BookTalk.org

This could be an interesting series and generate some comments. In one clip Reza visits a Hindu cult known for cannibalism and becomes scared enough that he asks the videographers to help him get away from the leader. The series starts tonight on CNN 10 p.m. EST US.

In this new spiritual adventure series, renowned author and religious scholar Reza Aslan immerses himself in the world's most fascinating faith-based groups to experience life as a true believer.
http://www.cnn.com/shows/believer

CNN is FAKE NEWS



Just kidding..


Where can I find this part..

In one clip Reza visits a Hindu cult known for cannibalism and becomes scared enough that he asks the videographers to help him get away from the leader.

Reza is getting a little greyer these days. I've always liked him.

I can't find direct links to the video clips, so on the link in my original post scroll down until you see a video called "Who are the Aghori?" I'd recommend watching that first because it provides a little background info. However if you need to cut to the chase, the clip you asked about is a little further down called "Face to face with a cannibalistic sect." I think both clips are about 2 minutes each.

Reza may be taking an approach similar to Huston Smith, who immersed himself in various religions then wrote about similarities and differences. Ah here we go: "During his career, Smith not only studied but also practiced Vedanta Hinduism, Zen Buddhism (under Goto Zuigan), and Sufism for over 10 years each." Smith's description of Zen Buddhism where the ego cracks under pressure of an impenetrable Koan was particularly interesting to me. Obviously Reza isn't spending that much time on this project, but the series should be interesting...

I'm not really a fan of Reza Aslan, he's basically the go-to politically correct religious guy that the networks use.

But this could still be an interesting show

The first episode about Hinduism is a wild ride. Far from his PC reputation, Reza started by attacking aspects of Hindu religion and culture, mainly the caste system. He showed such a dark side that I expect many casual viewers changed channels and I was starting to wonder about a Muslim being able to review Hinduism objectively. However, Reza finds a group that fights against the caste system in several important ways including education and health care. By the end of the show, I think Reza was genuinely touched by what he had found...

Sounds interesting, I'll see if I can find the video anywhere

Reza may be taking an approach similar to Huston Smith, who immersed himself in various religions then wrote about similarities and differences. Ah here we go: "During his career, Smith not only studied but also practiced Vedanta Hinduism, Zen Buddhism (under Goto Zuigan), and Sufism for over 10 years each." Smith's description of Zen Buddhism where the ego cracks under pressure of an impenetrable Koan was particularly interesting to me. Obviously Reza isn't spending that much time on this project, but the series should be interesting...

Somewhat related maybe, I'm reading a book about meditation called The Science of Enlightenment, and it has a chapter about the commonalities in the mystical (i.e. meditation) traditions in all of the major religions

That book looks good, let me know what you find... I just started this one, has a 21 day series - I need more of a path than just sitting...
http://tharpa.com/us/the-new-meditation-handbook.html

This one comes highly recommended, may be next...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15011 ... PDKIKX0DER

You have this small sect, the Aghori, within a vast Hinduism, and even so, you can't generalize about Aghori. Some are what I suppose could be compared to fundamentalists, while others have risen above the forms and rituals and distilled the meaning of the beliefs. So labels aren't very reliable guides.

Eastern religions have a reputation for being the more enlightened, but that's a poor generalization. I remember what Hitchens said: "There is no Eastern solution." He meant that we can't retreat to Hinduism or Buddhism as a way of avoiding the abuses we see in the monotheistic religions.

If you haven't seen the first episode you really need to. I didn't realize it was a series till I read this thread so thank you.

I especially loved when the nut on the beach started drinking his own urine and throwing it at Reza.

LanDroid wrote:That book looks good, let me know what you find... I just started this one, has a 21 day series - I need more of a path than just sitting...
http://tharpa.com/us/the-new-meditation-handbook.html

This one comes highly recommended, may be next...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15011 ... PDKIKX0DER

I'm not familiar with the first one, The Mind Illuminated is an extraordinary book, as you can see from the reviews, anyone interested in meditation needs to start reading that one (it goes into details about higher stages of meditation, so relative beginners like myself don't really need to read the whole thing, yet)