Texts and Traditions

The Texts and Traditions (in Sanskrit called Shastra and Sampradaya) area is a collection of courses that take the student at HUA into a much deeper exploration of individual knowledge systems rooted in and emerging from Hindu thought. Hindu knowledge traditions refer to the knowledge, innovations, and practices of indigenous and local communities developed from experience gained over the centuries and adapted to the local culture and environment and transmitted both orally and through formal text-based teaching from generation to generation, across very long spans of time. Including courses on   Vedānta, Yoga, Āyurveda, Jyotiṣa, Vāstu, and Tantra, these courses allow students to develop a deep specialization in areas of interest to them.

The immersion in these knowledge systems, which include structured opportunities for study abroad, help students to not merely understand the authentic and original intent behind these traditions, but also investigate their content with a view towards assessing their significance for the communities that still preserve and sustain them, their relevance for our contemporary world, and the value they could hold for the future of humanity. This area of study also includes the exploration of the life and works of modern masters of Hindu Dharma, who have made an enormous impact on contemporary Hindu life and society. Students can immerse themselves deeply into the life of a single great Master, or survey a collection of masterworks, and their inter-relations.

Further developing the idea of Sampradāya i.e. tradition, this area of study explores the history and continuity of Hindu thought across the vast eons of time, from their Vedic roots to the ongoing unfolding of Hindu ideas, from a comparative and contemporary standpoint. It also enables research into the intersections and confluences where Hindu thought has migrated globally through the inspiration of these modern masters and movements, to generate new expressions and forms in non-Hindu societies and communities.

Mahābhārata I: The Beginning and End

Mahābhārata I: The Beginning and End

Mahābhārata I: The Beginning and End (TAT7201) – is the first part of a comprehensive four semester-course series on the entire Mahābhārata. This course focuses Read More
IsA-vAsya Upanishad

IsA-vAsya Upanishad – The Three Vedantic Perspectives

An overview of three commentaries on the IsA-vAsya Upanishad is the main topic of this course. IsA-vAsya Upanishad is traditionally Read More
Adhyasa bhasya of Adi Sankara

Adhyasa bhasya of Adi Sankara

TAT4000 – (C.P.H.S – Core Course) This course will unfold the adhyasa bhasya, considered perhaps to be the magnum opus Read More
Nyaya Darshana Part - 1

Nyaya Darshana Part – 1

TAT3206 - (CPHS - Elective) This Course is the first of the two-part course sequence that introduces Nyaya Darshana of Read More
Lalitha Sahasranama Stotram

Lalitha Sahasranama Stotram Part 2

TAT1304 - (CPHS – Elective Course) Lalitha Sahasranamam is considered to be a sacred Hindu text from the Brahmanda Purana.  Read More
Vedantasara of Sadananda - Part 2

Vedantasara of Sadananda Part 2

TAT3204 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) In this second part of the course, Students will inquire into some of the Read More
Shastriya Sangeet, Hindu Musical Traditions – A Historical Perspective

The History of Shastriya Sangeet

TAT3102 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) Hindu Musical Traditions (Shastriya Sangeet traditions) are ancient and diverse.  This course takes students Read More
Bhaja Govindam

Bhaja Govindam – A Topical Approach

TAT1302 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) In this course, students will learn Bhaja Govindam with its verses re-organized around some Read More
Accross the world - Hindu dharma

Across the Universe: Hindu Dharma and Western Creative Arts

TAT2100 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) This course is both a celebration and a deep analysis of artists who opened Read More
Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram

Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram

TAT1301 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) This course on Vishnu Sahasranama stotra, will prepare students to chant the slokas with Read More
Ayurveda Essential Nutrition

Ayurveda – Essential Nutrition

TAT1103 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) In our contemporary era, concern for the prevention of disease is neglected in favor Read More
ayurveda

Disease through the Lens of Ayurveda

TAT1102 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) Ayurveda is a holistic and complete consciousness-based wellness paradigm that has its origins sourced Read More
Introduction to the Dasasantimantras

Introduction to the daśaśāntimantras

TAT1001 – This course provides an immersive introduction to the Mantra and Chanting traditions of Sanatana Dharma. It focuses on Read More
Ayurveda Advanced Nutrition Course

Ayurveda – Advanced Nutrition

TAT1104 – (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) Ayurveda – Advanced Nutrition is an experiential training course in Ayurveda Diet & Nutrition Read More
Understanding the Vedas

Understanding the Vedas

TAT3205 - (CPHS - Elective) The Vedas are known as the oldest books of wisdom of the world. They are Read More
Lalitha Sahasranama Stotram

Lalitha Sahasranama Stotram Part 1

TAT1303 - (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) Lalitha Sahasranamam is considered to be a sacred Hindu text from the Brahmanda Purana.  Read More
Daksinamurtistotram by Adi Sankara

Daksinamurtistotram by Adi Sankara

TAT3001 - (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) This course will unfold the Dakṣiṇāmūrtistōtram systematically verse by verse, drawing upon where necessary Read More
Hindu Temples and Traditions

Hindu Temples and Traditions

TAT3104 - (C.P.H.S - Core Course) Temples occupy an important place in the Hindu mind, both in India and amongst Read More
mahabharata

Mahābhārata V: Bhakti and Contemporary Hinduism

TAT7205 - This is Part V of the 6-part Mahābhārata certificate program. The Mahābhārata is the founding text of classical Read More
Mahabharata 4 - Epic Philosophy

Mahabharata IV: Epic Philosophy

TAT7204 - This course is the fourth of a 6-part Course Sequence that explores the great epic of India, The Read More
Ayurveda, Vedic Science Foundations, Ayurveda The Wisdom of Wellbeing

Ayurveda – The Wisdom of Wellbeing

TAT1101 - (C.P.H.S - Core Course) This foundational course is designed to make the timeless wisdom of Ayurveda accessible to Read More
Introduction to the Dasasantimantras

Introduction to the dasasantimantras

TAT1001 - This course provides an immersive introduction to the Mantra and Chanting traditions of Sanatana Dharma. It focuses on Read More
Shastriya Sangeet, Hindu Musical Traditions – A Historical Perspective

The History of Shastriya Sangeet

TAT3102 - (C.P.H.S - Elective Course) Hindu Musical Traditions (Shastriya Sangeet traditions) are ancient and diverse.  This course takes students on a Read More
Indian and Western Music Traditions

Indian and Western Music Traditions – A Comparative Study

TAT3103 - (C.P.H.S – Elective Course) This course is the first of a three-part course sequence in the Hindu Musical Traditions Read More
mahabharata

Mahabharata III: War Books

TAT7203 - This course is the third of a 6-part Course Sequence that explores the great epic of India, The Read More
History of Dharmasastras

History of Dharmaśāstras II

HSF6007 - This is the second course in a two-part survey course that provides an overview of dharma literature from Read More
Brahmasutras

Brahmasūtras

HSF8000 - The Brahmasūtras are aphorisms on Brahman. Along with the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavadgītā, they form a triad of Read More
The Mahabharata II: Dicing and Exile

The Mahabharata II: Dicing and Exile

TAT7202 - This is Part 2 of a four-semester course on the entire Mahābhārata. The course focuses on an overview Read More
Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa

Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa

TAT7301 - Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa is a classic story of human self-development focused on the relationship between the macrocosm (the kingdom) Read More