Heart and Soul

Varanasi is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and considered the spiritual capital of India. While also holy to Buddhists, Jains and many other sects, it is the most sacred city in Hinduism. Said to have been founded by Lord Shiva, for centuries Hindus have made the pilgrimage from all over the world to the banks of the Ganges River. For many of these pilgrims, they know this will be their last mortal journey. In Hindu tradition it is said that to die in Varanasi, one may attain Moksha – an end to the continual cycle of rebirth, and a place in paradise.

These are the stories of those intimately involved in the unique culture of spirituality, death and funerals in the city. We hear from the manager of Mukti Bhawan, one of the so-called Death Hotels which host pilgrims in their final days on earth, alongside personal family accounts of those who have chosen this path and the stories of those who jobs are to cremate the roughly 100 bodies per day at the ancient Burning Ghats, before their remains enter the holy river to pass into the afterlife.

(Photo: Panoramic view across the holy river Ganges on Munshi Ghat in the suburb of Godowlia. Credit: Frank Bienewald/Getty Images)

By the time Richard Turner was in his mid-30s, he’d given away nearly all of his money to a church. Everything he held dear had been stripped bare by a religious community in the UK which claimed to have his best interests at heart. It took him years to piece together how this could have happened. It was only in recovery that he was diagnosed with autism, which he believes made him more susceptible to coercive control by a group he now regards as a cult.

For Heart and Soul, Richard takes us on his journey of self-discovery, sharing his faith experiences with other ‘cult survivors’, including one US man with Asperger’s Syndrome who has spent most of his adult life ‘cult-hopping’. How common are these extraordinary stories across the world? With very little academic research available, Richard is part of a growing movement working to understand the link between neurodivergence and cults.

(Image: Group Of People Against Blurred Background. Credit: Getty Images / Emmanuel Lavigne / EyeEm)

The English city of Leicester hosts the largest Diwali celebrations outside India. More than 40,000 people gather every year to see the Diwali lights switch on in Belgrave Road. People of all faiths and none attend, but for Leicester’s Hindus, the festivities are an important way of practising their faith and honouring their culture. In Hinduism, Diwali celebrates Lord Rama’s victory over the demon Ravana and Hindus observe it through prayer and by lighting up their houses with clay pot lamps. Home to thousands of Hindus who migrated from India and East Africa, Leicester is often held up as a shining example of how different religious communities can live together in harmony. But in recent weeks, tensions between the city’s well-established Hindu and Muslim population have erupted into street violence. Hindu temples were attacked while Muslims say right wing Hindu nationalism is seeping into the city from abroad. Some Hindus fear they won’t be able to celebrate Diwali in the same way this year. So could Leicester’s huge festivities be thrown off course?

Rajeev Gupta goes to Leicester to find out, uncovering an intense debate among the city’s Hindus about how to respond to inter-religious tensions and how best to express their faith. A new generation wants to express and defend their beliefs more confidently than the first generations who arrived in the city. Others argue that identity politics are pulling people away from true Hindu values. Rajeev finds out what scripture has to say about social cohesion and how believers are drawing on it to help restore peace to the vibrant city.

Patrick van der Vorst was a tech multi-millionaire, and had been the head auctioneer at the world famous Sotheby's auction house in London selling tens of millions of pounds worth of art including the contents of Elton John's house. Then he went through what he called "a seismic change" in his life. Turning his back on money, fame and success to pursue something he feels is deeper and more meaningful. "I gave up the home I live in, the bed I sleep in, the food I eat. I had to give up my dog. I had to go back to studying again!'.

Originally from Belgium where he practised law, he then moved to the UK and pursued life as an entrepreneur. It was during his time dealing with art, that he felt drawn to Christian art and he started thinking about life's bigger questions. Eventually he shocked his friends and colleagues when he announced that he would be giving up business and devoting his life to the priesthood. And so Patrick left for the simplicity of the seminary in Rome.

In this Heart and Soul on the BBC World Service we'll meet Patrick in Rome to hear his story, and how he wants to start contemporary Christian art tours in Rome after he's ordained as a priest.

Christianity and Hip Hop have a long and complex relationship. From Kanye’s Jesus Walks to the development of Christian Hip Hop, artists rapping about their faith has caused controversy in a genre that’s known for its violent oversexualised lyrics.

But who’s rapping about God right now and is anyone claiming the title of Christian rapper?

Swarzy Macaly, a BBC 1Xtra presenter, is a Christian who works within the mainstream music world, playing secular music. She loves it when she hears people share their faith in their music, like the pioneers of Christian Hip Hop like Lecrae and Guvna B did.

But in recent years, artists beyond the Christian Hip Hop world have been releasing ‘gospel’ filled music like Kanye West and Stormzy, blurring the lines between religious and secular music. Swarzy wants to know if that’s having an impact on the music Christian artists make, and if they feel pressure to dilute explicit faith messages in their songs to reach a wider audience. Is the label ‘Christian rapper’ too restrictive for artists who want their music to go further than the church?

To find out more, Swarzy meets Still Shadey and Jo Joey, young Christian rappers making popular drill music with a religious message; Deyah and Happi who’ve moved beyond the ‘Christian’ artist label, and Limoblaze the artist behind viral TikTok hit Jireh, to hear what it’s like producing music with a Christian message, and how receptive the music industry is to the growing trend of faith filled music.

Produced by Miriam Williamson for the BBC World Service

(Image Credit: Chinyere Anosike)

Twenty-one-year-old journalism graduate, Saskia Masaun has been attending meditation, mediumship and healing classes at the Spiritualists National Union (SNU) Church in Wolverhampton, UK, since she was 16, alongside her spiritualist mother.

Saskia explains how her faith, which includes connecting with the spirit world through mediums and a seven principle philosophy described as a ‘guideline for life’, is helping her navigate her journey as she sets out on her career. She speaks to Spiritualist leaders and attends the medium’s training college, where recruits are taught the art of communicating with the dead.

She talks to Karin Huber, a full time medium in Germany, and Asha, a healer who was brought up as a Hindu in the British multicultural city where they live. From its beginnings, founded in the 1840s in the US, spiritualism has established itself in the UK through its teachings on mediumship, healing and a philosophy which centres the soul through developing self-awareness.

Presenter: Saskia Masaun

There are hundreds of verses in the Quran calling on Muslims to protect the environment. Islam teaches that everyone is a custodian of nature and should treat the natural environment with respect and care. Sustainability has been part of the faith from the beginning. How are ordinary Muslims around the globe responding to that call?

Reporter Zubeida Malik hears about the experiences of a local imam from Indonesia trying to persuade his community to help redress the effects of climate change and she looks at how religious leaders in Zanzibar successfully persuaded fishermen to change their age-old customs.

Zubeida also visits Europe’s first eco-Mosque in Cambridge, England, a beacon of modern Islamic environmentalism, and eavesdrops on British Muslim schoolgirls learning to interpret their faith and the natural world.

(Photo: View of the famous Cambridge Central Mosque design. Credit: Edward Crawford/Getty Images)

Vishva Samani meets young Hindus in the diaspora who believe their faith is being misunderstood and who speak out against what they say is ‘Hinduphobia’. While some academics claim the term is used to silence dissent, online hate directed towards the Hindu community has increased.

Once Afghanistan’s Sikh population numbered more than 100,000 in the 1970's. Today, it’s estimated around only 100 Sikhs remain, following the return to Taliban rule. The BBC’s Kawoon Khamoosh speaks to those who have been forced to leave in recent years.

Producer: Nina Robinson

Raees Khan explores the history, influence and enduring legacy of Qawwali music, both within, as well as outside of the Islamic World.

Presenter: Raees Khan

(Photo: Group Fana Fi Allah and their lead singer Tahir Qawwal performing. Credit: Tahir Qawwal)