From ritual ablutions to ceremonial cremation, the religious life of a Hindu is intimately associated with the spiritual properties of water and fire. This program steps off the beaten path for a journey with two sadhus as they visit holy locales, witness religious rites, and, in general, immerse themselves in Hindu culture as it is exists in the religion's motherland, India. The Festival of Shivaratri, in Benares, and the Festival of Holi, in Mathura,...

When his American doctor suggested shoulder replacement surgery, veteran reporter T. R. Reid decided to investigate other options. This program documents his three-week stay at a clinic in southern India dedicated to the ancient practice of Ayurveda, a form of Hindu medicine. Reid's treatment involves astrology, entreaties to the Hindu god of healing, and a seemingly bizarre regimen of massages, mudpacks, brews, and caustic eyedrops-all with the goal...

Geographically, Muslim countries cover approximately 50 percent of Africa. This program travels around the continent to inquire into Islamic history and the Muslim way of life, making stops in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zanzibar, South Africa, Senegal, Algeria, Sudan, and many other destinations. The experiences of two particular groups-those sent by Muhammad himself to Ethiopia, during the Muslim-Quraish War, and slaves and prisoners of the Dutch who were...

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, battle lines are drawn between conservative clerics claiming a God-given right to rule and reformers challenging their authority. This provocative program seeks to understand what happens when a modern state is re-created based on fundamentalist Islamic principles, and whether its society should be open and democratic or oppressed and authoritarian. From Iran's chaotic capital Tehran to its holy city of Qom, Iranians...

This program summarizes and distills what we have learned about the great religions in this series. Smith's lifetime of experience and study helps him to go beyond the differences between each tradition. He shows how the cultivation of virtues valued by all religions-intelligence, compassion, creativity, truth, beauty, and goodness-can lead to transcendence. In the many faces of God he has contemplated, Huston Smith sees no conflict. He believes them...

In this program, Dennis Wholey continues a dialogue on the role of religion and faith in contemporary American culture with spokespeople from the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington; Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good; the Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowship; the Islamic Society of North America; the Agudas Achim Conservative Jewish Congregation of Alexandria, Virginia; and the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Lanham, Maryland. Topics...