The Heathen in his Blindness...
| Author | S. N. Balagangadhara |
|---|---|
| Country | India, Europe |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Religious Studies, Social Sciences |
| Publisher | E. J. Brill |
|
Publication date
|
1994 (I edition) 2005 (II edition) |
| Pages | 563 |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | 'Reconceptualizing India Studies (2012) |
1994 (I edition)
"The Heathen in his Blindness...": Asia, the West and the Dynamic of Religion by S. N. Balagangadhara, was first published in 1994 by E. J. Brill. A second, hardcover, edition of the book was published in 2005 by Manohar books. A third, paperback, edition came out in 2012, published by the Manohar books. This much discussed book is about religion, culture and cultural difference.
This book has 12 chapters, an introduction and bibliography.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Some Puzzles and Problems
2. "Not by One Avenue Only ..."
3. The Whore of Babylon and Other Revelations
4. Made in Paris, London, and Heidelberg
5. Requiem for a Theme
6. "Shall the Twain Ever Meet?"
7. "Guilty as Charged, My Lords and Ladies?"
8. A Human Tragedy or the Divine Retribution?
9. "Blessed Are Those Who Seek"
10. "Imagine, There Is No Religion…"
11. Prolegomena to a Comparative Science of Cultures
12. At the End of a Journey
References
Scholars have generally found this book difficult to understand. It has also been suggested that it is better to begin by understanding some of the following articles written by S.N. Balagangadhara, as they provide independent arguments and epistemic warrants to the claim that Indian traditions are not religions: "How to Speak for the Indian Traditions: An Agenda for the Future" (2005); "The Secular State and Religious Conflict: Liberal Neutrality and the Indian Case of Pluralism" (2007); "Spirituality in Management Theories: A Perspective from India" (2010). A detailed "Chapter-wise Questions and Answers" to understand the The Heathen in his Blindness is also available freely on the web.
In 2014, Manohar publishers brought out a condensed and shortened version of the The Heathen in his Blindness... (1994), entitled Do all Roads Lead to Jerusalem? The Making of Indian Religions (2014). Divya Jhingran worked for two years to bring out this simple, easily accessible and a very readable version of the original work.
In this “ground-breaking work … SN Balagangadhara … wrote a devastating critique of the very language we use today to describe religious phenomena in India. In his book … Balagangadhara questioned whether it is appropriate to use terms like "religion", "orthodoxy" and "Hinduism" at all. He asked whether what are essentially Christian categories may be imputed to non-Western systems of belief and practice without utterly misunderstanding their content and misrepresenting their function."
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