India and Its Faiths

Looking to gain fresh insights into the psychology of religion, James Bissett Pratt traveled to India, packing little more than a gift of extraordinary human sympathy. It was Pratt's interest in psychology, and his lack of training in oriental classics, that gives this book such a personal approach. India and Its Faiths is sprinkled with numerous first-hand observations and seeks to present Indian religious life as it was at the beginning of the 20th century. Pratt's striking work did much to make India's religions come alive for the first time for many Western readers. JAMES BISSETT PRATT (1875 -1944) was a professor of philosophy at Williams College and a world traveler. Best known for his works on religion, Pratt spent four summers and three sabbatical years in Europe and the East. He admitted to a serious case of wanderlust, which he documented in diaries and photographs.