“The Tolerance of Hinduism” has been uniquely emphasized in a fictional story surrounding many of the sacred teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita, commonly called the Song of God. When I first learned that great thinkers such as Albert Einstein, Thoreau, T.S. Eliot, Charles Wilkins, Emerson, Albert Schweitzer, and Mahatma Gandhi had contemplated and deliberated over the divine words of Krishna (incarnate God), I was easily drawn to think that the Gita must be something thoughtful and highly inspirational to attract the attention of such great men. It was not until I read a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita fifteen years ago, translated by Christopher Isherwood and Prabhavananda, that I concluded that the knowledge revealed was enlightening and worthy of appreciation. Having gained a fair amount of knowledge from a comparative study of religion, I sincerely felt it was my duty to share some of it with people from all walks of life. To emphasize some of the teachings from the Bhagavad-Gita in this book, a number of verses have been grouped together at various parts of the story. Many are going to find that by occasionally reading some of these sacred verses, it will help to strengthen them mentally to cope with many of their sorrowful experiences.
The function of a good book is to open the eyes of its readers to new philosophies, all the while showing them that these "alien" philosophies may not, in fact, differ much from their own. Judged by that standard, The Tolerance of Hinduism succeeds. I know very little about Hinduism, but this book presented a persuasive elucidation of the religion's broad-mindedness. The fictional story of Herman Schneider was both touching and illustrative-by placing these teachings within a human context, the author makes it easy to understand their relevance to our lives. The book is brief, but it will certainly leave the reader intrigued about the precepts and principles of Hinduism. The telling of this story was clearly a labor of love for JR. Singh, and I hope he has success in reaching a wider audience.
