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Exploring beliefs across the world. (encore)
November 03, 2022
This week, we dip into the archives to look more closely at a small sampling of non-Abrahamic religions.
Thrity Umrigar, courtesy Thrity Umrigar
A Conversation with Thrity Umrigar about Binny’s Diwali November 03, 2022

Thrity Umrigar is a much-lauded author of literary fiction, much of it set in India and among the Indian diaspora. Now, she returns to the Diwali celebrations of her Indian childhood for Binny’s Diwali, a picture book for children that explains how her family celebrates this important but little understood Indian festival.

Thrity Umrigar.  Best-selling author of both children's books and the novels Bombay Time, The Space Between Us, If Today Be SweetThe Weight of HeavenThe World We Found, The Story Hour, Everybody’s Son, The Secrets Between Us,, and Honor. She is also the author of the memoir, First Darling of the Morning.  Her books have been translated into several languages and published in over fifteen countries. She is a Distinguished University Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

 

Binnis Diwali, Scholastic Press
Binnis Diwali
Scholastic Press

Babalu Aye, the Orisha of illness.
Yoruba Religion: The Way of Connection November 03, 2022
The Yoruba religion is a tapestry of myths, magic, spirits, and secrets. Prothero calls it "a tradition about hanging onto tradition," a way for people scattered by the African diaspora to connect to their common origins. The gods of Yoruba are more like super-powerful humans, with their own personalities, stories, and tastes in music. And they're often wonderfully mischievous. Yoruba religion teaches that our problem is disconnection; the solution is to reconnect ourselves to a larger divine power, through fortune telling, sacrifice, and spirit/body possession.

Stephen Prothero Ph.D., C. Allyn and Elizabeth V. Russell Professor of Religion in America in the Department of Religion at Boston University. He is a frequent commentator on  NPR, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS -- and is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal. His latest book is Religion Matters: An Introduction to the World's Religions from W. W. Norton.
The Greatest Story Never Told: Documentary Explains the Origins of the Baha'i Faith November 03, 2022
Steve Sarowitz is not a filmmaker. But when the former tech entrepreneur declared himself a Baha’i, he felt compelled to let others know about his new faith. With only about five million Baha'is in the world, few people know much about the religion. But Baha'is are not allowed to proselytize, so Sarowitz set off to make what became “The Gate: Dawn of the Baha'i Faith,” a documentary from Spring Green Films about the creation of the Baha’i faith and its prophet, the Báb, directed by Peabody Award-winner Bob Hercules. You can watch the trailer here.

Steve Sarowitz, executive producer, and Bob Hercules, director, of "The Gate: Dawn of the Baha'i Faith"




Bob Hercules. Photo courtesy of Spring Green Films



Steve Sarowitz. 
Photo courtesy of Spring Green Films





Our theme music is by MC Yogi

This week's closing music, New Hope, by Audiobinger,
 used under a Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0 license.

All additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Remixes and sound design by Dissimilation Heavy Industries