Hinduism: Past and Present

Front Cover
Princeton University Press, 2004 - 429 pages

Hinduism is currently followed by one-fifth of humankind. Far from a monolithic theistic tradition, the religion comprises thousands of gods, a complex caste system, and hundreds of languages and dialects. Such internal plurality inspires vastly ranging rites and practices amongst Hinduism's hundreds of millions of adherents. It is therefore not surprising that scholars have been hesitant to define universal Hindu beliefs and practices. In this book, Axel Michaels breaks this trend. He examines the traditions, beliefs, and rituals Hindus hold in common through the lens of what he deems its "identificatory habitus," a cohesive force that binds Hindu religions together and fortifies them against foreign influences. Thus, in his analysis, Michaels not only locates Hinduism's profoundly differentiating qualities, but also provides the framework for an analysis of its social and religious coherence.

Michaels blends his insightful arguments and probing questions with introductions to major historical epochs, ample textual sources as well as detailed analyses of major life-cycle rituals, the caste system, forms of spiritualism, devotionalism, ritualism, and heroism. Along the way he points out that Hinduism has endured and repeatedly resisted the missionary zeal and universalist claims of Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. He also contrasts traditional Hinduism with the religions of the West, "where the self is preferred to the not-self, and where freedom in the world is more important than liberation from the world."

Engaging and accessible, this book will appeal to laypersons and scholars alike as the most comprehensive introduction to Hinduism yet published. Not only is Hinduism refreshingly new in its methodological approach, but it also presents a broad range of meticulous scholarship in a clear, readable style, integrating Indology, religious studies, philosophy, anthropological theory and fieldwork, and sweeping analyses of Hindu texts.

 

Contents

THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS
xvii
IS INDIA DIFFERENT?
1
WHAT IS HINDUISM?
10
EPOCHS IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS1
27
RELIGIOUS LITERATURE
43
RELIGION AND SOCIETY
65
3 Stages of Life and Rites of Passage
67
CHILDHOOD AND SOCIALIZATION
95
THE IDEA OF GOD AND THE PANTHEON
193
ELEMENTS OF RELIGIOSITY
218
RITUALISM
227
DEVOTIONALISM AND THEISTIC TRADITIONS
244
SPIRITUALISM AND MYSTICISM185
251
HEROISM AND KINGSHIP
262
FROM DESCENT TO TRANSCENDENCE
271
6 Religious Ideas of Space and Time
273

WEDDING AND MATRIMONY159
107
DEATH AND LIFE AFTER DEATH220
127
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
151
SOCIAL CONTACTS
167
RELIGIOUS AWARENESS OF TIME
285
ASCETICISM LIFE IN TRANSCENDENCE1
305
THE SALVATION OF IDENTIFICATIONS27
315
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2004)

Axel Michaels, the Professor of Classical Indology at the South Asia Institute at the University of Heidelberg, has published widely in the fields of Indology, anthropology, and religious studies. He has also conducted extensive fieldwork in Nepal and Northern India.

Bibliographic information