The Hindu Way: An Introduction to Hinduism

by Shashi Tharoor

The Hindu Way: An Introduction to Hinduism, the new book by bestselling author Shashi Tharoor, whose last three books have sold over a quarter of a million copies in hardback, is the perfect introduction to one of the world’s oldest, largest and most complex religions. Although there are hundreds of books on Hinduism, there are only a few which provide a lucid, accessible, yet deeply layered account of the religion’s numerous belief systems, schools of thought, sects, tenets, scriptures, deities, rituals, customs, festivals and philosophies. This book is one of them.

In the tradition of classics of the genre like K. M. Sen’s Hinduism and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s The Hindu View of Life, this book captures the essence of Hinduism with brevity, insight and an enviable grasp of the myriad layers and intricacies of one of the world’s greatest religions. It is a book that is especially timely given the rather controversial role that religion has played in countries around the world. The author tells us why Hinduism is a religion that is well-suited to the needs of the world today: ‘In the twenty-first century, Hinduism has many of the attributes of a universal religion—a religion that is personal and individualistic, privileges the individual and does not subordinate one to a collectivity; a religion that grants and respects complete freedom to the believer to find his or her own answers to the true meaning of life; a religion that offers a wide range of choice in religious practice, even in regard to the nature and form of the formless God; a religion that places great emphasis on one’s mind, and values one’s capacity for reflection, intellectual enquiry, and self-study; a religion that distances itself from dogma and holy writ, that is minimally prescriptive and yet offers an abundance of options, spiritual and philosophical texts and social and cultural practices to choose from.

In a world where resistance to authority is growing, Hinduism imposes no authorities; in a world of networked individuals, Hinduism proposes no institutional hierarchies; in a world of open-source information-sharing, Hinduism accepts all paths as equally valid; in a world of rapid transformations and accelerating change, Hinduism is adaptable and flexible, which is why it has survived for nearly 4,000 years.

The text of The Hindu Way is embellished with over a hundred photographs and illustrations, many of them in colour, on various aspects of the religion. Based on Dr. Tharoor’s extensive writing on the subject, including the bestselling Why I Am a Hindu, this book gives the reader an unrivaled understanding of Hinduism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Hinduism, Philosophy, History, India, Spirituality

305 pages, Hardcover

Published September 2, 2019

About the author

Shashi Tharoor is a member of the Indian Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala. He previously served as the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information and as the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs.

He is also a prolific author, columnist, journalist and a human rights advocate.

He has served on the Board of Overseers of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is also an adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva and a Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities at New York University. He has also served as a trustee of the Aspen Institute, and the Advisory of the Indo-American Arts Council, the American India Foundation, the World Policy Journal, the Virtue Foundation and the human rights organization Breakthrough He is also a Patron of the Dubai Modern High School and the managing trustee of the Chandran Tharoor Foundation which he founded with his family and friends in the name of his late father, Chandran Tharoor.

Tharoor has written numerous books in English. Most of his literary creations are centred on Indian themes and they are markedly “Indo-nostalgic.” Perhaps his most famous work is The Great Indian Novel, published in 1989, in which he uses the narrative and theme of the famous Indian epic Mahabharata to weave a satirical story of Indian life in a non-linear mode with the characters drawn from the Indian Independence Movement. His novel Show Business (1992) was made into the film 'Bollywood'(1994). The late Ismail Merchant had announced his wish to make a film of Tharoor’s novel Riot shortly before Merchant’s death in 2005.

Tharoor has been a highly-regarded columnist in each of India's three best-known English-language newspapers, most recently for The Hindu newspaper (2001–2008) and in a weekly column, “Shashi on Sunday,” in the Times of India (January 2007 – December 2008). Following his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs, he began a fortnightly column on foreign policy issues in the "Deccan Chronicle". Previously he was a columnist for the Gentleman magazine and the Indian Express newspaper, as well as a frequent contributor to Newsweek International and the International Herald Tribune. His Op-Eds and book reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, amongst other papers.

Tharoor began writing at the age of 6 and his first published story appeared in the “Bharat Jyoti”, the Sunday edition of the "Free press Journal", in Mumbai at age 10. His World War II adventure novel Operation Bellows, inspired by the Biggles books, was serialized in the Junior Statesman starting a week before his 11th birthday. Each of his books has been a best-seller in India. The Great Indian Novel is currently in its 28th edition in India and his newest volume. The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone has undergone seven hardback re-printings there.

Tharoor has lectured widely on India, and is often quoted for his observations, including, "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.". He has also coined a memorable comparison of India's "thali" to the American "melting pot": "If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali--a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast."

Reviews

[Elsa Rajan Pradhananga · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Catholic, I cringed at Tharoor’s description of a Christian’s imagination of heaven being a place where souls sprout wings and sing in praise of a God who needs musical validation. For all those pages on Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava, funny but upsetting all the same. I liked the book, though. Maybe because I’m more liberal than Tharoor.

A large chunk of the book is about great Hindu philosophers, mystics, gurus, godmen and reformers. Glad to have found these distinguished minds in one place. The author tries hard to drive home the syncretism in Indian culture by citing examples of Vavar and Shabarimala Ayyappan, Amarnath temple and Adam Malik, Muslim artisans of Varanasi making masks for the annual Ram Leela there, St Thomas and Ambalappuzha Krishnan… In The Hindu Way, Shashi Tharoor upholds the Aryan migration theory thereby opposing the Hindutva idea that India is the Punyabhoomi of Hindus.

Castism is the only Hindu practice discussed in the chapter “Questioning Hindu customs”. As a book meant to introduce Hinduism, the book had an unexploited opportunity to examine many more Hindu customs that arouse interest. Tharoor deviated from the Hindu way to culture battles, beef politics and bashing Hindutva ideologies.

I loved that the book emphasized on raising liberal Hindus as the need of the hour and hopes of Hinduism's revival in its glorious liberalism, eclecticism and universalism. In order to accept the idea of India, one has to spurn the very logic that divided the country and refrain from relating Hinduism to nationalism in a country that took pride in its pluralism until recently.

[Ajay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ahh!

Looks like author wrote book without any research. Aleph Publisher done terrible job in publishing this book. The publisher promoted the book with the assurity of signed copies for preorders and i didnt get sign copy. I was shocked to see Ma Lakshmi with the description of Ma Saraswati and even image is also wrong. There are so many things wrong in this book. Typical Shashi Tharoor's book leaning towards his political party.
Such an amateur hour.

Recently one of my friend send me this book review link. Now it double confirmed me why this book is really terrible.
https://www.anureviews.com/the-hindu-...

[R Venkitachalam · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who is deeply religious and yet not dogmatic in the practice of it, I have an abiding skepticism about all things spiritual. I just finished reading the book “The Hindu Way” by Shashi Tharoor. I still haven’t been able to determine its genre. Shashi Tharoor has imported some portions of the book from his previous works and some of the essays have been copied from his own archives resulting in avoidable repetitions here and there. The author repeats a poser at the start of the book made by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan about the eternally challenging puzzle about Hinduism: “Is it a museum of beliefs, a medley of rites or a mere map, a geographical expression?”. With this quote he gets his readers all primed up for an exposition on the spirituality of this complex faith, only to flatter to deceive. The book starts with the author’s take on the spiritual aspects of Hinduism, a byzantine task beyond the competency of ordinary mortals. Halfway down, not surprisingly, the author loses his plot ending up finally with a critique on today’s Hindutva movement and how it offends the very tenets of Hinduism. By that time, one starts wondering what this book is all about and who indeed is its target audience - an exercise at interpreting the scriptures or an address to his electorates back home. The author traverses from spirituality to history to culture to custom to what have you, all associated with Hinduism – a Rajasthani Thali, that quintessential Hindu meal.

That said, towards the fag end of the book Tharoor lays out some scintillating arguments extolling the values and virtues of Hinduism as like no other which is both liberal in outlook and eclectic in practice. It is here that you get a glimpse of the sheer distilled brilliance of the nuanced narrations of the author. Lord Macaulay would be proud of what he has helped to create, even if the protagonist in this case is antagonistic to all things British except perhaps their language. The author claims the book to be an introduction to Hinduism, a claim that is only half true at best and facetious at worst. It no doubt serves as a guide to Hinduism to those who have little interest in theology but would not want to look like nincompoops in the cocktail circuits. In parts this is a good primer that would help you in any setting to conduct a discussion intelligently on Hinduism with some of the uniqueness associated with it. If you expect an erudite instructive manual on spirituality of Hinduism from this book, you are looking at the wrong book. The author consumes disproportionate number of pages on a movement like Sacha Derra than on Vedas and Upanishads. At one level this is also the problem with the book with contemporary sensational (and also political) issues eclipsing substantive spiritual issues. A case of the sublime giving way to the transient. Surely, Tharoor could have resisted this temptation.

All said, Shashi Tharoor does not come across as an apologist to a religion described by many as a cult built on obscurantism and superstition for good reason. He valiantly soldiers on in the book with limited success to glean the essence of Hinduism, something that has eluded even the saints of yore. It may be easier to transform yourself into a One Minute Manager but not a One Minute Scholar that too on a subject as complex as Hinduism.

The readers are advised to keep a dictionary handy while reading the book, as at times you do come across words and phrases that are not commonly used though one suspects that Tharoor has exercised considerable restraint in the usage of the language to avoid being criticised for deploying stilted and high flown expressions. I expected Shashi Tharoor to do to Spirituality what Jagjit Singh did to Ghazals, making Hinduism comprehensible to the common man. Alas, he fell short. May be there will be another time and another book from the same author.

[Udhayakumar G · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first book from Shashi Tharoor. I expected something beyond, very high level, but the truth, the content are disappointing. To my small knowledge, this is very boring, turning to next pages was very hard.

[sohrab sitaram · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book couldn't hold my attention. Tried and tried but its not something that is a light read and its not something that is gripping. For me it was more a forceful read as Im interested in mythology and hindu religion

[Arpit Katre · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's just the briefest introduction of Hinduism it's a casual read one should not read it if you want to go deeper but you don't know even little bit if Hinduism your might like it as the way it's written makes us proud that we belong to a land which gave the world a religion, a culture, a civilization which is still teaching us in the Era of science and technology. He gives great emphasis on the fact that it's the only major religion in the world where there is no monopoly of spiritual wisdom, no institutional hierarchy, no hindu heresy, no single sacred book, no founder no prophet no compulsory belief, no uniform conception of good life. The way he presented his Hinduism will really make us fall in love with the culture.

As a politician he also addresses the Hinduism which is happening today in the name of hindutva and how the "bhakts" of this faith is neither hindu nor Indian. He wrote lot more about Hinduism of today in its parent book " why I am a hindu ?". This book is more about Hinduism than hinduta. So overall great read.

The author is known as maverick of English language as he can teach English to Britain but still the language in the book is understandable just few new and difficult words he will throw on you here and there so English is not an issue.

[Shoaib · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shashi Tharoor offers a remarkable compelling proposition of what it means to be a Hindu. Admittedly, my limited knowledge of the religion probably led to me being more impressed by what Tharoor had to say than it might to others. Of course, the attacks on Hindutva were inevitable given the author’s political leaning but to his credit, he resists getting into bashing fundamentalists till much later in the book. Like any other religion, the practice and the practitioners are seldom good representations of its core ideals. The version of Hinduism presented here seem more in the realm of spirituality than worship and many, including me, will doubtless be lured.

[Ajay Goel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A breezy read, sequel to his earlier book (‘Why I am a Hindu’) that provides a primer on the Hindu faith.

My own interest in religion per se is limited, but religion’s (and its handmaiden – the politic’s) impact on society, interests me. And my review is from that perspective.

Mr. Tharoor tries hard to create a secular Hindu identity, and somewhat succeeds. It also serves as polemic against the hindutva ideology, pedaled by the present government in India.

On the positive side, Mr. Tharoor convincingly argues that the polytheist structure of Hinduism allows a lot more accommodation of diverse beliefs, than most other major religions. And it’s as much his political protest in the context of narrower interpretation espoused by Hindutva ideology in India.

Where the book stumbles is many –

1) The author talks about the luminaries of Indian pantheons (Aryabhatta, Panini, Charak etc., and the wisdom of Vedanta, Upanishads et al). This indeed is a proud legacy of ancient Hindu faith, yet like most Indian authors, he fails to connect it with other contemporary civilizations. Both in the field of metaphysics (concepts like being, knowing, identity, time, and space – the ‘Why am I here question’) and science (astronomy, mathematics, medicine etc.), Greek sources have similar parallels to Indian claims. Trade between those regions existed and Alexander even invaded India in 326 BC. So, to me it sounds a little rich if any of these civilizations should stake an exclusive claim on that intellectual capital, ignoring the cross pollination of ideas at the time. Would have loved a little more open minded exploration of this angle.

2) Hindu Brahmanical society was guilty of persecuting Buddhism in post Gupta period in the sixth and seventh century, as was then done to its own faith by Muslim invaders arrival after 10th century. Mr. Tharoor’s interpretation of that persecution is simple – that Hinduism is assimilative and even Buddha was subsumed in Hindu religion by making him a later day incarnation of Vishnu! Some stories religions tell!!

3) Perhaps most glaring of his omissions is the treatment of caste prejudice that existed (and exists) in Hindu faith. He chooses to cherry pick instances where the lower caste persons were given prominent places in Indian scriptures/history, but broad-brushing the shameful exploitation of lower castes over centuries. To his credit, he acknowledges his own prejudice, a little sheepishly, when Tejaswini Tabhane (a young Ambedkarite blogger) puts his arguments to sword.

4) Last, don’t expect any introspection to the question that why, with its own deemed superiority; the religion has little to show for the past 1500 years. Or, whether the accommodative structure and convenient dogma relegates it to muddle along at the so called Hindu rate of growth?

On balance, the book falls short of holding mirror to a major religion of the world (every seventh person in the world), and sounds rather a weak apology for its belief in its own superiority. In this, it unfortunately succumbs to same selective amnesia, as that of narrow nationalism preached by Hindutva, that it’s trying to counter.

There is much in Hindu history to be proud of, but there is much to be ashamed of, and both have to be examined with candor. There is something very sad with a faith that considers that the greatest that would ever be has already been, and the best that it could do now is to look back at its past.

[Masoom Sanyal · Rating 3 out of 5]

'There are simply no binding requirements to being a Hindu. Not even a belief in God!

The Hindu Way by Dr Shashi Tharoor is a brief but brilliant Introduction to Hinduism. It is the kind of book every Hindu, especially us young ones, should read if they wish to know their faith better. The Book is divided into 5 different Sections:

The First Section, titled "My Hinduism", containing only of one chapter by the same name, talks about what Hinduism means to Dr Tharoor: an essentially liberal faith, that accepts more than one truths, and does not compel its followers in any manner. A faith without any single God, any Prophet, any single Holy Book: a faith of pluralisms and diversities.

The Second Sections talks about the Hindu Way, which details on all that has been mentioned previously.

The Third Section talks about certain criticism of Hinduism - like it's obnoxious Caste-System and the recent surge of its followers' beliefs in a variety of Babas and Godmen, most of whom are undoubtedly charlatans who exploit their followers and the faith of their followers for a variety of reasons.

The Fourth Section talks about Great Souls of Hinduism who have propounded the message of their religion: Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, the mystics and reformers of the Bhakti Movement like Kabir and Surdas and Mirabai etc., and finally legends like Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, and intellectuals like Sri Aurobindo and Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. The book, however, deals with the lives of these men extremely briefly.

The Fifth Sections brings the discussion into present context where Dr Tharoor talks about how religious fundamentalism is on rise in India, and how the 'Hindutvavadis' do not understand the faith that they claim to defend. The last chapter of the book calls Hinduism "a faith for the twenty first century," mainly because it is a liberal faith, it requires you to do, say or follow no specific diktats, as highlighted by the quote that opened this review. Moreover, its a faith of multiplicities and individuality, offering its followers a buffet of beliefs and ideas to choose from.

Here are a few ideas that I specifically picked from the book:
(A) Hinduism is the most liberal faith: offering its followers freedom and liberty like no other religion. (One may counter-argue that it cannot be called 'liberal' for it deals no equality to its followers, as clear from the infamous Caste-System).
(B) That one does not necessarily need to believe in God to call oneself Hindu (there exist astika and nastika schools of philosophy in Hinduism).
(C) That the idea of idols came into play because it was difficult for laymen to imagine a formless, shapeless (Nirguna) God.
(D) That a lot of Hinduism's questionable practices like the Sati system or the Purdah system may have developed only after the Islamic conquests began and the faith came to be endangered.
(E) It is a faith unique in the sense that it makes no prescriptions for its followers and there is nothing called a Hindu Blasphemy or a Hindu Heresy. The concept simply does not exist. You cannot be a Hindu and a heretic at the same time!

[Enakshi J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr Shashi Tharoor’s first book in this series ‘Why I Am a Hindu?’ took the readers on a joyride that helped them discover the thickets of Hinduism. In simple and plausible ways, Dr Tharoor explained the dogmas of the religion that follows polytheism and it is the only faith where one is not bound by conviction to believe that only the one who follows Hinduism is right and others have missed the correct path. His first book was such a hit among the people that they demanded a sequel to it- a book that would omit the political aspect of religion. Hence, came The Hindu Way.

Read the complete review here: https://aliveshadow.com/category-book...

[Kanchan Mandanekar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good presentation of facts on being a Hindu. However, a comical yet cheap shot at earning political brownie points. Keeping the political skewing and distortion aside, the self aggrandisement in the end is a little embarrassing. Nonetheless, a fine read for the bits of wit here and there.

[Abhishek Indwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is different from the Tharoor's last book "Why I am a Hindu". Previously he described about the religion and politics but this time the focus is entirely on the Hindu beliefs and ethos.

[Ramaswamy Raman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book to understand Hinduism from the basic level in the most simplistic manner possible.
I was expecting a preachy type of book which will glorify Hinduism over other religions, on the contrary this book enlightens the reader about what Hinduism stands for and how it should be approached. Shashi Tharoor uses the words from the original texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, the Gita and also shares the thoughts of great personalities of varied religious beliefs.
Shashi Tharoor uses the words of Shankaracharya, Vivekananda, and many other authorities of the Hindu way of life. He informs the reader about the vastness and openness of the Hindu doctrine. The language, examples and spiritual words are used in the most simple language which will be easy to understand any layman belonging to any country or religion.
The last 30 odd pages is a summary of what Hinduism encapsulates within itself as it does not possess any one religious book and does not force anyone to follow a particular path. A true hindu has his own beliefs and follows his karma in the best possible way without wanting others to accept his ideas.
Overall a book written with the idea of spreading the Hindu way of life and not to push or pull anyone towards Hinduism.

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, and one we Indians should read. Shashi Tharoor takes us down a brief journey of Hinduism, which includes his personal story and philosophy.
As he points out, Hinduism has always been pluralistic and, while it may have started turning inwards with the advent of Muslims, this inward turn took a strong turn with the advent of the British.
He had a section devoted to some eminent Indian philosophers of religion, from Adi Shankara to Swami Vivekananda.
He dedicated the last section to the changes taking place in India now.
While he is disturbed by some of the changes, he refrained from taking pot shots at the current political leadership in India. I like this because it helped to prevent the book from becoming a political polemic.

[Geet Kalra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives an in-depth view of Hinduism but leads you to Dr Tharoor's own bias towards the end. Although he explained everything with logic, but you may skip the last few pages.

[SHALEEN Dr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an attempt by writer to lead a theological enquiry into the world’s most diverse, flexible and tolerant religion- Hinduism. It is a religion of faith of respect and dignity for all. Writer has explored the scriptures of Hinduism by classifying the same for easy understanding of readers. It has Srutis, Smritis, Itihaas, Purans, Agamas and Darshanas. Book contains overall details of vedas, Upanishdas, Purans and idol worships etc. etc. Writer has cited the instances of different versions of it available with in the big big bounds of the Hinduism and anyone can choose whatever suits to. The theological debate has also argued on the aspects of caste as an integral part of religion vs the integral part of society. Some of the aspects of it like caste, sati, chastity, child marriage and other pernicious activities has been examined and reasons explained on them too.


He has also given the various reasons to explain that how the Hinduim is compatible with the other religions and it has nothing to do with its extreme form i.e. Hindutva. Hinduism has grown out of impacts of various other religions also like Islam, christianity, Jainism, Buddhism etc. I would recommend reading the book if one wishes to learn about Hindu as religion and its aspects on one’s life.

[Agni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read it.. pathetic read.. all half baked information . Some 10% accuracy and remaining 90% is hurried information with no proper basis or reference. He has written for the heck of it... the choice of language to describe the divinity of Hindu gods is so poor and embarassing. Shashi Tharoor may be a good orator and writer, but has zero wisdom to understand Hinduism. It is proved from second book that he doesn't even understand the H of Hinduism. He is just another Devdutt Pattnaik, born to create dilution in the Hindu belief system. Better follow dharmacharyas instead of such skewed up writers who are playing the agenda of INC (Italian National Congress). Better not read it. The only value of the book is the beautiful pictures of Hindu pantheon in some pages,. probably cut out of these pictures is better than reading the serial of sentences framed by this sweet spoken double faced Congi. If I had a say, a book with pictures of Hindu pantheon of Gods would be a better read on the subject than this man's opinion of what he thinks hinduism could be about. He is giving one sweet laddoo and one poisonous laddoo with this work. Hope he stops making a career from writing books humiliating hindus without properly researched material.

[Vishwanath Rathod · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts on quite good note. Lot of information about Hinduism along with good history. First 60-65% of book is all about that, really informative. So good that I thought this will be another 5 star goodread from me. Basically written by Shashi Tharoor, an author.
But then book takes total shift, last 30-35% book all goes political and mainly anti-BJP. Basically written by Shashi Tharoor, the Congress Politician. He has wrote another book "why I am Hindu" but that later part makes one question if he really is. Lot of misinformation too in order to prove political agendas (Vashist-Vishwamitra debate, women not allowed in temple before 11 CE etc).
.
A major part of book (written by an author part as said above) is about great Hindu, it's way, it's history, philosophers, mystics, gurus, godmen, reformers, how Hinduism has been adaptive and making changes time to time. Glad to have found these distinguished minds, History and all in one place. Shashi Tharoor has given info about lot of places, practices in India. Though I wish I had left reading it halfway.
Once the political agenda's take over, it becomes a mess. So many senseless statements after that.

[Gaurav Kushwaha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book will concern all Indians regardless of their religion. What I want to illustrate with this statement is, we all know what these so-called "Hindutvavadis" are to trying to achieve in a polytheistic country like India. This book would basically give you an insight at what Hinduism truly is and how contradicting the actual Hinduism is from the one that these self-proclaimed Hindu-Sanskriti protectors believe in. Not only the book argues about the true meaning of Hinduism, but it also discusses why and how Hindusim changed and adapted new beliefs over the centuries, how Hindus and people of various religions lived with harmony (particularly Muslims) together. What I'm essentially trying to convey is that besides pursuing what Hindusim is the book will also try and help you understand how in 21st-century people are spreading petty bigotry and how they have distorted and skewed a pluralist religious philosophy in the process of instrumentalizing it as a political idealogy and this immensely mortifies me as an Indian and a born Hindu even though I'm non-religious.

[Neha Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, and further till the very last part, I found it an utter delight. Most of the views of the author on Hinduism resonate with mine, and I was thrilled to find validation for ideas which often appeared to me as outlandish. Hence the four stars.

It is only when the author seemed to start using the book as a banner against the ruling party and the Hindutva movement that I started feeling a bad taste develop in my mouth. In a book talking so extensively about an all encompassing way of life that Hinduism is, I felt, there wasn’t room for spewing venom and dealing with personal vendetta. It was like watching Star Trek suddenly turn into saas bahu soap opera. Hence the parsimony about the one missing star.

I would highly recommend this book to those who want to know more about the concept of Hinduism, which is both ancient and contemporary at the same time. Personally I would like to read more from the author. So far I had only read his newspaper columns and interviews and was mighty impressed. This book might have broken a dam.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Westerner with a long interest in the spiritual traditions of India, this book was very informative. I loved the personal tone of it, like chatting with a knowledgeable friend. I learned a great deal.

The difficulties with it I blame on an editor: 1) repetitive sentences and ideas (sometimes the EXACT same sentence on phrase on the same page and/or throughout the book; 2) grammatical errors; 3) naming of Hindu gods with no explanation of who they are (this is a book for NON-Hindus, yes?); 4) although I agree with him 100% about the dangers of religious fanaticism by the Hindutvas - just like White Christian Nationalism in the U.S. - two long, rant-filled chapters about it seem like too much for a book introducing the pluralistic joys of Hinduism.

I still liked it very much and ordered many follow-up books to read gleaned from the text itself and the "Further Reading" at the end.

Do read Tharoor's book "The Great Indian Novel" if you get a chance. Even for a Westerner, it was a real charmer!

[Shaleani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practicing a tradition or culture without understanding the purpose behind it can be sometimes meaningless. I purchase this book with the sole intention of understanding my religion.

The author did a good job in making a topic like Hinduism with its vast practices, traditions and gods into something so simple and literal. The book describes the current practices of Hinduism from the authors point of view and what it means to the rest of the world. The book also discusses about problems with multiple interpretations and how India and the rest of the Indian population deals with them.


Overall, I think it is good book me more aware of the developments and history of the religion. The book does not preach about Hinduism rather mentions how Hinduism developed over time and survived until now.

[Gautam Srihari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is best book on Indian culture that I have read written by an Indian. I was enlightened by some of the facts laid out in the book. Regarding the authors criticism of hindutva, I would say that there are stories on both sides of the issue. For e.g even though theoretically secularism like Marxism is a ideal and brilliant idea. The secularism practised by the authors political party (the congress (I)) at times was dubious, resulting in some of the worst communal problems in independent India and was more focussed on power grabbing and looting than any thing to do with Gandhi principles. I will ask Shashi Tharoor, give us a genuinely secular and functioning alternative to the present hindutva despots and we will gladly bring them to power. On the whole the author is very well read and the book was superbly written.

[Agrani Mahajan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is all about what Hinduism as a religion , as a way of life all about.
The book begins with Shashi Tharoor talking about discovery about his religion and taking it forward to what Hinduism stand today as a religion and to the country. How does Hindutva as a cult come out of this religion

To me the book reminded me more of my childhood, reading a lot many books on how different leaders of India led and influence the religion which has majority followers in India - 100 pages just covering that.

Leading to the last chapter the Author talks about his own opinion on Hinduism and what the 21st century leaders drive the flag of the nation and Hinduism seperately or together.
Overall didnt find any originality in the book and was a drag.

[Richa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very impressed with how the author writes about Hinduism… for maybe the first 60% of the book, after which it just devolves into politics and almost into an essay on his personal views. Toward the end it seemed like he was just using this as a platform to explain his political choices, which completely took away from all the good when he started with in the beginning where he tried to explain Hinduism to the layman. I’m more angry at the book for its lost potential than anything else. It could have been a powerful book if it brought forward more of the philosophical debates of Hinduism and how people practice it than what it is now.
P.S.: I think the title should be The Hindu Ways- a more accurate representation of Hinduism

[Barun Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute marvel as this books reminds us of how our country was and still is at its core. How most of us grew up with friends of other religions and shared our food and escapades with them and how each other's religion only mattered during the associated festivities. From the ancient Hindu's who were tolerant of every new movement such as Buddhism, Jainism and the Ajivikas to the modern day equivalent of many of us going to the shrines of other religions. Makes you proud to have been born into this ancient fold of humanity.

[Ruchi Agarwal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a good introduction for Hinduism from a practicing hindu, for a person who is new to Hinduism and it's ideas. It seemed like a refresher course or finding a person who I could relate to and talk about hinduism. Even then, the ideas in the book concluded with talking about the politicising of Hinduism in form hindutva and the writer seems to be repeating the same thing again and again in the last 50 pages. Where I could read first 150pages in a couple of days , it became a task to complete the next 150 pages.

[Subramani Chandrasekar · Rating 4 out of 5]

One extra star to Dr. Tharoor for enriching my vocabulary !!! He drew a clear line between of Hinduism vs Hindutva vs Indianness. As someone with a deep love and understanding of history, he also gave clear account of how certain practices, seemingly Hindu for today's world, were just a result of Hinduism's response to what was imposed on our ancestors in this land and were not really native to Hindus. Good read for anyone who want to understand how history shaped religious and cultural landscape of India

[Abhinav Shrivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Shashi Tharoor for writing this book. It might not be his best work but an essential one. It seems like he is speaking for millions of Hindus like me, trying to make the world understand Hinduism. And at the same time reminding those who have gone astray in the name of Hinduism, what religion is actually about.

Full Review on my blog: https://thebookthisweek.wordpress.com...

[Sparsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was good but the last few chapters where the author describes his own views are rather cringe, dirty & ironic. Everyone knows him to propagate his agenda as a liberal & a Muslim sympathiser but here he just crossed the limits , I mean how could you mention Islam during the time of Mahabharata or instances of other puranic periods when the barbaric religion is just 1400 years old. Shashi Tharoor might be a good historian but a terrible future forecaster.