Introduction
You live in a time when ancient religious traditions face violent political co-optation. You might feel confused by the stark contrast between the peaceful, pluralistic philosophy of Hinduism and the aggressive majoritarian rhetoric dominating public life today.
Shashi Tharoor resolves this tension by exploring his personal faith alongside the broader philosophical traditions of Sanatana Dharma. You will discover how Hinduism operates as an inclusive, non-doctrinal way of life rather than a monolithic dogmatic religion.
The book traces this journey through foundational beliefs, historical reforms, and modern political threats. You will find answers to several pressing questions as you read:
- How does Hinduism define itself without a single founder or holy book?
- What role do caste discrimination and fatalism play in historical and modern practice?
- How did spiritual reformers renew the faith across the centuries?
- In what ways does political Hindutva distort ancient traditions?
- How can you reclaim a pluralistic and tolerant Hindu identity today?
1. My Hinduism and the Hindu Way
Hinduism is uniquely defined by its lack of a single founder, organized church, holy book, or obligatory dogma. Unlike Christianity, Islam, or Judaism, which rely on rigid creeds and single books of revelation, Hinduism is an eclectic conglomeration of doctrines ranging from pantheism to agnosticism. It has no concept of heresy, and even belief in God is not a prerequisite for being a Hindu.
Hinduism is uniquely defined by a lack of a single founder, holy book, or obligatory dogma, offering universal acceptance rather than mere tolerance.
The ancient materialist Charvaka School openly denounced religious ceremonies, holy men, and the existence of a soul or heaven, yet remains safely embedded within the Hindu philosophical framework. You will find that Sanatana Dharma embraces astika beliefs alongside nastika positions without demanding rigid conformity.
Lack of Dogma and Universal Acceptance
Hinduism teaches universal acceptance rather than mere tolerance, recognizing all sincere paths to the divine as equally valid. Tolerance implies that you possess the exclusive truth while generously allowing others the right to be wrong. Acceptance acknowledges that other individuals may also hold their own valid truths.
At the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda cited the Shiva Mahimna Stotram to explain that all diverse spiritual paths ultimately lead to the same divine source. On 11 September 1893, his historic speech established this principle on the global stage.
Ancient Hindu texts combine profound wonder at creation with deep philosophical skepticism about omnipotence. The 3,500-year-old Rig Veda concludes its famous creation hymn by wondering about the origin of the cosmos and suggesting that perhaps even the Creator Himself does not know.
The Banyan Tree of Hinduism
Hinduism grows like a banyan tree with multiple roots and branches, encompassing a massive variety of regional festivals, pilgrimages, and dietary practices without rigid uniformity. Due to its decentralized and inclusive nature, Hinduism accommodates vast dietary contradictions, ranging from strict vegetarianism to ritual meat and alcohol consumption, and sustains countless localized festivals and temple traditions.
The author's family undertook a three-week car journey across southern India, visiting major temples such as Tirupati, Madurai, and Rameswaram, each showcasing entirely different architectural styles, rituals, and offerings. The Meenakshi temple in Madurai boasts 33,000 sculptures, while the Allahabad Kumbh Mela attracts approximately 20 million people.
Hinduism possesses no single holy book comparable to the Bible or Quran, but rather a vast, evolving corpus of texts divided into specific categories. The scriptural tradition encompasses Sruti, Smritis, Itihasas, Puranas, Agamas, and Darshanas. The Rig Veda contains 10,552 mantras in verse, while Tamil Nadu's Thirukkural features 1,330 couplets.
2. Questioning Hindu Customs and Fatalism
Caste and Colonial Codification
The rigid and iniquitous caste system as understood today was largely codified and intensified by British colonial rulers rather than originating entirely from ancient Hindu texts.
Early sacred texts like the Rig Veda did not mention caste. A later verse in the Purusha Sukta introduced a hierarchical division, but pre-colonial India featured a much more fluid social mobility and fuzziness of jatis. British rulers attempted to classify and force-fit roughly 3000 jatis into four varnas to better control the population.
Major historical and spiritual movements against caste discrimination have consistently arisen from within Hinduism itself. Reformers and saints like Basava, Sree Narayana Guru, and the Dalit saint Chokhamela challenged caste barriers while remaining deeply devoted to Hindu deities. Upanishadic unity of being and Adi Shankara's Advaita wisdom inherently argue against caste discrimination by establishing the equality of all souls.
Sree Narayana Guru was forbidden to worship at a traditional Shiva temple. He entered a river, unearthed a lingam, and consecrated it himself to create his own place of worship.
India maintains the world's oldest and farthest-reaching affirmative action programme through constitutional reservations. The Indian Constitution guarantees outcomes and quotas for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in educational institutions, government jobs, and legislative assemblies. Later expansions like the OBC category following the Mandal Commission extended similar benefits to lower middle tiers of the social hierarchy.
Empirical survey data reveals that the practice of untouchability persists across various religious communities in India. A recent survey established that 27 per cent of Indians overall still practice caste Untouchability. This total includes:
- 30 per cent of Hindus;
- 23 per cent of Sikhs;
- 18 per cent of Muslims;
- 5 per cent of Christians.
Karma, Fatalism, and Moral Virtues
Concepts of karma, reincarnation, and fatalism are frequently misunderstood by outsiders as passive resignation, whereas they actually represent an active cosmological framework for soul evolution.
Outsiders often mistake karma for fatalism. The Bhagavad Gita emphasizes free will and partnership with an indwelling God. Reincarnation and karma explain suffering and inequality not as divine caprice, but as the accumulated results of past actions across lifetimes.
The Hindu tradition of following spiritual gurus for self-realization has coexisted with a commercialized god market. In Advaita tradition, a guru is a respected guide and dispenser of darkness who facilitates spiritual rebirth. Flamboyant godmen exploit societal vulnerability where marginalized populations turn to religious sects for basic dignity, security, and social welfare.
Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan ran the Dera Sacha Sauda movement and amassed millions of followers by providing free education, food, and purpose before being convicted of rape and murder. The legal case required 200 sittings over 15 years before the court convicted him.
To lead a proper life and fulfill dharma, you must actively overcome specific personal vices. Hindu ethics outline six principal obstacles to dharma. You must counter these failings by cultivating seven essential virtues established since the time of Adi Shankara:
- reject the six obstacles to dharma: kama, lobha, krodha, mada, matsarya, and moha;
- practice the seven essential virtues: ahimsa, satyam, shivam, sundaram, vairagyam, pavitram, and swabhavam.
3. Great Souls of Hinduism
Historical reformers, philosophers, and spiritual leaders from Adi Shankara to Mahatma Gandhi continuously renewed Hinduism through Advaita philosophy, the Bhakti movement, and universal synthesis.
Advaita Vedanta and Historical Resilience
Advaita Vedanta posits that the individual soul and the cosmic spirit are ultimately identical, providing a philosophical foundation for human equality. Established by Adi Shankara in the eighth century, Advaita Vedanta asserts that Brahman is the sole reality and that atman is identical to it. Because all living beings share this underlying Oneness, any discrimination based on caste or parentage is considered an error stemming from a lack of knowledge.
Adi Shankara authored 'Atma Shatakam' affirming his identity as Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss Absolute beyond the mind, body, and senses.
Starting his travels at age eight and dying at thirty-two, Shankara founded five major mutths and the order of Dasanami Sannyasis. He combined scriptural knowledge, reason, and experiential knowledge, while integrating practices to absorb Buddhism into the parent faith. Shankara established mutths in Badrinath, Puri, Dwarka, Sringeri, and Kanchipuram that have remained in continuous use.
Hinduism survived centuries of destructive invasions and political dominance through decentralization, doctrinal flexibility, and community renewal. Faced with temple destructions and religious zeal from invaders like Mahmud of Ghazni, Hinduism responded through renewal rather than collapse. Its lack of a centralized structure, combined with localized transmission of knowledge and the rise of popular worship, made it resilient.
Mahmud of Ghazni attacked India seventeen times between 1000 CE and 1027 CE, targeting the fabled wealth of temples such as Somnath.
Modern Synthesis and Reformers
The Bhakti movement democratized Hinduism by bringing complex philosophy to the masses through vernacular song, devotion, and social inclusivity. Originating in the south and spreading northward, poet-sants used vernacular languages and musical devotion to express direct emotional love for a personal god. This movement bypassed caste barriers, allowing marginalized groups and women to access spiritual fulfillment.
Mirabai drank a cup of poison sent by her disapproving husband, which miraculously turned into honey as she danced in ecstasy for Lord Krishna.
Basavanna founded the Lingayat sect by strictly rejecting caste hierarchy, ritualism, and temple worship in favor of direct spiritual equality. Basavanna discarded his sacred thread at age eighteen and established a Hall of Experience where people of all castes could discuss radical ideas freely, challenging the traditional Brahminical establishment. Basava dismissed caste distinctions with the rhetorical question of whether anybody in the world was delivered through the ear.
Raja Rammohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj to promote a rational, monotheistic, and modern Hinduism aligned with ethical social reform. In direct response to British rule and internal superstitions, Roy championed a formless God based on the Upanishads while campaigning fiercely against social evils such as caste discrimination, polygamy, child marriage, and sati. In 1817, Roy collaborated with David Hare to set up the Hindu College at Calcutta to advance modern education.
Swami Dayanand Saraswati established the Arya Samaj to advocate for Vedic infallibility, monotheism, and the rejection of idol worship. Dayanand called on Hindus to abandon Puranic accretions and polytheism, creating gurukuls for traditional education and introducing a formal conversion ritual called shuddhi for welcoming non-Hindus into the faith. The Arya Samaj created the shuddhi conversion ritual, which was inspired by Christian baptism practices.
Swami Vivekananda presented Hinduism as a universal, scientific philosophy at the World's Parliament of Religions, emphasizing the potential divinity of every soul. A disciple of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda integrated the four yogas and argued that Advaita Vedanta aligns with modern scientific thought. He merged spiritual realization with social service by founding the Ramakrishna Mission. At the 1893 Chicago convention, Vivekananda electrified his audience by addressing them as sisters and brothers of America.
To harness this inward potential, you must follow specific disciplines:
- take up one idea and make that one idea your life by thinking of it, dreaming of it, and living on it;
- leave every other idea alone to achieve success.
Mahatma Gandhi anchored his nationalist strategy and practice of non-violence in an inclusive, Advaitic interpretation of Hinduism. Gandhi viewed Truth as God and utilized the Vaishnava and Advaitic vocabulary of satya and ahimsa to fight for political freedom while promoting religious syncretism and respect for all faiths. Gandhi actively promoted religious synthesis by chanting devotional hymns from multiple faiths at his daily prayer meetings.
4. Hinduism and the Politics of Hindutva
Hindutva transforms an inward spiritual tradition into an aggressive majoritarian political ideology that fundamentally travesties the pluralistic nature of authentic Hinduism.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar coined the term Hindutva to define the quality of being a Hindu in ethnic, cultural, and political terms rather than purely religious ones. Savarkar laid out these concepts in his 1923 book Essentials Of Hindutva, republished in 1928 as Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu?
Savarkar argued that a Hindu is anyone who regards India as their motherland, the land of their ancestors, and their holy land. Consequently, this definition included religions born in India like Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, but excluded Islam and Christianity because their holy lands lie outside India.
The Architects of Hindutva
M. S. Golwalkar rejected territorial nationalism in favor of cultural and racial nationalism, asserting that minorities must subordinate themselves to the Hindu nation. Golwalkar expressed his views in his 1939 screed We, or Our Nationhood Defined and the anthology Bunch of Thoughts.
As head of the RSS for three decades, Golwalkar argued that a territory does not constitute a nation, but rather a people do—specifically Hindus. He famously cited Nazi Germany's purging of Semitic races as an example of keeping race and culture pure, and asserted that non-Hindus must either adopt Hindu culture or live entirely subordinated without citizen rights.
Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya formulated the philosophy of Integral Humanism as a synthesis of the material and spiritual dimensions of human life based on ancient Bharatiya culture. Upadhyaya expounded his theory in four lectures in Bombay, which were adopted as the official doctrine of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Upadhyaya rejected both Western capitalism and communism for focusing solely on material desires through conflict. Instead, he proposed Integral Humanism, which balances the four Purusharthas to achieve simultaneous development of the body, mind, intellect, and soul.
The BJP Electoral Rise and A Travesty of Hinduism
After failing with moderate political messaging, the BJP shifted to an explicitly Hindu nationalist agenda centered around Hindutva and the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign. The BJP adopted Hindutva as its official ideology at Palampur in 1989.
L. K. Advani rode across the Hindi heartland in a converted truck decorated like an ancient Hindu warrior's chariot, leading to the destruction of the 470-year-old Babri Masjid. By capitalizing on Hindu sentiments through campaigns like this chariot procession to Ayodhya, the party mobilized crowds that ultimately resulted in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992 and propelled the party to national power.
A 1995 Supreme Court bench declared Hindutva to be a way of life and not a religion, providing the legal foundation for its constitutional acceptability. The Supreme Court declined a petition to reconsider its 1995 judgment on January 2, 2017.
Led by Chief Justice J. S. Verma, the court ruled that using the words Hindutva or Hinduism does not inherently depict an attitude hostile to other religions, but can describe Indian culture or ethos. The BJP subsequently incorporated this ruling into its election manifestos.
The author argues that reducing Hinduism to the political and sectarian framework of Hindutva is a fundamental travesty of its true, pluralistic nature. The author contrasts his personal pride in the lofty metaphysical aspirations of Vedanta with the football-team style allegiance demanded by Hindutva votaries.
While authentic Hinduism is an inward-directed, highly diverse path emphasizing self-realization and the acceptance of difference, Hindutva is an outward-directed, twentieth-century political ideology aimed at creating majoritarian polarization. The author insists his own all-embracing Indian nationalism is entirely distinct from Hindu nationalism.
5. Beyond Holy Cows and Taking Back Hinduism
Indian secularism preserves syncretism and diversity, but modern cow vigilantism and cultural policing threaten the country's pluralistic soul, requiring citizens to reclaim authentic Hinduism.
Indian secularism differs from Western models by refusing to separate religion from the state. The state maintains equal state indulgence toward all religious groups without favoring any. The underlying principle is pluralist tolerance rooted in an overwhelmingly Hindu-majority society that naturally coexists with other faiths. In Calcutta, communist parties compete to build the most lavish Durga Puja displays, reflecting how deep religious culture runs even among secular or atheist groups.
India has a deep-rooted history of syncretism where different religious communities shared cultural practices, shrines, and traditions without strict self-definition based on religion. At Sabarimala in Kerala, pilgrims first encounter the shrine of Vavar Swami, a Muslim warrior disciple managed by Muslim divines, complete with a symbolic stone slab and green cloth. Pre-colonial Indian history features Hindu rulers employing Muslim soldiers and Mughal emperors patronizing the translation of Hindu epics into Persian.
Hindutva ideologues have promoted uncritical and fantasy-laden pseudoscientific claims about ancient Indian achievements, discrediting actual historical advancements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed at a Mumbai hospital inauguration that the elephant-headed god Ganesh proved ancient India's knowledge of plastic surgery. Political pressure and ideological true believers have introduced claims about ancient genetic science and jet aircraft into academic and scientific forums, overshadowing real historical pioneers like Aryabhata and Susruta.
The rise of Hindu chauvinism under the current political dispensation has fueled violent cow vigilantism, disproportionately targeting Muslims and Dalits. Self-appointed cow protection groups have taken the law into their own hands, resulting in numerous assaults and lynchings under the guise of protecting the cow. Dairy farmer Pehlu Khan was beaten to death in 2017 while transporting cattle with a valid license, while his attackers filmed his pleas for mercy. Official records show 70 cases of cow-related violence reported in eight years, with 97 per cent of these cases occurring during three years of BJP rule. This violence left 136 people injured and 28 killed, with 86 per cent of victims being Muslim.
A Religion for the Twenty-First Century
Hinduism is uniquely suited for the modern world because it is a flexible, non-doctrinal faith without a single holy book, central hierarchy, or concept of heresy.
Unlike faiths demanding rigid conformity, Hinduism treats all paths to the divine as equally valid, operates like an open-source system, and values individual intellectual enquiry and doubt. US President Barack Obama visited New Delhi in 2015 and 2017 to caution India against sectarian division, pointing out that India's successful Muslim population is an asset that should be nourished. The aggressive political movement of Hindutva is driven by a deep-seated inferiority complex and victimhood narrative rather than authentic civilisational confidence. Proponents rely on memories of past conquests and humiliation to mobilize followers into a majoritarian crusade that mimics the Semitic religions they claim to oppose.
Hinduism provides a shared cultural matrix and secular festivals that unite Indians across religious lines rather than dividing them. Mythological epics, cultural traditions, and festivals transcend religious origins to serve as a common civilisational heritage for all citizens. Christian tennis-playing brothers Anand, Vijay, and Ashok Amritraj bore Hindu names and kissed crosses on court. The famous Muslim singer Yesudas sang iconic Malayalam devotional songs played at the Guruvayur temple.
Indian nationalism cannot be equated with majoritarian religious identity without destroying the pluralistic foundation upon which the country was built. India's democracy depends entirely on the management of diversity, and reducing citizenship to religious affiliation amounts to a destructive second partition of the national soul. Dr Karan Singh outlined 5 major principles of Hindu philosophy, emphasizing the Rig Vedic phrase that the world is one family. You must recognize that reclaiming authentic Hinduism from sectarian ideologues is essential to preserving India's pluralistic democracy.
10 Key Ideas
- Hinduism is uniquely defined by its lack of a single founder, organized church, holy book, or obligatory dogma.
- Hinduism teaches universal acceptance rather than mere tolerance, recognizing all sincere paths to the divine as equally valid.
- Hinduism grows like a banyan tree with multiple roots and branches, encompassing a massive variety of regional festivals, dietary practices, and traditions without rigid uniformity.
- Major historical and spiritual movements against caste discrimination have consistently arisen from within Hinduism itself through reformers and texts that establish the equality of all souls.
- Advaita Vedanta posits that the individual soul and the cosmic spirit are ultimately identical, providing a philosophical foundation for human equality.
- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar coined the term Hindutva to define the quality of being a Hindu in ethnic, cultural, and political terms rather than purely religious ones.
- Reducing Hinduism to the political and sectarian framework of Hindutva is a fundamental travesty of its true, pluralistic nature.
- India has a deep-rooted history of syncretism where different religious communities shared cultural practices, shrines, and traditions without strict self-definition based on religion.
- The rise of Hindu chauvinism has fueled violent cow vigilantism, disproportionately targeting vulnerable communities under the guise of protecting the cow.
- India's democracy depends entirely on the management of diversity, and citizens must reclaim authentic Hinduism from sectarian ideologues to preserve the country's pluralistic democracy.