Aside from occasional lapses in tone, a positive and edifying introduction to Hinduism that teems with basic facts and love...
This readable outline of Hinduism, Achuthananda’s debut, touches on the basics of the religion.
Hinduism’s dizzying array of mythologies means a steep learning curve for those new to the religion. With this short overview, Achuthananda attempts to provide a shortcut for readers, offering just enough detail and enticing context to lure readers into seeking out more in-depth works. The book begins with a discussion of the religion’s cultural context, touching historical traditions that played a part in the birth of Hinduism and in its later development, including informative sections on topics such as Zoroastrianism and Indian languages. From there, Achuthananda covers basic concepts of Hinduism, paying special attention to textual traditions, popular gods and cosmogony. Throughout this section, Achuthananda describes many traditions within Hinduism, rarely collapsing the plurality of beliefs into a single model. Additionally, for ideas such as Swarka and Naraka, Achuthananda provides analogues through which practitioners of Western religions might more easily comprehend the concepts; for example, he compares these two to heaven and hell, respectively, while clarifying differences in Hinduism’s characterizations. In a strange contrast to the title, Achuthananda only addresses a few of the Hindu gods and often asserts that the religion is a kind of monotheism. Readers expecting a long list of these many, many gods will only find brief mentions of a fraction here. Occasionally, the tone borders on condescension: Achuthananda claims to have written the book for a world “too busy to learn the lessons of life,” and briefly at the end of the “Controversies” section, his tone swerves into negativity in his disagreements with Wendy Doniger’s ideas about Hinduism. His titling a chapter on Doniger “Holy Queen of Sleaze” feels tasteless in a work that, up to that point, had been highly impartial and fair. Otherwise, Achuthananda’s explanations are helpful without oversimplifying or removing his emotional connection to the ideas, which may spur curious readers on to further study.
Aside from occasional lapses in tone, a positive and edifying introduction to Hinduism that teems with basic facts and love for the faith.Pub Date: July 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1481825528
Page Count: 218
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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