Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

David R. Kinsley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0133957322 | ISBN-13: 978-0133957327 | Edition: 2

The reference provides an overview of the Hindu religious tradition and describes the essence of the Hindu vision of reality. Provides a historical and analytical discussion of Hindu mythology, art, rituals, and social structure; gives extended portraits of important Hindu thinkers and saints; offers a fuller picture of the role of women in the Hindu religious tradition; shows how the concepts of Dharama and Moksha conflict with one another and how the Hindu tradition insists upon both concepts as essential in fulfilling human destiny. A valuable reference for courses in Asian Religion, Theology, and Asian Philosophy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An overview of the Hindu religious tradition and a description of the essence of the Hindu vision of reality.

From the Back Cover

The reference provides an overview of the Hindu religious tradition and describes the essence of the Hindu vision of reality. Provides a historical and analytical discussion of Hindu mythology, art, rituals, and social structure; gives extended portraits of important Hindu thinkers and saints; offers a fuller picture of the role of women in the Hindu religious tradition; shows how the concepts of Dharama and Moksha conflict with one another and how the Hindu tradition insists upon both concepts as essential in fulfilling human destiny. A valuable reference for courses in Asian Religion, Theology, and Asian Philosophy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (February 27, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0133957322
• ISBN-13: 978-0133957327
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #339,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise and comprehensible, June 27, 2004

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective (Prentice-Hall Series in World Religions) (Paperback)

This book is a concise introduction to Hinduism for Westerners. It covers the early history and development of the religion, Hindu sects, Hinduism and the arts, central beliefs, worship practices, social structure, and symbolism. The book is illustrated with high quality black-and-white photos. It includes a glossary, a bibliography of further readings organized by topic, and an index.

I searched for a comprehensible introduction to Hinduism without success until I stumbled across this book. I've read everything I could find on Hinduism from Huston Smith to Klaus Klostermaier and was still left scratching my head, wondering what the central tenets in the Hindu religion are. I found Klostermaier informative in some aspects, but his description tends to be so detailed and technical that I lost the forest through the trees. In contrast, Kinsley is quite succinct and writes on a level that interested Western general readers can easily understand. He covers the central tension in the religion, the struggle to choose between serving one's earthly duties and seeking personal release from the cycle of rebirth, as well as the main religious texts exceptionally well. He also describes many facets of the cultural connections to the religion quite well- -I found his observations on the importance of ornamentation and idealism in the arts to be especially illuminating. Not only does it help make sense of Hindu graphic arts, but it has also helped me make more sense of the focus on ornamentation in Indian classical music. Kinsley doesn't explain the Hindu Gods as clearly as some of the other topics that he discusses, and I find that I am still a little hazy on who's who in the pantheon, and how they are related to each other. But over all, despite its brevity, this book has given me a much firmer grasp of Hinduism than any other books I have read to date on the topic.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to Hinduism, May 15, 2000

By 

Jim Webb (Richmond, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent, brief introduction to Hinduism. It centers on the often conflicting demands of dharma (duty) and moksha (release) and various Hindu reconcilliations of these two ideals. In doing so it contains many brief stories from various Hindu texts, especially the Mahabharata. It also contains chapters on Hindu social structure, women and Hinduism, and Hindu temple architecture and its relation to worship.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Information . . . Poor Writing, September 19, 2011

By 

John B. Peil (SAN ANTONIO, TX, US) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective is filled with EXTREMELY helpful and insightful information on Hinduism; however, the writing style and source citations are more akin to a freshman english research paper. It is wonderful to discover the why and the wherefore of Hinduism, but it is disconcerting to see a lack of "apparent" scholarship.

But I say "apparent" because this book has a respectable bibliography and makes a concerted effort not to pass judgement, but rather to impart information. If you can swallow the bad writing, then this book will provide you with exactly what the title promises.