"Hinduism Today" was launched in 1979 by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (Gurudeva), published by his non-profit organization Himalayan Academy. Originally "The New Saivite World", the magazine was a small black-and-white periodical without a fixed publication schedule. The first issue appeared February 1979, with the goal of giving a voice to Gurudeva's worldwide fellowship in a way that was easy to read, simple to produce, mail and handle. The newsletter was to be a people-oriented paper, not so much devoted to philosophy or teaching since the Himalayan Academy was publishing books on Hindu-related metaphysical topics as early as 1957.