This second volume of the book under review studies critically the impact of Hinduism on the society since the earliest times. Beginning by focussing on the status of women in the Hindu society, the book concedes that during the medieval period women by and large were subjected to many grievous inequalities?lesser education than boys, marriage at an early age (mostly in their teens), no access to inheritance (always at the mercy of the parents or the husband), subjected to cruelty by in-laws, the practice of sati on husband'sdeath and all kinds of restrictions on her movements. During the past six decades the scenario has almost changed and she is no longer fettered or oppressed. The aim of this chapter is to provide an answer to the question, ?Can Hinduism be held responsible for the grossly unfair, cruel and in many cases inhuman treatment which was meted out to the Indian women during the last several centuries??
The book describes the state of things in the period following AD 1000 which was an era of decadence of Hinduism and when the Hindus had moved away from the ?sublime teachings of their religion? and fallen ?more and more under the sway of hollow ritualism, superstitions and blind beliefs.? This was primarily due to external attacks and the ensuing instability in the country for long periods. The plight of women was so bad that it is not possible to describe in words. To cite an example, in Bengal, widows were pressurised to immolate themselves on their husband'spyre. Thus, if she could be eliminated through sati, the members of her husband'sfamily stood to benefit. But with the emergence of some outstanding personalities in the 19th century, major reforms were instituted. One great stalwart was Swami Dayanand Saraswati who founded the Arya Samaj and the other was Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. One of the major planks of Arya Samaj was equality of all human beings, irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, etc. However, during the present century a lot of changes have taken place in the status of women in India in all fields. The book lauds, ?It is highly noteworthy that this modernisation of the Indian woman and the almost radical transformation in her behavioural mores has not been caviled at by any Hindu sage or seer. This clearly establishes that Hinduism is in no way antithetical to women.?
Describing the role of Hinduism in the beginning of the Christian era which was later followed by the emergence of reformative movements in the 19th century, the book acclaims the role of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa and Swami Vivekananda in purging Hinduism of the distortions which ?had totally eclipsed its basic teachings?. It praises the role of Vivekananda especially who translated the Advaitic doctrine of identity ?between the soul and the Supreme Being into the motto that to serve the poor and downtrodden was to serve God.? It was in the latter half of the 19th century that Hinduism began to be associated with the ?newly-awakened Indian nationalism? in which Vivekananda did a yeoman'sservice by reiterating that Hinduism was in no way inferior to other religions.
The book reiterates that Hinduism is a way of life as it has ?not explicitly laid down any well-defined mores of behaviour as mandatory?. Instead, a Hindu'sday-to-day life has ?a certain unifying thread, tenuous as it may be,? running through his mores of behaviour and ways of thinking. ?This in fact is the core or essence of Hinduism.?
The book tries to remove the misconceptions regarding the sanctity attached to cows and quotes Mahatma Gandhi to substantiate the need for cow protection. Gandhiji shared the age-old Hindu reverence for the cow and said ?Cow protection to me is one of the most wonderful phenomena in all human evolution, for it takes the human being beyond his species?Man through the cow is inspired to realise his identity with all that lives. Cow protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world, and Hinduism will live as long as there are Hindus to protect the cow.?
Talking of the relevance of Hinduism to the modern man, the book says, ?Hindu Dharma in a way is a religion with a remarkably modern outlook? and what further increases the relevance of Hindu Dharma in the present age is the fact that it does ?not regard as mandatory any fixed set of rituals?.
In its penultimate chapter, the book attempts to show that adherence to Hinduism will help to serve the interests of both the individual and the society as well as lead to universal peace, happiness and prosperity.
Written by an Indian Foreign Service official, the volume ends by comparing Hinduism with the other main religions of humanity in terms of their metaphysics, ethical/moral injunctions and rituals.
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