A Good Primer for HinduismAugust 7, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The author does a credible job of taking on trying to explain what Hinduism is about. Not an easy task in a 321 page book. I had some concepts of what he was trying to convey from my long association with the study of yoga and meditation - but I believe he made the task easier to understand even for those who have never been exposed to these materials.
An index of where the author was going (subject wise) for easier reference would have been one thing I would ask the editors or publishers to include should they do a revised edition sometime. But over-all, the book is well written, interesting and at times, actually entertaining.
A good book to start off with for those interested a quick study of Hinduism is.
Suffers from Radical UniversalismJune 18, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is well-intentioned but it ultimately fails. Here is why:
Despite its title, Am I a Hindu, is not meant for someone raised with a Hindu background hoping to learn more about his religion. It is written, judging from its defensive tone, for Westerners hoping to acquaint themselves with Hinduism, and for Indian diaspora hoping to rediscover the "religion" of their ancestors. This defensive posture severely compromises the flow of ideas as the author is forced to refract Hindu concepts through Western lenses, to make them more appealing and less strange to Western eyes.
Instead of focusing on the profundity and uniqueness of Hindu philosophy Ed is at every step attempting to fit these Hindu ideas into western conception of theology. The result is a dilution of the original concept, a failure to depict their inherent value, and a refusal to believe that they can be independently judged for their own merit without need to calibrate against a western benchmark. What the author does not realize, or acknowledge is that Hinduism is a paradigm shift from the Abrahamical religions, and drawing parallels is neither fair not suitable. Many Hindu concepts find no acceptable counterpart in Abrahamical cosmology.
Regrettably, Vishwanathan's book lends currency to the idea of Radical Universalism, the belief that all religions one way or another profess the same Truths and seek the same spiritual Goal and are equally valid. On the very first page, Ed propounds this ideal and quotes a Sanskrit shloka from the Rig Veda: "ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti" - "Truth/God is one but sages call him by different names". This shloka states that the different names of the Absolute Reality viz. Brahman, Purusha, Ishvara, Paramatma in the different schools of Vedic thought and scripture, refer to the same Absolute Reality. It does not purport that different paths to God are equally valid. There is no mention of the word spiritual path, however, the author's belief in radical universalism makes him inject words and meanings that clearly do not exist. And even if this shloka is interpreted as Vishwanathan does, it does not say which of those different paths are valid. Therefore any claims of Vishwanathan's as to which of the world religions are valid are only a reflection of his personal bias. Such shoddy scholarship makes me wonder if Vishwanathan has really read 500 authenticbooks on Hinduism. It is one thing to read commentaries on the scriptures, as these are fraught with difficulties - commentators often inject their own personal agenda and beliefs. A true scholar would be one who has studied the scriptures in Sanskrit, or translated into a regional Indian language. Literal translations into English are not good enough as too many Sanskrit words and Indian concepts lack a western counterpart.
It is unfortunate that Hindu authors writing in English (Eknath Easwaran does the same) encumber themselves with Radical Universalism denying the uniqueness and beauty in Hindu philosophy.
Amazing blend of spirituality and religiousnessMay 30, 2008 This book answered so many questions i had on hinduism that many could not.You feel like you, are the one asking all the questions to a virtual teacher and hearing back the truth. Its a totally unbiased version of several faiths and shows how all of them are interconnected. Its a very good start to expose yourself to the path of sprituality and the true meaning of Hinduism.
loved this bookDecember 15, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Being an Indian American, it's been hard for me to connect with Hindu culture but after I read this book I realized that I didn't really understand what true Hinduism was about before. The one thing I loved most about this book was how it showed that all religions believe in the same God and how Vishwanathan showed positives from all religions. Also, I liked how he pointed out that in Hinduism there was no concept of conversion because there was no need for it since all hands(religions) point to the same true God.
This is one of the books that I hold very close to my heart. I just wish Ed Vishwanathan would distribute this book freely so all people can see what true Hinduism is and ignore most of those myths flying around about it.
I recommend this book highly!
Ambiguous and misleadingMay 9, 2007 2 out of 4 found this review helpful
On one hand, Ed Vishwanathan says Hinduism accepts all religions and is tolerant. On the other, he claims Hinduism as superior to other religions.
The author assumes Advaita (Non-dualism) is the absolute truth rather than proving it to be so. In addition, he does not seem to have any knowledge of other Hindu philosophies such as Dvaita and Visishtadvaita. Sri Ramanuja's philosophy is just mentioned in passing. He calls Sri Madhva as 'Madhava', a very fundamental error in getting the name of one of the greatest exponents of Hinduism incorrect.
Irrational explanations with flawed concepts, in an informal talk with a child, seems to be a bit over the line. Sometimes even grammatically unsound, the author seems to have only a peripheral knowledge of ancient Hindu scriptures and very little understanding of its interpretations. All in all, a poorly written book that is filled with ambiguity and feel-good concepts.
