Arise Arjuna : Hinduism and the Modern World

Contents: Preface. I. Social issues: 1. Arise Arjuna. 2. Hinduism in crisis. 3. Misrepresentation of Hinduism in the press. 4. Hindu fundamentalism: what is it? 5. Leftist scholarship in India. 6. India and the concept of nation-state. 7. Religious persecution in Pakistan. 8. Taking offense at one's religion being criticized. II. Religious issues: 1. Vedanta, unity and universality. 2. Practical Vedanta, the real message of Vivekananda. 3. The unity of religion and the unity of truth. 4. The unity of religion and religious tolerance. 5. Swami Rama Tirtha on Islam. 6. A comment of Ram Swarup's Hindu view of Christianity and Islam. 7. Yogic spirituality and Islam. III. Historical issues: 1. India and Hinduism in the Mahabharata. 2. The Aryan invasion of India questioned in western textbooks. 3. The Aryan-Dravidian divide. 4. The unity of the Vedic and Shaivite religions. 5. The ancestry of Ravana. IV. Cultural issues: 1. East and west: where is the boundary? 2. The value of Hindu culture for the world. 3. An American discovers the Vedas. Index.

From the preface: "Over the last few years, I have written a number of articles and essays on current issues in Hinduism. These reflect the social, intellectual and historical issues that are important in Hinduism today. Based upon the suggestions of Hindu friends, I decided to include a number of these articles in one volume so that they can reach a larger audience.

"The topics chosen are among the most difficult and controversial, which therefore many people may not want to examine so as not to offend anyone. However, unless we examine these topics I don't think we can arrive at truth, particularly in this time of world crisis which requires that we examine everything."