India, Feb. 12 -- By R. Chandra Prakash

[Continued from Feb. 9]

It is a fundamental truth when the authors emphasise that Hinduism is an open architecture offering a vast library of texts providing guidance and therefore there are multiple choices. Every Hindu can, and does, cherry-pick his personal choices of metaphysical interpretation, of guru for guidance (or no guru), of ishta devata (chosen deity), or rituals, of festivals, of pilgrim centres and of lifestyle. No other faith/religion provides such vast choices.

Authors are of the view that distortions have crept in over the period such as during Buddhism and the conversion process of Christianity and Islam. There are records in Hinduism substantiating the fact that a person's var...