Hinduism Its Fundamental Teachings

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The present work attempts to trace the history of some of the Hindu ceremonials and rituals of to-day, by quotation of concrete instances from the Vedic down to our own times. It is hoped that this endeavour to throw critical light on some of the most important beliefs and practices will show the new way of dealing with them, a way, which, so far as I am aware, has not been utilised by my countrymen. European methods of meticulous accuracy, of infinite patience in research, and deep scholarship, are known to few of us and practised by still fewer A History of the Chief Sanskrit Sacred Books of the Hindus and of their Principal Teachings.

BOUT the year 1905. I had occasion to draw up a catechism of the Hindu Religion, as a possible text-book for college students. The questions and answers were arranged in four parts. It was published in 1908, under the title of "Hinduism and India, a Retrospect and a Prospect." Feeling dissatisfied with the work, as the years went by, I began revising it in 1912, and practically rewrote the whole eliminating the catechistic shape and embodying a good deal of information newly gathered by me, which has made the work almost three times the size of the earlier one. Various reasons delayed the publication. The enterprising publishers began work on it however in 1922. But my health has broken down so completely during the last five years that it has been impossible to give to the book the much needed finish and polish of a final revision, or even to look through the proofs properly. The first portion of the book is being presented to the public for what it may be worth under these adverse conditions.