we're of course looking at hinduism today in class, and we're going to be asking hinduism to help us understand experiential dimension. and since this is i think about the first time we've gone into that, let me just make that point once again - we're not going to pretend here- thanks again, janet - in a mere 60 minutes to learn, well, really, very much at all about hinduism, but there's so much hinduism can tell us about the experiential dimension. so that's what we want to enter into today, and what better way than to have one of our own students - janet - do some chanting. responses to her chant? i mean, i was listening and we're getting ready to start this class, but did you feel the tone, the feel in the room change? i mean, something different's happening. sure, bob. >> it gave me a peaceful feeling. in fact, i finally closed my eyes, because it just felt better that way. >> exactly, i mean, i almost - i was standing back there, waiting to walk out and get the class rolling here, and i was spacing out; i almost didn't make it. but that's it, it's a very - and that's what we're

and we're not setting aside hinduism as we move into buddhism. we want to keep that in mind, some of these ideas in hinduism because we'll go back to them again and again. but when we move onto buddhism, let me give you a little bit of a background because it's a fascinating story, and we're going to go through some of the most extraordinary answers to profound life questions. the myth of the buddha, the story, is so great, but essentially, he was a very wealthy young man, brought up perhaps to be a king, or brought up perhaps to be a great religious leader. and his father had wanted him to be a king, a political leader, so he kept him in the palace, and he never let him out. but somehow - and this story varies here - the buddha escapes or gets out or goes on a journey, and he sees first a sick man. and then he e sees a man who's decrepit, who's old. and then he encounters death. and he lives this wonderful luxurious life and he goes back into the palace, and he becomes - well, to use our terminology - a seeker. to see old age, to see sickness, a

and buddhism, and we look at hinduism, of course, in the next class. but monist mysticism is a sense of oneness with mind, with god, the godhead - depending on who's talking - the vedantin swami who we'll speak with here shortly will be our example, says it way better than i ever could. how is it different from nature mysticism? quite frankly, i just don't know how these ultimately experientially, these different kinds of mysticism are different. we're in the foothills of a college course, and so we're setting up these different types, and that's what i think of these three types of, as the foothills. because whether it's a native american shaman, a vedantin hindu, swami, or it's a coptic orthodox christian monk living in the deserts of egypt, i bet, as we've said in class already, they're getting very close to a similar experience of oneness, of completeness, of wholeness. and maybe we go with the swami and say "not twoness" - not twoness. the idea of being one with god, an interesting analogy may have come out of the ramakrishna school also - not all

so we see a hinduism develop in india. we see buddhism develop at a little bit later time. and if you do world religions, you realize how interesting that most of the great traditions, given all of human history - our egyptian folks predate the great world traditions, their religious systems, those archaic systems - but how interesting, in roughly, what, about 1,000, 2,000 years, give or take - who's counting - you see the great world religious traditions develop. and if you look at it from an evolutionary perspective, you might say that human beings reached a point of more complexity in terms of boundary questions, more complexity in terms of the difficulty of identity and relationship, more complexity about meeting those psychological, emotional, and physical needs that they had. and so we begin to see, in different cultures, hinduism develop, judaism, buddhism, christianity, daoism, alternative religions - in other words, when we take our textbook that we're using in here, if you pick up any textbook on world religions, in one sense, we're being purposely simple; in one

so in the next class, hinduism.

. >> reporter: for this family, hinduism is more than a religion. it's a way of life.light, that life has been dramatically altered. >> i thought something suspicious. >> reporter: not normal because it was the first time this 34- year-old hindu ever tasted meat. >> there was nothing written on the sandwich. >> reporter: he confirmed via e- mail that his families meals would be meat-free. once on board, the flight attendant assured him again. but a few bites in, he noticed an unfamiliar taste. >> eating meat is considered violent. >> so this is a sin? >> a grievous sin. >> reporter: the professor explains that for some families, hindu families, eating meat is a sin. accidentally eating it can be devastating. she compares it to accidentally eating a pet. >> there's a sense of deep revolution. >> reporter: he prays daily for forgiveness. he can no longer eat with his family. he must now travel back to india to perform his penance. >> was it intentional? no. but it's gross negligence. >> reporter: the airlines, which regularly caters to hindu travelers from india, has a r

they claim yoga is hinduism.ut the school insists it's a physical education program. >>> we told you about the big golf tournament that was postponed by the air snowfall there. when they finally got it going yesterday, it didn't go well for the top two players. first, rory mcilroy lost his head-to-head match. then, tiger woods, yep, did the same. they were eliminated from the tournament. it's the first time in 11 years that the top two players lost in the very first round. >> better luck next time. >>> time, now, for some of your other sports headlines. and here with the latest is espn. >> good morning, i'm cassidy hubbarth with your "sportscenter" update. the east-leading heat looking for a season-high nine-straight wins. taking on the bulls. second quarter. lebron james gets the tough lay-in to fall. heat up ten. dwyane wade misses the dunk. and the rebound goes all the way to half-court. seconds later, lebron finds wade, who gets it to go, right before the buzzer. heat up ten at the half. third quarter, it was

they've waited for this moment for 12 years, since the last prayag kumbh mela, hinduism's biggest, mostyful festival. in a two-month-long celebration this day is considered the luckiest to take a dip. saryu das is a holy man who came here to collect a bottle of sacred water. how do you feel after swimming in the ganges? "this is our heritage" he told us. "the mother ganges has given us her blessings since the beginning of time." then came the pilgrims. a flood of humanity not driven by war or hunger but moved by a shared faith. they've gathered here from all over india, camped out in a giant city of tents in a carnival atmosphere. this country modernizing fast, but hindus are still rooted in an ancient religion. this woman comes from a wealthy indian family but gave up nearly all of her material possessions to study with holy men. >> he thinks he's a king? he's got nothing but he's a king in his heart. >> reporter: on the banks of the ganges, this religious service became increasingly chaotic. at times it had come dangerously close to being a stampede as the pilgrims have rushed forward

skills, you can then go an apply them to buddhism, if you're interested in it, or to islam, or to hinduism and we will ask those great traditions, judaism, to help us understand the six dimensions of religion, which we'll go over in the next class. so, in a nutshell as we roll down to the end of this first class, i'd again like to say welcome all, i'm glad you're here with us, and we'll be pursuing worldview analysis skills and pursuing our quest to understand religious diversity as we move to the semester. [ music ]

yes, there are aspects of it that are informed by hinduism and various eastern religions. no.ing religious. it's just making them healthier. and more fit. and, you know, you should not make a federal case out of it. >> the school said the kids can opt-out. those who do they actually kind of fall short i guess on their requirements. i'm not sure. but the group that's suing they actually say when you let the kids opt occupant they get bullied and then they are separated they can get picked on. it's a very big deal apparently yoga in this school district. >> jeff is too reasonable for me. he doesn't like to sue. he's a constitutional scholar. if he says no violation, novi allocation. but it's a problem if the government is endorsing it. according to their statement they are just doing these moments but it's a question of fact which will get vetted out in the deposition process when there is the lawsuit. come on encourage these lawsuits. us private practice twice need them. >> that's for sure. we have lots of cases about prayers at football games, prayers at graduations, whether i

. >> reporter: for an chew can mar and his family hinduism is a way of life. recent flight on asiana airlines, that life is dramatically altered. >> i have had two to three bites and i thought like something suspicious, giving me not the normal food. >> reporter: not normal because it was the first time the 34- year-old man ever ate meet. his religious requires vegetarian diet. >> there was nothing written on the sandwich. >> reporter: he called the airline two times and confirmed by email that his family's meals would be meat-free. the flight attendant assured him again that it was vegetarian. he noticed an unfamiliar taste a few bites in. what he thought might be potato turned out to be meat. >> it's a sin. >> it's a grievous sin. >> reporter: the university of san francisco professor [ non- english language ] explains for some hindus, eating meat has been forbidden for thousands of years. and it's more than just a sin. even accidentally consuming it can be devastating. she compares it to accidentally eating a pet. >> when someone like that eats meat, there