Indra's Net: Defending Hinduism's Philosophical Unity

by Rajiv Malhotra

Defending Hinduisms Philosophical Unity ,it is fashionable among intellectuals to assert that dharma traditions lacked any semblance of unity before the British period and that the contours of contemporary Hinduism were bequeathed to us by our colonial masters. Such arguments routinely target Swami Vivekananda, a key interlocutor who shattered many deeply rooted prejudices against Indian civilization. They accuse him of having camouflaged various alleged contradictions within traditional Hinduism and charge him with having appropriated the principles of Western religion to manufacture a coherent and unified worldview and set of practices known today as Hinduism. Indras Net: Defending Hinduisms Philosophical Unity provides a foundation for theories that slander contemporary Hinduism as illegitimate, ascribing sinister motives to its existence and characterizing its fabric as oppressive. Rajiv Malhotra offers a detailed, systematic rejoinder to such views and articulates the multidimensional, holographic understanding of reality that grounds Hindu dharma. He also argues that Vivekanandas creative interpretations of Hindu dharma informed and influenced many Western intellectual movements of the post-modern era. Indeed, as he cites with many insightful examples, appropriations from Hinduism have provided a foundation for cutting-edge discoveries in several fields, including cognitive science and neuroscience.

Genres: Hinduism, Nonfiction, India, Religion, Philosophy, History, Spirituality

396 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Rajiv Malhotra is the founder and president of Infinity Foundation. An Indian-American entrepreneur, philanthropist and community leader, he has devoted himself, for the last ten years, to clarifying the many misperceptions about Indic traditions in America and amongst Indians.

He is an active writer, columnist, and speaker on a variety of topics, including the traditions and cultures of India, the Indian Diaspora, globalization, and East-West relations. Rajiv has been appointed to the Asian-American Commission for the State of New Jersey, where he serves as the Chairman for the Education Committee, which was created to start an Asian Studies program in schools. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Red Cross and has volunteered in local hospice and AIDS counseling.

Reviews

[Subramanyam K.V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a long review , it is divided into sections. You may want to pick the sections you want to read.

A Little Background

Sanatana Dharma is rooted in diversity; you can be a staunch Sri Vaishnavaite and be a Hindu, you can be a Shaivaite and be Hindu, you can follow the Advaita Vedanta of Sri AdiShankara and be a Hindu, you can be a follower of Dvaita Vedanta and be Hindu, you can follow a Guru who follows Sastra Pramana and be a Hindu. Moksha, the ultimate Aim of Sanatana Dharma, can be obtained in any of these ways.

Since this religion is different from the religions that follow one God, one book, one Prophet and only one way to salvation, there are many people in the west who do not want to call this a religion. There are many people who want to see this religion disappear from the globe. They want this culture to get fossilized and forgotten. Now some of them have started accusing Swami Vivekananda of manufacturing Hinduism. What makes the matter worse is the fact that some are using teachings of Adi Shankara, concocting and misinterpreting them to come up with a preposterous claim that Swami Vivekananda came up with a new religion. This book is a rebuttal to all the people who question the inherent Philosophical Unity of Hinduism.

About the Book
The book starts with the Purva Paksha where Rajiv Malhotra explains the myths that need to be challenged. Some myths that are widely in circulation are
(i) Hinduism is manufactured
(ii)Hinduism doesnot have any coherence
(iii) Hinduism is founded on oppression
(iv) Seva (service to others) is a concept that Hindus adopted from the west
(v) Yoga was not treated as a path to salvation by Hindus and Hindus copied it from western science etc ..

Then he brings to light the stands taken by various Western Indologists. He speaks about the arguments of Paul Hacker, Agehananda Bharti, Ursula King, Rambachan, Richard King, Brian Pennington, Peter Van der Veer, Sheldon Pollock and others. He speaks about the hidden agenda and the larger picture that comes from it.

The way the works of these people support each other and the way all of them overlook a lot of historical facts are brought to light in a systematic way. The author dwells on “Anubhava” Vs “Sruti Pramana” in these sections. We get to see wonderful arguments in the offing when we read about Rambachan, the position he takes on Swami Vivekananda and Rajiv’s argument that expose the fallacies in Rambachan’s line.

The second part of the book deals (Uttara Paksha) brings to light Rajiv ji’s full-fledged rebuttal to the Western Indologists. Rajiv ji brings to light the pre-colonial unifies of Hinduism like Vijnanabhikshu. He attacks the lies that the Indologists present and propagate regarding Seva, altruism and Yoga, Adi Shankara’s position on Yoga. He even gives references where the West incorporated ideals from Hinduism (particularly regarding Seva etc.), and it was not the other way round.

The author presents numerous examples of the way Shankara did respect yoga and way both can complement each other and help a sadhaka in the path of Liberation. The way Shankara’s work is presented deserves a special mention it is very well researched and well presented.

The author then moves on to give a framework in which Hindu thought can dwell and empower itself. The open architecture, the common tool box, the poison pills, porcupine defense and Astika -Nastika distinction are proposed by the author as a way forward for all Hindus.

What did I like ?

1. The extensive research and the way the problem and solutions have been described.

2. The Purva Paksha, most of us don’t read about the way in which Hinduism is being targeted by various groups, we fall into the trap of believing every argument that comes our way, more so, if it comes from a westerner. Rajiv Ji shows us the double-sidedness of some of these Western intellectuals.

3. The open architecture, Poison Pills, and Porcupine defense. Rajiv Ji does not leave it with questions, he gives a lot of answers, and that is important. I loved the way he gave answers and strategies to save our religion from digestion.

4. The concept of Indra’s Net itself where everything is in itself the whole and also the part of it. That’s a fantastic concept that I did not know before.

What did I not like ?

1. I did not read the book “Being Different” till now. In fact, this is the first book of Rajiv Ji that I read. Many a time he refers to what was said in Being Different, this made reading a little tough for me.

2. This is purely my personal problem; I was not able to read Purva Paksha. All those arguments against Swami Vivekananda were things I could not digest. As I was reading those pages, I was praying for them to be over and was wanting Uttara Paksha to start. Probably the Hindu in me was finding all these things unpalatable.

Conclusion

A must read for all Hindus. Please read the book. We ought to know the games of these Western Indologists and the ways and means in which our Dharma is being attacked. Digestion is one of the biggest threats to our religion today. The Open Architecture, the poison pills and porcupine defense are indeed innovative methodologies that Rajiv ji proposes.

You might agree with Rajiv Ji or you might disagree, however, the threat we Hindus are facing from these academicians of the west is real. We ought to wake up and think of ways and means to counter it. This book serves as a good starting point.

Please do read the book, you would have done yourself a great favor by reading this .

[Mayank Pandya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read two books by Rajiv Malhotra – ‘Breaking India’ and ‘Being Different’ and Indra’s Net is third book by same author. This book is serious work. Indra’s Net is for those who are genuinely interested in knowing the correct history and interpretations of Hindu civilization and are willing and open minded to imbibe those thoughts in their ordinary lives as their age old customs, live those thoughts and pass on to next generation in their pristine originality. As with every work of his, Rajiv picks his subjects after deep insight into the issues and articulates them with great clarity. The subject matter of this book is to demonstrate the continuity of thoughts across a spectrum of Dhramic traditions. It demonstrates that there was no discontinuity in our philosophical traditions as is common perception. Although each work of Rajiv is independent as it deals with one specific issue, in my opinion if one has read Being Different, the pleasure of reading Indra’s Net increases many folds.

[Surender Negi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indra’s Net is the most researched and valuable book of my collection on Hinduism.

Indra’s net is written by Mr. Rajiv Malhotra Ji (Philanthropist, Scholar of Hinduism, Social Activist and Public speaker). This book is recommended by me, everyone who has interested to know deep culture of Adavita Vedanta and Swami Vivekananda.

This book share many deep idea of Hinduism and reveal an conspiracy about academic misrepresentation of Swami Vivekananda character or work. This book, closely inquire the deep threat which is behind mind making against contemporary Hinduism. This book will open gate for new young mind who want to know more authentic reality of Hinduism and its deep and vibrant relation with nature.

I would like to brief book in short.

About Book

Indra’s Net Started with an idea which is mentioned in Atharvaveda’s about reality of Cosmos. Indra’s Net is a philosophy which says “Every Living and Non Living things in cosmos is connected with each other in a deep web that each living thing represent cosmos or cosmos in macro level represent micro universe”.

This book initially revolved around a group of people or linage of institute which propagates that modern Hinduism has no resemblance with ancient Hinduism. Modern Hinduism has based on Swami Vivekananda idea’s which borrow from Christianity. This book challenges this academic view and gives factual answer based on evidence that this assumption is nothing but only myth. This book also argue that how Indian unity without any stick boundary can be trace through scripture like Adavita Vedanta, school of Samkhya, school of dualism and Yoga sutra of Patanjali.
This book breaks 8 famous myth of Hinduism which has been propagated by western academia from 1960’s to till date.

I will describe all eight myths in short.

• India’s Optimum state is balkanization
• Colonial Indology’s biases were turned into Hinduism
• Hinduism is manufactured and didn’t grow organically
• Yogic experience is not valid path of enlighten and tries to copy western science
• Western social ethics are incorporated as seva and karma yoga
• Hinduism has no prior self-definition , unity and coherence
• Hinduism is founded on oppression and sustained by it
• Hinduism presumes sameness in all religions.

This is school of neo Hinduism is started by Paul hacker and inherited by many another Indologist like Ushar King’s and Rambachan. Now this information which has been cultivated by Western academia from last four decade is now reached to deep core of every Hindu’s mind.

This formation of myths making actually was attack on Swami Vivekananda efforts for reuniting the Hindus against social evil which was based on Adavita Vedanta.

These so called secular and liberals group of academia wants to inject an inferiority complex in every Hindu mind that they are second class humans which has given enlightened through Jesus theological church.

Most important point which I would like to highlight that, these group of academician has malign goal to established the theories which show that modern Hinduism is an experimental result of colonization and it has nothing to do with ancient Hinduism (which was according to them is oppressed and racial).

At last this book explain, how Hinduism is currently getting digested by many giant academia and losing its originality after many flaw theory against ancient ideology.

I would like to mention how we can help to not getting digest and use some poison pills which can protect authenticity.

Hinduism can help when its maintain some core and fundamental theory without being intact.

1) Hinduism should take strong stand that the all peoples in Hinduism are divine. (The Hindu Good News) Hence, There is no need to get salvation through Jesus because we are not born sinner while we are born divine who can experience divinity by any means of worshiped.

2) Hinduism should take strong stand on theory of Re-Incarnation and Karma because this theory only explains the sudden death of children who haven’t done any sin. This rebirth theory will break this urgency of getting radical in one birth. This theory will give space to people, for revived their life.

3) Hinduism should take strong position in living gurus. We all know that there is many enlightened Guru in our history like Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishnan Pramhans, Shri Arbindo, Swami Sajadanand (ancient Guru) and Swami Yogananad, Ramkrishan math, Swami PrabhuPadh-ISKON, Swami Pramukhanand-Swaminarayan Organisation, Swami Chinmayanand, Satguru or I want to Include Mr. Rajiv Malhotra in this list also for current living guru. Cause I am very much inspired by Him.

4) Hinduism should take strong position on Jivamukati (A state of liberation after many births and experiencing the divine) .This position is totally different from concept of Heaven or Jannat or final judgement day. Because this position propagate karma and reincarnation or direct experience of divine without following way of any prophet.

Things I Like:

EVERYTHING

Things I dislike

Are you kidding? This book is must read book by every Indian and Hindus.

[Aryaman Chetas Pandey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Bharatiya must read, must read.

[Cold Cream 'n' Roses · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first part of Indra’s Net, Rajiv Malhotra traces the lineage of scholars who posit a “neo-Hinduism” invented by Swami Vivekananda. The most recent of this lineage is Anantanand Rambachan of St. Olaf College, who claims that Swami Vivekananda’s reliance on direct experience is incompatible with Shankara’s reliance on sruti.

Malhotra then proceeds to show that Rambachan’s concept of Hinduism is too narrow: namely, that Shankara did not dismiss direct experience out of hand and that Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta is but one system of knowing within Hinduism. Malhotra discusses how Hinduism has evolved over time and places Swami Vivekananda squarely in the Hindu tradition.

In his lengthy article Untangling The False Knots In Rajiv Malhotra’s Indra’s Net, Anantanand Rambachan contends that Rajiv Malhotra distorts and misrepresents his work and responds to Malhotra’s principal allegations.

Malhotra then discusses “digestion” of Hinduism. By digestion, he means the process by which people absorb the parts of Hinduism that they like and excrete (my word, not his) the parts they don’t like. A good example is the de-contextualization of yoga from Hinduism, whereas the rest of Hinduism is trashed.

He introduces the concept of “poison pills” to prevent the “digestion” of Hinduism into other frameworks. These poison pills include characteristics of Hinduism (karma, re-incarnation, embodied knowing, integral unity) that cannot be reconciled with the traditional tenets of Abrahamic religion and force the spiritual seeker to make a choice among religions.

Indra’s Net is more accessible than Malhotra's book Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism; however, Being Different and Indra’s Net re-enforce one another. I would have to read both books several times to fully understand the concepts that Rajiv Malhotra introduces. My 3-star rating is less about the merits of the book and more about the limits of my understanding.

[Himanshu Chauhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far from the common practitioner of dharmic traditions, among the western and westernized academia, for about more than half a century, a quasi literate bid to create an impression that the evolution of hinduism has stopped and the concurrent developments since Vivekananda are mere bastardization of christian values, has been leveraged as an impenetrable scholarship. This book tears into this flimsy facade made out bundles of eco chamber(isk) academic excellence.

The book has five main point to introduce:
1. How western civilization has appropriated several assets of eastern civilization (from Hinduism and Buddhism) which they now they call their own.
2. The core of Dharmic/Buddhist philosophy via Indra's net
3. That service and individual experience in India as promulgated by Vivekananda are not because of a short trip to Chicago but part of a long enduring tradition of revival and innovation which though has borrowings from the west but nevertheless is overwhelmingly part of the series of dharma tradition born out of a vedantic base.
4. There are difference in the darshana (sanskrit non translatable; close to philosophy) of Shanakracharya and Vivekananda, yet non severs itself from the larger tree of vedic thought or dispels the other.
5. A long going western attempt to present India as a synthetically united civilization is based out of utter misrepresentations non-sense that have become norm over time.

My thoughts after reading the book was that it is a great tragedy that a narrative which is based out of unsound academic research and subject matter understanding ran as a mainstream understanding of Indic thought unchallenged for about a century. @RajivMessage has done us common folks great service by introducing this perversion of Dharmic thought to the general public in a concise and rather well argued book. It is a tough read for someone not acclimatized to the genre and it is ideal that one reads it more than once as once in a while the details become too thick.

[K. Jaya Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

First came across the Avatamsaka Sutra and its transmission from Hinduism into Buddhism. Author with incredible insight presents the shallow poverty-stricken nature or perhaps the presence of an agenda driven tint in the western lens when the lens keeps parrotting that dharma traditions lack unity! And then moves to demolish that lens completely!!

[Ashish Jaituni · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the book! The author fails to respond to any of the philosophical problems raised by western philosophers regarding Hinduism though he is able to clearly define the problems posed by them. I have read better books!

[Ishaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very specific rebuttal of selected biases against the Hindu culture that are misrepresented by some western academicians. It is worth a read if you want to know what's wrong (sometimes deliberately) in the academic circles.

[Sid · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good uttar paksha to Charuvakis.

[Jitendra Thacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for all Indians.

[Susheil Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

a book which all Indians or South East Asians should read. An eye opener on the subject.

[Veena · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book talks about the academics and "religious" scholars who mislead the general populace about Hinduism/Sanatana Dharma. Overall, I have more questions upon completing the book. I feel like this book's subject matter can be well explored in a degree program or the subject of multiple doctoral thesis. This book is very dense and will require background reading/researching.

[Pramod Vemuri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like this is a far better title than the one that the book actually has:
Occidentalism: Misrepresenting Neo-Hinduism's Philosophical Discontinuity

My first encounter with Malhotra's works was in 2007 thru his takedown of Doniger's Freudian analysis of Hinduism on Sulekha blogs. And my personal belief is that Neovedanta is indeed a 'new religion' in western sense of the word, synthesised to protect Hindu culture from European Imperialism by English educated Hindus. But it's still Hinduism, most importantly, *a* tradition of Hinduism; one that successfuly integrates modern ideas of individuality into traditional hinduism.

So why do I hate this book? To cut the long story short,
1. The author misrepresents Agehananda's article on Hindu Apologetics -- First, the criticism is directed at hindus who denigrate their rituals as superstitions, lack sanskrit education, and paint their sanyasas as frauds save a few sanyasa only because they are revered in the West. In addition to all of this, they reject traditional hinduism as a corrupted version of Neohinduism.
2. The author misrepresents - nay, slanders - Rambachan, alleging that Rambachan is no more than a pawn of missionary forces, and goes on to argue how Vivekananda has a more authentic take on Hinduism than a traditionally educated Sanyasa. Note how well this ties in with Agehananda's article.
3. The author then misrepresents Andrew Nicholson's work as speaking of a timeless united Hindu tradition, and when Nicholson outs the author's plagiarism of all the indologists he demonises (including Halbfass, Nicholson's mentor), Malhotra turns around and accuses indologists of stealing, and borders on claiming that plagiarism is a western construct.

I have enjoyed some parts of the book, but it was closer to "gems amongst the rubble". The dishonesty and recklessness of the author is at full display, the fact that most do not notice is what makes it a rather dangerous book. When Prabhupada spoke of Vivekananda, he did not have kind words: This man (Vivekananda) has no understanding either of soul or of God and still he has posed himself as a Swami to mislead so many innocent persons. Malhotra is a prime example of such a misled person, one who Vivekananda would be ashamed of.


The author starts off by saying, "The central thesis which I seek to topple asserts that Swami Vivekananda plagiarized Western secular and Christian ideas and then recast them in Sanskrit terminology to claim Indian origins for them". But the author never quotes Vivekananda, nor does he quote any biographers on any of the actual charges against the saint.

Upon reading Part 1 (Purva paksha), I think it is debatable to call any part of this section of the book to be Purva paksha. Shrinivas Tilak writes that Malhotra reverses the gaze on contemporary Western and Indological Constructions of the dharmic worldview - which the author does indeed achieve to his credit - so it is not a refutation but a polemic, similar to distasteful reviews by left-leaning western journalists.

Part 2 is a somewhat less offensive read, but it also had less to offer the reader. Chapter 8 (Historical Continuity) and 9 (Social Consciousness) are certainly enlightening to me, although it must be noted that these chapters mostly quote two scholars (Nicholson, Gupta) who have developed the insightful views in said chapters. I was also delighted to see names of certain scholars such as Daya Krishna and Janardon Ganeri - I am a fan of what little I have encountered of their works. But then chapter 11, 12 and Conclusion are all about what tactics Hindus can employ to counteract missionaries, as if that's what is actually losing Hindus from backward classes of India.

I found Chapter 7 (The Myth Goes Viral) to be decent. So was his dissection of the missionaries's works where they wish to "preserve" traditional hinduism, perhaps ashamed of their abject failure at converting the hindu middle-class. My initial disappointment primarily lay in his attack of Rambachan (whose works I'm not familiar with) - he cannot distinguish scholarly from political works. In Chapter 10, the author once again gives undue attention to Rambachan's thesis. In fact the author would've done better to simplify his criticism of Rambachan and integrate it into Chapter 7, as being misled than to accuse him of dishonesty, or preferably merge all of his polemic on Rambachan's thesis into Chapter 10.

I decided to read the original version of chapter 8, which Malhotra redacted after the allegations from Nicholson. The author's defence for redaction - that Nicholson doesn't argue for a timeless Hindu unity the same way most contemporary hindus do - is justified, so the author's redaction was unfortunately necessary, even if the original chapter (as he stated) was written in good faith. Vijnanabhikshu, Madhava, Madhusudhana are some important thinkers who emphasised on the religious unity of the various Hindu schools. I think it is fair to assume that this reflects an extant desire for Hindu unity, and it is fair to assume that following Madhava's lasting vedantic legacy on the Vijayanagara Empire (which spread to rest of India), "neovedanta" had strong medieval roots.

In Chapter 9, the author covers the humanitarian dimension of Hinduism. The author extensively quotes Krishna Prakash Gupta, whose works I am surprised I have never heard of, because he is deserving of greater attention. Gupta defends the Ramakrishna movement against the colonialist attitudes of Weber et al, and then also highlights the indigenous humanitarian projects embodied in various Vaishnava traditions, especially how Swaminarayan influenced both Gandhi and Vivekananda. The author also makes a small note of Basavanna's legacy as well, which is worth mentioning.

BUT; there is no mention of Hegelian influence on Vivekananda's sociological analysis of Hinduism, something that Nikhilananda also makes a note of in his popular biography; nor any mention of individualism, dignity and potential in traditional Hindu works. Nor is there any mention of the fact that Vivekananda actually often debated with Ramakrishna in terms of the importance of modern values. And this is important, because the author in reality spends most of his time attacking a strawman in Agehananda Bharati and Ananatanand Rambachan.

The target of Bharati's atttacks are the anti-ritualist, anti-sanskrit and anti-sannyasa attitudes of Neohindus, except for their fanatical devotion only for the hindu saints and beliefs that the West admire, who then claim this is the uncorrupted, pure religion. The author says, I, too, criticize such views of Hindus for their chauvinism and reduction into sameness - but does he? At another place, the author makes a rather touching plea - What, may I ask, is wrong with trying to modernize a traditional faith in light of contemporary and emerging understandings of the world? - if he read Bharati's essay he would know. The recency of Gita's importance or social service - thugh mentioned - is not the core of Bharati's frustration. And while the author ignores Bharati's charges against Vivekananda's appropriation fo western ideals of individuality and dignity, he then says, The newly established dignity [of neohindus] is a tender growth; it must not be tampered with. So why bother quoting Bharati?

Next, before the author introduces Rambachan by saying that he was "groomed" by Ursula King, to set the stage of his alleged hindu treachery. When Rambachan responded to Malhotra's slander, Malhotra makes the most ridiculous claim: I'm glad Rambachan has decided to respond to me. This is what we need. Not him and Vatican in interfaith propaganda, but INTERNAL resolution among Hindus as to our positions... - so he's no longer a Vatican stooge anymore? In the book, Malhotra then says, Rambachan has a scholarly case to make. It is, however, a case against which I argue forcefully - strange, given how he previously says, I do not wish to discourage criticisms of Hinduism or of any of its leaders. except when their tone is off - so is Rambachan's tone off?

Take the following quotation which made me almost spit my coffee:
Another serious issue Rambachan picked up from Hacker is that ‘Vivekananda adopted the position that there was no bar of sex, race or caste to realization.’ Rambachan here seems to be blaming Vivekananda for advocating the liberal view that everyone has the right to study the Vedas!
Does the author not understand grammar tense? Misrepresentation of history is what Rambachan is talking about. It is fair to say that Vivekananda advocated 'noble lies', but I am beginning to question that this was actually proofread.

So what was Rambachan's sin exactly? One who reads Rambachan's response would come to know that - far from the author's slanderous representation - Rambachan is classically educated, and grew up admiring Vivekananda. Moreover, he attempts to refute Rambachan's views using scientific studies - which is precisely what Hindu Apologetics (as per Bharati) are preoccupied with. So one comes to understand that Bharati was talking exactly about people like Malhotra, to whom any criticism of Vivekananda is tantamount to apostasy.

[Shailesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2nd must read book for all Hindus & Being Different being the first one.

One should read Being Different before this bekar will not be able to appreciate the core concept of the book which is is stop digestion of the core assets of Hindu using poison pills.

This book is also an inspiration & a case study of one must do purva paksha of the opponent & then provide an apt uttar paksha based on it.

There are many concepts presented in the book & helps to form a Hindu framework using the open architecture.

[Ross Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having already read Malhotra's "Being Different," I was looking forward to "Indra's Net."

I was disappointed, however, in Malhotra's overall tone and the false promise of its title.

"Indra's Net" is Malhotra's rebuttal to those who believe there is no unified Hinduism. He argues, forcefully and convincingly, that Hinduism is more than a cobbled-together assortment of rituals and texts – that it's a complete and evolving religion.

Yet whereas Malhotra in "Being Different" was willing to take a stand and field criticism, he comes off as a man looking for a fight in "Indra's Net." His principal opponents are "the academics" – a phrase into which he injects as much spleen and derision as possible. I found this petty and somewhat hypocritical; a man who uses words and phrases like "reify" and "gaze through the Western lens" and "subaltern narratives" ought to ask himself who sounds more academic.

This tone issue would not have been so bothersome had it not been for Malhotra's unifying image: Indra's Net.

In all my readings of religions and philosophies, from Nietzsche to Narayan, from Stoics to Shunryu Suzuki, I've found no more beautiful image for existence and interdependance as Indra's Net, a net extending in infinite directions covered in jewels that reflect the net and each other. How unfortunate, then, that an image that contains all, reflects all, and causes all to shine has been appropriated by an author as antagonistic and exclusionary as Malhotra.

[Jay Mehta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely to be read, especially by Hindus abroad who are confused on how to counter institutional Hinduphobia. The book focuses on the religious side of the arguments explaining the current issues with the understanding of Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma.
The author does an amazing job of understanding and explaining the Purva Paksha - only after which he provides his own counter. This provides the background of where his arguments come from. The sourcing is meticulous. Some of the parts may not be comprehended on the first read itself but I suppose the larger theme is more important even if one is not able to understand specific points. While the author has tried to provide as layman perspective as possible but surely one can't dumb down the highly academic arguments beyond a point.
Tremendous learning as one reads the book - especially with respect to the core tenets of the Sanatan Dharma and how it is exactly different from Abrahamic religions. What I loved the most is that Rajiv ji didn't just explain the problem and provide the solution, he also went into the implementation strategy for the solution which is quite rare for authors

A MUST-READ!!

[Hunter Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is very knowledgable, obviously cares deeply about the subject matter and sometimes reads like a lecture (lots of references and objective information). That said, he obviously is very angry with "the West." Page 264: "…the widespread dismantling, rearrangement, and digestion of Hindu traditions into Western Framworks. The West (again I guess we are all the same and completely uniform) is actually depleting and exhausting the very roots of Indian civilization…" As detailed and meticulous as he is he constantly reduces the "West" to simplistic uniform point of view. There are people in the "West" who are very interested in learning about Indra's Net (there is disappointingly few details on this) and Hinduism's Philosophical point of view and the obvious negative tone can sometimes be discouraging.

[Kasyap · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content in this book is 'heavier' compared to the other ones of the same author that I have read - 'Battle for Sanskrit' and 'Breaking India'. However, with help from sources (outside of this book) and some of the author's talks, have been able to grasp most of the contents. I guess any book that deals with explaining facets of Vedanta, Yoga etc. particularly in the context of how they were explained by two giants - Adi Shankara and Swami Vivekananda would be tough. But the author does a good job and has set this up nicely for reading other ones - particularly 'Being Different'. I am going about this in the wrong order as 'Being Different' was released first and it has also been referenced in this book in a few places, but one can read this independently as well. A recommended read.

[Aditya Rallan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the book, for the most part, is more like an academic study on how Vivekananda and Hinduism have been misconstrued in the West, the last chapter is interesting with several takeaways. The chapter is not just a summary, but a practical guide to avoid common blunders, and develop an understanding of the cornerstones of Hinduism.

[AZIMVTH Ashram]

I had the pleasure of listening to, interacting with, and receiving an autographed copy of the book from the author. Its nicely indexed and argued. Does other works by Malhotra carry any reference to Haridwar or the Ganges (Ganga)?

[Sunny Zaptech]

Gives new insight to Dharma