A Liberal Faith
India Today|January 29, 2018

Exclusive excerpts from the author-MP’s new book, Why I Am a Hindu, on the need to reclaim an ancestral—and chosen—religion.

Shashi Tharoor
A Liberal Faith

I GREW UP IN A HINDU HOUSE- HOLD. Our home always had a prayer room, where paintings and portraits of assorted divinities jostled for shelf and wall space with fading photographs of departed ancestors, all stained by ash scattered from the incense burned daily by my devout parents. I have written before of how my earliest experiences of piety came from watching my father at prayer. Every morning, after his bath, my father would stand in front of the prayer room wrapped in his towel, his wet hair still uncombed, and chant his Sanskrit mantras. But he never obliged me to join him; he exemplified the Hindu idea that religion is an intensely personal matter, that prayer is between you and whatever image of your Maker you choose to worship. In the Hindu way, I was to find my own truth.

I think I have. I am a believer, despite a brief period of schoolboy atheism (of the kind that comes with the discovery of rationality and goes with an acknowledgement of its limitations). And I am happy to describe myself as a believing Hindu: not just because it is the faith into which I was born, but for a string of other reasons, though faith requires no reason.

Denne historien er fra January 29, 2018-utgaven av India Today.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 29, 2018-utgaven av India Today.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA INDIA TODAYSe alt
Killer Stress
India Today

Killer Stress

Unhealthy work practices in Indian companies are taking a toll on employees, triggering health issues and sometimes even death

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 25, 2024
Shuttle Star
India Today

Shuttle Star

Ashwini Ponnappa was the only Indian to compete in the inaugural edition of BDMNTN-XL, a new international badminton tourney with a new format, held in Indonesia

time-read
1 min  |
November 25, 2024
There's No Planet B
India Today

There's No Planet B

All Living Things-Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) returns with 72 films to be screened across multiple locations from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8

time-read
2 mins  |
November 25, 2024
AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED
India Today

AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED

THE MAHINDRA INDEPENDENCE ROCK FESTIVAL PROMISES AN INTERESTING LINE-UP OF OLD AND NEW ACTS, CEMENTING ITS REPUTATION AS THE 'WOODSTOCK OF INDIA'

time-read
2 mins  |
November 25, 2024
A Musical Marriage
India Today

A Musical Marriage

Faezeh Jalali has returned to the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Runaway Brides, a hilarious musical about Indian weddings

time-read
2 mins  |
November 25, 2024
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
India Today

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

Nikhil Advani’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight details our tumultuous transition to an independent nation

time-read
2 mins  |
November 25, 2024
Family Saga
India Today

Family Saga

RAMONA SEN's The Lady on the Horse doesn't lose its pace while narrating the story of five generations of a family in Calcutta

time-read
2 mins  |
November 25, 2024
THE ETERNAL MOTHER
India Today

THE ETERNAL MOTHER

Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India

time-read
2 mins  |
November 25, 2024
TURNING A NEW LEAF
India Today

TURNING A NEW LEAF

Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.

time-read
1 min  |
November 25, 2024
INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART
India Today

INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART

Ramachandra Guha's new book-Speaking with Nature-is a chronicle of homegrown environmentalism that speaks to the world

time-read
3 mins  |
November 25, 2024