ABSTRACT
The wide variety of Hindu beliefs and practices makes it difficult to generalize on most aspects of the Hindu way of life. Given the multi - plicity of doctrines and worship rituals, the inseparable inter action of religious and social philosophy, and the continuous accretion of exegetical commentary on all this through several thousand years, it is not surprising that on almost every facet of Hinduism there should be differences of opinion. As soon as one asks, what is Hinduism, one then has to specify which Hinduism and whose Hinduism one is trying to comprehend. There is no doubt that Hindus in general share certain core beliefs and values, such as a belief in the existence of a supreme being independent of time and space, or in rebirth. But whether there is one god or many, whether the supreme being is involved in human life or utterly remote from it, are questions – among innumerable others – that have been fielded with a vast array of answers, many of them subtly argued and equally cogent though contradictory.1
