Shri. KALYAN VISWANATHAN

HSF5000 - (CPHS Required Course) To understand the roots of Hinduism which for many thousands of years has kept the fundamentals of Sanatana Dharma alive, the Veda must be understood in its essence. There have been several attempts to discover the true sense of the Vedic Mantras. Yet the Veda has been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and presented to contemporary humanity in a way that has lost its essential meaning. Even today there remains a wide gap in our understanding of what the Veda meant to convey. This course on the Vedic Origins of Hinduism will examine various interpretations of the Veda and seek to enter the spirit of the seers of the Veda. It will provide students with a deep insight into the uninterrupted continuity of Hindu thought as it unfolded across the millennia, keeping the foundational values of the civilization alive from generation to generation.

This Course is an important point of entry into the entire curriculum offered by HUA and a prerequisite for all Graduate level programs.

HSF4000 - The Caste System invites both persistent international discourse as well as relentless intervention. This discourse misinforms, embarrasses, and shames the Hindu community worldwide, in as much as it energizes and activates the social justice warriors and reformers of the day. This course, Distinguishing Varna and Jati from Caste, is designed to provide some light, where heat is more prominently present. It provides a searching examination of how the Caste System as it has come to be known today was constructed and established as an essential aspect of Hinduism. This course is designed to assess, challenge, clarify, demystify, and transform.

HSF1000 – This course brings to life the central ideas and concepts that constitute the building blocks of Sanatana Dharma i.e., Hinduism, through a careful development of a basic Sanskrit vocabulary. Where appropriate it also compares and contrasts Hindu ideas with some of the axiomatic ideas from other world religions and ideologies. It builds up these ideas using a tapestry of Sanskrit words and phrases that taken together provide an access for appreciating the depth of Hindu thought, enabling the student to embrace these concepts as living guidance in our contemporary world.

HSF1007 – This course, targets an age group of 18-35 and will explore the question – Is Hindu Dharma relevant in the contemporary world? If so, in what way? Or, has it been superseded once and for all by western modernity, science, and technology? Set in a conversational format, with lively Questions and Answers and Group discussion, the course enables students to explore and discover for themselves, the timeless relevance of Vedic Hindu thought in a modern context.

The course is especially relevant for those who wish not only to explore and embrace Hindu Dharma for themselves, i.e., their own lives, but also represent and communicate the essence and value of Vedic teachings in an environment suffused with western ideas.