The book should be of interest to all people of Indic heritage, whether they are living in India or beyond India’s shores, as also to those interested in India and her culture.
Prof Arvind Sharma of McGill University writes:
Professor Arvind Sharma
McGill University
I would like to congratulate the author for this delightful read. I had no idea what to expect when I was requested to write this foreword, except a confidence born of our association extending over several years, that it would be something remarkable. It has turned out to be something more than remarkable -it borders on the sensational, as something inspired and inspiring; inspired in the unique approach of the author in weaving the right tapestry of Indian history and culture from the threads of his own lived experience of it, and inspiring in demonstrating that not just Hinduism but India itself is a way of life -a way of life distinguished by a warm and willing embrace of diversity.
This book also possesses the quality of a novel without being one; it is a page-turner. This is all the more remarkable because the book is difficult to categorize as travelogue, or autobiography, or cultural essay, or encyclopedic survey, or a book on Hinduism because it is all of them, sharing specially with the latter its recalcitrance to definition. But its attitude towards Hinduism is like Hinduism’s attitude to the world, which a French Indologist has described as one of “fascination.”
The reader should perhaps be gently warned that the book -charming and anecdotal- is deceptively informal in style while astonishingly rich in content. It carries its learning lightly, even as it teems with epigrams. George Eliot famously mourned the loss of wisdom in knowledge and of knowledge in information. He would have been more optimistic about information leading to knowledge, and knowledge to wisdom, had this book about Indian culture, in its most refined understanding, fallen into his hands.
I recommend this book unreservedly but with a warning to the reader: once you flirt with reading it, you might be tempted to go all the way.
INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK
Jeffery D. LonElizabethtown College
Professor of Religion and Asian Studies
Author of A Vision for Hinduism: Beyond Hindu Nationalism and Jainism
This book is a presentation of various key elements of classical Hindu thought, without chauvinistic enthusiasm or superficial second hand information. It is based on scholarly research and presented from contemporary perspectives. Its distinguishing features are a pan-Indian perspective (Sanskritic as well as Tamil), extensive bibliography, and references to other cultures as well. It is interspersed with personal encounters with the topics as well as some reminiscences
In this rich and wide-ranging intellectual memoir, Dr. V.V. Raman, a highly respected progressive voice within the global Hindu community, gives his readers a firsthand view of the enormous variety and depth of Indian culture. Written in a highly accessible, conversational style, Dr. Raman’s book touches upon topics ranging from the tensions between religion and science, and tradition and modernity, to India’s linguistic diversity, to the wisdom of the ancient Hindu scriptures and the great reformers of contemporary Hinduism, such as Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. Insights leap off of every page, and the reader is treated to a panoramic view of Dr. Raman’s Hindu heritage. This book will provide enjoyable and fruitful reading for Hindus and non-Hindus alike.
Spurts of Thought 