Hindu Civilization and the 20th Century

This is a complete guide to Hinduism, not only for the novices but also for the religious minded who still have a lot to learn. Every topic relating to Hinduism has been discussed in the book, including comments by various well known foreigners on the topic. Quotes appearing at the end of the chapter tells the readers what the western world is thinking of Hindus and Hinduism. The book was written since the author strongly felt that the youth of the country were indifferent to the cultural and historical heritage of India. Hinduism has survived the test of time and has survived so many attacks on it down the ages. This is because of its flexibility and its ability to change while keeping its basic principles intact. Ramanathan was a senior executive with the Indian Railways and in this book he combines a lifetime of experience in Management with years of study of the Gita and the Sanskrit language. The author has not treated Hinduism as merely a religion but he has considered it as a manysided civilisation with spiritually oriented values at its core. Hinduism has survived but Greek, Roman, Egyptian civilisations are just names in history. There is an inner strength, something that has made it survive and the author has tried to find out what it is. He has presented to the readers the facts and mythology in Hinduism with reasonable explanations and quotations. It took him 16 years to write the book. The author has enlightened the reader on what is shruti and what is smriti, what are the messages of the Upanishads. He has explained that though Puraanas mean ancient and the events in them are earlier than the itihaas (history), it is a fact that Puraanas are later compositions. There are a lot of comparisons included in the book like those with other civilisations of Egypt, Rome and Greece, with China, with Buddhism, Jainism and Islam. It deals about the present challenges and future prospects of the religion and a strategy for suvival has been outlined by the author.