Important Aspects of Hinduism There are many different areas of Hinduism covered in the book The Hindu Religious Tradition. The first major area discussed concerns the Aryans and early Indian culture. Indus civilizations, cities, art and culture are explained. The coming of the Aryans, the Gods of the early Aryans, and the Aryan fire sacrifice are also discussed. The creative power of sacrifice is explained. The Upanishads and a man's search for self, speculation in the early Upanishads, the teaching of the Yajnavalkya and the ultimate goal of the Upanishads are also important topics in this book. The religious implications of the teaching of the Upanishads and the challenge and change of Hinduism are explored. Finally, the new Brahmanical synthesis, religion in the epics and puranas, late Puranic religion, the entire tradition and the continuing tradition are all explained comprehensively in this book. Karma and Dharma in the Brahmanical tradition has been a topic that has expanded my knowledge in the subject more than the textbook can explain. The Dharma is a broad body of Brahmanical teachings on social and ritual responsibilities. This is "what men should do." This was defined largely in terms of appropriate actions in a sacrificial world in the early Vedas and the Brahmans. "The Dharma, what men must do, could therefore not be limited to the circumscribed set of ritual actions of the fire sacrifice, but had to include all the actions with which men express and define their place in the cosmos". In the development of Brahmanical thought karma and rebirth were important. Brahmanical texts classified as karma-kanda, dealing with actions, as distinguished from texts such as the Upanishads were jnana-kanda, dealing with knowledge. The... middle of paper... is also much younger than the men when they married. Some girls married before reaching puberty, others married soon after reaching puberty. The girl's father was responsible for organizing his daughter's wedding. Brahman women could only marry Brahman men, and any other marital relationship would be considered pratiloma, meaning against the grain. This would bring misfortune to both the girl's family and her children. Thomas Hopkins, the author of his book, gave a great overview of the religion of Hinduism. All the topics in the book were well touched upon and helped me understand religion, its meaning and its basis much more clearly than I knew before. His writing style and division of topics into different topics were very organized and thus make it easy for the reader to understand.