Ismailism and Islamic History: A Conversation with Dr. Khalil Andani Join Mukunda as he speaks with Dr. Khalil Andani, an Islamic scholar and expert on […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks with Farhan Qureshi. Farhan is an ex-Muslim who now identifies as Hindu. He is a perennialist, who believes in that […]
Join Mukunda and Krishna as they speak with Dr. Bharat Gupt, a former Associate Professor in English at the University of Delhi, is an Indian […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks with Dr. McComas Taylor, Associate Professor of Sanskrit at Australian National University. In this episode, we discuss a host of […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Professor Raj Balkaran, Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies. He is a scholar of the Puranas and Narratives and the […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks with Dr. Edward Butler, Caitlin Storm Breaker, Jim Two Snakes and Sarenth Odinsson on Polytheism in the modern world. Caitlin, Jim and Sarenth host a podcast called Around Grandfather Fire (https://aroundgrandfatherfire.wordpress.com/) on the various polytheistic traditions and issues in the modern world. Dr. Edward Butler is a resident scholar at the Indic Academy working on Indigenous Polytheistic traditions, world views and revival.
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Professor Sthaneshwar Timalsina, Professor of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. He is also a qualified Acharya and has been trained in Sanskrit and Shastras since he was a child. He is an expert on Tantra and Abhinavagupta, a 10th century polymath genius who worked on philosophy, drama, math, music, aesthetics, and other areas. Acharya Sthaneshwar is also Founder of the Vimarsha Foundation, a 501c(3) non-profit that engages in expounding and maintaining the Kashmiri Shaivism tradition.
Join Mukunda Raghavan and Krishna Parthasarathy as they speak with Dushyanth Sridhar, a Pauranika scholar, public lecturer on Sanatana Dharma and Upanyasakar. He has spoken […]
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Neha Srivastava, Founder and President of Shaktitva Foundation. Neha and Shaktitva are focused on feminism, feminity, women’s issues, advocacy, and Hindu issues. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:
0:01:20 Introduction to Neha and her background
0:04:20 Overview of the Sabarimalai Issue
0:12:40 Women and Sabarimalai
0:18:00 Formation of Shaktitva
0:24:45 Discussion on the Nature of Hindu Temples and Government Control
0:32:20 Discussion on Shakti, Rama and understanding texts
0:37:00 Discussion of Shakti, Femininity and Gender
0:43:20 Samkhya Philosophy, Shakta Tradition and thinking on Gender
0:47:15 Hindu Understanding of Feminism
0:54:30 Attacks on Hindu Subaltern Practices and Traditions
1:18:00 History of Feminism and Difference between Western and Indian feminism
1:30:14 Village Women and Financial Literacy
1:41:40 Issues in Indian Non-Profit Law and Hinduism
1:49:20 Modern vs Traditional responses to Woman’s Health Issues specifically Menstruation
1:58:40 Dalit Scholars and Hindutva, the lack of free speech platforms
2:01:45 Concluding Thoughts and Upcoming Projects
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Indu Viswanathan and Parth Parihar. Both Parth and Indu are Phd. candidates, Indu in Education at Teachers College and Parth in Economics at Princeton. Indu and Parth are involved deeply in engaging with Hindu traditions/ideas with the modern world. In this episode, we discuss far-reaching and diverse topics including what it means to be a Hindu in the West, the colonialism of the mind vs indigenous knowledge, Racism versus Caste, Abrahamic world view vs. Dharma worldview, Karma and Agency, Hindu representation in the Media and Education, Hinduism on College Campuses, Caste System, The Idea of Decoloniality, Dharma for the 21st Century and a wealth of other topics. It is a dynamic and great conversation with two fantastic thinkers and human beings.
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Brahmachari Vrajavihari Sharan, Director for Hindu Life at Georgetown University and Adjunct Professor of Theology and Linguistics. In this episode, we talk about the West Indian Hindu experience, Nimbarkacharya (a philosopher, Vedantin and Guru of the Kumara Sampradaya) and his philosophy, the nature of Radha and Krishna, Varna, Jati and Caste in the ascetic life, Dharma, the experience of Hinduism in the diaspora and other topics. Join us for another dive into the ocean that is Hindu Thought.
You can find Brahmachari Vrajavihari Sharan at:
https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/people/vrajvihari-sharan
Twitter: @brvsharan
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Join Mukunda as he speaks to Dr. Edward Butler, Phd. Dr. Butler specializes in ancient Greco-Roman philosophy particularly Platonism and Neo-Platonism along with expertise in Polytheistic thought and philosophy. We speak at length about polytheism and monotheism, the theory of Henadology, Proclus, Hindu Thought, and other forms of polytheism and a host of other topics.
You can find Dr. Edward Butler at:
https://henadology.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @epbutler
Purchase his books at:
https://www.lulu.com/search/?adult_audience_rating=00&contributor=Edward+Butler
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Join Mukunda as he speaks to Father Francis X. Clooney, Professor of Comparative Theology at the Harvard Divinity School. Father Clooney is a scholar of Hinduism specifically Visisthadvaita Vedanta and SriVaishnavism, he is equally a practicing Catholic in the Jesuit Order. In this dialogue, Father Clooney and I discuss Catholicism, Ramanujacharya, Visistadvaita Vedanta, the nature of comparative theology, Bhakti tradition, and other topics.
Join Mukunda as he speaks to Professor Stephen Phillips of the University of Texas at Austin. Professor Phillips is an academic in Philosophy with a wide area of expertise in the Indian/Hindu Philosophical systems particularly Nyaya, Vedanta, and Yoga. In this dialogue, we discuss Prof. Phillips journey into Hindu thought, his experiences living in India, learning Sanskrit, studying Indian Philosophy directly from indigenous experts, the concept of Pramanas, the idea of soul-making, Yoga and other topics. It was an honor and pleasure to be able to have this conversation.
Join Mukunda as he talks to Jodh Singh (Twitter@jungnihang) about Sikhism. We go through a detailed history of 10 Gurus, the socio-political environment in that period, the practices of the Sikhi Dharm and other topics. If you want to learn and understand Sikhism, this is the podcast episode for you.
After a long break, Meru Media is back with some more interesting, fascinating and informative conversations. Join Mukunda as he talks to Gopi Shankar Madurai, […]
We are launching a new series called Meru Manthan: The Churning of Ideas, where we engage with thinkers, ideas and viewpoints from all traditions and religions. This series focuses on similarities, differences, and points of contention between the Dharma traditions themselves and also in regards to other world traditions.
In this inaugural episode, I speak to Rabbi Alan Brill, Professor of Jewish Studies at Seton Hall University and the author of many books including Rabbi on the Ganges: A Jewish-Hindu Encounter. We delve into his background, a few of the Jewish traditions, how he found himself engaging with Hinduism and going to India, the points of similarity and difference between the Jewish traditions and Dharma traditions, Vedanta and Kabbalah, how the Jewish Bible and tradition differs from Christianity and Islam and a host of other topics. I learned a lot from reading Rabbi Brill’s book and even more speaking to him, which I hope you all do too. It was a fascinating and truly fun conversation.
You can reach out to Rabbi Brill at ka******@gm***.com and you can purchase his books at
https://www.amazon.com/Alan-Brill/e/B001KITI7M/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
and you can check out his website at: https://kavvanah.wordpress.com/
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Join Mukunda, Racchit, and Professor Jeffery Long, Professor of Religious and Hindu Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. Professor Long is the author of many books and articles on Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Most recently Professor Long is the editor of “Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, Scientific”. This is part 4 of 4 of our discussion and in Part 4 we discuss:
1. We discuss the intersection of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Japanese culture, history, and religion. (from beginning to 18 min 30 second mark)
2. We discuss DANAM (Dharma Association of North America) and final thoughts with Prof. Long about the future of Hinduism in academia and his future works.
You can download Perspectives on Reincarnation at https://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfview/book/1097
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Join Mukunda, Racchit, and Professor Jeffery Long, Professor of Religious and Hindu Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. Professor Long is the author of many books and articles on Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Most recently Professor Long is the editor of “Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, Scientific”. This is part 3 of 4 of our discussion and in Part 3 we discuss:
1. We discuss the different types and ideas of Karma. (from beginning to 5 min mark)
2. Defense of the Rationality of Reincarnation, we discuss the rationality of believing in Reincarnation through logic and even scientific studies. We throw into the mix Samkhya, Panpsychism, the hard problem of consciousness, Jainism, and Sri Aurobindo’s ideas. (from 5 min mark to the end)
You can download Perspectives on Reincarnation at https://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfview/book/1097
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Join Mukunda, Racchit and Professor Jeffery Long, Professor of Religious and Hindu Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. Professor Long is the author of many books and articles on Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Most recently Professor Long is the editor of “Perspectives on Reincarnation: Hindu, Christian, Scientific”. This is part 1 of 5 of our discussion and in Part 1 we discuss:
1. Professor Long discusses his journey to Hinduism from Christianity starting with the tragic loss of his father at a young age to finding the Bhagavad Gita and his path to taking initiation in the Ramakrishna Mission. (from the beginning to about the 13:30 min mark)
2. We discuss Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and the tradition that they built world wide. We discuss the similarity and differences between this tradition versus the traditional Kevala Advaita Vedanta of Sankaracharya. (starts at 13:30 mark to end of part 1 at 40 min 21 sec mark )
You can download Perspectives on Reincarnation at https://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfview/book/1097
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