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to the understanding of Bangladesh and its development both in the context of South Asia and the world political economy

In the first paragraph of the foreword to his book, Klaus Klostermaier clearly states his purpose (p. xv). He wrote it primarily for his own benefit, with the hope that other students of Hinduism might also "see a unifying pattern behind the great diversity of myths, rituals, and artistic expressions of the theory of salvation in the Hindu tradition." He did not intend to "develop new theories . . . but to assemble in a systematic and representative manner as much as possible what the many sources of Hindu religion had to say on this central topic." In the central section of his book, parts 2, 3, and 4, the author describes the three great living theistic traditions of Hinduism—Vaisnavism, Saivism, and Saktism—and for comparative purposes he follows an "identical pattern" in each part: introductory background, basic mythology, iconography, forms of worship, and soteriological systems. Since the Vedic tradition is the historical basis for Hinduism, he introduces the description with a discussion of Indra as Savior (part 1), and he concludes his work with statements (part 5) on the creative tension between myth and rationality (pp. 235—44) and self-realization (pp. 244—84), both of which synthesize the many ideas presented in the description. The one point of agreement in the diverse and heterogeneous mythological and philosophic traditions of Indian thought is that "humanity reaches its true fulfillment in its freedom—a freedom that requires the co-ordination and co-operation of human and cosmic forces, a freedom that begins and ends in the depth of the human soul, a freedom that is ultimate" (p. 284). After nine years of intensive study in India on the relatedness of myths, philosophies, worship, and art to the central and very important theme of salvation, Klostermaier has presented his readers with an excellent road map that charts the many paths that feed into the main trunk road through the lush jungle growth of Hindu theistic traditions. References to original Sanskrit sources, monographs, and specialist investigations give some indication of the magnitude of his research and of the problems of stating succinctly the essential points in the developments of a tradition, as, for example, his compressed statement about Saiva-siddhanta (pp. 1 7 1 77) or Ramanuja's Vaisnava Vedanta (pp. 103-9). A comparable task for an historian of Christian theology would be a summary of Martin Luther's views in five pages. The author's masterful control of the material and his ability to select the most salient aspects of issues under discussion for this outline of Indian thought and its expression in worship and art are truly impressive. The book is a valuable guide for anyone who wishes to pursue in detail one or more of the many paths to salvation and at the same time not lose sight of the main road.