Why I Am A Hindu, Hardcover Book, By: Shashi Tharoor

In Why I Am a Hindu, one of India's finest public intellectuals gives us a profound book about one of the world's oldest and greatest religions. Starting with a close examination of his own belief in Hinduism, he ranges far and wide in his study of the faith. He talks about the Great Souls of Hinduism, Adi Shankara, Patanjali, Ramanuja, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and many others who made major contributions to the essence of Hinduism. He delves deep into Hinduism's most important schools of thought (such as the Advaita Vedanta). He explains, in easily accessible language, important aspects and concepts of Hindu philosophy like the Purusharthas and Bhakti masterfully summarizes the lessons of the Gita and Vivekananda's ecumenism and explores with sympathy the 'Hinduism of habit' practiced by ordinary believers. He looks at the myriad manifestations of political Hinduism in the modern era, including violence committed in the name of the faith by right-wing organizations and their adherents. He analyzes Hindutva, explains its rise, and dwells at length on the philosophy of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, its most significant ideologue. He is unsparing in his criticism of extremist bhakt's, and unequivocal in his belief that everything that makes India a great and distinctive culture and the country will be imperiled if religious 'fundamentalists' are allowed to take the upper hand. However, he also makes the point that it is precise because Hindus form the majority that India has survived as a plural, secular democracy. A book that will be read and debated now and in the future, Why I Am a Hindu is a revelatory and original masterwork. About the Author: Shashi Tharoor reinvents India with a dazzling marriage of Hindu myth and modern history. Shashi Tharoor is the prize-winning author of ten books, both fiction and non-fiction, and a widely published critic, commentator, and columnist (including for The Hindu, Times of India, and Newsweek). In 2007 he concluded a nearly twenty-nine-year career with the United Nations, including working for refugees in South-East Asia at the peak of the boat people crisis, handling peace-keeping operations in the former Yugoslavia, and culminating as the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. In 2006 he was India's candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General and emerged a strong second out of seven contenders. Dr. Tharoor earned his Ph.D. at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at the age of twenty-two and was named by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1998 as a Global Leader of Tomorrow. He was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, India's highest honor for overseas Indians.