"Flip side? No way! When you browse through Narayan's brilliant account of what he considers the non religious symbolism of Hindu religious practices, you end up admiring the practices all the more. He takes you expertly through the steps in the evolution of this vibrant way of life, telling you here how its own adherents and rebels modified it, and there how non-Hindu cultural threads too found themselves woven into its texture, without affecting its basic qualities. The impression gained is of a religion whose hoary past included its future and whose distant future will have to include its past. The philosophical enquiry of the Upanishadic era, the emotional interplay of the Bhakti cult with the telling of puranic stories, and the renewal of interest in the historic content of the religion in the minds of modern world citizens born into it seem to form a continuous web. You marvel at ancient minds which could build Darwinian evolution concepts into divine descent on earth.

You wonder at the ease with which good ideas from outside the religion too quickly got absorbed into the Hindu mosaic and became indistinguishable from the mosaic. You enjoy the retention of Hindu practices in Indian families converted to other religions, with no offence meant to either side. And Narayan conducts the entire tour through symbolisms, which speak more eloquently than religious texts can do. His work is definitely not religious. But then, Hinduism itself is just sanathana dharma, an ancient way of life flowing perennially but allowing dynamic inputs into it all the time.

A must read for every modern student of Hinduism."

Dr.P.Desikan, Bangalore, Retired Scientist

As its title implies, Mr. Narayan's book "Flipside of Hindu Symbolism - Sociological and scientific linkages in Hinduism " is different from most other books on Hinduism in many ways. It reads as if it is targeted to reach out to the rationally inclined but emotionally proud Hindus that have enthusiastically participated in many of the rituals and festivals of Hinduism as a matter of routine as children without paying much attention to their underlying symbolism and are anxious to fill in the gaps as rational adults. As such, it does not attempt to give support to the supernatural side of Hinduism's rituals and spiritual systems nor to the miracles and psychic powers often attributed to Hindu spiritual masters as most other books by Hindus do. On the other hand, it does not discredit Hindu rituals and the worship of idols of gods and goddesses as mere pagan practices that must be abandoned in favor of the monotheistic religions like Islam, Christianity or Sikhism as most books by non-Hindus do.

Recognizing that Hindu rituals involve oblations to deities such as Agni, Varuna and Surya even today while godheads like Zeus, Apollo and Demeter have been rejected in Western worship, the author takes us on a fascinating tour of the numerous types of gods, goddesses, pujas, festivals, initiation ceremonies like Upanayanam, wedding ceremonies and funeral rites of Hinduism tracing back their evolution from the time of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Puranas. As he does this, he also draws our attention to the numerous similarities between Western and Hindu mythological stories and attempts to connect their evolution to the evolution of the human mind itself over the millennia in various parts of the world. Interspersed throughout the book are also his own interpretations of the symbolism behind Hinduism's day to day rituals and festivals at home and in our temples that give the discerning rationalist abundant amounts of food for thought.

As he writes, the author also recognizes the linkage of many of aspects of Hindu symbolism to modern science but stays away from offering any explanation as to how the knowledge implied in them might have originated. To give just one example, he suggests that "the number six attributed to Shanmuga's form could be symbolic to the idea that energy can exist in six known forms in the universe. Each of these six forms of energy is found in two distinct states, the potential state (Ichcha Shakti) and the dynamic state (Kriya Shakti). The twelve hands (6x2) of Shanmuga could be symbolic of these states related to his power of action."

If you are a Hindu, you will enjoy reading this book and learning a lot more about your own tradition from a scholarly point of view. If you are a non-Hindu, you will learn why a Hindu does not feel compelled to abandon his own religion and embrace any other religion however unique it may be to you. For these reasons, it is a step in the right direction for all rational human beings to learn to live with unity in diversity in spite of the tremendous differences in our religious heritages.

Paul Utukuru,
Retired Medical physicist who lives in Columbus, NJ 08022

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