Studying Indian religions : concepts and directions

Abstract

The history of studying Indian religions is as old as the history of Indology. The interest in them, or even fascination, especially with Vedic religion and Buddhism, made the research into these two traditions one of the early and main domains of Indological research. Vedic studies have remained one of the most popular fields of Indology and for many centuries the Vedic religion used to be perceived as the main culture-shaping element of the Indian civilization. Modern Indology, and I mean here contemporary classical Indology as well, re-considers and re-evaluates this view. In my paper I would like to refer shortly to the issue of how this interest in Indian religions developed and describe some contemporary directions in the research on Hindu religious traditions as well as new concepts of approaching them and evaluating their role in the process of shaping the culture of the whole subcontinent.