One Religion Too Many is a Hindu pilgrim's progress through the world's religious traditions. An eminent scholar of comparative religion, Arvind Sharma provides a first-hand account of how he came to be a party to the dialogue of religions—first with his own religion, then with the comparative study of religion, and finally with the religious universalism he has come to espouse because of this heritage. Starting with an account of the Hinduism of his family in Varanasi, India, Sharma then heads west, finding himself dumbfounded by the Christian Eucharist, wondering if there is a "Hinjew Connection," grappling with Zen in Massachusetts, and pressed into service to teach about Islam. Sharma writes with a light touch, but even when his encounters and perceptions are amusing, they are always insightful and thought-provoking. Western readers, in particular, will enjoy seeing their own traditions through the eyes of an Easterner who has come to know them well. Sharma's ultimate perspective on religious universalism is a welcoming vision for the globalizing world of the twenty-first century. Preface Acknowledgment Introduction
PART I
1. Banaras
2. Nainital
3. Fatehpur
4. Delhi
5. The Hindu World
PART II
6. The Hinjew Connection
7. Experiencing Christianity
8. Teaching Islam
9. Discovering Zen
10. Religions of India and China: Caught in the Middle
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One Religion Too Many
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One Religion Too Many
The Religiously Comparative Reflections of a Comparatively Religious Hindu
Arvind Sharma
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data
Sharma, Arvind. 2QH UHOLJLRQ WRR PDQ\ WKH UHOLJLRXVO\ FRPSDUDWLYH UHÁHFWLRQV RI D comparatively religious Hindu / Arvind Sharma. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 9781438432472 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 9781438432489 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Sharma, Arvind. 2. Hindus—Biography. 3. Hinduism—Relations. 4. Religions. I. Title.
BL1175.S4235A35 2010 294.5092—dc22
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
2010004839
Contents
Preface / vii
Acknowledgment / ix
Introduction / 1
P A R T I
Banaras / 7
Nainital / 13
Fatehpur / 21
Delhi / 25
The Hindu World / 37
P A R T I I
The Hinjew Connection / 51
Experiencing Christianity / 63
Teaching Islam / 77
Discovering Zen / 91
Religions of India and China: Caught in the Middle / 99
Rediscovering Mahatma Gandhi / 111
v
i
Contents
P A R T I I I
Montreal and After
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123
World’s Religions After September 11
Conclusion
Notes
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/
149
157
/
133
Preface
I try to tell the story of my engagement with religion within the cov-ers of this book, but to a certain extent, it is an undercover operation. One has to spy on oneself to talk about one’s religion as well as that of others. There are obvious pitfalls in doing so. One could display understanding without information in talking about one’s religion—and information without understanding in talking about that of another. Only the reader can tell whether and to what degree these pitfalls have been avoided. It has been said that little of what a person tells about himself is accurate. But is not what one tells about oneself, in one sense, always true? I did ask myself the following question occasionally as I was writing this memoir: Would I have written this memoir the way I have written it now, five years ago? And would I write it the wayI have written it now, five years from now? Does not memory knit the fabric of recollection differently at different times? But then memory can knit and unknit forever like Penelope—waiting for the truth to arrive.