Hinduism in the Information Age

Hinduism, Science of Religion, Cyber Religion

This article endeavors to explore the alterations that have taken place in one of the oldest religions of the world, namely, Hinduism, as a result of its encounter with the latest scientific development, albeit, computer‐mediated communication (CMC). It deals with how, a modern Hindu perceives, in this situation, not a conflict between her/his religion and scientific developments, but an opportune domain of new prospects of interaction between the two. By tapping the resources of CMC, the modern Hindus have innovatively and creatively invented new possibilities such as online religious communities, alternative social and religious space that defies and destablishes the exclusivistic logic of varnashrama dharma ideology, new forms of democratization of religious knowledge. These developments, on the hand generate new philosophical and epistemological dilemmas for the Hindu religious practitioners and, on the other hand, enable the Hindus transcend and redefine the human, limitations experienced by them in the global civil society such as spatial distance, caste‐discrimination and gender‐roles, thereby turning technological advancements into timely opportunities for exploring new human capabilities.