Vineet Agarwal’s new book titled Hinduism Beyond Ritualism delves into interesting concepts about Hinduism by drawing from the ancient texts and the Upanishads, and explaining them succinctly. This is Agarwal’s third book.
Previously, Ghaziabad-born author wrote Romance of a Naxalite and On the Eve of Kalyug. While Romance...is based on his experiences in Gadchiroli, where he fought Naxalism as Superintendent of Police, On the Eve... is a poetry-drama a thorough research on the Mahabharata, bringing to the fore an altogether different perspective of the great epic.
“Hinduism is not a religion, rather a term used to describe the belief system prevalent in the Indian subcontinent at a time when there was no concept of a formal religion,” explains Agarwal, adding, “The book, in a way, is an effort towards helping the Hindu as well as non-Hindu readers get an idea about the true meaning of the Upanishads.” In the book, he quotes from various religious scriptures.
“An attempt has been made to clear various concepts such as implications of our actions, after-life and reincarnation, among others, There are, however, no exaggerations of any sort and there is no attempt to build logic to influence the reader in any way,” says the engineer-by-training from the prestigious IIT-Delhi with a post-graduate degree in Management.
This 253-page book has been carefully divided into 30 chapters. Interestingly, there is also an effort in the book to establish a certain relationship with the reader at the end of each chapter. We come across many multiplechoice questions on the diverse concepts, which may impact life. The few of the chapters listed include topics such as Charak School, Ish Upanishad, Kena Upanishad, Brahma Sutra, Chakras and Kundalini, Ayurveda, and The Hindu Way of Life, to name a few.