Table Of ContentHinduism Today
Continuum Religion Today
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Judaism Today,Dan Cohn-Sherbok
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Hinduism Today
Stephen Jacobs
Continuum International Publishing Group
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London SE1 7NX New York NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
©Stephen Jacobs 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in anyform or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB: 978-0-8264-4027-3
PB: 978-0-8264-3065-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jacobs, Stephen.
Hinduism today / Stephen Jacobs.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8264-3065-6 — ISBN 978-0-8264-4027-3 1. Hinduism—Social
aspects. 2. Globalization—Religious aspects—Hinduism. I. Title.
BL1215.S64J33 2010
294.5—dc22
2009050326
Typeset byFree Range Book Design &Production
Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1 Hinduism: The Basics 5
2 Hinduism in India 30
3 Hindu Dharmain the ContemporaryWorld:
Caste, Gender and Political Hinduism 57
4 Hinduism in a Global Mass-mediated Context 81
5 Hinduism in Diaspora 106
6 The Future 129
Notes 146
Glossary 153
Bibliography 162
Index 177
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Acknowledgements
Many people have helped and supported me in the writing of this book.
First and foremost is my wife Judith Wester, without whose patience and
supportIwould not have been able to complete it. I would like to thank
everyone at Sivananda Ashram for all their gracious hospitality, and their
willingness to answer questions from someone who is not a sadhaka.
Particular thanks must go to Swami Gurupriyananda for allowing me to
participate in the abhiqeka, and for his wonderful explanation of this
ritual. Thank you to Manoj and all his family for welcoming me into their
home and including me in their evening puja.Thanks also go to my good
friends Swami Prasadji and Amit Bhatnagar for long conversations and
being expertguides. I must also acknowledge everyone at the Madras Café,
not only for the excellent sustenance, but also for their friendly welcome,
useful advice and allowing me to use the premises as my office during my
time in Rishikesh. In Delhi, I thank Sanjay and Neeta Deewan for their
warm welcome into their home. Thank you to everyone at the Shri
Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple at Tividale, and in particular Dr Rao and
Ram Aithal. Everyone at the Shree Krishan Mandir in Wolverhampton has
also always made me very welcome; in particular I must acknowledge Mr
Bhardwaj (who very tragically and suddenly died whilst I was working on
this book), Mr D. L. Chadha and Pandit Madhu Shastri. I also have to
thank George Chyssides, Ron Geaves and Annie Conder for conversations
and veryhelpful suggestions. Thank you to Fi Rowe for her meticulous and
thorough proofreading. Also thank you to Tom Crick and Kirsty Schaper
at Continuum and Nick Fawcett for all his work editing the manuscript.
For Brendan and Jean
B
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Hinduism Today
Image courtesy of Mohan Ayer (2009)
www.hindugallery.com
Hail to thee of auspicious form, whose
head is crowned with a garland of stars …
Iadore thy trunk flung up straight in the
joy of the dance, so as to sweep away the clouds.
Destroyer of obstacles, I worship thy snake-
adorned body … the treasure house of all success.
(Cited in Grewal, 2001, p. 101)
