All About Hinduism
by Hindu American Foundation
Latest episode
A story about cultural appropriation and open-mindedness
A story about cultural appropriation and open-mindedness
About this podcast
Want to learn all about Hinduism, the world's oldest and third-largest religion? Like actually understand what karma is? Or what dharma means? Do you want to know what the sacred texts of Hinduism are? Or, maybe, you just want to know why Hindu women wear a dot on their forehead? Or, perhaps, if all Hindus vegetarian? If so, then All About Hinduism is just what you’ve been waiting for. We’ll give you an overview of Hinduism as a lived and contemporary spiritual path. We’ll explore the history of how Hinduism has come to be what it is today: the third-largest and oldest religious tradition in the world.
We’ll also clear up some of the misconceptions out there about Hinduism, as well as unflinchingly address some of the more contentious issues in Hinduism’s past and present. Hosted by Mat McDermott and brought to you by the Hindu American Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 24 episodes
- A story about cultural appropriation and open-mindedness · 14 min · Season 2 Episode 10If this collection of practices, teachings, philosophies, and methodologies for living, for spiritual exploration that we call Hinduism, that we call the Hindu Dharma Traditions…
- All About the Third Nature, a Hindu approach to thinking about gender and sexuality · 11 min · Season 2 Episode 9Complex and nuanced discussions about gender roles, stereotypes and expectations, the varieties of sexual attraction and social expectations — and the alphabet soup of identity…
- Yoga… so much more than downward dogs and headstands · 21 min · Season 2 Episode 8Global yoga is a multi-billion dollar a year fitness, health, and wellness industry, with all sorts of people from all walks of life and with a full range of spiritual…
- What’s the difference between a Hindu monk, priest, and guru? · 10 min · Season 2 Episode 7In some religious traditions, the person who overseas services and rituals, advises members of the community on spiritual or social matters, knows the history of the tradition…
- What are the major holidays and festivals of Hinduism · 15 min · Season 2 Episode 6When you consider all the different parts of the Hindu Dharma Traditions, there is a holiday, festival, or commemoration of some sort for nearly every day of the year. Missed…
- What are the main sects of Hinduism? · 17 min · Season 2 Episode 5All of the world’s religions have internal divisions, sometimes deep ones. Hinduism too has internal sub-divisions, though the differences between them are less contentious than…
- Who do Hindus worship? · 31 min · Season 2 Episode 4How do Hindus today actually think about and interact with the multitude of representations and aspects of Divinity? Are there really 2 million gods that are worshiped within the…
- How do Hindus worship, and is this even the best word to use? · 17 min · Season 2 Episode 3Worship is an old word, but one that doesn’t fully represent the ways in which Hindus honor the divine, whether in their homes or in temples. Missed the first series of episodes…
- We’re Back: All About Hinduism Series 2 teaser, with a note on formatting · 3 min · Season 2 Episode 1Want to learn all about Hinduism, the world's oldest and third-largest religion? Like actually understand what karma is? Or what dharma means? Do you want to know what the sacred…
- Why the way we talk about Hinduism needs to change · 19 min · Season 2 Episode 2One of the underlying themes in the first series of episodes of All About Hinduism is that this spiritual tradition is often misunderstood by those people outside of it. Some of…
- We've got to talk about caste · 27 min · Season 1 Episode 13Caste is one of the most complicated and misunderstood concepts encountered when attempting to understand India and Hinduism. Yet caste and a so-called caste system have become…
- We’ve got to talk about the word Aryan · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 12If you think of Nazis, white supremacists, the Holocaust, a rabble of Fred Perry-wearing white dudes marching in Charlottesville, Virginia chanting “Jews will not replace us”, we…
- The big popular misconceptions about Hinduism episode · 22 min · Season 1 Episode 11Hindu teachings and traditions continue to be widely misunderstood because of inaccurate or stereotyped, caricatured “caste, cows, and karma” portrayals. Hosted on Acast. See…
- What are the yamas and niyamas? · 15 min · Season 1 Episode 10Hinduism’s most basic ethical foundation — its guidelines, observances, and practices for living — are called yama and niyama. As most generally expressed, there are five of…
- What is reincarnation? · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 9The cycle of reincarnation — birth, death, and rebirth — is called s amsara. It is the process through which individual divine consciousness or souls, for lack of better word…
- What karma is, and isn't · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 8Despite the fact that the word karma is arguably one of the most common Hindu concepts to have entered into casual usage in the Western world, it's a much understood topic, both…
- What is dharma? · 16 min · Season 1 Episode 7One-word English translations of dharma provided by scholars are numerous. Law, duty, custom, religion, path are all regularly used. But none of those singularly hold together…
- What are the main Hindu rites of passage and sacraments? · 13 min · Season 1 Episode 6Every culture marks moments in human life in some way. We honor and recognize those points where our experience of and place in society moves, through a doorway, passing from one…
- Are all Hindus vegetarian? · 15 min · Season 1 Episode 5Hindu scripture is replete with passages supporting vegetarian diet. In practice less than half of all Hindus are fully vegetarian. In this episode we explore why that is, the…
- What are the main spiritual texts of Hinduism? · 11 min · Season 1 Episode 4Hinduism does not one single book that all Hindu lineages turn to. Rather, Hinduism has a truly vast collection of ancient religious writings. Let’s sort it all out. Hosted on…
