Introduction 1
Part 1: Introducing Hinduism 5
Chapter 1: Overviewing Hinduism 7
Chapter 2: From Past to Present: A Condensed History of Hinduism 19
Chapter 3: Exploring the Core Beliefs and Values. 37
Chapter 4: Reviewing Major Hindu Denominations 51
Chapter 5: Exploring Hindu Society Structure 67
Part 2: The Hindu Pantheon and Its Religious Leaders 83
Chapter 6: Pantheism to Polytheism: From the One to the Very Many 85
Chapter 7: Identifying Hindu Gods and Goddesses 95
Chapter 8: The Avatars of Vishnu: The Divine Descent 119
Chapter 9: Revering the Role of Religious Leadership 133
Part 3: Studying the Sacred Texts 151
Chapter 10: The Vedas: Centuries of Accumulated Treasures 153
Chapter 11: Gaining Higher Knowledge with the Upanishads 167
Chapter 12: Living with the Epics and Puranas 183
Chapter 13: The Song of the Lord: The Bhagavad Gita 209
Part 4: Practicing Hinduism 223
Chapter 14: Worshipping at Home 225
Chapter 15: Worshipping at Temples 241
Chapter 16: Observing Holydays and Festivals 257
Chapter 17: Cradle to Cremation: The Life-Cycle Rites 277
Chapter 18: Taking a Pilgrimage 293
Part 5: Delving Deeper into the Hindu Concept of Reality 311
Chapter 19: The Six Schools of Thought: The Darshanas 313
Chapter 20: Vedanta: The End of Knowledge 327
Chapter 21: Following the Yogic Path to Salvation 343
Part 6: The Part of Tens 357
Chapter 22: Ten Common Prayers 359
Chapter 23: Ten (or So) Traditional Mandates 365
Index 371