Do you know your Hinduism? Understanding an ancient way of life journey

While everyone must find the meaning of religion in their own way, this book serves as a handy guide in the journey

Do you know your Hinduism: Notes for modern day Hindus

by Rajmohan Gandhi

Published by Aleph

160 pages ₹499

  The word Hindu has come to symbolise many things to many people. It is a religion that goes back thousands of years; it stands for a race of people from India but who are now spread all over the world and it embodies a set of beliefs that define a way of life. You could tick all the boxes above or simply write up a new line to define that best expresses the meaning of Hinduism within a different context, because Hinduism’s central ideas are not cast in stone but have been handed down as experiences and observations that described the lived reality of an ancient civilisation. 

The absence of a single book that lays out the tenets of a religion that has close to a billion followers today surprises many. Hinduism does not have a parallel like the Bible for Christianity, or the Quran for Islam. Also, it does not have a historical founder, such as the Buddha for Buddhism. It does have a set of scriptures that were orally transmitted for generations, which are open-ended and interpretative. 

Many have said Hinduism would be better understood as a philosophy wrapped in religious beliefs (like Daoism was in China). It offered a way of life, not a prescriptive code to be followed without questioning. It spread not with conversion and crusades, but largely through its ideas. Philosophers and theologians such as S Radhakrishnan (former President of India), Swami Vivekananda and others have explored the nature of Hinduism and written extensively about the principles that underline its presence among followers. 

In their view, the ideas about life, death and afterlife in Hinduism are not framed in binary frameworks or as commandments to be followed, but are exploratory. There is greater emphasis on building a humane culture instead of a global religious order. Hinduism does not have a credo. It does not set down a singular path for enlightenment and it sanctions the divinity of knowledge as encapsulated in the four Vedas and the Upanishads. Defining Hinduism, as they and many other theologians have written, is like holding water in a sieve.  

In this slim book, Rajmohan Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, historian, political scientist and public intellectual) examines what it means to be a Hindu today. With a slow meditative gaze, he unpacks the evolution of the principles of a religion that has outlived many of its peers. Through a series of questions that do not always have an answer, he nudges readers to take a close look at how Hinduism has transformed itself from a bunch of ideas into a faith that inspired ideas of resistance and non-violence in Mahatma Gandhi and nurtured ideas of sacrifice and brotherhood in Subhas Chandra Bose. He questions its true meaning and intent and examines the sharp turns that have marked its recent foray into Hindutva. 

Mr Gandhi also explores the ideas of Hinduism through a personal lens, nudging readers to do the same. What are the values that drive our lives? How do we interpret the term Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (an ancient Indian thought that loosely translates to the world is our family)? Even if one does not find a ready answer to these questions, the book seems to tell readers that the enquiry will drive a deeper understanding of the faith they profess. 

The author questions the popular understanding of religiosity and sets ideas of faith and divinity within a framework of values and relationships. He writes that he was drawn into a deeper examination of Hinduism through his interactions with his grandparents as a child. His interest was further honed through a lifetime of reading philosophers and social reformers and, increasingly, also through stray encounters with strangers and friends. 

Hinduism, like many other ancient religions of the world, was born out of the experiences of early human beings with the world around them and their desire to build a community. The first encounters with the natural elements created the gods whose powers multiplied as they gathered more followers. All old religions believe that the world exists because it was created by the gods and its existence gives meaning to our lives, according to Romanian philosopher and theologian Mircea Eliade. 

How does a religion that was baked in an oven of universalism and coexistence morph into a revenge-seeking manifesto of victimhood? 

This is a question that worries many as it does the author. A true follower of the faith ought to examine whether the religious fervour and spectacle that mark Hinduism today adhere to their dharma (way of life). Does it respect the bundle of prehistoric humanity that has been passed down through the generations through its stories and practices? 

There are no clear answers to these questions but the book opens a way to raise them within our individualistic modern-day existence. Everyone has to find the meaning of religion in their lives in their own ways, but this book is a handy travel guide.

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The reviewer teaches folklore and mythology and is cofounder of The Mythology Project