Over a billion people practice Hinduism and most of them live in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, although modern communications have led to the migration of Hindus throughout the world. Hinduism has remained a puzzle to Westerners because the concepts of divinity and afterlife differ from Abrahamic religions.

This study group for those 50 and above will explore these differences in detail, as well as discuss various sects of Hinduism, the core beliefs common to them and the philosophies unique to each. We will also explore the historic evolution of Hinduism, its spread through Southeast Asia, its place in the contemporary political-social-economic environment in India and the global environment and its interaction with other faiths and belief systems.

Instructor Venkat Lakshminarayanan will lead these two hour sessions on Wednesdays from September 27 through November 8.