The Religions of India as Known to Gunaratna
Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. Bauddha Dharma (Buddhist religion). 2. The Jaina religion. 3. The Saiva religion. 4. The Saiva religion - Described in the Sivapurana. 5. The religion of the Samkhyas. 6. The religion of the Mimamsakas. Concluding remarks. Bibliography. Index.
"The book is divided into six major chapters in addition to an introduction, concluding remarks and a bibliography.
The first chapter of the book is an introduction to the major religions of India. There is a discussion on two broad classifications of Indian religions viz orthodox and heretical in this chapter. It gives a brief idea of six Indian religions, and a contribution of Gunaratna to the study of them. Chapter two describes the important aspects of the Buddhist religion discussed by Gunaratna. His discussion is an amalgam of Orthodox Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism and the hedonistic path led by a section of Buddhists of his age. The third chapter is devoted to the study of Gunaratna on Jainism. It covers all the different aspects of the Jaina religion and also the evolutionary trend noticed in the Jaina religion till the recent age. The fourth chapter of the book contains a critical discussion on Saivism discussed Tarkarahasyadipika. It gives an elaborate knowledge of the religious rules and practices of the Saivas together with the religions of the Pasupata and Kapalika ascetics. The Chapter Five has been devoted to the study of Gunaratna\'s very useful and informative discussion on the religion of the Samkhya ascetics, a large section of whom were worshippers of Narayana or Visnu. Chapter six is a discussion on the religious practices of the Saivas described in the Sivapurana in this chapter. The chapter has been added to give a wider idea of the Saiva religion. Chapter seven of the book adequately deals with the religions views of the Mimamsakas and Vedantist worshippers of Visnu found in Gunaratna\'s discussion of the religious life of the four classes of Vaisnava ascetics following the Vedantic path. It contains an elaborate discussion on their religious life met with in the Upanisads, great epic, and also the Smrti texts to make the study of Gunaratna a comprehensive one. The last section of the book is a critical examination of the noble aims of religious people of India." (jacket)
