“I go forth to preach a religion of which Buddhism is nothing but a rebel child and Christianity, with all her pretensions, only a distant echo.” – Swami Vivekananda (Complete works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 9, “Sayings and Utterances”) This is what Swami Vivekananda said about Hinduism before he left for America in 1893 to join the Parliament of the World’s religions. This was said not to belittle any religion but to underscore the greatness of Hinduism which was little known at that time in Europe and America. Hindu philosophy is lofty and sublime. It is based on mystic spiritual experiences of the sages. It’s different schools of philosophy are all based on the Srutis (that which is heard) or the Vedas. The Vedic shlokas are eternal truths revealed to the ancient sages (rishis) and have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques. “Ekam Sat Bipra Bahuda Vadanti (Truth is one, sages call it by various names) – thundered Rig Veda. Again after few thousand years during which Hinduism weathered various political and religious turmoil, we hear the same thing from the Hindu mystic saint and guru of Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa : “Joto Mot Tato Poth” ( As many opinions so many ways). The crux of the saying is not only tolerance but also acceptance. Hinduism is unique in the sense that it has neither any definite date of its origin nor has it any definite founder associated with it. It is called Santana dharma, a religion coming down to people through eternity. Various schools of Hindu philosophy have come into existence on account of various explanations given by different philosophers regarding the relationship of man with God or with the universe. The intuitive perceptions of truth of the founders of these different philosophies are really amazing.