Hinduism from within and without

To be concerned with Hinduism means to immerse oneself in a world which seems to be so different from our Western world. The question is why one has this feeling? Is it just because we combine Hinduism with the Indian subcontinent and hence a spot on earth which is so far away from us? Is the great distance the reason why Hinduism feels so exotic? Or is it rather the way Hinduism appears in comparison with other world religions? Is the religious praxis the reason for perceiving Hinduism as far out? Or is it simply the Hindu way of life which seems to be so unfamiliar? Is it the Hindu society which is so different from other ones? All these questions can be answered in several different ways. They are dependent from the perspective one looks at them and which of the themes mentioned above is going to examined more intensively.
The specific aim of this paper is to depict important aspects of Hindu religiousness and society in the same breath. There is no focus of either religion or society. These two aspects should rather be combined. This means that the paper wants to depict specific facets of Hindu belief and simultaneously raise the question what this means for the concrete life of Hindu people. If the effects of religious convictions on human life and society are examined, it will become possible to draw comparisons to our Western way of thinking. Under no circumstances will be made comparison between Christianity and Hinduism or even a two-sided social criticism. It is rather important to illustrate the different ways of thinking to show why Hinduism is so fascinating for Western Europeans and why certain convictions would not work in our society...