Encountering Hinduism

This session is part five of an eight part series running through the 2017-2018 academic year titled Encountering Religious and Cultural Traditions: A Series Fostering Religious Literacy and Interreligious Understanding. In this session, Satya Balroop will teach about the lived experience of Hinduism as well as address some common misconceptions and stereotypes people have about the tradition. Renowned scholar of religion Wilfred Cantwell Smith argued that in order to “understand Buddhists, we must not look at something called Buddhism but at the world so far as possible through Buddhist eyes.” Likewise, in order to understand Judaism, Hinduism, and so on, we must not look at Judaism, Hinduism and so on, but at the worldviews of Jews, Hindus, and so on. In his New York Times Bestseller, Religious Literacy, Stephen Prothero writes “I am convinced that one needs to know something about the world’s religions in order to be truly educated,” and argues that “you need religious literacy in order to be an effective citizen.” This year-long series aims to foster religious literacy and interreligious understanding by examining the world through the eyes of religious scholars and practitioners from various traditions. They will share their own lived experiences of their traditions and also address common stereotypes and misconceptions. Satya Balroop is the co-founder of Minnesota Hindu Milan Mandir in Farmington, Minnesota. As a devout practitioner of Sanatan Dharma (eternal truths), she incorporates these truths into the various roles she plays as a successful professional, loving wife, dedicated mother, grandmother, community leader, spiritual leader, Dharma Ambassador of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and guest speaker of Sanatan Dharma, and yoga and meditation instructor among others. Satya is serves fulltime at the Minnesota Hindu Milan Mandir. This Hindu temple is recognized as a branch of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, H.Q., Kolkata, India – an international, philanthropic - monastic organization. Today Hindu Milan Mandir is well established in the building of the first Lutheran Church of Farmington, MN, serving the community at large in propagating the Hindu culture and heritage, arts, education, spiritual practices, charitable services and many more. Click here for an MPR article on the founding and growth of this temple. Sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning in collaboration with the Desi South Asian Club at the University of St. Thomas. To make an accessibility request, call Disability Resources at (651) 962-631