Indian Religions

Indian Religions

episodes

Interviews with scholars of Indian religions about their new books.

Channel Sponsors:

Daniela Bevilacqua, "From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus' Understanding of Embodied Practices" (Equinox, 2024)

October 24, 2024

From Tapas to Modern Yoga

Daniela Bevilacqua
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Extensively based on fieldwork material, From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus' Understanding of Embodied Practices (Equinox, 2024) primarily analyses emb…

Lauren Tober, "Mental Health Aware Yoga: A Guide for Yoga Teachers" (Singing Dragon, 2024)

October 20, 2024

Mental Health Aware Yoga

Lauren Tober
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

When taught properly, yoga can be a healing and life-affirming practice for students experiencing mental illness. Lauren Tober's book Mental Health Aw…

Suganya Anandakichenin, "The Monsoon Cloud: Poet Kāḷamēkam and His Irreverent Poetry" (Primus, 2024)

October 17, 2024

The Monsoon Cloud

Suganya Anandakichenin
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

A wordsmith, an extempore poet and a satirist, Kāḷamēkam (also known as Kāḷamēka Pulavar; fifteenth century) is widely known for his taṉippāṭals or 's…

Jennifer Lang, "Landed: A Yogi's Memoir in Pieces & Poses" (Vine Leaves Press, 2024)

October 17, 2024

Landed

Jennifer Lang
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

In her latest memoir, Landed: A Yogi's Memoir of Places & Poses (2024, Vine Leaves Press), American-born Jennifer traces her journey-both on and off …

Michael Thomas Williams, "Existence and Perception in Medieval Vedānta: Vyāsatīrtha's Defence of Realism in the Nyāyāmṛta" (de Gruyter, 2024)

October 10, 2024

Existence and Perception in Medieval Vedānta

Michael Thomas Williams
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Existence and Perception in Medieval Vedānta: Vyāsatīrtha's Defence of Realism in the Nyāyāmṛta (de Gruyter, 2024) focuses on discussions of metaphysi…

Deepa Das Acevedo, "The Battle for Sabarimala: Religion, Law, and Gender in Contemporary India" (Oxford UP, 2024)

October 3, 2024

The Battle for Sabarimala

Deepa Das Acevedo
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The Battle for Sabarimala: Religion, Law, and Gender in Contemporary India (Oxford UP, 2024) tells the story of one of contemporary India’s most conte…

Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav, "Being Hindu, Being Indian: Lala Lajpat Rai’s Ideas of Nationhood" (India Viking, 2024)

September 29, 2024

Being Hindu, Being Indian

Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav
Hosted by Anamitra Ghosh

Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav’s book Being Hindu, Being Indian: Lala Lajpat Rai’s Ideas of Nationhood (Penguin Random House India, 2024) undertakes a systema…

Michael C. Baltutis, "What is Hinduism?: A Student's Introduction" (Routledge, 2024)

September 26, 2024

What is Hinduism?

Michael C. Baltutis
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Michael C. Baltutis' book What is Hinduism?: A Student's Introduction (Routledge, 2024) is an engaging introduction to the complex religious tradition…

Rafal K. Stepien, "Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy: Nāgārjuna and the Ethics of Emptiness" (Oxford UP, 2024)

September 24, 2024

Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy

Rafal K. Stepien
Hosted by Jessica Zu

Nāgārjuna (c. 150-250), founder of the Madhyamaka or Middle Way school of Buddhist philosophy and the most influential of all Buddhist thinkers aside …

Hari Dutt Sharma, "Gulmini: An Anthology of Sanskrit Lyrics and Gazals" (Rākā Prakāśana, 2023)

September 19, 2024

Gulmini

Hari Dutt Sharma
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Today I talked to Hari Dutt Sharma about Gulmini: An Anthology of Sanskrit Lyrics and Gazals (Rākā Prakāśana, 2023). The book presents 51 lyrical poem…

Cogen Bohanec, "Bhakti Ethics, Emotions, and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics" (Lexington, 2024)

September 12, 2024

Bhakti Ethics, Emotions, and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics

Cogen Bohanec
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Bhakti Ethics, Emotions, and Love in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Metaethics (Lexington Books, 2024) explores the broader implications of understanding bhakti, “d…

The Body in Classical Hathayoga, with Ruth Westoby

September 8, 2024

The Body in Classical Hathayoga

Ruth Westoby
Hosted by Pierce Salguero

In this episode Dr Pierce Salguero sits down with Ruth Westoby a scholar, teacher, and practitioner of yoga. We discuss Ruth’s work on the body in ea…

Christopher P. Miller et al., "Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age" (Lexington, 2019)

September 5, 2024

Beacons of Dharma

Christopher Patrick Miller, Michael Reading, and Jeffery D. Long
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Today’s globalized society faces some of humanity’s most unprecedented social and environmental challenges. Presenting new and insightful approaches t…

Sanjay Lal, "Gandhi's Thought and Liberal Democracy" (Lexington Books, 2019)

September 2, 2024

Gandhi's Thought and Liberal Democracy

Sanjay Lal
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Is religion indispensable to public life? What can Gandhi’s thought contribute to the modern state? With an intense focus on both the depth and practi…

Tracy Pintchman, "Goddess Beyond Boundaries: Worshipping the Eternal Mother at a North American Hindu Temple" (Oxford UP, 2023)

August 29, 2024

Goddess Beyond Boundaries

Tracy Pintchman
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The Parashakthi Temple in Pontiac, Michigan serves as a site of worship for the Hindu goddess Karumariamman, whose origins are in South India. In her …

Karl Hoffmann and Johanna Narten, "Vedic Sentences: Edited from the Literary Estate" (Heidelberg Asian Studies, 2024)

August 26, 2024

Vedic Sentences

Karl Hoffmann and Johanna Narten
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

The ancient Indian Vedas contain sentences of rather varied content, including religious statements ("Varuṇa truly is the king of the gods"), words of…

Jeffery D. Long et al., "Hinduism and Tribal Religions" (Springer, 2021)

August 22, 2024

Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Jeffery D. Long, Rita D. Sherma, Madhu Khanna, and Pankaj Jain
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Hinduism and Tribal Religions (Springer, 2021) offers an overview of Hinduism as found in India and the diaspora. Exploring Hinduism in India in dynam…

Dalpat Rajpurohit, "Sundar's Dreams: Ārambhik Ādhunikatā, Dādūpanth and Sundardās's Poetry" (Rajkamal, 2022)

August 19, 2024

Sundar's Dreams

Dalpat Rajpurohit
Hosted by Kshitij Jain

Dalpat Rajpurohit's book Sundar's Dreams: Ārambhik Ādhunikatā, Dādūpanth and Sundardās's Poetry (Rajkamal, 2022) explores the making and lifespan of a…

Anthony P. Stone, "Hindu Astrology: Myths, Symbols, and Realities" (Pippa Rann Books, 2023)

August 15, 2024

Hindu Astrology

Anthony P. Stone
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Does Hindu astrology work? If so, why? When does it not work? Why? Where and how did Hindu astrology arise and develop? What are its similarities with…

Murad Khan Mumtaz, "Faces of God: Images of Devotion in Indo-Muslim Painting, 1500-1800" (Brill, 2023)

August 8, 2024

Faces of God

Murad Khan Mumtaz
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Islamic art is often misrepresented as an iconophobic tradition. As a result of this assumption, the polyvalence of figural artworks made for South As…