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Synopsis The present volume contains a kaleidoscopic survey of different facets of prominent religious systems of ancient and modern India based on the personal observation and investigations of the learned scholar into the religious practices of the language and literature of India involving nearly half a century. The book deals primarily with Vedism, Brahmanism and Hinduism which according to the learned author are the three most important and difficult phases of Indian religious thought and systems right upto the modern times. The study is thus not simply a recounting of well-known tenets of the diverse religious systems of India but probing into the details and cognate factors. The book besides having an introductory chapter contains twenty chapters dealing extensively with Vedism, Brahmanism; Saivism; Vaishnavism; Minor Sects and Reforming Theistic Movements, Saktism or Goddess-worship; Tutelary and Village Deities; Demon-worship and Serpent-worship; Hero-worship and Saint-worship; Death, Funeral Rites and Ancestor-worship; Worship of Animals, Trees and Inanimate objects; the Hindu Religion in Ancient Family Life; the Hindu Religion and Modern Family-life; the Religious Life of the Orthodox Hindu Householder; Hindu Fasts, Festivals and Holy Days; Temples, Shrines and Sacred Places; Caste in Relation to Trades and Industries; besides two chapters on Modern Hindu Theism dealing with Ram Mohan Roy and his successors.