Following Jesus in the Hindu Context

The Intriguing Implications of N.V. Tilak's Life and Thought



Narayan Vaman Tilak was raised in western India in a Brahmin family as a Hindu of the highest caste. He was an ardent nationalist and gifted poet. Baptized in 1895, he remained one of the most highly placed Hindu leaders to turn to faith in Jesus Christ.



Tilak was never fully at home in the westernized systems of church and mission life in India. He was a pioneer in adapting Hindu forms for the expression of biblical faith. After 21 years in mission service, Tilak resigned in 1917 and entered the fourth stage of traditional Brahmin life, sannyasa or renunciation. In this last brief stage of his life, Tilak saw himself as an apostle to India and sought to gather a fellowship of both baptized and unbaptized disciples of Jesus.



Following Jesus in the Hindu Context tells Tilak's story as one of the outstanding pioneers of Protestant mission history. His life and ministry contain critically important insights for all students of the interaction between Christianity and other religions, particularly between biblical and Hindu faiths.