Hindu India: Terrific Short Documentary

Teaching Hinduism?  The Himalayan Academy, which publishes Hinduism Today magazine, has a terrific 23 minute documentary about the origins and features of Hinduism.

The documentary is engaging and includes great photography. It's divided into five short parts: origins, sacred texts, Hindu society,  beliefs and practices, and finally, festivals.

One way the film engages students is by juxtaposing ancient beliefs and ritual with modern beliefs. For example, you'll see an ancient fire pit followed by clips of contemporary Hindus involved with fire worship.  You'll see a 2000 year old stone carving of a Hindu meditating in the lotus position followed by a contemporary  Hindu meditating in the same way.

According to Murali Balaji, a director of education at the Hindu American Foundation, and writing for the Huffington Post, the film was made in response  to "the problem of negative portrayal of Hinduism and India in school textbooks."