Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (The Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices)

Julius Lipner’s Hindus is widely recognised as essential reading for everyone wishing to understand one of the world’s great religious traditions. Hinduism comprises the religion and culture of the great majority of the people of India, a country tipped to become a world superpower politically, economically and culturally in the course of the present century. The vast array of diverse beliefs and practices usually described as ‘Hindu’ has been notoriously difficult to corral under a single regulating theme. Julius Lipner provides not only a wide-ranging introduction to Hindu religious and cultural diversity but also suggests a way to characterize Hinduism as a distinct tradition that has survived and adapted to changing circumstances from ancient times to the present day. Lipner is a recognised authority on Hinduism's polycentric emphasis, and his book is based on a lifetime of research and personal experience of his subject. In this thoroughly revised and substantially enlarged second edition, students of Hinduism will find more coverage of the debate about Hindu origins, the nature and practice of Hindu worship, the role of women, the scope of dharma and morality, Hindu philosophical thought and the use of reason, and the way caste functions. Hinduism is a vastly complex phenomenon, a world religion with a history of over three thousand years. It has produced men and women who have made outstanding contributions across the range of civilised human behaviour, and played a crucial part in the rise of two other great religions - Buddhism and Sikhism. Julius Lipner was born and raised in India and is able to draw on his own experience of Hindu beliefs and practices to explain what it means to be Hindu in a changing world. Hindus examines the religion as a plural phenomenon - that is, as a family of religions rather than a monolithic entity. The approach is thematic, and the author considers various topicssuch as the status of women - in more than one place and from more than one angle. He also tells and sometimes analyses Hindu stories, stressing the narrative quality of Hindu religion and giving us an insight into the nature of the Hindu phenomenon itself. Hindus will be valuable on more than one level: as a source of instruction, as a basis for discussion, seminars and further study, even as a challenge for further research. It provides a new perspective on what it means to live as a Hindu and enables readers to appreciate this great and marvellous religious phenomenon, its extraordinary richness, and the way it encompasses the diversity of human experience. Julius Lipnerâ#x80;#x99;s Hindus is widely recognised as essential reading for everyone wishing to understand one of the worldâ#x80;#x99;s great religious traditions. Hinduism comprises the religion and culture of the great majority of the people of India, a country tipped to become a world superpower politically, economically and culturally in the course of the present century. The vast array of diverse beliefs and practices usually described as â#x80;Hinduâ#x80;#x99; has been notoriously difficult to corral under a single regulating theme. Julius Lipner provides not only a wide-ranging introduction to Hindu religious and cultural diversity but also suggests a way to characterize Hinduism as a distinct tradition that has survived and adapted to changing circumstances from ancient times to the present day. Lipner is a recognised authority on Hinduism's polycentric emphasis, and his book is based on a lifetime of research and personal experience of his subject. In this thoroughly revised and substantially enlarged second edition, students of Hinduism will find more coverage of the debate about Hindu origins, the nature and practice of Hindu worship, the role of women, the scope of dharma and morality, Hindu philosophical thought and the use of reason, and the way caste functions Offering Us A Major Study Of Religious Hinduism, Julius Lipner Explains The Evolution And Multidimensional Nature Of The Religion In A Clear And Direct Fashion. Covering History, Belief And Practice, He Combines Factual Information With Explanation And Analysis. 1. About 'hindu', Hinduism And This Book -- Pt. I. Guiding Voices -- 2. The Voice Of Scripture As Veda (i) : Performing The Word -- 3. The Voice Of Scripture As Veda (ii) : Discerning The Word -- 4. The Voice Of Scripture As Veda And 'veda' -- 5. The Voice Of Tradition : Smrti And Its Divisions (i) -- 6. The Voice Of Tradition : Smrti And Its Divisions (ii) -- 7. The Voice Of Tradition : Caste And Its Realities -- 8. The Voice Of Tradition : Itihasa And Sacred Narrative -- 9. The Voice Of Tradition : Folklore And The Intellectual Heritage -- 10. The Voice Of Experience -- Pt. Ii. Reason And Morality -- 11. A Story With A Tale -- 12. Morality And The Person; The Belief In Karma And Rebirth -- Pt. Iii. Images Of Time, Space, And Eternity -- 13. Reckoning Time And 'progress' -- 14. The Sacred And Its Forms -- 15. Ways, Means And Ends -- Concluding Postscript. Julius Lipner. Previously Published: 1994. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The Cold War spanned some five decades from the devastation that remained after World War Two until the fall of the Berlin wall, and for much of that time the perception was that only on the Eastern side were politics and sport inextricably linked. However, this assumption underestimates the extent to which sport was an important symbol for both power blocs in their ongoing ideological struggle.This collection of essays from leading international authorities on sport, culture and ideology brings together an impressive body of work organized around key political themes and outstanding moments in sport, and is at once a political history of sport and an illuminating new perspective on the forces that shaped this unsettled time. The Cold War spanned some five decades from the devastation that remained after World War Two until the fall of the Berlin wall, and for much of that time the perception was that only on the Eastern side were politics and sport inextricably linked. However, this assumption underestimates the extent to which sport was an important symbol for both power blocs in their ongoing ideological struggle. This collection of essays from leading international authorities on sport, culture and ideology brings together an impressive body of work organized around key political themes and outstanding Offers us a study of religious Hinduism. This title explains the evolution and multidimensional nature of the religion. It provides coverage of popular Hinduism, the polycentric emphasis of Hinduism, and the place and role of women. It presents a discussion of caste, and includes a section on pilgrimage. First Published In 2009. Routledge Is An Imprint Of Taylor & Francis, An Informa Company.