All About Hinduism
Hindu American Foundation
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.
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Top 10 All About Hinduism Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best All About Hinduism episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to All About Hinduism for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite All About Hinduism episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
We've got to talk about caste
All About Hinduism
05/31/23 • 27 min
Caste 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 the singular focus of how Indian and Hindu society and culture are seen by the West — and increasingly being focused on by activists within the diaspora.
Sources:
- German Indology, Aryanism, and Anti-Semitism, by Vishwa Adluri and Joydeep Bagchee
- The Indian Caste System and The British – Ethnographic Mapping and the Construction of the British Census in India, by Kevin Hobson
- The Brahmin, the Aryan, and the Powers of the Priestly Class: Puzzles in the Study of Indian Religion, by Marianne Keppens and Jakob De Roover
- Caste Confusion and Census Enumeration in Colonial India, 1871–1921 by Kevin Walby and Michael Haan
- Census in Colonial India and the Birth of Caste by Padmanabh Samarendra
- Ethnographic inquiry in colonial India: Herbert Risley, William Crooke, and the study of tribes and castes by C.J. Fuller
- ‘Untouchable’: What is in a Name?, by Simon Charsley
- Scheduled Castes vs. Caste Hindus: About a Colonial Distinction and Its Legal Impact, by Jakob de Roover
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Who is a Hindu?
All About Hinduism
03/22/23 • 21 min
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What are the main Hindu rites of passage and sacraments?
All About Hinduism
04/12/23 • 12 min
Every 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 room, as it were, to the next. In doing so, in making that passage, we become changed. In Hinduism these rites of passage, these sacraments, are called samskāra.
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What is dharma?
All About Hinduism
04/19/23 • 15 min
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We’ve got to talk about the word Aryan
All About Hinduism
05/24/23 • 18 min
If 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 don’t blame you. If your primary source of knowledge about India is your average high school textbook or mass market travel guideyou might also conjure up images of a group of light-skinned Aryans invading India in the hoary past and subjugating the darker skinned people already living there, the invaders imposing their beliefs and culture. In this episode we explain to you the connection between those two sets of imagery and how both are hugely off the mark.
Related: That's So Hindu interview with Professor Lavanya Vemsani
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How do Hindus worship, and is this even the best word to use?
All About Hinduism
03/20/25 • 16 min
Worship 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 of All About Hinduism? Start here on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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Who do Hindus worship?
All About Hinduism
03/27/25 • 31 min
How 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 Hindu Dharma traditions? Is Hinduism polytheistic, monotheistic, pantheistic? Something else can you say that all the different parts of this collection of traditions are in agreement on this?
Missed the first series of episodes of All About Hinduism? Start here on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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The big popular misconceptions about Hinduism episode
All About Hinduism
05/17/23 • 22 min
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What are the yamas and niyamas?
All About Hinduism
05/10/23 • 14 min
Hinduism’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 each. The yamas are often described as principles, while the niyamas are often called practices or observances.
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What karma is, and isn't
All About Hinduism
04/26/23 • 9 min
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FAQ
How many episodes does All About Hinduism have?
All About Hinduism currently has 20 episodes available.
What topics does All About Hinduism cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Hinduism, Religion & Spirituality and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on All About Hinduism?
The episode title 'We've got to talk about caste' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on All About Hinduism?
The average episode length on All About Hinduism is 15 minutes.
How often are episodes of All About Hinduism released?
Episodes of All About Hinduism are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of All About Hinduism?
The first episode of All About Hinduism was released on Feb 15, 2023.
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