WORK TO BE DONE BY SEPTEMBER 25th

1. Carefully read pages 96-103 in your Hopfe textbook.

2. In a number of places in his well-known book The World’s Religions, Huston Smith alludes to a 'cardinal tenet' of Hinduism, namely that people are different and that religion needs to be adapted to different people's needs. Based on both the material in your textbook and the material we discussed in class, what different ways does Hinduism conceive itself as adapting to different people's needs? How do the four types of yoga fit into this adaptation? Which path(s) might best fit you and your personality? Why? Reflect on these questions and then answer them for one of your blog posts this week.

3. During the week, write at least one more post on a religion topic of your choosing. This could be comments on the assigned reading or from the introductory class material; a link to an interesting and relevant webpage, video, book review, or article (along with an explanation of why you’ve chosen it); questions that you might have for me or other students in the class; a description of a conversation or experience you have that’s connected with the course content; suggestions for further reading or thinking; etc

If you enjoyed Second Life last week, you might want to go and visit some of its Hindu meetings and worship places (for example, the Shrine to Ganesha or the Temple of Shiva, either of which you can get to by typing its name into Second Life’s search option and then teleporting there) and then writing of your experience.

4. If you have not already done so, you should read your classmates’ blog entries for this past week and write responses to at least three of the entries, posting them as comments directly below the entry upon which you’re commenting. You can access classmates’ blogs by clicking on the individual blogs listed on the right hand side of this classblog.