After devouring many books based on socio-political personalities and history, this time around I laid my hands on a book titled "Why I Am a Hindu", written by Shashi Tharoor. Must admit its an unusual genre for me to pick up.
Shashi Tharoor, a very prominent Member of Parliament, a diplomat, and he is also known for his sesquipedalian oratory and writing skills.
He was awarded Ramnath Goenka’s award for excellence in Journalism for his book “The British Empire in India”. He was Under-Secretary-General in UN and a two-time Member of Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram.
This book opens up our views on Hinduism, vis-a-vis our overall world view. It puts forth a balanced perspective on religion and its impact on current modern-day politics. Mr. Tharoor, one of India’s finest intellectuals, gives us a great insight into one of the oldest and greatest religions. In the first part of the book he takes us for a leisurely walk through the thickets of Hinduism, beginning with Vedas, guiding us through myths, and populist practices, etc. Its a very balanced book on Religion, as one can hope to write in these tumultuous times, and reminds us about pluralism.
The author has distilled the important elements for us to easily understand the flavours of Hinduism. It addresses myriad questions that pop up in our brain like why do we have so many gods, the role of caste, why there is no single holy book, like Quran or Bible, etc. In today's divisive political environment it shows why it is important that Hinduism must retain its pluralism. It is a handy book to reacquaint oneself with what Hinduism was and is, and what it’s not meant to be. He also discusses many great saints of Hinduism, such as Adi Shankara Ramanuja, Patanjali, Swamy Vivekananda, and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, etc. A must-read in my view.
Shashi Tharoor, a very prominent Member of Parliament, a diplomat, and he is also known for his sesquipedalian oratory and writing skills.
He was awarded Ramnath Goenka’s award for excellence in Journalism for his book “The British Empire in India”. He was Under-Secretary-General in UN and a two-time Member of Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram.
This book opens up our views on Hinduism, vis-a-vis our overall world view. It puts forth a balanced perspective on religion and its impact on current modern-day politics. Mr. Tharoor, one of India’s finest intellectuals, gives us a great insight into one of the oldest and greatest religions. In the first part of the book he takes us for a leisurely walk through the thickets of Hinduism, beginning with Vedas, guiding us through myths, and populist practices, etc. Its a very balanced book on Religion, as one can hope to write in these tumultuous times, and reminds us about pluralism.
The author has distilled the important elements for us to easily understand the flavours of Hinduism. It addresses myriad questions that pop up in our brain like why do we have so many gods, the role of caste, why there is no single holy book, like Quran or Bible, etc. In today's divisive political environment it shows why it is important that Hinduism must retain its pluralism. It is a handy book to reacquaint oneself with what Hinduism was and is, and what it’s not meant to be. He also discusses many great saints of Hinduism, such as Adi Shankara Ramanuja, Patanjali, Swamy Vivekananda, and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, etc. A must-read in my view.
