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In this episode Suhag Shukla talks with Rukmini Walker.

Rukmini Walker is an activist in women’s spiritual empowerment and interfaith dialogue. She is the founder of the Urban Devi collective (urbandevi.com), based out of Bhakti Center (bhakticenter.org) in New York City, where she is a member of the board of directors. Rukmini is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium.  She is also a member of Sabha – a thirty person international committee that advises the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness.  She has been traversing the path of Bhakti for most of her life, living in India, Canada and the US as one of the first disciples of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who first brought the path of Bhakti to the West in 1965. She is featured in the film, Women of Bhakti. Rukmini writes, teaches, and leads workshops and retreats internationally. The kirtan artist, Gaura Vani, is her son. Together, they lead a Bhakti Immersion Kirtan Adventure to India each year. She lives in the Washington, DC area where she and her husband lead a Vaisnava (that is, the Bhakti tradition) Christian Dialogue and a Vaisnava Muslim Dialogue each year. Rukmini sees the world animated by spirit, and practices an eco-Bhakti seeing truth and beauty in nature and in the world as kindred spirits.

You can follow Rukmini at: https://www.facebook.com/rukmini.walker/,https://www.patreon.com/RukminiWalker , and on Instagram under Rukmini Walker.

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In this episode Mat McDermott talks with author Phil Goldberg (American Veda, The Life of Yogananda) about the history of Hindus and Hinduism in the United States, the growing influence of Hindu Americans, and what he thinks are popular misconceptions about Hindu beliefs and practices. 

READ MORE: https://philipgoldberg.com

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Listen to Deepak Chopra and Eddie Stern discuss ways in which we all can use yoga, meditation, and pranayama to deal with the stress of living through the current pandemic.

LEARN MORE

The Chopra Foundation
The Chopra Center
Eddie Stern
The Breathing App

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Ayurveda, India’s ancient system of healing, defines good health not by the absence of disease, but the presence of physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. Integrative medicine, a modern holistic medical discipline, views health through the patient’s physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and environmental influences. Are these systems complementary? What role do they play in cultivating good health? How can ancient practices be combined with modern medicine to help build immunity?

Dr. Palanisamy approach blends the best of conventional medicine and complementary medicine, such as Ayurveda, the time-tested traditional medical system of India. He’s worked with thousands of patients to help them heal and recover. Dr. Palanisamy is also the author of The Paleovedic Diet, a book offering a comprehensive roadmap to optimal health combining the most effective aspects of the Paleo diet with Ayurveda and the latest scientific research.

View Dr. Palanisamy's slide presentation used in the original live webinar. 

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In the special episode of That's So Hindu, HAF Co-Founder Dr. Aseem Shukla (Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Department of Urology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania) moderates a discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring: 

• Former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy;
• Dr. Lavannya Pandit (Assistant Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine; full-time staff physician at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Houston, Texas) 
• Dr. Mihir Meghani (HAF co-founder and board of director member; Emergency Medicine Physician at Kaiser Permanente in the East Bay, CA)
• Dr. Rajiv Pandit (HAF board member; Otolaryngologist and Clinical Instructor in the Dept. of Surgery and Section Chief of Otolaryngology, at Methodist Dallas Medical Center)
• Dr. Abhay Dandekar (pediatrician in practice at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA, served as a pediatric residency and clerkship director, and is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco), and; 
• Dr. Kavita Pallod Sekhsaria (HAF National Leadership Council member; clinical psychologist working for Quince Orchard Psychotherapy; Board of Advisors for MannMukti, which aims to fight mental health stigma in the South Asian Community). 

Legal disclaimer: Nothing being said on this call should constitute medical advice. Consult with your physician & with local recommendations. Stay up to date on current recommendations at CDC.gov. 

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In this episode Suhag Shukla interviews author Nandini Patwardhan about her book Radical Spirits: India’s First Woman Doctor and her American Champions, a biography of Anandi-bai Joshee, who in 1883 as an 18-year old left Calcutta for the United States to study medicine, and who went on to become India’s first woman to earn a medical degree from an American college.

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In this episode, the first of our Hindu At Heart series of interviews, Indu Viswanathan speaks with author Aditi Banerjee on a wide range of issues: Hindu sacred geography in Ayodhya and Varanasi, growing up Hindu in America, and a variety of other topics.

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For this episode Mat McDermott has a conversation with Sandy Rao, Dr Vishnu Bisram, and Dr Indrani Ramprasad about the Indo-Carribean Hindu community, the lack of representation of the Caribbean Hindu diaspora in New York City school textbooks, the current situation for Hindus in Guyana and Trinidad, and more. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Viriah, Krishna Gubli

Making Children Hinduphobic: A Critical Review of McGraw Hill’s World History Textbooks, Kundan Singh, Krishna Maheshwari

Sanatana Dharma and Plantation Hinduism: Exploration and Reflections of an Indian Guyanese Hindu, Ramesh Gampat

Modern World History HMH Social Studies 2018 — used in John Adams High School Queens NY

American History HMH Social Studies 2018 — used in John Adams High School Queens NY

Fred Stella goes to Guyana, hears that Hindu gods are demons

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In this episode of That's So Hindu, our 100th, Samir Kalra speaks with Middle East Forum's Sam Westrop about their new report detailing how Hamas raises money through charitable organizations in the West, and the connections with funding for Islamist groups in India and South Asia more broadly.

Download the report here

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In the second part of this two-part episode, Suhag Shukla speaks with Sanjay Lazar who lost his entire family in the Air India Flight 182 bombing and was literally orphaned while still a child. This is the story of his life beyond the tragedy of the worst terrorist act in aviation history until 9/11.

Pre-order the first part of Sanjay's book series on his experience "On Angel's Wings" here.

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In the first part of this two-part episode, Suhag Shukla speaks with Sanjay Lazar who lost his entire family in the Air India Flight 182 bombing and was literally orphaned while still a child. This is the story of his life beyond the tragedy of the worst terrorist act in aviation history until 9/11.

Pre-order the first part of Sanjay's book series on his experience "On Angel's Wings" here.

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For this special two-part episode we’ve got something a little bit different. This time, Dr indu Viswanathan, who’s been a guest on the show twice, is on the other side of the interviewing equation. She’s speaking with a young Hindu man, who has a unique and important story to tell. Keshav was raised Hindu and began questing his beliefs, to the point that he converted to Islam and began publicly making stereotypical Hinduphobic comments and denouncing India. But Keshav had a change of heart and mind, and came back to Hinduism — only to receive threats for leaving Islam. At his request, we're calling him by the pseudonym 'Keshav' and disguising his voice.

Read a transcript of this episode here

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For this special two-part episode we’ve got something a little bit different. This time, Dr indu Viswanathan, who’s been a guest on the show twice, is on the other side of the interviewing equation. She’s speaking with a young Hindu man, who has a unique and important story to tell. Keshav was raised Hindu and began questing his beliefs, to the point that he converted to Islam and began publicly making stereotypical Hinduphobic comments and denouncing India. But Keshav had a change of heart and mind, and came back to Hinduism — only to receive threats for leaving Islam. At his request, we're calling him by the pseudonym 'Keshav' and disguising his voice.

Read a transcript of this episode here

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For this episode we have something a bit different for you. It’s a special episode for Navaratri. We've interviewed several members of our extended HAF team as well as members of the Hindu American community about how they celebrate Navaratri today, what they remember about the holiday growing up, and how their understanding of it has changed over the years. What you’ll hear are excepts from longer interviews our staff writer Syama Allard did with each person.

Here are the full versions of these interviews, as well as some interviews that didn't make it into the episode. If you don't see one mentioned in the episode, check back shortly. As the written versions get published we'll add them here.

https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-bhutanese-refugee-bhuwan-pyakurel

https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-hindu-american-samir-kalra

https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-iskcon-communications-director-anuttama-das

https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-hindu-american-kavita-pallod

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In this episode we speak with Akshar from The Emissary about an article he published earlier this year about Critical Caste Theory, as well as the activists who view Hinduism, Hindu culture, and India’s history and contemporary society through this very narrow lens.

Read the article that we're talking about here.

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In this episode we speak with Prof. David Haberman from Indiana University about his extensive work documenting how Hindus bring trees, stones, and mountains into their religious worship.

Buy the books we discuss: People Trees, Loving Stones

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In this episode we're speaking with film director Nico Oscoff on his latest project 1893: Year of the Yogi, a documentary currently planned to be released in 2024.

Learn more: https://www.instagram.com/1893yoty/

Donate to the film here.

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In this special episode Mat McDermott moderates a discussion between HAF Co-Founder Suhag Shukla and Managing Director Samir Kalra about the latest revelations in the case of alleged caste discrimination at the BAPS temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, and how the connect to the similar allegations as Cisco Systems in California.

Please note: The audio quality on this one isn't quite up to our usual standards as the That's So Hindu recording studio is in the midst of being moved to another location. But we felt like this one couldn't wait so proceeded anyway.

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In this episode we speak with Ananda and Suguna Prathik, the husband and wife team behind the non-profit Behind Every Temple, who are are doing some really interesting work restoring ancient temples in Tamil Nadu.

Learn more: www.behindeverytemple.org

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In this episode we speak with Georgetown University's Brahmachari Vrajvihari Sharan about the tension between the internal diversity and pluralistic outlook of Hinduism and both the trend and sometimes need to present Hinduism as one thing to the non-Hindu world.

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In this episode we're speaking with Lavanya Vemsani, professor of history at Shawnee State University in Ohio, specializing in Indian history and religion. Her latest paper in the International Review of Modern Sociology is titled “Global Hinduphobia: Construed, Constructed, and Unleashed from the West” and that’s what we’re going to talk: Hinduphobia, the fallacy of Aryan Invasion Theory, and how to revamp the study of Hinduism so that a more accurate picture of Hinduisms past and present can glimpsed.

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In this episode we're speaking with Professor Jeffery D Long, who teaches religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. This his second time on the show. And today we’re discussing a recent paper he’s written on the connections between deep ecology and advaita vedanta. 

Read more: Advaita Vedanta and Its Implications for Deep Ecology

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Do you want to know more about Hinduism? 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. 

All About Hinduism is the new podcast from the Hindu American Foundation.

Coming in 2023 to wherever you listen to podcasts.

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In this episode Suhag Shukla speaks with Andrew Jasko. Andrew was born into a minister’s family and became a preacher and missionary to India, after studying theology at Wheaton College and Princeton Seminary. After an agonizing crisis of faith, he rejected religion and spirituality. Later, after finding healing through practices like meditation, psychedelics, and breathwork, that introduced him to profound mystical experiences for the first time, he embraced Hinduism. He currently counsels people healing from religious trauma and is studying Sanskrit and Classical Indian religion at Oxford University. Suhag and Andrew discuss his journey, first to atheism, then Hinduism; how his time in India transformed in unexpected ways; what missionaries in India are really thinking; the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma, and much more. 

Find out more about Andrew at: https://lifeafterdogma.org/ 

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