Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism

Demystifying Brahminism and Re-Inventing Hinduism
Author: Satya Shri
Publisher: Notion Press
Total Pages: 592
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1946515566

There is nothing more miserable than to feel that emancipation is in the air and yet suffer the slavery of a mistaken idea. The author seeks to re-invent Hinduism by bringing to the fore its most fundamental postulates as: 1. Worship of the monotheistic formless Brahm. 2. God-realisation through Nishkam Sewa (selfless service). 3. Social equality and brotherhood (vasudhaiva kutumbakam). 4. Self-realisation through Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. 5. Salvation through worldly life of Purushaarth (Dharm, Arth, Kaam, Moksha). 'EK Samaj' repudiates the following attributes as excrescences and repugnant to the faith: 1. Mixing philosophy and religion made Hinduism an unorganised religion. 2. Worshipping numerous deities and limiting religious service to mere darshan of the idols fragmented Hinduism. 3. Hereditary priesthood, as permanent intermediaries for communion with God, polluted the religion. 4. Occupational ‘purity’ and ‘pollution’ camouflaged iniquitous social divisions. 5. Individual instead of congregational worship smothered Hindu brotherhood. 6. Pretensions of attaining Siddhis through ‘meditation and penances’ eulogised. 7. Escapism in worldly renunciation honoured. 8. Fatalist karma theory made Hindus pessimistic and other-worldly. 9. Transmigration, reincarnation, 84-lakh births used as props for gradation of castes. 10. Acceptance of Ahimsa made Hindus a doormat for the ruthless barbarians. 11. Karma kand and Mantra, Tantra, Yantra etc. justified as the sole religious expressions. 12. Lack of proselytisation prevented Hinduism from becoming a world religion. 13. Devdasi tradition made temples the venues of entertainment and recreation.

Mohandas

Mohandas
Author: Rajmohan Gandhi
Publisher: Penguin Books India
Total Pages: 804
Release: 2007
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780143104117

A More Heroic Tale Has Yet To Be Told . . . [Mohandas] Is Meticulously Researched, Written In Felicitous Prose And Is A Delight To Read Khushwant Singh, Outlook A Candid Recreation Of One Of The Most Influential Lives Of Recent Times, Mohandas Finally Answers Questions Long Asked About The Timid Youth From India S West Coast Who Became A Century S Conscience And Led His Nation To Liberty: What Was Gandhi Like In His Daily Life And In His Closest Relationships? In His Face-Offs With An Empire, With His Own Bitterly Divided People, With His Adversaries, His Family And His Greatest Confrontation With Himself? Answering These And Other Questions, And Releasing The True Gandhi From His Shroud Of Fame And Myth, Mohandas, Authored By A Practised Biographer Who Is Also Gandhi S Grandson, Does More Than Tell A Story. Praise For The Book Rajmohan Strikes A Fine Balance In This Comprehensive Work, Lacing The Painstakingly Detailed Chronological Account With Just The Right Amount Of Interpretation. [His] Approach Goes A Long Way In Painting A Portrait Of Gandhiji That Is Very Human, Plausible, And Easy To Identify With Mukund Padmanabhan, The Hindu An Impeccable Exercise In Objectivity . . . A Remarkable Performance. This Biography Ought To Be Read Over And Over Again . . . The Bareness Of Rajmohan S Recital Of Moods And Events Heightens The Poignancy . . . Mahatma Gandhi Was A Votary Of Restraint; This Book Exemplifies, Magnificently, Such Restraint. The Grandfather Would Have Approved Of Rajmohan S Mohandas Ashok Mitra, Telegraph A Story Of Epic Proportions . . . Gandhi S Luminous Compassion, Courage And Humanity Shine Through These Pages And Bring Light Into Our Lives Sonia Gandhi The Only Word To Describe This Work Is Fabulous . Literally Scores Of People Have Written On Mahatma Gandhi . . . But . . . Mohandas Will Henceforth Be Remembered As The Last Word On The Subject M.V. Kamath, Organizer

Demystifying Kashmir

Demystifying Kashmir
Author: Navnita Chadha Behera
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2007-05-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815708599

The Kashmir issue is typically cast as a "territorial dispute" between two belligerent neighbors in South Asia. But there is much more to the story than that. The Jammu and Kashmir state, home to an extraordinary medley of races, tribal groups, languages, and religions, makes up one of the most diverse regions in the subcontinent. Demystifying Kashmir argues that recognizing the rich, complex, and multi-faceted character of Kashmir is important not only for understanding the structural causes of this conflict but also for providing opportunities to establish a just, viable, and lasting solution. In this remarkable book, Navnita Chadha Behera traces the history of Kashmir from the pre-partition India to the current-day situation. She provides a comprehensive analysis of the philosophical underpinnings and the local, bilateral, and international dynamics of the key players involved in this flashpoint of conflict, including New Delhi, Islamabad, political groups and militant outfits on both sides of the Line of Control, and international powers. The book explores the political and military components of India's and Pakistan's Kashmir strategy, the self-determination debate, and the insurgent movement that began in 1989. The conclusion focuses on what Behera terms the four P's: parameters, players, politics, and prognosis of the ongoing peace process in Kashmir. Behera also reflects on the devastation of the October 2005 earthquake and its implications for the future of the area. Based on extensive field research and primary sources, Demystifying Kashmir breaks new ground by framing the conflict as a political battle of state-making between India and Pakistan rather than as a rigid and ideological Hindu-Muslim conflict. Behera's work will be an essential guide for journalists, scholars, activists, policymakers, and anyone interested in how to avert a war between these nuclear powers.

Hindutva

Hindutva
Author: Jyotirmaya Sharma
Publisher: Penguin Books India
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2011
Genre: Hinduism and politics
ISBN: 9780143418184

Hinduism - Ritual, Reason and Beyond

Hinduism - Ritual, Reason and Beyond
Author: Ashok Mishra
Publisher: StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd
Total Pages: 540
Release: 2019-08-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9388698134

The book is journey through 5000 years of evolution of Hinduism, and is outcome of seven years of study to understand the roots of Hinduism. Tracing the genesis of Hinduism to pre-Indus Valley period, the book explains Hindu, Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma, before it takes one through Hinduism’s oldest scriptures - the four Vedas, the four components of each Veda, and what they contain. How all original translations of Vedic texts were done by Western Sanskrit scholars, and why their works have left scope for doubt about the fidelity of translations. The yajnas (yagya) like Ashvamedha, Rajsooya, Vajpeya, etc., about which we only hear on TV serials and talk shows, have been demystified. The reader will be taken aback reading the sheer size and scale of Soma yajna, described step by step, in great detail. Hinduism’s journey to the Age of Reason, the Upanishads, its encounter with Buddhism, and its transformation into idol worshipping society with many gods and a multitude of stories about its millions of gods is lucidly explained. Puranas, what they contain and what was the reason they were created, has been described and explained next. Hinduism's journey to its modern form - idol worship, the modern puja, detailed description of puja and Sanskaras like Vivaha, their detailed description, the meaning of each action and how they are conducted, the gift to the priest, types of idols, their consecration, all are explained to help a reader understand the why and the how of what we do as a Hindu. The book concludes with a discussion of - Do mantras have power? & Do rituals have meaning?

Nehru

Nehru
Author: Adeel Hussain
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2021-11-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 9354228208

From being elected as Congress president in 1929 till his death in 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru remained a towering figure in Indian politics, a man who left an indelible stamp on the history of South Asia. As a leading light of the nationalist struggle and as India's first and longest-serving prime minister, his ideas shaped the political contours of the country and left an imprint so deep that his legacy continues to be debated furiously today. In life, as in afterlife, Nehru was many things to many people. Going beyond the imposed labels of contemporary discourse, this book illuminates four encounters that Nehru had with contemporaries from across the political spectrum - Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sardar Patel and Syama Prasad Mookerjee - that are critical to understanding his ideas, and his long afterlife and impress on the present. Nehru may no longer be alive to answer his critics today, but there was a time when he pitted himself vigorously against his opponents in the marketplace of ideas, debating the most profound questions in South Asian history and decisively influencing political events. It is this intellectually combative Nehru whom we meet in this book - voicing ideological disagreements, forging political alliances, moulding political opinion, offering visions of the future and staking out the political field - a key figure in the debates that defined India

Mainstream

Mainstream
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 878
Release: 2003
Genre: World politics
ISBN:

Decoding Intolerance: Riots and the Emergence of Terrorism in India

Decoding Intolerance: Riots and the Emergence of Terrorism in India
Author: Prateep K. Lahiri
Publisher: Roli Books Private Limited
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2009-10-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 935194008X

The rioting in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, in 1961 was a watershed event for India. After the Partition, it was the first time such large-scale communal violence had taken place. The author, Prateep K. Lahiri, on his first posting, was involved in bringing the situation under control. Some time later in 1969, as district magistrate of Indore, Lahiri played a key role in dealing with the outbreak of communal violence in that city. While the violence in both instances appeared to have been spontaneously provoked by an incident - just like in Gujarat in 2002 - the reasons that later emerged for the rioting revealed the deeper malaise that continues to affect our social system. Decoding Intolerance: Riots and the Emergence of Terrorism in India is a significant book by an administrator, who has observed the minutiae of the crisis from close quarters and scrutinized the role of the police and the state administration. The author synthesizes various dimensions of the issue, including the changing perceptions of Indian Muslims in the recent past, the history of religious fundamentalism and how it manifests as communal unrest, both in India and elsewhere. The phenomenon of terrorism, which has reared its ugly head over India and the world, is also touched upon to understand the implications it has had on the shifting political scenario. Decoding Intolerance critically analyzes the recurrence of communal violence and offers a persuasive argument about the problem, with a focus on its prevention in the future.