Developing A Universal Religion

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1873 edition. Excerpt: ... THE HINDU MIND. A GREAT civilization is a collective personality. DEGREES Like great men, whom the past does not Racesattlie account for, it is a mystery of genius and dawn of spiritual gravitation. lsto, T' We can report the conditions of its development. We cah trace climatic and historical influences that have educated it. Behind these we note determinative qualities of race, which, while constantly modified by such external forces, are yet inexplicable by them. The word " race," moreover, is used quite indefinitely, and, like "species," serves but to prove the limitations of our science. It is applied to kinds of relation widely differing not in breadth only, but in origin and substantial meaning. Thus the term "Aryan" or "Semitic" marks a class of unities wholly distinct from that designated by such terms as " Teutonic" and "Hebrew;" and these again differ to an equal extent from that kind of unity which would constitute races as American, African, or Polynesian. But, in whatever sense conceived, races are fragmentary; and the growth of civilization is dependent on their fusion. However we may decide the question of their origin, it is certain that, when we mark their first appearance in history, it is their incompleteness that most impresses us. This embryological phase, it is true, combines the just apparent germs of those forces which subsequent stages of growth must differentiate and develop. Yet, while each race is thus endowed with all properly human elements, it manifests some one of them out of all proportion to the rest. The very exaggeration, however, is both present vigor and prospect of reaction. The law of progress must at last bring out all the diverse energies of races, and blend them in due proportion, in the nobler...

Hindu thought has undergone a major reconfiguration in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, in response to its encounter with the forces of modernity. A key element in this reconfiguration is the perception of Hinduism itself as a universal religion; or, as a catalyst promoting the emergence of a universal religion, or, at the very least, as promoting religious universalism. This book examines the views of several major Hindu thinkers of this period, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi prominent among them, on this potent theme of modern Hinduism.

Allan Menzies' wide-ranging and detailed history of all the world's major religions and spiritual traditions is a superb introduction to beliefs which greatly influence humanity to this day. Rich with explanations and analysis, Menzies book strives to introduce every major worth religion in a manner which is comprehensive, entertaining and easily digested by the reader. Logically ordered by subject, Menzies' book is an all-embracing account of the divine and spiritual beliefs mankind has held since the dawn of time. The initial chapters of the book examine the earliest development of human beliefs. Mystical practices, ancestor worship and ceremonial burial are shown to have been precursors to the various spiritual and religious belief systems, while the ascription of objects and idols as sacred gave early mankind their earliest deity figures. The development of writing is shown to have accelerated religion's spread and acceptance, with fixed customs passed down between generations with greater consistency. Menzies terms the religions of China, Assyria. Babylon and Egypt as 'isolated', in the sense that they developed with relative independence of outside influence. The qualities of each of these religions, such as the polytheistic beliefs of Egypt which emphasized the afterlife and burial customs, or the philosophical and social underpinnings of the traditional Confucian and Daoist thought of China, are detailed. Islam and Judaism are termed the 'Semitic religions', given that both share their geographic origins and have much in common in terms of ancient manuscripts and texts. The Rabbinic traditions and Jewish festivals are discussed, while the Islamic faith's emphasis upon the Qu'ran and the life of the prophet Mohammed is also examined. The major polytheistic religions of Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece and India are termed the 'Aryan religions'. Discussing the various faiths in turn, we are given a vivid portrait of how the ancient pantheon of Gods developed and was refined in the Greco-Roman culture, and the various belief systems - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism - which emerged to prominence in the Indian subcontinent. Finally, Menzies discusses Christianity - which he terms a 'universal' religion. The life of Jesus Christ, the development of the church and the emergence of the saints is thoroughly detailed, as are the nature of the beliefs and virtues emphasized in the Christian Bible and doctrines.

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