Hinduism [antikvár]

ii'll ^IV Foreword Hindu religious life has received its fair share of weighty scholarly treatment over the last two centuries. And there has been a massive effusion of testimonial and apologetic writing in English on diverse ways of being Hindu. What have not been readily available, however, are succinct, sensibly focused introductions to Hindu religion (and Hindu culture and society) immediately relevant to persons encountering Hindus in the course of their work in the professions of human service: e.g., doctors and nurses, teachers and school administrators, social workers, police, lawyers, correctional officers, judges and chaplains. This situation is especially unfortunate for first generation immigrants. It is precisely to members of such professions that many immigrants, especially the needy and others in difficulty, must look for help and understanding. Yet in both Canada and the United States very few members of these professions have had any significant personal contact with Hindus, or more than the most cursory acquaintance with the Hindu tradition through study or reading. Dr Sitansu S. Chakravarti, himself an immigrant resident of many years in the greater Toronto area, has set himself the task of narrowing the gap between what is actually known (to scholars and articulate Hindus) about Hindu life and what is accessible in reasonable convenient format to persons hard pressed for time, yet needing practical advice on how to relate well to clients, patients or other individuals who are Hindu. He has begun the task quite well, which is not surprising in view of his rich and interesting background. There is, of course, his own professional training in Eastern and Western philosophy (Ph. D., Syracuse) and his teaching at the University of Rajasthan. There is also a family tradition of interpreting the Hindu tradition, ns exemplified by his father, the late Chintaharan Chakravarti, renowned scholar of Hindu Tantra. Moreover, the family of his wife, Rina (herself a teacher and author of a recent textbook on Bengali language), reinforces the Chakravartis' verve for maintaining and advancing the Indian ^ i, ' ' I i .'