Ramakrishna Math brings out 'Encyclopedia of Hinduism'

Bangalore, May 29 (UNI) Former President A P J Abdul Kalam would release 'A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism', authored by Swami Harshananda, President of Ramakrishna Math here on May 31.

Speaking to newspersons here today, the seer said he had conceived the idea of writing the book, while working in Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education at Mysore in 1973. This was after he realised that there was not a single book available which covered the diversity of Hinduism.

"I thought about writing an encyclopedia on Hinduism and it took me nearly 33 years to do it. I took out some time from my daily activities and responsibilities during all these years to complete the book," Swami Harshananda said.

The three volumed book covers all aspects of Hindu religion, philosophy and culture. It also contains 200 line drawings and 110 photographs.

It had been priced at Rs 1500, which was highly subsidised. A pre publication offer, which closed on April 30, saw an overwhelming response from the public, the seer said.

He said the Mysore chapter of the Math would bring a Kannada version of the encyclopedia in the near future.

UNI RS RM SKB1500