An important introduction into Hinduism

I have started to read a summary of the Mahabharata, one of the Hindu faith’s sacred scriptures and the longest human epic ever written. When I came across the concept of ‘purushartha’ (the goal of human existence) that consists out of ‘dharma’ (conduct within society), artha (economic actions), kama (pursuit of pleasure) and moksha (spiritual activities), I knew I was in trouble. My previous formal study in the phenomenology of Religions just weren’t enough to give me an understanding of the great epic.

I discovered the Great Courses twelve lecture course by Prof. Mark W Muesse on Audible and decided to try it out. I am glad that I did!

In a mere twelve lectures Prof. Muesse takes the listener through the family of Indian faiths commonly called Hinduism. He starts of placing Hinduism within an historical context from which he introduces concepts and ideas that entered these religions piece by piece, almost like building a puzzle.

I founded his lectures on the Vedas, the oldest holy writ of the religion very insightful. The fact that there was an unknown civilisation discovered in the Indus valley with a yet undeciphered written language is intriguing. It was also interesting to hear resonances of Ancient Biblical family practises in his lecture ‘Men, Women, and the stages of life.’ I found the way a woman was always connected to a man through the various stages of life very interesting. Even the idea that most arranged marriages seems to be happier and less prone to producing divorcees than so-called love marriages. I wish there were a PDF of depictions of the Hindu gods that could be used with the lecture ‘Seeing God.”

However, Prof. Muesse opened the world of Hinduism to me with a clear and interesting presentation. It was easy to follow in very informative. I can heartily propose this course to anyone interested in Hinduism.

14 people found this helpful

Good, but I want more.

Good basic overview, if another more in-depth course on the subject was available I would be interested in adding it to my religious studies collection.

4 people found this helpful

Not a real description of Hinduism

Very short and sometime unclear description and practices. Lecturer may have lived in India but that does not it all correct. He might be influenced by local practices. Historical facts are not very true or rather tangentially verifiable. I shall point out two...1. Saying holi is largest Hindu festival, is absolutely not true, it is important but far less important than Diwali or dussehra. 2. Sati though was practiced but was far less common than speaker make us believe. It was only practiced in a small section of upper class Hindus in a very small area of india. British though successfully abolished it but claim they are doing ‘civilizing of Indians’ made it look like it was far more practiced tradition than it really was.

3 people found this helpful

Clear and accurate. Dr. Muesse ..A Big Thank you.

i am a Hindu who lives in the US. I wanted to touch base with Hinduism and absolutely loved listening to these lectures. Profound.

3 people found this helpful

Made sense of a complex religion

I love India and Bollywood movies and have been fascinated by the temples and rituals I witnessed in my trips there. But I knew almost nothing about Hinduism. What I could see confused me. The religion seemed whimsical and imaginative, but I was sure I was misinterpreting what it was about. This series of lectures set me straight.

Dr. Muesse's lectures are informative, and he makes Hinduism's concepts and beliefs comprehensible to my Western, linear mind. Starting with the origin of Hinduism, he traces its evolution through the millennia until modern times. This might sound funny, but now I understand much better the plots and characters' motivations in Bollywood musicals.

The professor's delivery is pleasant to listen to. He has a slight Southern (US) accent and an earnestness that I enjoyed. Without reservation I recommend this college course.

6 people found this helpful

A great overview

While no book can claim to cover all the concepts of Hinduism, which are themselves at variance with each other at times, this series of lectures does a very good job. The best thing about the book is the Timeline that it provides at the beginning. That, in itself, is a work of intensive research and simplifies things for the reader. I am extremely grateful for that. Being an Indian, I had some previous knowledge but this course has helped me understand things so much better. It has also ignited a hunger to learn more on the subject.
I recommend this course for beginners or people like me who know a bit but not quite enough.

2 people found this helpful

A Well Done Introductory Course

For an introductory course this was well done and fits some really good content in 12 short lectures. While I'm sure it is difficult to adequately cover all of the aspects of Hinduism in such a short period of time, I left the course certainly feeling like the essence of this great religion was presented in an easy to digest manner.

This course covers all of the foundations and aspects of Hinduism from the ancient societies that formed the religion to its sacred books, to its main beliefs, to its pantheon of gods and goddesses, to the stages of life for a Hindu man and woman, to Hinduism’s interactions with other religions and peoples.

My personal highlight was Lecture 12. The professor brings the history of Hinduism up through our times focusing on its interaction with Islam and imperial Britain. Thrilling stuff!

The reason I couldn't give this five stars is it just didn't keep me at the edge of my seat the entire time and that is mainly attributed to the professor's teaching style.

He had a certain air to him that made him seem too academic, almost robotic with little change of tone/emphasis and not much personality. I know this shouldn't matter in the long run when evaluating courses since judging one by personality vs. whether they taught effectively sounds shallow but The Great Courses has always been good at featuring professors who help you feel like the time spent was satisfying not just because you learned something but also because you were entertained and enthralled while doing so.

Another downer was the discussion on the Bhagavad-gita (Lecture 10). Having listened to a number of other Professor's takes on this great book, I found this one to be lacking. Sure the professor narrated the events of the book and covered the important sayings but he didn’t seem to weave them into anything resembling a summary of its main theological meaning or insights as well as Professor Berkson did in "Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know" or Professor Hardy in "Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition".

Still, this doesn't change my overall positive impression of the course. There is no better compliment to pay an instructor than: I walked away learning things I hadn't known going in. This course achieved that objective: Professor Muesse enriched my understanding of Hinduism. Good work!

1 person found this helpful

Favorite teacher

Prof. Muesse's classes are always the best! I have learned a lot from this man. I would take any class he offers, regardless of whether or not I'm interested in the subject matter...he's that good!

1 person found this helpful

Extremely Interesting

It has always been very interesting knowing about the religions of the world, and in this course they take us not only into the religion, but into the society and the background. This helps you see how the beliefs of a country as complex, as India, has shaped it through time.

Great lectures.

1 person found this helpful

Great Courses -.Hinduism

Good introduction and will inspire further study.
Vedic culture fascinates me and I will move on to the various scriptures.