In this 12-lecture series, you'll encounter a religion that is perhaps the most diverse of all; one that worships more gods and goddesses than any other, and one that rejects the notion that there is only one path to the divine. These lectures provide a window into the roots of, perhaps, all religions. You'll explore over the course of Hinduism's 5,000-year journey: the Indus Valley civilization; the sizable variety of Hindu gods and goddess; the sacred writings in the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads; Hindu ritual purity rites; the Aryan language of Sanskrit, whose roots can be seen in English words such as "divine," "video," and "ignite"; and much more.
The story of Hinduism, you'll come to see, is the story of very non-Western traditions (such as arranged marriages and the caste system) that have survived and thrived for thousands of years. It's also home to a wealth of gods, terms, and practices (such as karma, Krishna, yoga, and guru) that have found a home in Western lives and language. Along the way, Dr. Muesse discusses salient aspects of Hindu life and places them in historical and theological context. He also explains that Hinduism honors all seekers of truth, that it contains multiple paths to divine reality (the way of action, the way of wisdom, and the way of devotion), and that it can be both a monotheistic and a polytheistic faith.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses
When I drive, I read... uhm listen. I like SciFi, Fantasy, some Detective and Espionage novels and Religion. Now and then I will also listen to something else.
I have started to read a summary of the Mahabharata, one of the Hindu faith’s sacred scriptures and the longest human epic ever written. When I came across the concept of ‘purushartha’ (the goal of human existence) that consists out of ‘dharma’ (conduct within society), artha (economic actions), kama (pursuit of pleasure) and moksha (spiritual activities), I knew I was in trouble. My previous formal study in the phenomenology of Religions just weren’t enough to give me an understanding of the great epic.
I discovered the Great Courses twelve lecture course by Prof. Mark W Muesse on Audible and decided to try it out. I am glad that I did!
In a mere twelve lectures Prof. Muesse takes the listener through the family of Indian faiths commonly called Hinduism. He starts of placing Hinduism within an historical context from which he introduces concepts and ideas that entered these religions piece by piece, almost like building a puzzle.
I founded his lectures on the Vedas, the oldest holy writ of the religion very insightful. The fact that there was an unknown civilisation discovered in the Indus valley with a yet undeciphered written language is intriguing. It was also interesting to hear resonances of Ancient Biblical family practises in his lecture ‘Men, Women, and the stages of life.’ I found the way a woman was always connected to a man through the various stages of life very interesting. Even the idea that most arranged marriages seems to be happier and less prone to producing divorcees than so-called love marriages. I wish there were a PDF of depictions of the Hindu gods that could be used with the lecture ‘Seeing God.”
However, Prof. Muesse opened the world of Hinduism to me with a clear and interesting presentation. It was easy to follow in very informative. I can heartily propose this course to anyone interested in Hinduism.
I found this course very interesting and mind expanding. I had no idea there were so many gods to worship in the Hindu tradition. I found the last chapters very interesting about Hinduism and our modern times, and the impact the colonial period had on their society.
This is the third course of world religions I have listened to in the last month.
Very worth while.
this was my first of "The Great Courses" and I'm definitely going to be purchasing others. This audiobook managed to synthesize the vastly complex body of information and delineate it in manageable conceptual blocks that were easily digested by me, the utter lay person. The narrator was a little two dimensional I thought but that was easily forgotten once the chapter progressed a little bit. All in all I was very pleased with this audio book, I found it deeply fascinating and though not quite a $5,000 university course, definitely worth the dough.
Surpassed expectations on every level. Highly recommend for the interested student/seeker. Well worth expenditure of credit. Five stars all around.
It has always been very interesting knowing about the religions of the world, and in this course they take us not only into the religion, but into the society and the background. This helps you see how the beliefs of a country as complex, as India, has shaped it through time.
I enjoyed this a lot! It was well organized, provided contextual information beyond a recitation of facts and I learned new information about a subject I've read about for years.
Learn, understand, then decide whether you accept or reject.
The Hindu system of polytheism can be a little hard to comprehend, especially when you realize they believe in a pantheon of tens of millions of deities. This course does a great job explaining the fundamental teachings of Hinduism, but it isn't all encompassing.
I felt like these lectures were entirely ethnographic, and didn't get into any of the philosophy of Hinduism. I felt like I learned more about Hindu philosophy from the Great Course on Buddhism. I feel like I could have gotten all this information on Wikipedia.
Vetted the lecturer.
No serious depth in any of the lectures. Very disappointed.
Whatever emotion corresponds to being ripped off and cheated.
"A summary of Hinduism that works"
I wanted an introduction to Hinduism prior to going to India. Nothing too heavy, but informative all the same.
This series of half hour lectures did the job superbly.
"Decent introduction to a complex tradition"
The course is good at elucidating the main points of the Hindu tradition. The constant reminders of the fact that the tradition is more incoherent than is presented is also useful for the listener.
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