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  • Everything you wanted to know about sadhus*

    Everything you wanted to know about sadhus*
    2025/11/20
    In this episode Mat McDermott and Devala Rees discuss many frequently asked questions about sadhus. What are sadhus? How many female sadhus are there and what are they called? Why do many sadhus smoke marijuana as a spiritual practice? Why do some sadhus carry weapons? How do you become a sadhu? And more.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    41 分
  • Here’s why Zoroastrianism is a dharma tradition

    Here’s why Zoroastrianism is a dharma tradition
    2025/11/06

    In this episode Devala Rees lays out the similarities and differences between the ancient religion of Persia, Zoroastrianism — which is still practiced by a couple hundred thousand people today — and the Hindu Dharma Traditions. Their basic beliefs and practices, as well as when the traditions split off from one another.


    Learn more: Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    25 分
  • For Hindus the natural world is more than sacred, its embodied Divinity itself | Prof. David Haberman

    For Hindus the natural world is more than sacred, its embodied Divinity itself | Prof. David Haberman
    2025/10/23

    In this episode, originally published in 2023, we speak with Prof. David Haberman from Indiana University about his extensive work documenting how Hindus bring trees, stones, and mountains into their religious worship.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    34 分
  • What Hindu Americans need to know about immigration today

    What Hindu Americans need to know about immigration today
    2025/10/09

    In this episode HAF Legal Director Needhy Shah speaks with immigration attorney Akanksha Kalra. They have a wide ranging discussion on immigration issues particularly applicable to the Indian American and Hindu American community, what is changing under the Trump Administration, what laws that have existed for some time but are being more strictly enforced, issues regarding asylum claims, Indians arriving without documentation at the southern border, and more.


    NOTE: This episode was recorded just prior to the proclamation of September 19th on changes to the H-1B program, so other than a brief mention that is not addressed. Once we have greater clarity on those changes, what parts of President Trump’s proclamation actually go into effect, for example, we will revisit that if it seems needed.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 時間 15 分
  • How does the HAF team celebrate Navratri?

    How does the HAF team celebrate Navratri?
    2025/09/25

    For this episode we have something a bit different for you. It’s a special episode for Navratri, originally published in 2023. We've interviewed several members of our extended HAF team as well as members of the Hindu American community about how they celebrate Navratri today, what they remember about the holiday growing up, and how their understanding of it has changed over the years. What you’ll hear are excepts from longer interviews our staff writer Syama Allard did with each person.


    Here are the full versions of some of these interviews, as well as some interviews that didn't make it into the episode.


    https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-bhutanese-refugee-bhuwan-pyakurel

    https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-hindu-american-samir-kalra

    https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-iskcon-communications-director-anuttama-das

    https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-hindu-american-kavita-pallod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    33 分
  • Setting the record straight about the craziest things people say about HAF

    Setting the record straight about the craziest things people say about HAF
    2025/09/11
    For the Hindu American Foundation’s organizational birthday, coming up later this month, Mat McDermott, Suhag Shukla, Samir Kalra, and Raj Rao sat down to discuss and debunk some of the craziest things activists and adversaries say HAF does, believes, and sets out to do. Is HAF funding genocide in India? Are we trying to hide the Nazi origins of Hindutva? Fighting to preserve the right of Hindus to discriminate based on caste? Pinkwashing our Hindu supremacy? Working for the Government of India? Hating Sikhs and Catholics? No, no, no, no, no, and no.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 時間 7 分
  • How was Indian society historically organized? Hint: It wasn't caste.

    How was Indian society historically organized? Hint: It wasn't caste.
    2025/08/28
    Devala Rees is back with us this week for another informative, enlightening and hopefully entertaining discussion. This week we’re talking about how ancient Indian society organized itself, with the subtitle of “Hint: It wasn’t caste”. The different social groups that were traditionally used, and how these morphed into something else entirely once British administrators in the 19th century decided they wanted to try understand the people they ruled in India, and how this has implications today both in India and the diaspora. This is a must listen episode for, well, everyone Hindu and non-Hindu alike.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    38 分
  • How many Hindu Dharma Traditions are there?

    How many Hindu Dharma Traditions are there?
    2025/08/14
    This week we’ve got another special episode with HAF’s Devala Rees. This time we’re talking about why HAF has been using the term Hindu Dharma Traditions wherever it makes sense, rather than Hinduism. Plus how many different traditions there are under that banner, their similarities, differences, and how they relate to other dharma traditions.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    29 分