ABSTRACT
The goal of this volume has been to open up and complicate the rich world of modern Hinduism. The authors gathered here have invited readers to engage intensively with the rich, aesthetic, emotional, historical, theological, and social traditions we associate with Hinduism as these were reshaped and remobilized for a range of concerns during the colonial and postcolonial eras. It is our hope that through an encounter with the richness and diversity of Hinduism in the modern world, readers might be inspired to go still further. This might entail visiting a Hindu temple in their community, reading the writings of Rammohan Roy or the lectures of Swami Vivekananda, exploring the rich world of Hindu iconography, or taking up the practice of yoga or meditation. On the other hand, we also hope readers will continue to ask hard questions about the forces that have shaped and continue to shape the expression of Hinduism in the modern world. Whether we think in terms of contemporary South Asia, home to the majority of the world’s Hindu population, or in terms of those communities of Hindus who are today actively reshaping religious, social and political life in disparate locales around the world, our goal should be to ask how Hindu values, customs, and practices both impinge upon and respond to the dynamics of today’s world. One goal of Hinduism in the Modern World is to provide a starting place for carrying forward such exploration. Using the bibliographies and other study guides in this book, readers are equipped to reflect upon a range of issues that have both historical and contemporary salience, not least concerns over the global economy and environmental degradation, the articulation of Hindu majoritarian politics, or on-going attempts to press for issues of gender equality or social justice.
