The Hindu Way: An Introduction to Hinduism is the perfect introduction to one of the world’s oldest and greatest religions. Derived from Shashi Tharoor’s bestselling book Why I Am a Hindu and his other discussions and writings on the subject, this is an examination of the fundamentals and complexities of Hinduism—a book that will appeal to both adults as well as young adult readers. Starting with an examination of his own belief in Hinduism, Tharoor 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 and explores various other seminal concepts that underpin the religion. Illustrated throughout, The Hindu Way is a brilliantly original masterwork on the essence of Hinduism. ‘In the twenty-first century, Hinduism has many of the attributes of a universal religion—a religion that is personal and individualistic, privileges the individual and does not subordinate one to a collectivity; a religion that grants and respects complete freedom to the believer to find his or her own answers to the true meaning of life; a religion that offers a wide range of choice in religious practice, even in regard to the nature and form of the formless God; a religion that places great emphasis on one’s mind, and values one’s capacity for reflection, intellectual enquiry, and self-study; a religion that distances itself from dogma and holy writ, that is minimally prescriptive and yet offers an abundance of options, spiritual and philosophical texts and social and cultural practices to choose from. In a world where resistance to authority is growing, Hinduism imposes no authorities; in a world of networked individuals, Hinduism proposes no institutional hierarchies; in a world of open-source information-sharing, Hinduism accepts all paths as equally valid; in a world of rapid transformations and accelerating change, Hinduism is adaptable and flexible, which is why it has survived for nearly 4,000 years.’