Hindu thought has undergone a major reconfiguration in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, in response to its encounter with the forces of modernity. A key element in this reconfiguration is the perception of Hinduism itself as a universal religion; or, as a catalyst promoting the emergence of a universal religion, or, at the very least, as promoting religious universalism. This book examines the views of several major Hindu thinkers of this period, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi prominent among them, on this potent theme of modern Hinduism.

Autorentext

ARVIND SHARMA was born in India, where he served as a civil servant, before moving to the United States to pursue higher studies, first in Economics and then in Religion. Subsequently he taught in Australia for ten years. In 1987 he moved to McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he is presently the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion.

Inhalt

Universal Religion: What does it Mean? Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Rammohun Roy (1772/4-1833) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Keshub Chunder Sen (1838-1884) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Ramakrsna Paramahamsa (1836-1886) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Svami Dayananda Sarasvati (1824-1883) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Mahatma Gandhi (1868-1948) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) Universal Religion in the Life and Thought of S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) Universal Religion in Modern Hindu Thought: Some Conclusions Index