ABSTRACT
The chapter focuses on Max Weber’s study of Hinduism and Buddhism. It situates Weber’s engagement with India and Indic religions in the context of his comparative essays on the Economic Ethics of World Religions, taking into account Weber’s evolving theory of religious rationalization. Using the format of macrosociological-civilizational analysis, Weber tries to deduce attitudes of social actors by way of a reconstruction of religious worldviews. He sees Indic religions characterized by attitudes of withdrawal from life and the world, or indifference toward the world. The chapter picks up two core points of Weber’s depiction of Hinduism for detailed analysis and critique. The first concerns Weber’s claim that the underprivileged were unable to take a stance toward the world and give it meaning. This is reflected in Weber’s depreciation (against his own opposing insights) of post-Bhagavadgita bhakti – historically prominent forms of participatory devotion and self-transcendence with potentials of religious and social critique. The second concerns the core function Weber ascribes to karman and the way he applies karman to the world attitudes of Indians. Sprinkled into the chapter are discussions of Weber’s depiction of the Indian social order and conceptualizations of caste. The chapter ends with reflections on Weber’s changing epistemic concerns.
