Quarters / Semesters Offered: Spring 2022
Beginning Sanskrit – I
Beginning Sanskrit – I
Beginning Sanskrit – II
Beginning Sanskrit – II
Beginning Sanskrit – III
Conversational Sanskrit I
GNANA – The principles of sound mind in Bhagavad-Gita
Hindu Contributions to the World in the Realm of Mind – Towards Sciences and Arts
Hindu Contributions to the World in the Realm of Mind – Towards Sciences and Arts
Intermediate Sanskrit – I
Intermediate Sanskrit – I
Intermediate Sanskrit – III
Intermediate Sanskrit – IV
Intermediate Sanskrit -IV
Lessons from Valmiki Ramayana
Lessons from Valmiki Ramayana
Mimamsa Advanced
Mimamsa Advanced
Course Content:
This course involves the study of the epistemology of the Bhatta school of Purva-mimamsa, propagated by Kumarilabhatta. The classification of cognitions and their implications along with how each type of cognition arises and how each type of cognition is distinct from the other is analyzed in a text called Manameyodaya, prescribed for this course.
In this course students will be able to:
- Understand and apply theories of empirical and non-empirical cognition.
- Appreciate the classification schema used by the Bhatta school of Purva-mimamsa.
- Develop an appreciation for the intricate and precise nature of Hindu knowledge systems.
Area of Study: Sanskrit Studies
Required / Elective: Elective
Prerequisites: Completion of the Mimamsa Basic course
Quarter Offered: Spring Quarter
Orientation to Hindu Studies
Course Content:
Orientation to Hindu Studies course will offer a preliminary reflection on the central themes and ideas of Hinduism leading to an understanding of the common foundations of the great variety of traditions and practices within the umbrella of Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism. It will survey the central ideas of Hinduism – covering an Ontology of key Sanskrit terms and the principal ideas that are central to the cosmology, practice, and expressions of Sanatana Dharma. It will include reflections and perspectives on these core concepts, using selected readings from source texts such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Itihaasa, Bhagavad-Gita and Puranas. But it is not a Hinduism 101 course!
The course will also review the complex challenges that arise at the confluence of Hindu and western thought. The Hindu worldview based on Dharma with its emphasis on duties and responsibilities and sustainability of life will be contrasted with contemporary ideologies and their focus on rights and privileges, competition, exploiter-exploited binary, and survival of the fittest. The distinction between a discourse of knowledge and a discourse of power will be drawn out, as two alternate paradigms. Through this, the course will develop an overview and insight into the design of the curriculum offered by the Hindu University of America i.e., the context, and the paradigm that informs that design. It will examine the impact of colonial
discourse on postcolonial Hindu experience and leave students with the pressing urgency of intellectual decolonization. And as it distinguishes between colonial perspectives that constitute the received knowledge on Hinduism, from the lived reality of Hindus, it will present the significance and importance of Hindu studies today, in a deeply moving, inspiring and transformative way.
Course Learning Objectives:
In this course students will be able to:
a) Explore alternate paradigms, various options and trajectories available within the Hindu Studies Program
b) Distinguish the central ideas and concepts that constitute the Foundations of Hindu Dharma
c) Evaluate different elective areas of study and Courses offered: Sanskrit Studies, Texts and Traditions, Yoga Studies, History and Method, Post-Colonial Hindu studies and Conflict and Peace studies.
d) Distinguish between pathways towards a deep study of Hindu thought, or towards deep engagement with western thought from a Hindu perspective
e) Discover and Create pathways for engagement with the Hindu Studies curricula
Class Structure:
There will be a minimum of 1.5 contact hours with one or more faculty every week. The class is structured in a way that promotes discussion and debate based on self-study and reflection each week. While the content being discussed in each class will be concluded within 90 minutes, the discussion time will be free format, and can continue for an additional 30 minutes. During the course, students will be required to submit one short essay. They need not be academic quality papers – but should be based on students' self-reflection on what they have learnt and assimilated so far, and what has touched and inspired them deeply.
Area of Study: Hindu Studies Foundation
Program: Certificate Program in Hindu Studies (CPHS), Community Education Program (C.E.P), Doctor of Philosophy in Hindu Studies, Master of Arts in Hindu Studies (M.A.H.S)
Required/ Elective: This course is a prerequisite for admission into Masters’ and Doctoral program in Hindu Studies. It is also a required Core course for the Certificate Program in Hindu Studies.
Prerequisites: None.
Faculty: Mr. Kalyan Viswanathan(along with others)
Time: 09:00 pm EST – 10:30 pm EST
Start Date: January 13, 2023
End Date: March 24, 2023
Day: Friday
Quarter Offered: Winter 2023
Ramayana for Excellence in Management and Leadership
Ramayana for Management and Leadership Excellence
Course content:
Srimad Ramayana narrates the timeless story of the archetypal battle between Dharma and Adharma, in which Dharma emerges victorious, but only after a great struggle. Sri Rama is the hero and aayana (journey) is his journey and adventures. The Ramayana contains great wisdom and lessons in all aspects of human life i.e., in the fourfold human pursuits of Dharma (righteousness), Artha (economic development), Kama (fulfillment of desires) and Moksha (liberation).
The Srimad Ramayana presents an inside-out ‘leader and leadership development’ perspective on management and leadership as compared to the outside-in ‘leadership development’ perspective from the research and scholarship emerging from most contemporary institutions.
Sri Rama demonstrated transformational leadership qualities and acted as an ideal king, ideal son, ideal brother, ideal husband, ideal friend and ideal student and even as an ideal enemy. There are numerous leadership lessons from all the kandas (books) of the Ramayana and many other characters besides Sri Rama.
Course Learning Objectives:
In this course students will be able to:
1) Engage with the conflicts in Dharma, and the challenges of choice that we are faced with in our everyday contemporary life.
2) Apply the management and leadership lessons from the Ramayana to enable them to live a Dharmic life and fulfil their aims in life.
3) Demonstrate effective management and leadership within the Dharmic framework in their work organization or in a community.
4) Appreciate the greatness of Ramayana by Valmiki from its historical, philosophical and leadership perspectives.
Class Structure:
The class will be interactive and highly participatory with short lectures, group discussions, presentations, short videos and case analysis. students are encouraged to contribute their own managerial leadership experience and organizational issues to search for answers from the Ramayana. This is in accordance with research on adult learning, which shows that a deeper level of learning occurs when there is active participation on the part of the students.
There will be 1.5 hours class with the faculty every week. At the end of this course the students will be required to make short presentation of their leadership action plans and submit a written assignment (a self reflection essay- not more than 1000 words).
Required / Elective: Elective
Prerequisites: Admission into a Program of Study
Faculty / Instructor: Dr Balakrishnan Muniapan
Time: 10:00 am EST – 11:30 am EST / (Saturday – 8:30 pm IST – 10:00 pm IST)
Day: Every Saturday
Start Date: January 14, 2023
End Date: March 25, 2023
Quarter Offered: Winter 2023
Sahitya II – Padya
Sahitya Padya
Course content:
The Sahitya Padya course elucidates the basics of Sanskrit poetics, focusing on the purposes of literary composition, standards and the nature of the verbal and semantic elements that constitute literary compositions.
In this course students will be able to:
- Review a literary work based on the knowledge of theories of poetics and its technicalities to evaluate and better appreciate it
- Understand the various potencies of words and how their significance and meaning is the kavi’s masterstroke in literary works
- Enjoy reading context-based and non-context-based literature
Area of Study: Sanskrit Studies
Required / Elective: Required
Prerequisites: Completion of Sāhitya Landscape
Faculty / Instructor: Mr. Surya Hebbar
Quarter Offered: Spring Quarter
Sankhya Darshana through the Sankhya Karika – Part 2
Sankhya Darshana through the Sankhya Karika – Part 2
Course content:
It is said, “na hi Sankhya samam gyanam, na hi yoga samam balam “i.e., There is no knowledge like Sankhya, and there is no power like Yoga. Sankhya Darshana was one of the earliest systems of thought that sought a permanent solution to the problems associated with the human condition i.e., birth-death, old age, disease, and sorrow. In seeking such a permanent solution, Sankhya developed a profound epistemology of the cosmos, and the place of the human being within that cosmos. Sankhya proposed that a proper understanding of the twenty-five Tattvas, i.e., the fundamental building blocks of the universe, would lead to a total and permanent solution to human suffering.
In this second part of two-course sequence, the principles of Sankhya philosophy will be taught through the Sankhya Karika of Ishvara Krishna. In the first course we shall study Karikas 31 through 72 deeply.
A karika is a technical name. It usually has two lines like the shlokas of the Bhagavadgītā. In the part 1, we have covered 1 to 30 Sankhya Karika. This course in the sequence will cover the remaining 42 Karikas. Students will gain new insights into Sankhya philosophy which is often erroneously labeled as a dualistic atheistic system by many scholars.
Prior knowledge of Sanskrit or Sankhya philosophy is not necessary to take this course. A PDF file of each karika with Devanagari and Roman script along with the word-meanings and brief explanations will be shared with the students. Additional supplementary reading material will also be provided in PDF form.
Course Learning Objectives:
In this course students will be able to:
a) Understand the fundamentals of Sankhya Philosophy.
b) Get a thorough grasp of the technical Sanskrit terms required.
c) Acquire the foundations to understand other texts also such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgītā.
d) Appreciate other schools of philosophy and be inspired to take a deeper study of Vedic systems such as Vedanta, Mimamsa, Yoga, Nyaya, and Vaisheshika.
e) Develop deep insights into the concepts of ‘mind’, ‘atma’, ‘ego’, ‘intellect’ and the creation of the universe.
Class Structure:
There will be a minimum of 1 contact hour of 90 minutes with one or more faculty every week. The class is structured in a way that promotes discussion and debate based on self-study and reflection each week. While the content being discussed in each class will be concluded within 60 minutes, the discussion time will be free format, and can continue for an additional 30 minutes maximum. Students will be expected to write small notes on the Karikas discussed. They need not be academic quality papers – but should be based on students’ self-reflection on what they have learnt and assimilated so far.
Area of Study: Hindu Studies Foundation
Program: Community Education Program
Required/ Elective: Elective
Prerequisites: Admission into program of study.
Faculty: Dr. Kuldip Dhiman
Start Date: July 13, 2023
End Date: September 21, 2023
Day: Every Thursday
Time: 09:00 pm EST – 10:30 pm EST (India – Friday 6:30 am)
Quarter Offered: Summer 2023