The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism, 2nd Edition: A New Look at the World s Oldest Religion Paperback – May 5, 2009

Linda Johnsen is a master at communicating complex and very subtle concepts in Hinduism with amazing simplicity and a great sense of humor. Books on Hinduism are typically either very difficult to understand (with word by word translations from the Vedas and Upanishads) or are very simple texts primarily meant for teaching children at home. Idiot's guide is one of the few books that covers a comprehensive list of concepts with adequate depth in a language that is refreshingly simple, very contemporary and in a format that is fun to read.In the study of Hinduism it is important to internalize some of the fundamental concepts (like the types of bodies or sheaths, concept of Karma, non-dualism, the three Gunas etc.) to make any meaningful progress and that is clearly a space where this book is an excellent resource. Along with me many others (who know a lot more than me about Hinduism) have read this book and the feedback is consistent - Linda Johnsen's explanations on some of these topics is truly mind opening.I would consider this book an essential investment for anyone trying to understand Hinduism. Including Hindus who practice the religion at home but find it tough to comprehend their practices (let alone engaging in any meaningful conversation on the underlying philosophy). The section on Tantra could be expanded but overall this book is a treasure.

This book is probably the most easy to understand, entertaining and accessible one on this particular subject. It contains lots of good information and is lots of fun to read!

Now initially it started off giving the background of the religion which was too much of a boring history lesson for me. Eventually the book picks up and becomes more interesting. It's well organized and has an American writer who proactively learned the religion from an outsiders perspective, which is great. I learned quite a bit from it and haven't even finished. I'd recommend this!

Religion is a force that has shaped our world from the beginning of time when man first looked at the world and the heavens and worndered why we exist and if there is a purpose to our existence or are we just a random event and a quirk or nature? How can any person who is at least partially awakened not be in awe of our universe? Its existence spans 15 billion years (how does one get their mind around that?) and is currently expanding at approx. 1 million miles per hour!I have been reading alot about religion and have read about almost every major religion - Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and now also Hinduism - not necessarily in that order.Not suprisingly they all have a lot in common but the I have found that the most flexible of all is Hinduism and next is Buddhism. The one knock on Hinduism is that they believe in a caste system which is a difficult thing for me to accept, but they also believe in reincarnation so it is possible that though you are resigned to one caste in this life you can through leading a virtuous life build up enough karma to be reincarnated into a better life and caste in your future life.In either case this book is a great introduction to all the facets of Hinduism; it is easy to read and packed with information. I highly recommend this book and also encourage all to read about the other major and minor religions and instead of finding things that divide them realize that there is much that they all have in common.

I would recommend this book be used more as a reference guide and resource on topics unfamiliar to diaspora Hindus and to seekers/converts into the dharma. It could be read cover to cover, but that seems like way too much information; you will have way more in-depth "know-how" than most Hindus, but might miss out the forest for the trees because so much of Hinduism is cultural. Instead, as you have more topical questions and you "live the culture", use the book's index to seek out relevant info in snippets, and use it as a starting point to seek more information elsewhere on the topic that interests you most. Perhaps that's the way I learn best and to me it seems more natural, and it's not meant for everybody else, but this book makes it possible and fun to learn about Hinduism in snippets.

If you want to read just one book to learn about Hinduism, this is the book.Written in a very simple yet entertaining style, this book conveys the subtle truths about Hinduism in a way anybody can understand. The author does not write after just a cursory review of Hinduism or just after going to India for a short visit. This book is a result of painstaking research over many years and answers practically any question you may have - What do Hindu Deities represent? Is Hinduism Polytheistic? What is Hindu culture like? What are the scriptures of Hinduism? What is the goal of life? You will find here answers to all these questions and more.Read on!

a great book. Any one who meditates must read this book. The whole thing. Even the history and the gods and goddesses. Every page is a wealth of information. This book is not for idiots. The forward is written by Dr. David Frawley Enough said.

Amazing book, informative, easy to read, funny at times. I enjoyed every page of it, except for the part were the author implies that 9-11 was Bush's fault, which put the name of the series in a new light for me and kind of poisoned my otherwise exceptional experience with the book. Still, it deserves 6 stars and will be re-read in the future.