Universal Hinduism Towards a New Vision of Sanatana Dharma

Pages: 236


About the Book

Hinduism is the world s oldest religion, the third largest religion in the world in terms of the number of its followers, and the largest of the non-Biblical traditions. It has the largest number of temples, sacred sites, festivals, philosophical texts, monks and yoga practitioners of any religion. Yet Hinduism is wrongly denigrated as a narrow ethnic belief that one has to he born into in order to follow and which has little relevance outside of India. Though Hinduism is the largest pluralistic spiritual tradition in the world, embracing the whole of human spiritual aspiration since the beginning of time, yet it is denigrated as polytheism, if not mere superstition. Hinduism remains the most misunderstood and denigrated of the world s great religions, though it has a genuine claim to be the greatest or most comprehensive of them all.

Universal Hinduism presents a dynamic view of this venerable tradition as a religion, spiritual culture, art, science and way of life that is vital and crucial for everyone living on the planet today. Hinduism provides the vision of Sanatana Dharma, a universal and eternal tradition of truth, natural law and respect for the sacred nature of all life that is necessary for our continued well-being as a species and for the protection of the natural world. It behooves all those interested in any higher reality to examine this great tradition that honors consciousness as the universal reality and that carries so much of the search for Self-realization in humanity.

The book covers a wide range of issues in religion, spirituality and culture emphasizing the role of Hindu Sanatana Dharma as a global force for change and higher consciousness. Topics include the dialogue between relig