This week marks Diwali, Hinduism’s luminous festival and the most widely celebrated public holiday in India — the world’s most populous nation. Also known as Deepavali, meaning “a row of lights,” it is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in the world [1].

What does it mean to be Hindu? What does it mean to be Hindu? In this episode of Crash Course Religions, we’ll learn about the surprising history of the term “Hindu,” what the word “karma” really means, and how this vast, sprawling tradition ...