Hinduism Today’s Latest History Music Video

“India Awakes to Life and Freedom” is the thirteenth song in Hinduism Today’s History of Hindu India Music Video series. It is a song for 6th and 7th grade children, intended to complement the fifth chapter of our popular History of Hindu India documentaries, “21st Century India.” The documentaries and songs serve to supplement the mandatory study of India and the Hindu religion in American middle schools. This video covers the moment of Indian independence, the disaster of partition and yet the formation of a modern nation finally free from centuries of oppression.

Produced by Hinduism Today
Music and Video: Aks and Lakshmi (youtube.com/EclipseNirvana)
Lyrics: Dragan Stojkovski
Subtitles: Igro Burenkov

Complete History Series Playlist: youtube.com/playlist

The History of Hindu India (Part Five) 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 middle and high school classes, as well as Hindu temple study groups and general presentations on the Hindu religion and history.

This documentary is based on the fifth chapter of the textbook, “The History of Hindu India,” published in 2011. It covers Indian history from 1947 to the present day. Opening with Nehru’s famed speech on August 15, 1947, it describes the formation of the new government, development of the constitution, invasion of Kashmir by Pakistan, the horrors of partition, formation of states along linguistic lines, and efforts to uplift the lower classes. It surveys the religions of India along with religious strife and its causes, Hindu pilgrimage using Rameswaram Temple as an example, Ayurveda, the impact of Hinduism in the modern world and finally a nod to the popularity of Bollywood and Indian cuisine.

For more information and for class lesson plans based on the book, visit hinduismtoday.com/education. This documentary is directed and produced by Sushma Khadepaun; produced and narrated by Roger (Raj) Narayan. Funded by the Uberoi Foundation, Institute for Curriculum Advancement, this film may be freely distributed for educational purposes.

“The British Raj” is the eleventh song in Hinduism Today’s History of Hindu India Music Video series.

This is a song for children intended to complement the fourth of our popular History of Hindu India documentaries, “Hindu India: 1850 to 1947.” The documentaries and songs neatly supplement the study of India and the Hindu religion in American middle schools. This video covers in brief the British military dominance of India from the mid-nineteenth century and establishment of the British Raj.

Produced by Hinduism Today
Music and Video: Aks and Lakshmi (http://www.youtube.com/EclipseNirvana)
Lyrics: Dragan Stojkovski
Subtitles: Igro Burenkov (https://www.upwork.com/fl/burenkov)

Complete History Series Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

History Music Video Part Four, Song One

“Swami Vivekananda” is the tenth song in Hinduism Today’s History of Hindu India Music Video series. It is a song for children intended to complement the fourth of our popular History of Hindu India documentaries, “Hindu India: 1850 to 1947.” The documentaries and songs neatly supplement the study of India and the Hindu religion in American middle schools. This video covers in brief the life of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) one of the key figures in the ultimate independence of India and resurgence of the Hindu religion.

This song is based on the fourth chapter of the textbook, “The History of Hindu India,” published in 2011. It covers Indian history from 1850 to 1947, from when the British Crown took over direct control of India from the East India Company to Independence. Under British rule, economic exploitation of the subcontinent increased, resulting in frequent famine and deprivation across the once wealthy land. A determined and mostly nonviolent freedom movement emerged and finally succeeded, resulting in the formation of modern India and Muslim Pakistan in 1947.

India’s Musical Tradition

This is the ninth song in Hinduism Today’s History of Hindu India Music Video series. It is a song for children intended to complement the third of our popular History of Hindu India documentaries, “Hindu India: 1000 to 1850.” The documentaries and songs neatly supplement the study of India and the Hindu religion in American middle schools. This video featuring singers and composers Aks and Lakshmi gives the student a glimpse into India’s complex musical tradition.

Produced by Hinduism Today
Music and Video: Aks and Lakshmi (youtube.com/EclipseNirvana)
Lyrics: Dragan Stojkovski
Subtitles: Igro Burenkov (upwork.com/fl/burenkov, conger.style@gmail.com)
 
Complete History Series Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkA3jcdbA5kTwKf5gHchrJliKCMTM__7B
 
Music Videos for this Documentary:
Part One, Song One, “Let’s Go Back 6,000 Years:” youtu.be/YHS7dyN6sgM
Part One, Song Two, “That’s What Hindus Believe” youtu.be/PAzBZa-FBOo
Part One, Song Three, “Hindus Love Celebrations” youtu.be/URoNuvY1wx4
Part Two, Song One, “Ten Centuries of Progress” youtu.be/pFOTcm0Jq_4
Part Two, Song Two,  “City and Village Life” youtu.be/CsNaeE4bgBY
Part Two, Song Three, “Sanskrit Culture Blossomed” youtu.be/z3zfjXNDIEU
Part Three, Song One, “Hard Times Fell Upon India” youtu.be/H8U-A-2BXrw
Part Three, Song Two, “The Devotional Bhakti Movement” youtu.be/dnlXj0IobIw
Part Three, Song Three, “India’s Musical Tradition”  youtu.be/ZARxQgY2oKQ
 
From Ancient Times: youtu.be/dBZRTzXARWM
300 to 1000ce: youtu.be/j0kLX2aPgo8
1000 to 1850 ce: youtu.be/Lr8Qx0SyrYI
1850 to 1947: youtu.be/nx_vSuduwAk
1947 to Present: youtu.be/eVnqJHO3PcY
 
Buy the History of Hindu India Textbook: amazon.com/History-Hindu-Satguru-Bodhinatha-Veylanswami/dp/1934145386/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451424169&sr=8-1&keywords=history+of+hindu+india
 
The History of Hindu India (Part Three) 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 middle and high school classes, as well as Hindu temple study groups and general presentations on the Hindu religion and history.
 
This documentary is based on the third chapter of the textbook, “The History of Hindu India,” published in 2011. It covers Indian history from 1100 to 1850 ce, from the Arab Muslim invasions to British rule, a time of great difficulty for the Indian people. These extensive foreign invasions are recounted, including the plunder of the great Siva temple at Somnath, and the establishment of the Mughal Empire by the 16th century in most of India, its subsequent decline by the mid-18th century and the gradual control of India by the British. The documentary provides an account of the saints of the powerful Bhakti Movement, including Ramananda and Kabir. One section is devoted to an overview of the Sikh religion, from its founding in the 16th century by Guru Nanak to formation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in the 18th century. This is followed by a brief introduction to Indian music and its basic concepts of tala (rhythm), raga (scale) and improvisation.
 
For more information and for class lesson plans based on the book, visit hinduismtoday.com/education. This documentary is directed and produced by Sushma Khadepaun; produced and narrated by Roger (Raj) Narayan. Funded by the Uberoi Foundation, Institute for Curriculum Advancement, this film may be freely distributed for educational purposes.

Our just-released “The Devotional Bhakti Movement” is the eighth song in Hinduism Today’s History of Hindu India Music Video series.

It is a song for children intended to complement the third of our popular History of Hindu India documentaries, “Hindu India: 1000 to 1850.” The documentary and song, the second of three for this time period, neatly supplement the study of India and the Hindu religion in American middle schools. An easy way for students to understand the widespread devotional movement which countered the impact of foreign invasions and alien religions upon India.

Produced by Hinduism Today
Music: Aks and Lakshmi (youtube.com/EclipseNirvana)
Lyrics: Dragan Stojkovski
Video and subtitles: Igro Burenkov (upwork.com/fl/burenkov, conger.style@gmail.com)

Complete History Series Playlist

Music Videos
Part One, Song One, “Let’s Go Back 6,000 Years:” youtu.be/YHS7dyN6sgM
Part One, Song Two, “That’s What Hindus Believe” https://youtu.be/PAzBZa-FBOo
Part One, Song Three, “Hindus Love Celebrations” youtu.be/URoNuvY1wx
Part Two, Song One, “Ten Centuries of Progress” https://youtu.be/pFOTcm0Jq_4
Part Two, Song Two, “City and Village Life” https://youtu.be/CsNaeE4bgBY
Part Two, Song Three, “Sanskrit Culture Blossomed” https://youtu.be/z3zfjXNDIEU
Part Three, Song One, “Hard Times Fell Upon India” youtu.be/H8U-A-2BXrw
Part Three, Song Two, “The Devotional Bhakti Movement” youtu.be/dnlXj0IobIw

Himalayan Academy has been working for some months now on a series of online learning courses. We chose the THINKIFIC platform (they have more than 40,000 teachers!) and have created some extensive and some simple courses. The entire Master Course trilogy is there, in three parts. So is our youth catechism Path to Siva, in both the teenage version and the 8-year-old simplified form. There is a course on Know Thy Self. Beginning to Meditate is our newest addition. The lessons are illustrated and designed to take ten minutes a day, or less.

As we all know, this is how learning is done in the digital age. You can be anywhere in the world and study the courses, pass the tests and follow the suggested practices.

We are working on more lessons. Meantime, visit Thinkific's site here (https://courses.himalayanacademy.com/) and begin your study.

Just today we received this amazing testimonial from a student who is on Week 5, Day 3 of the Master Course. As you will see, it has made quite an impression:

"I have been blessed with many teachers and many lessons throughout my life. A wise friend once counseled, "Don't go on and on" when I need to learn that I often say too much and what I say is not helpful. A music instructor recently told me, "You don't apply yourself." He was absolutely correct. Since then, I have been trying to work on applying these lessons to all areas of my life, and I think it's helped.

But the most helpful lesson I have learned is from this marvelous course: I am not my mind, body, or emotions. As I age and the body I inhabit now is beginning to show signs of breaking down, and I am faced with medical procedures in the near future, nothing has helped relieve my stress and anxiety as that simple lesson: I am not the body I inhabit. There is so much more than an ailing heart or poor eyesight or aching knees or or or... I am part of something eternal, something more blazingly beautiful than I can imagine at this point, but I know it's there.

No other religious tradition can offer this powerful lesson, and believe me, I've looked. I am aware of the current line of thinking that insists that a westerner participating in Hinduism is considered "cultural appropriation" and is unwelcome by many people. But my soul pulls me back to Hinduism nonetheless. Christianity, the religion of my birth, cannot ease my fears. Judaism, the religion of my mother, has great spiritual wealth, but doesn't present these truths this way. Sufis long for an immediate experience of the Divine in this life, but what happens after? Buddhism comes close, but where is God? And what happens to me after this life has ended? There are no answers for me in Buddhism.

But I found my answers in Hinduism, and those answers are clear and joyful and are giving me the peace I thought I would never find. I am eternally grateful for this learning experience."

Om Namah Sivaya!

This history music video: "City and Village Life. is a song for children intended to complement the second of our popular History of Hindu India documentaries, "Hindu India: 300 to 1100ce." The documentary and song, the second of three for this time period, neatly supplement the study of India and the Hindu religion in American middle schools. An easy way for students to get a quick overview of life in India's cities and villages during this time, including the various occupations, business life, political system, family life including arranged marriage.
Produced by HinduismToday
Music: Aks and Lakshmi (http://www.youtube.com/EclipseNirvana)
Lyrics: Dragan Stojkovski
Video and subtitles: Igro Burenkov
Complete History Series Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkA3jcdbA5kTwKf5gHchrJliKCMTM__7B

The July issue will be online the 1st of July. But we wanted to issue a preview of the Educational Insight section. It's a new rendering of Hindu Basics. The most popular part of our website for years. Now available in ebook formats. Perfect to give away or share with friends. Hinduism In a Nutshell
A Simple Overview of a Complex Faith
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Recent Google search on What is Hinduism yielded some 223,000 answers. Many are from outsiders offering their best take; many are from antagonists taking their best shot. Too few are knowledgeable; fewer still are authentic. Rare is the answer that goes beyond parochial sectar-ian understandings; scarcely any encompasses the huge gamut implied in the question. For these reasons alone, the book from which this article is taken was inevitable. Written by devout Hindus and drawn from the deepest wells of spiritual experience and cultural insight, it is a definition coming from deep inside the inner sanctum and depicting in words and amazing images the living, breathing entity that is Hinduism. Get the ebooks here!

Bodhinatha's later upadesha There is no hell. Only "hellish" states of mind. The state of mind in the here and now is the same state of mind you'll be in in the inner world after dropping off the physical body. Focus on being in the states of mind produced by the higher chakras. If we are constantly unnecessarily analyzing the present, thinking about the past, the future, it's hard to control our meditations. We are meant to have mystical inner experiences not just as a one time event but today, tomorrow and the next day. The world is the place where we can improve our concentration and willpower. Master Course Trilogy, Dancing with Siva, Merging with Siva, Lesson 53

"That's What Hindus Believe" is a song for children intended to supplement the popular History of Hindu India documentary "From Ancient Times." The documentary and song, the second of three for this time period, neatly supplement the study of India and the Hindu religion in American middle schools. An easy way for kids to get an overview of the central Hindu beliefs.

Music: Aks and Lakshmi (http://www.youtube.com/EclipseNirvana)
Lyrics: Dragan Stojkovski
Video and subtitles: Igro Burenkov