Why I Am a Hindu

His picture of Hinduism's tolerance of other beliefs and religions is partially accurate.By and large, Hindus do not kill heretics as some other religions historically did, and some still do. However, social ostracization is common for those who do not toe in line.I am a Hindu but do not believe in idolatry or the caste system.I believe in a decentralized God whose presence can be felt within oneself, in nature, and every living being (Advaita).However, I have no quarrel with those who follow other paths for salvation, so long as they do not create a climate of hatred and enmity.I fully agree with Sashi Tharoor's criticism of the Hindutva movement, followed by the present Government in power. I want to go further by saying that no Government should have the ability to direct the beliefs of individual citizens so long those beliefs do not cause harm to other citizens or the society in general.No law should be enacted that discriminates against one citizen from another.There should be no mixing of politics with theology, and all citizens should have equal protection under its laws.I would like this book to be translated and published in many Indian languages so that it may be more widely read in India.

"Why I Am a Hindu" was written in the context of growing electoral victories by the Hindu nationalist BJP political party (which claims to represent "real Hinduism" and to speak for a Hindu India rather than the secular pluralism of Gandhi and Nehru) and so written primarily for an Indian audience.I read it for a different reason: There is no end of English-language literature on Hinduism written from one of two perspectives: either erudite, academic analysis or wit a specifically Christian, and usually missionary, view. (There's a lot of material that amounts to, "How to talk to a Hindu about Jesus" which presumes that Hindus need to be something other than what they are.)I wanted to follow the advice of the late Krister Stendahl of Harvard (in later life the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala) who said that if you want to understand a religion, talk to its adherents, not its detractors.Hinduism could not have a more articulate proponent than Dr. Shashi Tharoor, who is Hindu both by birth and conviction and also thoroughly at home in the English-speaking intellectual world. For an American reader, a great strength of this book is precisely that it was not written for a Christian audience--since I am not at all sure that someone from an Abrahamic tradition even CAN really grasp Hinduism, in all of its hospitable plurality and avoidance of sectarian certainty.But if you're willing to try and engage Hinduism on its own terms--the only approach with any integrity, after all--then this is a wonderfully helpful book, and one worth reading more than once.Non-Indian readers should be willing to skip around, though, since not all sections will be relevant to their interests.

I am a Hindu by birth. It never occurred to me to oppose the practices by people around me. Like I choose what I want to eat in a cafeteria I practised methods the religion the way I felt comfortable with. It affords me the freedom to see God in away,shape and form that provides me freedom of thought and methods. This aspect of Hindu faith makes it appear disorganized and chaotic to the outside observer of life of people living in India regardless of the religious affiliation of people being observed. The authors brings this point out very vividly in this book.

Many congratulations, Shashi Tharoor! I am a "dyed in the wool" atheist, but I still bought, read and thoroghly enjoyed this book. I do hope it is translated into some of the major Indian languages for wider circulation and understanding. For such education is sorely lacking, resulting in the vicious wave of fundamentalism sweeping the country virtually unchallenged……see some of the reviews in Kindle!!

In the contemporary Indian society the politicians and media make all the noise but those who really control the discourses are the English speaking urban elite with western style education and probably with a degree from a British or American university. When asked about their religious identity, they typically answer that they are “born Hindu” or “spiritually Hindu” or something vague and noncommittal. They would not be able to explain what Hinduism is or what it means to them to be Hindu, either born or spiritual. In this environment it is refreshing that Sashi Tharoor, a member of this crowd, and a distinguished one for that matter, proudly declares that he is a Hindu and presents his understanding of Hinduism and what it means to him to be a Hindu.Hinduism as we have it today is a collection of belief systems, some call them sampradayas or darshanas, and they are bound together by the core concepts of karma, punarjanmam and mukti. Whether one literally believes in any or all of these, he/she who is consciously a Hindu seeks the truth of these within the tradition to reach mukti as he/she copes with the challenges of day to day living. At the same time he has no problem respecting the paths of others to find their own truth. The book leads me to believe that Sashi Tharoor is one of them and it is to be welcomed.My difficulty with the book is where the author writes about what he calls as "political Hindutva". Tharoor is currently a member of the parliament by the graces of Indian National Congress whose members prefer to hide their Hindu identity, permit and even encourage the denigration of Hindus and Hinduism by the people of other faiths for gaining political benefits. No wonder that he throws venom on the BJP and RSS. Whether it is a calculated move on his part for his political survival or it is his schizophrenic interpretation of the contemporary Hindu society, he totally misses the religio-social situation in the country and how Hindus have been victimized ever since independence.The constitutional concession to allow the Muslims and Christians (classified as minority) to run their own educational institutions was to guarantee that their way of life will not be disturbed by the majority community and to help them to educate their children about their religious traditions and beliefs in a way acceptable to them. This has been perverted by vote bank politics to mean that Muslims and Christians will have a veto on the national policies and they could run colleges of engineering and medicine with financial support from the government with preference to students of their own faith. The so called secular government has laws that make it difficult for Hindus to run similar educational institutions on equal footing. Hindu temples are managed by state governments run by political parties who are openly anti-Hindu (DMK in Tamil Nadu and Communists in Kerala) and the temple revenues being siphoned off to unrelated causes while the Islamic and Christian worship places are free from governmental interference. The book has been silent on the issue of extensive proselytizing efforts supported by massive financial backing by the American and European Christian organizations.Section I (chapters 1 thru 4) is full of rambling with many misinterpretations, none too severe. Hinduism has an open architecture where everyone is free to interpret the meanings in his/her own way. Section II is full of polemics and spitting venom at RSS, BJP and their leadership. Section III shows the author’s confusion within his own understanding of Hinduism. While he praises Hinduism as a faith suited for 21st century for the reason that it gives him of freedom of interpretation, he denies the same freedom to the other people and he slanders them as “Political Hindutva forces”. It shows the underlyng hypocrisy.

Excellent arguments

I really loved this book, all the references, the seriousness, and the laughs it gave as well. What a great insight to Hinduism. Thank you so much.

An amazing book which gives you a deeper insight into Hinduism. You will get to know why it is called "Sanatan Dharma" or eternal faith (Dharma don't mean faith or religion. It means many thing but people generally use this word to describe faith). Also you will learn many different aspects of religion, society and politics. I will highly recommend this book of you're interested in Hinduism. But you can know these stuffs only if you are rational, unbiased and liberal person. I don't think you can appreciate this book much without being any of these and hence I won't recommend to you if you're not these.I have seen few so-called intellectual beings who hate Shashi Tharoor just because he is a politician in Indian Congress Party and because he was accused for murder of his wife, which is not yet proved. For these silly reasons, they say that this book can't be considered as a genuine book for learning about Hinduism. Also they critize this book because it tells about politics of Hindutva, which they say is complete lie or distortion of facts.In my personal opinion, there is no such thing in this book. I'm writing this review after reading it completely. Three are references of the facts mentioned in book. You can check them out if you have any doubt. Also I didn't felt any manipulation while reading it. Also, author clearly mentions that which thing is said by whom and what author feels about it. All the view belongs to author and you don't need to agree with them at all places. I found author's views completely rational, liberal and unbiased.In case if you disagree with any of author's view then please give your own view regarding that and that view should be rational, unbiased and liberal. Don't just start criticizing the book and author if your view doesn't matches with that of author.Thanks for your patience reading.

A great book with points forcefully made. I would like to see a sequel which delves more into social and religious practices of the liberal Hindu society of ancient times. Very many books allude to it, the Cultural history of india by RMIC Golpark details it with academic rigour. We need a Tharoor to bring a storytelling ability to actual paint a vivid picture.

Mr. Tharoor @ his best !

Dr Shashi Tharoor, the erudite and eloquent author of 16 earlier books, now takes up his pen to express his views on Hinduism. As he says in the introductory note to this book, his purpose is two-fold: to “understand… the extraordinary wisdom and virtues of the faith” and to “show the… intolerant and often violent forms of Hindutva…” According to the author himself, this book is targeted at the English-speaking twenty-first century reader.The book is divided into three sections, each consisting of one or more chapters.The first section is titled “My Hinduism” which contains four chapters. The first and second chapters generally cover the basic tenets and beliefs of the faith. Here are some representative extracts from the first chapter:“…Hinduism is a civilization, not a dogma. There is no such thing as a Hindu heresy. Hinduism is a faith which allows each believer to stretch his or her imagination to a personal notion of a creative godhead of divinity … Hinduism, in other words, incorporates almost all forms of belief and worship within it; there is no need to choose some and reject others … It is quite common for Hindus to show reverence to the religious places of other faiths, and to carry relics or sacred objects of other faiths.”While first two chapters are undoubtedly well written in terms of expression, they would convey very little new information to Indian readers. In the third chapter, the author expresses strong opinions on issues like caste discrimination, the cults of various gurus; and karma. The fourth chapter describes some of the great teachers and reformers of the faith, including Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, Mirabai, Raja Rammohan Roy and Swami Vivekananda. This chapter is exceptionally well written, both in terms of presentation and content, befitting the author’s background as a scholar of history.The second section of the book is titled “Political Hinduism” and it contains just two chapters, both of which are long and dreary. The former deals with thinkers and activists such as Savarkar, Gowalkar and Deen Dayal Upadhyay, leading up to the rise of Bhartiya Janata Party in the national scenario. The latter chapter, by far the longest in the book, is devoted to issues like secularism, nationalism, and the interface of Hindutva with science, culture and history. Here the author reveals himself as a politician strongly opposed to what he perceives as Hindutva.Finally, the third section is titled “Taking Back Hinduism” and it comprises a concluding essay in favour of a tolerant and inclusive Hinduism as discussed in the first section, as opposed to the strident or militant Hindutva described in the second section. This chapter begins with the interesting comment that Hinduism is “almost the ideal faith for the twenty-first century” as it is eclectic and non-doctrinaire. The main thrust of this section of the book is best expressed in the author’s own words: “Majoritarian communalism, as Nehru had long recognized, is a fundamental threat to our political democracy.”This book is not meant for the reader who wants to learn about Hinduism per se – she could learn much more by reading the works of Swami Vivekananda or Dr Radhakrishnan – or perhaps more recent authors like Dr Karan Singh and Wendy Doniger.This book is ideal for the well-informed reader who is familiar with the concepts of Hinduism, but would like to explore them through the viewpoint of the author. This book is also helpful for readers who want to know about the rise of Hindutva, though I would caution them that the tone of this book is more critical than informative.Finally, this book is recommended for those who appreciate Dr Tharoor’s masterly writing for its own sake, for instance: “The reason India has survived all the stresses and strains that have beset it for seventy years, and that led to so many to predict its imminent disintegration, is that it maintained consensus on how to manage without consensus.”