Klaus Klostermaier

"Hinduism has proven much more open than any other religion to new ideas, scientific thought, and social experimentation. Many concepts like reincarnation, meditation, yoga and others have found worldwide acceptance. It would not be surprising to find Hinduism the dominant religion of the twenty-first century. It would be a religion that doctrinally is less clear-cut than mainstream Christianity, politically less determined than Islam, ethically less heroic than Buddhism, but it would offer something to everybody. It will appear idealistic to those who look for idealism, pragmatic to the pragmatists, spiritual to the seekers, sensual to the here-and-now generation. Hinduism, by virtue of its lack of an ideology and its reliance on intuition, will appear to be more plausible than those religions whose doctrinal positions petrified a thousand years ago."

"To call the Veda 'scripture' is a concession to a Western understanding of religion. The Indian term is sruti, meaning 'that which has been perceived through hearing'. For thousands of years, perhaps, the Veda was only transmitted orally, and memorization was the only way to acquire its knowledge...."

"Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi all remained Hindus and tried to reform Hinduism from within. They appreciated some things which the West had done better than India and aimed to bring about a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas.Their influence is still felt in India, although much criticism has been voiced against them as well."

"The dating of the Vedic age as well as the theory of an Aryan invasion of India has been shaken. We are required to completely reconsider not only certain aspects of Vedic India, but the entire relationship between Indus civilization and Vedic culture. . . . One of the most intriguing pieces of evidence is afforded by the dating of the disappearance of the River Saraswati. . . . Also, no evidence has been found of any large scale violent conflicts. . . . Astronomical evidence allow[s] us to set precise dates to certain passages in the Rgveda. . . . The certainty seems to be growing that the Indus civilization was carried out by the Vedic Indians. (34-38)"

"This putative “Aryan invasion” was dated ca. 1500 bce, and the composition of the hymns of the Ṛgveda was fixed between 1400 and 1200 bce. The Aryan invasion theory was conceived on pure speculation on the basis of comparative philology, without any archaeological or literary evidence to support it. It was resisted as unfounded by some scholars from the very beginning. In the light of recent archaeological finds, it has become less and less tenable. Nevertheless, the Aryan invasion theory, recently downgraded to an Aryan migration theory, is still widely defended and forms part of many standard histories of Hinduism."

"The atmosphere of devotion which hangs above the river is improbable in strength; stronger than in any church that I have ever visited. Every Christian priest would do well to sacrifice a year of his theological studies in order to spend his time on the Ganges; here he would discover what piety is."