On Hinduism
Wendy Doniger
Abstract
This book is a collection of forty-three essays on Hinduism, arranged logically rather than chronologically, and designed specifically for an Indian audience. The author focuses on topics that contradict what most people believe about Hinduism, from women and animals to heresy, dharma, and karma. She talks about the nature of Hinduism and defines what Hinduism is, particularly its pluralism and threats to Hindu pluralism. She also reflects on several of the enduring central themes of Hinduism, all of which involve karma, birth, death, and rebirth. In addition, she explores concepts of divinity ... More
This book is a collection of forty-three essays on Hinduism, arranged logically rather than chronologically, and designed specifically for an Indian audience. The author focuses on topics that contradict what most people believe about Hinduism, from women and animals to heresy, dharma, and karma. She talks about the nature of Hinduism and defines what Hinduism is, particularly its pluralism and threats to Hindu pluralism. She also reflects on several of the enduring central themes of Hinduism, all of which involve karma, birth, death, and rebirth. In addition, she explores concepts of divinity, from the material and immaterial aspects of god to the changing role of the gods in creation and in sacrifice, disputes over the sexual nature of god, and the grace of god. Other topics covered by the book include Hindu attitudes toward gender, particularly Manu’s attitude towards women in general, as well as stories about several individual females, sexuality, desire and the control of desire in Hinduism, the bestial aspects of human nature, the tension between miscegenation and incest, and the rise of Hindu supremacy in India.
Keywords:
gender,
Hinduism,
animals,
heresy,
dharma,
karma,
divinity,
sexuality,
incest,
India
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2014 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199360079 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: April 2014 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199360079.001.0001 |
