Being Hindu: Understanding a Peaceful Path in a Violent World

by Hindol Sengupta

Overview

Winner of the 2018 Wilbur Award

There are more than one billion Hindus in the world, but for those who don’t practice the faith, very little seems to be understood about it. Followers have not only built and sustained the world’s largest democracy but have also sustained one of the greatest philosophical streams in the world for more than three thousand years.

So, what makes a Hindu? Why is so little heard from the real practitioners of the everyday faith? Why does information never go beyond clichés? Being Hindu is a practitioner’s guide that takes the reader on a journey to very simply understand what the Hindu message is, where it stands in the clash of civilizations between Islam and Christianity, and why the Hindu way could yet be the path for plurality and progress in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538193907
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.92(w) x 8.95(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

Hindol Sengupta is the author of ten books. He won the Wilbur Award in 2018 for Being Hindu: Understanding a Peaceful Path in a Violent World, the first book on Hinduism to win the prestigious prize given by The Religion Communicators Council of America. In India, he has wonthe Valley of Words prize for The Man Who Saved India, the Kalinga Literature Festival award for Sing, Dance and Pray, and the PSF prize for public service through writing. He has been shortlisted for the Hayek Prize given by the Manhattan Institute in memory of the Nobel laureate economist F. A. Hayek for Recasting India. He has been a Chevening Scholar at the University of Oxford, a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and has a doctorate from the Geneva School of Diplomacy. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He has been a senior journalist at the Indian edition of Fortune magazine, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, and CNN.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Believer 1

1 How to Write about Hindus 23

2 Who Is A Hindu? 35

3 What Makes You A Hindu? 51

4 Who Is the One True God? 71

5 Is God Afraid of Science? 97

6 How Do Hindu Books Portray God? 111

7 Are All Hindus Vegetarians? 129

8 How Do Hindus Consider Their Own History? 139

9 How Does Hinduism Fit Into the Internet Age? 149

10 A Start-up for the Soul: Why Reexamine the Hindu Way? 157

Notes 169

Index 183

About the Author 189

Editorial Reviews

10/23/2017
Journalist Sengupta (Recasting India) introduces non-Hindu audiences to the world’s third largest religion using a practitioner’s perspective in this quick but substantive text. To Westerners, Sengupta writes, Hinduism is normally seen as a series of sensational clichés about cow worship or funeral pyres. But the reality is much more complex, as depicted here in a mix of personal memoir, general history, and speculation about where the faith community is headed. Sengupta’s summaries are succinct and knowledgeable, and his expertise is evident. He includes scholarly analyses of Indian nationalism and a literature review of Hindu religious works, with some especially interesting discussions of Hindu takes on recent religious debates, such as the tensions between religion and science. This summary approach, however, can mean that certain topics—such as the history of India and how Hinduism developed in competition with other religions—don’t get the detailed attention they deserve. Sengupta’s personal experiences—particularly his years getting a master’s degree in New Delhi and tangents on poets and philosophers who inspired him—detract from the more in-depth analysis of cultural practices that he attempts to make the focus of the book. But for readers with little knowledge of Hinduism but a strong interest in it, Sengupta will be a welcome guide. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Hindol Sengupta. .. provides a bold and innovative perspective that links ancient and modern, cultural and philosophical Hinduism, into a vast panorama according to a deep personal narrative that is both fascinating and thought-provoking.. .. Being Hindu contains a number of gems of wisdom that can bring peace and harmony into the world.

David Frawley

Hindol Sengupta’s clear prose and deep perception of Hinduism will resonate in the hearts of Hindus globally and help the western world understand and respect this complex and beautiful religion. The first of its kind, this book should be widely read and discussed.

Dilip K. Chakrabarti

Although Hinduism has thrived for more than 3,000 years and is currently practiced by one billion individuals, there is little coverage in English. To redress that lack, journalist Sengupta offers not a primer of Hindu beliefs but, rather, a personal inquiry rich in history and analysis about what it means to be a twenty-first-century Hindu.... [When] he focuses on Hindu philosophy, he is eloquently clarifying. He explicates the religion’s perception that ‘the divine is everywhere’; its ‘commitment to plurality’; and its recognition of ‘union in diversity’—teachings, he asserts, that could benefit everyone. Reaching deeper, Sengupta explains that Hinduism is a quest for ‘illumination, for radiance, and for knowledge’; a profound interpretation of consciousness; and a path to peace. He also candidly acknowledges that the tradition can be both liberating and ‘bewildering,’ even for Hindus. Segupta’s enlightening elucidation is invaluable for understanding Hinduism, India, and the growing Hindu community in the U.S.

Booklist

A refreshing perspective on why the world's oldest religion remains relevant in the twenty-first century. Hindol is one of the most exciting Indian writers of his generation.

Sanjeev Sanyal

Hindol Sengupta’s discussion of what is Hinduism and what it means to be a Hindu is stimulating. It brings out the cosmic dimension of this multilayered, bewilderingly complex belief system which ultimately is a quest for our real self. At the same time, it does not shirk from spelling out the challenges that modernity has been throwing at this ancient culture.

Michel Danino

Being Hindu explains the challenges of contemporary Hindu in a world torn between entrenched secular modernity and rising religious fervour. The author regards his work as the outcome of his own journey to understand what it means to be a Hindu. The book—a great contribution to those who would want to understand Hinduism from the contemporary context—is a compelling read.

S. Gurumurthy

As India transforms from traditional to modern, rural to urban, agrarian to industrial and old to young, this book offers a fascinating look at the change from below: as seen by the entrepreneur, the consumer and, above all, the ordinary citizen. The added attraction is the lucid and engaging writing style of the author.

Arvind Panagariya

An unusual and welcome book by a gifted young author. Hindol Sengupta presents a thoughtful and innovative account of how he discovered the profound depths of an ancient dispensation to make sense of the complexities of the modern world.

Dr. Gautam Sen

With this audacious and articulate book, journalist Hindol Sengupta presents an impassioned and most welcome case for Hinduism as an ancient and sophisticated tradition with great relevance for the contemporary world.. .. The book is. .. an invitation to the reader to join the author in his discovery of the tradition of his upbringing. Why is Sengupta’s book particularly welcome at this current time? Its importance can be discerned on several levels. We human beings, collectively, are currently living through one of the most culturally, politically, and religiously polarized periods of modern history.. .. Sengupta has some important things to say, not only about Hindu traditions, but about the contemporary human condition. His book is not only as a defense of Hindu thought and practice against stereotypes and distortions, but an argument against extremism of all kinds.. .. Sengupta is also frank in rejecting the political extremes found in contemporary Hinduism, while at the same time presenting these in a balanced and subtle way.. .. A very important work which will hopefully receive a wide readership.

Reading Religion

An unusual and welcome book by a gifted young author. Hindol Sengupta presents a thoughtful and innovative account of how he discovered the profound depths of an ancient dispensation to make sense of the complexities of the modern world.

Gautam Sen

Although Hinduism has thrived for more than 3,000 years and is currently practiced by one billion individuals, there is little coverage in English. To redress that lack, journalist Sengupta offers not a primer of Hindu beliefs but, rather, a personal inquiry rich in history and analysis about what it means to be a twenty-first-century Hindu.... [When] he focuses on Hindu philosophy, he is eloquently clarifying. He explicates the religion’s perception that ‘the divine is everywhere’; its ‘commitment to plurality’; and its recognition of ‘union in diversity’—teachings, he asserts, that could benefit everyone. Reaching deeper, Sengupta explains that Hinduism is a quest for ‘illumination, for radiance, and for knowledge’; a profound interpretation of consciousness; and a path to peace. He also candidly acknowledges that the tradition can be both liberating and ‘bewildering,’ even for Hindus. Segupta’s enlightening elucidation is invaluable for understanding Hinduism, India, and the growing Hindu community in the U.S.

Booklist