Abstract
One of the outstanding religious developments of the last century (alongside the entry of women into the clergy) has been the growth of religious dialogue. Key moments have been the establishment of the Council of Christians and Jews in 1942 and, two decades later, Vatican II. They were initially greeted with some alarm, both by Jews who feared that they were backdoor attempts at conversion, and by Christians who worried that they limited their sense of mission. Eventually, after suspicions had been overcome and strong relationships built up, it was felt that this rapport should be extended to the third Abrahamic faith, Islam.
Now the boundaries are being pushed out further. With a sizeable Hindu population in the West, this was an obvious next step in the onward march of religious harmony. However, from a Jewish perspective – and the same may be true for Christians – there is a serious obstacle: the multiplicity of Hindu gods makes Hinduism appear to be a higher form of paganism, with little room for any common language.
It is exactly this view that has motivated Alan Brill – academic and rabbi – to write this book, having lived and taught in both the USA and India, and being conscious of an urgent need to combat what he sees as misinformation. He is adamant that much of the problem is due to the fact that outsiders are not aware of the many changes within Hinduism since its origins and that they fall into the trap of judging the faith by long-discarded traditions. It is as if non-Jews, he asserts, were to judge modern Judaism from what is in the book of Leviticus, when it has been superseded by rabbinic writings, while the animal sacrifices, which are constantly referred to in the text, have not been practised for nearly 2,000 years.
With this clarion call to see Hinduism through the eyes of its adherents today, he embarks on a detailed analysis of the faith that is far beyond a simple overview. Warning that it is the result of multiple, complex and sometimes inconsistent traditions woven together, he plunges joyfully into them. Brill has little doubt that Hinduism believes in the one God, even if that entity is made accessible via a plethora of images. He may be right, but many will still find that hard to digest, even after reading the book. He is also at pains to highlight the similarities with Judaism wherever possible. However, it often feels that he protests too much. Yes, they exist, but often it is inevitable and not because the faiths have any connection: such as saying that both Hindu and Jewish marriages are about the joy of the couple, or that food is an important part of both faiths. But while it might be more accurate to say that the two faiths have parallel themes, Brill does make a strong case for Hindu–Jewish dialogue to proceed apace, so as to better understand one of the major world faiths that is still a mystery to most in the West.