The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India

Fuller's excellent work does a good job of making the complexities of Hinduism comprehensible even to a non-expert--not an easy task. The Hindu religion is of course not an institution in the Western sense, but rather a collection of beliefs and practices, ever-changing, in many cases highly local, and bewildering to the Western monotheistic mind with its "330 million" gods. Its complexities both drive and result from the infinite complexities of Indian society itself, and an understanding of Hinduism is crucial for any understanding of the country. I read the book in preparation for my second trip to India, and it made the experience infinitely more enjoyable and understandable. Fuller's explanation of the principle of "hierarchy" as the underpinning for both Hinduism and Indian society as a whole was very enlightening, as one realizes that it is completely antithetical to Western thought which values individual freedom above all else. Particularly good is the description of the structure of Hindu worship, or "puja," which despite its infinite variations Fuller contends consists of 16 (more or less) steps, of offerings and services to the deity. The description of the caste system, which bears almost no relationship to the Western notion of class, is excellent. Fuller's explanation of the concept of purity, and how it drives the status and treatment of women, is also very good. More casual readers may feel a bit bogged down as later chapters explore more esoteric subjects such as devotionalism and village rituals. From a scholarly point of view, I'd say this book is at the college text level, and like college texts it gets more complex as you work your way through. But this work is more than worth it even if you focus on the first few chapters. Highly recommended!

Fuller provides an up-to-date presentation of the popular practice of Hinduism in India. Using ethnographic data and personal field research in a Minakshi temple in south India, Fuller provides a window into daily worship unladen with ancient textual scriptures and controversial philosophies, however, giving careful representation of the traditional, and mainly centralist, view of Hinduism as a point of reference. Fuller presents the basic why's of Hindu practice in an easy-to-follow format and language throughout the text. Beginning with an anthropological account of Hindu society in India, he continues with chapters on gods and goddesses, worship, sacrifice, rituals, devotion, pilgrimage, and misfortune, giving special attention to women's issues in the second chapter on devotion. I found this work extremely helpful in understanding the practical application of many previous works' attention to the Vedic texts and philosophies. A work of this subject and caliber had been lacking in Hindu scholarship until this book.