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Great World Religions: Hinduism
6 hours 5 mins
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.
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.
360 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2003
9 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Mark W. Muesse
14 books20 followersMark William Muesse is an American philosopher, theologian, and teacher. Muesse was born in Waco, Texas and attended University High School. He received a B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Baylor University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 1, 2017
These Great Courses are great! If you're not hearing Tony the Tiger in that line, I don't even know how to talk to you.
Seriously though, I'm really enjoying them. When I first discovered them I thought they were on par with those Learning Annex "courses", which do not have a good reputation. However, Great Courses puts together very solid lectures from highly qualified teachers. The dude who did this one, Mark W. Muesse is a Harvard-educated professor.
This lecture is an overview of Hinduism, and I mean overview literally. This is a quick, entry-level course that touches upon the basics: the important philosophies and beliefs, the major gods, etc. That's fine, because it's exactly what I was looking for. Since I'm a Hindu noob, anything deeper would've been right over my head.
Muesse is a good speaker, who clearly conveys his thoughts. Even so, I still felt slightly confused by concepts like the Vata. This is where the value of an intro course like this ends. You get a mere taste of a belief system, not the intricacies. Also, the history and world impact of Hinduism was brief. Little more than Gandhi's movement was touched upon. Again, further research will be necessary, however, this is a solid first step introduction and I highly recommend it for the beginner.
Seriously though, I'm really enjoying them. When I first discovered them I thought they were on par with those Learning Annex "courses", which do not have a good reputation. However, Great Courses puts together very solid lectures from highly qualified teachers. The dude who did this one, Mark W. Muesse is a Harvard-educated professor.
This lecture is an overview of Hinduism, and I mean overview literally. This is a quick, entry-level course that touches upon the basics: the important philosophies and beliefs, the major gods, etc. That's fine, because it's exactly what I was looking for. Since I'm a Hindu noob, anything deeper would've been right over my head.
Muesse is a good speaker, who clearly conveys his thoughts. Even so, I still felt slightly confused by concepts like the Vata. This is where the value of an intro course like this ends. You get a mere taste of a belief system, not the intricacies. Also, the history and world impact of Hinduism was brief. Little more than Gandhi's movement was touched upon. Again, further research will be necessary, however, this is a solid first step introduction and I highly recommend it for the beginner.
April 15, 2020
3.5 stars
Mark W. Muesse, a nice slow-speaking Texan, provides a six hour foray into Hinduism. Based on the religious texts of the Veda, the ultimate goal of the Hindu religion is to achieve freedom from samsara (literally "wandering" in English). Samsara describes the continual cycle of reincarnation influenced by good and bad karma from the previous life. Wandering from life to life doesn't seem so bad, Western people named a perfume Samara. But doing it enough times is apparently enough to make it the central problem of existence. There are lots of ways to generate positive karma, the 330 million gods who can be worshiped come to mind. Once enough positive karma is generated, one can give up attachment to any individuality and achieve internal peacefulness. No more rebirths.
While the focus of this audiobook is Hinduism, there is much discussion of Indian society and history. This makes sense considering that 95% of the current Hindu population live in India. I wasn't aware the proportion was so high and find it kind of amazing how little the religion has spread, being the oldest in the world and all. The term 'Hindu' also originally just referred to someone from India. In any case, Indian culture and Hinduism are closely intertwined, naturally making it a study of India as well. The discussion on gender and caste in Indian society was informative. The social hierarchy in India today follows the caste system which assumes any differences at birth are based on actions in previous lives (i.e. karma). Finishing up there is a glance at how Hinduism has been impacted by Westernisation and Islam in recent times.
Overall, the audiobook serves as a useful primer on Hinduism. Due to the short length, no real depth can be established, but it serves its basic purpose.
Mark W. Muesse, a nice slow-speaking Texan, provides a six hour foray into Hinduism. Based on the religious texts of the Veda, the ultimate goal of the Hindu religion is to achieve freedom from samsara (literally "wandering" in English). Samsara describes the continual cycle of reincarnation influenced by good and bad karma from the previous life. Wandering from life to life doesn't seem so bad, Western people named a perfume Samara. But doing it enough times is apparently enough to make it the central problem of existence. There are lots of ways to generate positive karma, the 330 million gods who can be worshiped come to mind. Once enough positive karma is generated, one can give up attachment to any individuality and achieve internal peacefulness. No more rebirths.
While the focus of this audiobook is Hinduism, there is much discussion of Indian society and history. This makes sense considering that 95% of the current Hindu population live in India. I wasn't aware the proportion was so high and find it kind of amazing how little the religion has spread, being the oldest in the world and all. The term 'Hindu' also originally just referred to someone from India. In any case, Indian culture and Hinduism are closely intertwined, naturally making it a study of India as well. The discussion on gender and caste in Indian society was informative. The social hierarchy in India today follows the caste system which assumes any differences at birth are based on actions in previous lives (i.e. karma). Finishing up there is a glance at how Hinduism has been impacted by Westernisation and Islam in recent times.
Overall, the audiobook serves as a useful primer on Hinduism. Due to the short length, no real depth can be established, but it serves its basic purpose.
March 20, 2016
Audio download...12 lectures, 30 minutes each, plus an 84 page guidebook (kind of like Cliff Notes)
This is a tough review...if you're thinking of a course that will give you a strong introduction to Hinduism, presented by a clear-speaking, well prepared lecturer...this is a good one and I recommend it.
However, I was a bit disturbed by the course material...and, I guess, Hinduism in general. Perhaps I missed the advantages of a rigid caste system...maybe women should be subservient to men...maybe widows should throw themselves onto their husbands' funeral pyre, or simply shave their heads and accept their role as second-class people. Maybe human sacrifice is OK. Admittedly, this is my first foray into Hinduism, and I probably don't really understand the spiritual world of Trīmārga...I probably will try to listen to more of the lectures from Dr Muess ('Religions of the Axial Age' seems to be a good place to start) and try to wrap my mind around a religion that is the way of life for over a billion people. Improving my (good) karma may yet become my dharma.
So I gave these lectures a 4...but think it should have been a 3.
Wait for a sale and a coupon, and be patient...apparently you have as many lives as it takes.
This is a tough review...if you're thinking of a course that will give you a strong introduction to Hinduism, presented by a clear-speaking, well prepared lecturer...this is a good one and I recommend it.
However, I was a bit disturbed by the course material...and, I guess, Hinduism in general. Perhaps I missed the advantages of a rigid caste system...maybe women should be subservient to men...maybe widows should throw themselves onto their husbands' funeral pyre, or simply shave their heads and accept their role as second-class people. Maybe human sacrifice is OK. Admittedly, this is my first foray into Hinduism, and I probably don't really understand the spiritual world of Trīmārga...I probably will try to listen to more of the lectures from Dr Muess ('Religions of the Axial Age' seems to be a good place to start) and try to wrap my mind around a religion that is the way of life for over a billion people. Improving my (good) karma may yet become my dharma.
So I gave these lectures a 4...but think it should have been a 3.
Wait for a sale and a coupon, and be patient...apparently you have as many lives as it takes.
March 27, 2024
Read to better understand my friend and her religion. So happy I did.
July 24, 2020
I am biased, I like the great courses plus series a lot, so rating this 5/5. Yes, there are courses I didn't like, but I don't finish those, and as such I don't rate them.
I still remembee from this course that:
* Hinduism is a very decentralized religion, with no formal authority and no formal canon
* There are however texts, and these have diffeeing levels of authority among the different "sects" of hinduism
* Very interesting to me: while Christianity and Islam for instance are all about "everyone doing the exact same thing", hinduism explocitly allows you to choose your own path: know god following the path of meditation, that of action, that of knowledge and that of love. Choose what best fits you! Wow!
* Castes have sub-castes :p
* Don't mess with water! Seriously, if you go to a place where people are more traditional, do not pull water from the well! They will get pissed off that you polluted the water with your impurity. Untouchables get killed for this, but people of other religions aren't pardoned without consequences either.
* Recently hinduism addopted from Christianity rituals such as "going to some place on Sunday and listening to sermons"
I still remembee from this course that:
* Hinduism is a very decentralized religion, with no formal authority and no formal canon
* There are however texts, and these have diffeeing levels of authority among the different "sects" of hinduism
* Very interesting to me: while Christianity and Islam for instance are all about "everyone doing the exact same thing", hinduism explocitly allows you to choose your own path: know god following the path of meditation, that of action, that of knowledge and that of love. Choose what best fits you! Wow!
* Castes have sub-castes :p
* Don't mess with water! Seriously, if you go to a place where people are more traditional, do not pull water from the well! They will get pissed off that you polluted the water with your impurity. Untouchables get killed for this, but people of other religions aren't pardoned without consequences either.
* Recently hinduism addopted from Christianity rituals such as "going to some place on Sunday and listening to sermons"
March 28, 2024
An excellent introduction to Hindu traditions.
October 8, 2022
Good introduction to Hinduism but one is likely to leave this lecture series with too many misconceptions. In part this is inevitable, Hinduism is probably the most diverse of all major world religions. Any attempt to pin down what Hinduism is will invariably come short. The lecturer, however, just doesn't try hard enough.
Perhaps he is trying not to be too controversial but the professor leaves too much room for students to come out of his lessons with silly beliefs, such as the ideas that Hindus really believe in God, and the seeming countless representations and images of various Hindu gods are--in truth--various forms/manifestations of the One. Modern, high caste and western Hindus like to make such claims, but in light of history and the popular (village) worship of most Indians, it is plainly false. Some Hindus do believe in God, perhaps some always have (depending on how generously one chooses to read the Vedas). But most Hindus truly are polytheists who believe in and worship their many gods. And so things have always been.
Perhaps he is trying not to be too controversial but the professor leaves too much room for students to come out of his lessons with silly beliefs, such as the ideas that Hindus really believe in God, and the seeming countless representations and images of various Hindu gods are--in truth--various forms/manifestations of the One. Modern, high caste and western Hindus like to make such claims, but in light of history and the popular (village) worship of most Indians, it is plainly false. Some Hindus do believe in God, perhaps some always have (depending on how generously one chooses to read the Vedas). But most Hindus truly are polytheists who believe in and worship their many gods. And so things have always been.
February 12, 2019
Obviously something I listened to as an Audiobook on this one. The professor has a good voice for this one that makes it easy to understand what he's talking about at around 1.6 times normal speed. A must for all good audio books.
I learned a lot more about the origins of Hinduism and more obscure aspects of the religion than I had known previously. It's worth listening to and checking out and continuing further into this particular series if you can find them. I'm working on the Comparative Religion class/audio book through the Great Courses next.
It wasn't exciting, but it's a professor recording his college lectures on the subject, so interesting and mildly engaging is about as well as you can hope for in most cases. I would say that this is a Hinduism 101 level course though because clearly there is a lot more to the religion, culture, and history than can be explained in such a short amount of time.
I learned a lot more about the origins of Hinduism and more obscure aspects of the religion than I had known previously. It's worth listening to and checking out and continuing further into this particular series if you can find them. I'm working on the Comparative Religion class/audio book through the Great Courses next.
It wasn't exciting, but it's a professor recording his college lectures on the subject, so interesting and mildly engaging is about as well as you can hope for in most cases. I would say that this is a Hinduism 101 level course though because clearly there is a lot more to the religion, culture, and history than can be explained in such a short amount of time.
January 13, 2017
I have been through this course and the other Great World Religions courses before but I am reviewing each of them this year. A six hour course can only review a few basics about such an ancient, diverse and complex religion as Hinduism. It was helpful for me to learn that the polytheistic representations of divine beings and the unusual appearance of their icons was really just a way to express the many dimensions and characteristics of Truth and to pointedly differentiate it from humans and other earthly creatures.
April 25, 2021
Fantastic introduction to Hinduism. As the speaker says, himself, the 12 lectures - and even a 40-lecture class - is not enough to do justice to the complexity and layered history of Hinduism.
However, it does a wonderful job conveying a vast amount of historical, theological, and practical aspects of Hinduism to the Western audience. I've been reading a few introductory books on Hinduism and I think this installment by Mark Meusse is the best way to start ones journey in learning about Hinduism.
However, it does a wonderful job conveying a vast amount of historical, theological, and practical aspects of Hinduism to the Western audience. I've been reading a few introductory books on Hinduism and I think this installment by Mark Meusse is the best way to start ones journey in learning about Hinduism.
April 13, 2024
I. Am. Totally. Confused! In his defense, the author warned his listeners at the very start that we would probably end the series more confused than when we started. I’d be tempted to say my confusion was the result of his poor teaching, but that is the complete opposite. He illustrated quite clearly the complexities of Hinduism: the faith, the culture, the practices. I leave the series thinking of Hinduism not as a religion, but as a complex and totally foreign way of thinking. I think that was his end goal, anyway, and in that, he succeeded.
December 28, 2021
Rhodes College Professor Mark W Musse’s 12 lectures titled “Great World Religions: Hinduism” was narrated by Mark and released by the Teaching Company in 2003. I purchased online the course cds and 62 page guidebook. They arrived in excellent condition. The course is exceptionally well done, full of insights, and very easy to understand. It took 7 hours to listen to the lectures and read the guidebook. It was time very well spent. (P)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2023
Since this is my first intro I’m not reviewing the course itself bc what do I know about it, idk if the overview is good or
Not. The lecturer isn’t great tho, I’ve listened to a bunch of these Great Courses, and some of them have amazing lecturers but a) major oversight of not having an Indian lecturer, and b) just not especially easy or engaging to listen to. Definitely going to look for more history of Hinduism tho, fascinating
Not. The lecturer isn’t great tho, I’ve listened to a bunch of these Great Courses, and some of them have amazing lecturers but a) major oversight of not having an Indian lecturer, and b) just not especially easy or engaging to listen to. Definitely going to look for more history of Hinduism tho, fascinating
January 31, 2022
I listened to the audiobook of this series. The author presented material touching on a wide range of time periods and topics. Hinduism is huge and complex, so keep in mind that these 12 lectures only begin to hint at an introduction. Oh, the author made comparisons with Abrahamic texts a few times, likely due to his academic affiliation.
November 16, 2023
I'm not familiar with Hinduism and this book was enlightening on the subject. Covers basics in gods, texts, doctrine, and fun facts. There is a lot to know about this religion. And how engraved it is into the fabric of Indian society. Some of the scholarly guesses on the gods and origin myths were dog crap. But guessing usually is. Anyway this is worth a look if interested at all.
March 20, 2022
I’ve done the Great Courses curricula for Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The design of this course is excellent and especially helpful to an audience who knows little to nothing about the religion.
July 11, 2018
Great intro course.
September 24, 2018
My only complaint is that it could be double its length and I still would want more. Very interesting, clearly I need to do some serious reading on Hinduism.
December 31, 2018
A decent Great Courses part, but felt far too short for such a complex religion. Muesse did do a fantastic job relating the faith to the western mind, which I found highly valuable
November 10, 2019
It was dull and went over some of the complex philosophies but I didn't feel it explained it to me on a simple level.
January 24, 2020
A solid initial primer. The lesson I took away from it, is that Hinduism is too large of an umbrella to adequately explain in this format.
September 8, 2020
A good guide for those absolutely new to Hinduism. Gained a little more clarity on Difference between Vedic and axial age
November 22, 2020
An interesting broad overview of the Hindu culture and worldview.
September 21, 2021
This course provided an excellent high-level overview of Hinduism, and revealed many elements that deserve further exploration. Looking forward to the road ahead!
November 23, 2021
quá hay, một hệ thống phức tạp như Hinduism nhưng được giới thiệu sơ lược lại trong 12 lectures. Chỉ muốn khóa này kéo mãi thôi
January 12, 2023
Like most of these types of books there are some dry parts. Overall it was informative and worth reading if you want an understanding of Hinduism.
March 4, 2023
So much we learn in the west is so inaccurate or such an incomplete picture of the truth. This book really filled so many gaps about Hinduism.
March 27, 2023
Pretty interesting, particularly the beginning part about history of Indus Valley civilizations.
December 1, 2023
It has some information about the Hinduism, but not too much and I had a very hard time keeping my attention to content.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews