All, I would be grateful if anyone could tell me (at beitel@gwu.edu) an email address for Reginald A. Ray, of the 1994 OUP book Buddhist Saints in India, who is aso at the Dharma Ocean Foundation in Colorado.
 
Thanks,
Alf Hiltebeitel

On Sun, Jan 29, 2012 at 10:20 PM, Dean Michael Anderson <eastwestcultural@yahoo.com> wrote:
I ran across some people on the internet the other day who insist that the transition from the Vedic period to the early Hindu period involved, not a transition, but a wholesale rejection of the Vedic gods and their replacement with Hindu ones. They say the Vedic gods are reviled in Hinduism.

This goes against everything I know about this transition. It seems to originate from some very early Indological writings by Western scholars but they haven't been able to provide me with anything more than a list of *possible* books -- Oldenberg, McDonnell, etc. -- no page references.

Does anyone know where this idea may have arisen? I can see how they might have gotten this idea from the Buddhist/Jain texts or the later Bhakti period but not about the development of early Hinduism.

Also, can anyone provide me with a reference to succinct discussion of the current scholarly position that I could pass on to them rather than having to write something myself from the source texts?

Best,

Dean

Dean Anderson
East West Cultural Institute