DOCUMENTARY : " THE HISTORY OF HINDU INDIA " - HINDUISM TODAYHinduism Today Releases Documentary: "The History of Hindu India"01 July 2014KAUAI, HAWAIIThe editorial team of Hinduism Today is pleased to announce the release of its professional documentary film, "The History of Hindu India" (Part 1), developed in collaboration with Dr. Shiva Bajpai, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University Northridge.More than a year in the making, the movie (http://bit.ly/HinduHistory) provides an authentic presentation of the history of India and Hinduism to non-Hindus for use in American 6th grade social study classes. It is equally useful for Hindu temple study groups and to introduce the Hindu religion to general audiences.
The film was received with enthusiasm at its first public showing to 350 people gathered at the "Meet the Publisher and Editor of Hinduism Today" on June 29.One young lady summed up the audience reaction, "Wow! I have to tell you, this is the first time I have ever seen my religion presented in a way that touched me so deeply. Tonight I feel proud to be a Hindu."Bhavna of the Hindu temple in Santiago Chile, who watched the Spanish-subtitled version, called it "a wonderful presentation."Tushar Agarwal of Dinodia Photo agency in Mumbai declared it "fabulous."At a pre-release showing in San Jose, California, members of the audience immediately requested a copy for local classes in Hinduism at temples and public schools.
The film was directed by Sushma Khadepaun and narrated by Roger Narayan.Both also served as producers for the movie which included filming at the 2013 Prayag Kumbha Mela and at temples in Chennai, India.Most funding for the project was granted by the Uberoi Foundation Institute for Curriculum Advancement.Subtitles are provided in five languages:French, Spanish, Balinese, Hindi and Tamil.It is available for free on YouTube in multiple resolutions at http://bit.ly/HinduHistoryor http://youtu.be/dBZRTzXARWM? rel=0.
The documentary is based on the first chapter of our 2011 textbook, The History of Hindu India. The first section of the film, "Origins of Hinduism," includes much new material on the Indus Valley civilization, especially its parallels with subsequent Hindu culture of India, such as yoga, Shiva, the namaste greeting and more.
Section two, "Hindu Scriptures," introduces the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, while section three, "Hindu Society," covers the caste system and the roles of men and women.The great achievements of early Indian empires such as those of the Guptas are described, including early advancements in medicine, mathematics and metallurgy.
Section four, "Hindu Belief, Practices and Saints" (one of the longest parts) explains the basic beliefs and practices of Hinduism as found today, including scriptures, Gods, Goddesses, saints, temples, pilgrimages and more.It presents the concept of dharma and the related practice of ahimsa as expressed in the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Nelson Mandela. Karma is taught through an amusing animation of "What goes around, comes around."Hindu forms of worship are described as they are experienced at home and in the temple, along with spiritual practices such as japa and meditation.The section concludes with descriptions of Hindu saints, swamis and gurus, both men and women.
The final section, "Hindu Festivals," features spectacular footage of Diwali celebrations in India coupled with footage from the 2009 observance of Diwali at the White House by President Barack Obama.This is followed by video from the 2013 Kumbha Mela in Prayag, India.
The documentary concludes on this upbeat note, "Hinduism has persisted for thousands of years because the dharma, faith and culture have instilled in each Hindu a unique and strong sense of identity, family and spiritual purpose. It endures because it is a dynamic religion which gives complete freedom of practice accepts that there are many ways to worship God and provides festivals, temples, pilgrimages, gurus and scriptures to illumine the path, thereby celebrating life itself."
The movie is intended for use in middle schools, either in 6th or 7th grade, when the history of India is taught as part of ancient history.The film covers the standard US curriculum for ancient India, beginning with Indus Valley and continuing through the Gupta period, plus a religious overview, as is taught for other religions that same school year.Parents and community activists can bring "The History of Hindu India" to the attention of local schools as a means to offset the largely negative presentation of India and Hinduism which is otherwise being given.Additional resources for parents and teachers, including a complete set of lesson plans for the book, are available at:Subtitled versions:Spanish: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-Spanish Balinese: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-Balinese English: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-English
Published on Jun 27, 2014
The History of Hindu India (Part One) was developed by the editors of Hinduism Today magazine in collaboration with Dr. Shiva Bajpai, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University Northridge. It is intended to provide an authentic presentation of the history of India and Hinduism for use in American 6th grade social study classes, as well as Hindu temple study groups and general presentations on the Hindu religion and history. The documentary is based on the first chapter of the textbook, The History of Hindu India, published in 2011. For more information and for class lesson plans based on the book visit www.hinduismtoday.com/education/. Funded by the Uberoi Foundation, Institute for Curriculum Advancement. May be freely distributed for educational purposes.
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Hinduism History Lesson
Published: 2008/2/22 0:00:00
Read 108617 times
Now Available:
All Five Lessons in One Book
Now with Additional Photos and Glossary
Review of History of Hindu India by Koenraad Elst
Downloads-PDFs
- Lesson One PDF
- Lesson One Lesson Plan for Teachers PDF
- Lesson Two PDF
- Lesson Two Lesson Plan for Teachers PDF
- Lesson Three PDF
- Snakes and Ladders Game
- Lesson Three Lesson Plan for Teachers PDF
- Lesson Four PDF
- Lesson Four Lesson Plan for Teachers PDF
- Lesson Five PDF
- Lesson Five Lesson Plan for Teachers PDF
You can also purchase hard copies of the lessons in bulk.
Downloads-Other E-Books
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Additional Online Resources
The websites listed below the endorsements provide supplementary material to the 16-page Educational Insight sections entitled "Hinduism from Ancient Times" printed in the Apr/May/Jun 2007 issue and "Hindu India: 300 to 1100 ce" printed in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Hinduism Today. Teachers and parents will find useful information here. The editors decided against embedding clickable links in the PDF editions of the lessons, as the simple listing presented here is more accessible and easier to maintain.
Some of the websites are designed for children, others are more advanced. As with anything about the World Wide Web, we're unable to guarantee that any particular site contains nothing that is unsuitable for children. Therefore, parents and teachers should examine the sites before using them for a class. There are many Wikipedia links given here, and the "external links" at the bottom of Wikipedia entries can be useful.
This listing is a "work in progress," and suggestions for new sites or elimination of sites is welcome. Kindly e-mail Arumugaswami, Managing Editor, at ar@hindu.org.
An excellent source of information on Hinduism is the website you are on now. You can download the recent editions of the magazine as full-color PDF files or access the archives dating back to 1979, all for free. There is also a "Hindu basics" website here.
For definitions of words, go to the Himalayan Academy Hindu Lexicon.
An additional source of information on Hinduism is the BBC website. This is monitored by the Hindu community in the UK and generally contains good information.
Video:
Hinduism Today created a Keynote presentation explaining the controversy in a clear, concise way. This brief video an essential resource for understanding this many-faceted issue. RequiresQuicktime.
See the 2007 12-minute presentation.
See the 2008 13-minute presentation on Chapter Two.See the 2009 16-minute presentation on Chapter Three.See the 2007 12-minute presentation.
Endorsements:
Hinduism Today has just begun collecting endorsements for this lesson from community leaders, Hindu organizations and academics. Following is a list of those received initially. First is the endorsement of Dr. Shiva Bajpai, of of the world's foremost Indologists and the main consultant for the creation of this lesson. Below you will find luminaries such as Dr. Klaus Klostermeier, Distinguished Professor of the University of Manitoba, Canada, and Dr. Jeffrey Long, Associate Professor at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. Each name is linked to a PDF file which will download to your computer and open in your PDF viewer.
- Dr. Shiva Bajpai is a renowned Indologist and the foremost expert on medieval India in the USA. He obtained a PhD in history from the University of London in 1967, and currently is Professor Emeritus at the California State University of Northridge. He is co-author of the monumental work "A Historical Atlas of South Asia." The California Sate Board of Education hired him as a historian advisor on the textbook controversy. He shares his opinion of the final result of his cooperation with Hinduism Today,
- Hindu Mandir Executives' Conference is a(HMEC) is an annual initiative seeking development of network between the executives of all Hindu mandirs of America. Resolution 3 of their HMEC 2007 conference reads:
- Dr. Klaus Klostermeier is a researcher on Hinduism and Indian history and culture. He obtained a PhD in philosophy from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1961, and another in "Ancient Indian History and Culture" from the University of Bombay in 1969. He was the Director of Academic Affairs at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies from 1997-1998. He is currently teaching as University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Religion at the University of Manitoba (Canada), where he is also the founder and director of the Asian Studies Center.
- C.K. Hiranya Gowda, M.D., key founding member of the Nashville Ganesha Temple. He is a practicing otolaryngologist and on the faculty of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
- Dr. Jeffrey D. Long is Associate Professor of Religion and Asian Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania.
- The Hindu American Foundation is a human rights group whose purpose is to provide a voice for the 2 million strong Hindu American community. HAF interacts with and educates government, media, think tanks, academia and public fora about Hinduism and issues of concern to Hindus locally and globally.
- The Hindu Students Council is America's foremost organization of Hindu students with chapters on dozens of university and college campuses.
- Dr. Arvind Sharma is Birks Professor of Comparative Reliigion at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
- Dr. G.V. Raghu is chairman of the Education Committee of the Hindu Temple of Atlanta. He was temple president from 2003 to 2004. He is also the current president of the Chinmaya Mission of Atlanta.
- Swamini Mayatitananda has been teaching Vedanta and Ayurveda for 25 years. She is the spiritual head of Wise Earth Monastery and School of Ayurveda centered in Candler, North Carolina. She received swamini initiation in the Veda Vyasa tradition from His Holiness, Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
- Swami Chidanand Saraswati, affectionately known as Muniji, president and spiritual head of Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, one of India's largest and most renowned spiritual institutions.
- Jay Lakhani is the president of Vivekananda Centre UK, part of the Ramakrishna order.
"I have been closely involved with the production of the Hinduism Today's 16 -page Hindu History Lesson. I have read the manuscript twice and of my additions, suggestions and corrections have been incorporated. While others might do some topics or themes some what differently, it would be extremely difficult to make any significant improvements within the limitations of space and targeted sixth grade audience. There are certain things which even I would like to rephrase or rework differently, and one might have reservations concerning some other marginal points. But the entire 16-page Hindu History Lesson piece is both correct and authentic and definitely the best that I have seen in any school textbook. Hinduism Today deserves our sincere appreciation and gratitude for producing this positive and constructive account of Hinduism and Hindu History for the 6th grade students anywhere in the world.
In fact, if each Hindu were to learn and remember this 16-page narrative, the Hindu community would be better off in this increasingly overt religiously plural society. The crucial problem with the Hindus has been their inability to succinctly describe Hinduism as a whole or to briefly explain it to others in a complete manner. The Hinduism Today narrative will go a long way in redressing this prevailing disability. I endorse it whole-heartedly and without reservations. It should be a required reading for every Hindu and it should serve as a challenge to improve it further. In fact, I am going to make it a part of the required reading assignments to my students of Modern India, a senior undergraduate and graduate course which I am teaching this semester at CSUN. "
"We, the Hindu Mandirs of America: Agree to adopt and promote within the US school system the Hindu Dharma supplement published by Hinduism Today. An action committee shall be constituted to enhance the dissemination and sustenance of this effort.""
"I believe it to be a vast improvement over what I have seen so far in this genre. I welcome the idea of presenting Hinduism in a positive and uplifting manner from the perspective of a practicing Hindu scholar."
"I recommend it both to supplement the teaching of Hinduism in our public schools and as a stand-alone lesson for temple classes."
"Hinduism Today has performed an important public service by providing a clear and accessible text which presents Hinduism from a Hindu perspective, a needed counterbalance."
"This booklet presents the essence of Hindu thought and history in a scholarly, sensitive and age-appropriate manner."
"...full of explanations of academic vocabulary as well as Hindu symbols, enabling a young mind to navigate through the material with ease."
"This attempt to bridge the gap between the Academic and the Hindu community's perception and portrayal of Hinduism must be warmly welcomed."
"Reading this material not only makes any Hindu child proud of his/her heritage but it also gives the right facts on one of the major religions in the world. I strongly recommend Hinduism from Ancient times as a teaching material for ten year olds on Hinduism in schools in all states."
"Herein lies the brief facts of how the Hindu tradition is experienced and known by over one billion followers: Hinduism is a vast and ancient wellspring of knowledge and spirituality which addresses all aspects of life."
"A clear, lucid, authentic and easily-understandable picture of the Hindu history, tradition and practices. The team of Hinduism Today has prepared the most comprehensive summary of Hinduisms multi-faceted tradition that I have seen to date. "
"This lesson is a very clear introduction to Hinduism. It is in line with the requirements of a history lesson and yet manages to put across some of the more subtle ideas inherent in Hinduism in an eloquent and effective manner."
Web Resources:
The websites are organized according to the pages of the lesson.
Page 1
- Hinduism Today article on the California textbook controversy: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2006/4-6/58-63_school.shtml
- Powerpoint presentation on the controversy by Kalyanarama:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc ... 556&q=hinduism&pr=goog-sl - California standards that are applied to 6th grade textbooks:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/hstgrade6.asp - California specific guidelines for all school textbooks:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/socialcontent.pdf - Fire ceremony:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yajna
Page 2
- Sarasvati River
http://www.gsbkerala.com/saraswatih.htm - Ganga River:
http://web.bryant.edu/~langlois/ecology/gangesmap.htm - Indus-Sarasvati Civilization:
http://www.harappa.com/har/indus-saraswati-geography.html - Indus River:
http://www.dams.org/images/maps/map_tarbela.htm - Indus artifacts:
http://www.harappa.com/har/indus-saraswati.html - Indus seals:
http://www.harappa.com/bazaar/kids/color.html - Nice story of archeological dig at Indus:
http://www.jcu.edu/faculty/nietupski/rl251/Indus_civilization.htm - Lotus posture:
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1818.html - Swastika in Hindu tradition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika - Meaning of namaste:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste
Page 3
- Pipal tree:
http://www.the-tree.org.uk/Sacred%20Grove/Buddhism/bodhi5.htm - Pipal tree on indus seal:
http://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/images/sa001.jpg - banyan tree:
http://haryana-online.com/Flora/barh.htm - Sanskrit:
go to the home page and this URL and use sidebars to listen to chants, see the alphabet, etc. http://www.sanskrit.org/www/index.html - Rig Veda chanting:
http://sarasvati.tripod.com/veda.htm
Page 4
- Tamil:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tami ... e#Language_and_literature - Dravidian:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian_languages - Grihya Sutras:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resou ... exicon/word/Grihya_Sutras - Susruta:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushruta - Gangetic plains:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Gangetic_plain - Lothal:
http://www.harappa.com/lothal/index.html
Page 5
- Gupta:
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/itihas/guptas.htm - Magadha Empire:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist ... _India#The_Magadha_empire - Pandyan Kingdom:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pandya_territories.png - Buddhism:
http://mcel.pacificu.edu/as/students/vb/History.HTM - Buddhism also:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism - Jainism:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism - Maurya Empire:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India#Maurya_dynasty - Tirukural:
http://www.tn.gov.in/literature/thiruvalluvar/thiruvalluvar.htm - Tirukural art:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/weaver/art.html - Tirukural full book:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/weaver/content.htm
Page 6
- Brahman:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Brahman - Bhagavan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavan
Page 7
- Atman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atman_%28Hinduism%29 - Chandogya Upanishad:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandogya_Upanishad - Saiva:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Saivism - Shakta:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Shaktism - Vaishnava:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Vaishnavism - Smarta:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Smarta - Ganesha:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resou ... lg_table_of_contents.html - Sarasvati:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Sarasvati - Siva Nataraja:
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/lesso ... hp?no=94&era=&grade=&geo= - Lord Vishnu:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Vishnu - Lord Rama:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama - Lord Krishna:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna
Page 8
- Mahatma Gandhi:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Mahatma_Gandhi - Martin Luther King:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/
classroom/MLKplan.html - also:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes
/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html - Aung San Suu Kyi:
http://www.ibiblio.org/freeburma/assk/assk.html - Myanmar:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar - Nobel Peace Price:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/ - Cesar Chavez:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez
Page 9
- Upanishads:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upanishads - Agamas:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/lexicon/word/Saiva Agamas - Purana:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resou ... s/dws/lexicon/word/Purana - Tirukural:
http://www.tn.gov.in/literature/thiruvalluvar/thiruvalluvar.htm - Yoga:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga - Patanjali:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patanjali - Ramayana:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana - Mahabharata:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata - Sita:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita - Ravana:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana - Bhagavad Gita:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_gita - Video of Bharata Natyam dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo-On0CKwBY
Page 10
- Aum symbol:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om - Kena Upanishad:
http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual ... ishads/kena_upanishad.php
Page 11
- Indra:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indra - Goddess Uma:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parvati
Page 12
- Indentured labor:
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/lessons/plan.php?no=96 - Pilgrimage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrimage - Also:
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1997/5/1997-5-03.shtml - Hatha yoga:
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2000/3-4/2000-3-11.shtml
Page 13
- Bindi:
http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa072002a.htm - Home puja:
http://www.asia.si.edu/pujaonline/puja/homes.html - Temple puja:
http://www.asia.si.edu/pujaonline/puja/background.html - Listing of Hindu temples in America:
http://www.garamchai.com/temples.htm - Ganesha Temple of Flushing, New York:
http://www.nyganeshtemple.org/
Page 14
- Diwali:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali - New moon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phases_of_the_Moon - Ayodhya:
http://www.diwalifestival.org/rama-return-to-ayodhya.html - Raksha Bandhan:
http://www.raksha-bandhan.com/ - Adi Shankara:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Shankara - Saint Mirabai:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabai - Saint Tukaram:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tukaram - Saint Sambandar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirugnana_Sambanthar - Sri Ramakrishna:
http://www.ramakrishna.org/rmk.htm - Anandamayi Ma:
http://www.om-guru.com/html/saints/anandamayi.html
Page 15
- Solar-lunar calendar:
http://customsholidays.suite101.com/a ... e.cfm/the_hindu_calendars - Hinduism Today article on nine major festivals:
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2001/9-10/32-39_fest.shtml - More on festivals:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/ - Dates for festivals:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/calendar/faith.shtml?hindu - Ram Navami:
http://hinduism.about.com/cs/festivals/a/aa032804a.htm - Krishna Janmashtami:
http://www.swaminarayan.org/festivals/janmashtami/index.htm - Mahasivaratri:
http://www.angelfire.com/oh/balrajeshwar/sivaratri.html - Diwali:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali - Lakshmi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmi - Navaratri:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navratri - Durga:
http://www.durga-puja.org/ - Holi:
http://www.holifestival.org/ - Vaisakhi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaisakhi - Vaisakhi and Sikhs:
http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Vaisakhi - Guru Purnima:
http://www.amritapuri.org/cultural/guru/purnima.php - Pongal:
http://www.pongalfestival.org/ - More on Pongal:
http://www.funmunch.com/events/pongal/ - Kumbha Mela:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela
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