The Hindu View Of Life

Brilliant essays written by the one and only Dr. S. Radhakrishnan a great philosopher, teacher and former Vice President of India. The essays are succinct and simplifies the complex nature of the relationship of the individual soul to the supreme spirit. A must read especially for all Hindus who have the urge but not the patience or the intellect to dig deep into the complex philosophy of Sanatana Dharma -the eternal righteousness.

The aurthur had intersting thoughts, but after llistining to the book, I reallized that I had not learned much about what Hindus believe.

This book is meant for anyone who knows nothing about Hinduism or is highly confused about it. Dr. Radhakrishnan does a great job of summarizing what it means to be a Hindu. In the process he deals with and dispels many mis-conceptions people have about Hinduism. An excellent synthesis of Hinduism by a great philosopher and writer.

In this slim volume, Radhakrishnan provides Westerners access to understanding a culture that may seem mysterious. His insights and perceptions are useful for anyone who is attracted to India and for those who have a curiosity about the ancient and bewildering civilzation.

There are few thinkers able to express themselves so clearly and with such sensitive sophistication that you feel lifted into the heavens by the articulation thereof.

Did not live up to my expectations - confuses nationality with religious affiliation.

A wonderful book, comparatively brief, for the kind of conversations we have in this world.

Around eight years ago I discovered a worn out copy of this book in my grandfather's house. The book was at least 50 years old, with it's pages yellow, back cover missing and most of the pages holed or eaten away by book worms. Normally I would have thrown it out with the rest of the stuff I was cleaning out, but the author's name caught my eye. Although I didn't know much about him then, I knew that Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had been the President of India in the 60's. But what started as idle flipping through the pages turned out to be such an engaging experience that it did not end until I reached the last pages where the pages were too badly damaged to read. Unlike other English books on Hinduism I had browsed through, this one did not deal with the multitude of deities and rituals or any of the other shiny but actually superfluous part of Hinduism. This book is about the thought system which forms the core, but often misunderstood part of Hinduism. Hinduism is an old religion, which has evolved several layers over the thousands of years it has existed in the melting pot of cultures which is India. It is easy to get derailed by it's free wheeling spiritualism or dazzled by one of it's numerous sects and branches. Radhakrishnan was not spiritual leader, he was a scholar and a philosopher, his birthday, September 5, is celebrated as Teachers day in India. His book reflects this, it feels like a teacher bringing out the fundamentals of a subject and equipping the reader with the tools to explore further. When I first read this book I was 21 years old, and a rabid atheist, even now hard core religious dogma leaves me feeling queasy. But this was one of the books which first induced me to build bridges with faith and slowly come to understand and appreciate the Hindu culture.