapter 10 Samskaras: The Hindu Sacraments 147

Chapter 11 The Path of Knowledge: Jnanamarga 156

Chapter 12 Atman and Brahman: Self and All 166

Chapter 13 Karma, Vidya, Moksa: Liberation from Rebirth 173

Chapter 14 The Path of Loving Devotion: Bhaktimarga 181

Chapter 15 Lord Visnu and His Devotees 198

Chapter 16 Siva: The Grace and the Terror of God 218

Chapter 17 Devi: The Divine Mother 232

Chapter 18 Mudalvan, Murukan, Mal: The Great Gods of the Tamils 248

Part III The Structural Supports of Hinduism 261

Chapter 19 The Divine Presence in Space and Time: Murti, Tirtha, Kala 263

Chapter 20 The Hindu Social Order: Caturvarnasramadharma 288

Chapter 21 Samnyasa: The Highest Hindu Aspiration 298

Chapter 22 Stridharma: The Position of Women in Hinduism 311

Chapter 23 Hindu Structures of Thought: The Saddarsanas 325

Chapter 24 Hindu Logic and Physics: Nyaya-Vaisesika 333

Chapter 25 Hindu Metaphysics and Psychology: Samkhya-Yoga 342

Chapter 26 Hindu Theology, Old and New: Mimamsa and Vedanta 351

Part IV Hinduism Encountering the "Other" 369

Chapter 27 Hinduism and Buddhism 371

Chapter 28 Hinduism and Christianity in India 381

Chapter 29 Hindus and Muslims in India 394

Chapter 30 Hindu Reforms and Reformers 410

Chapter 31 Mahatma Gandhi: A Twentieth-Century Karmayogi 429

Chapter 32 Hindutva-Hinduism-Hindu dharma 441

Part V Miscellany 455

Chapter 33 India and the West 456

Chapter 34 Hinduism and Science 466

Chapter 35 Hinduism and Ecology 476

Chapter 36 Hindu Measures of Time 490

Chapter 37 Indian Chronology 497.

Notes:

Previously published: Albany : State University of New York Press, c1994. 2nd ed.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 611-660) and index.

ISBN:

0791470814

9780791470817

0791470822

9780791470824

OCLC:

70251175