5 Reasons to Study Hindi

Yogic Studies is proud to offer continued access to many of the great languages and traditions of Asia—both classical and modern.

Hindi is the modern Indo-Aryan language of North and Central India—a language of literature, devotion, cinema, and everyday life spoken by hundreds of millions across the subcontinent and its global diaspora. Rooted in Sanskrit and shaped by centuries of encounter with Persian, Arabic, and vernacular traditions, Hindi carries within it the voices of the Bhakti saints, the poetry of the Mughal courts, and the narratives and voices of modern South Asia. 

Here are our top 5 reasons why you should study Hindi today:

• Gain access to one of the largest linguistic communities in the world.
• There are over 600+ million Hindi speakers, making it the third most spoken language in the world—behind only English and Mandarin.

• Engage directly with Indian culture and society—festivals, rituals, cinema, music, literature, poetry, and everyday life—without relying solely on translation or subtitles.

• Learning to read and write the Devanāgarī “script” opens doors to Hindi literature and supports the study of other related languages (e.g. Sanskrit, Marathi, Nepali), which also use the same alphabet.

• The Hindi literary and poetic tradition, evolving from early Apabhraṃśa and medieval vernaculars (Braj, Awadhi) to modern Khaṛībolī, spans devotional bhakti lyrics (Kabir, Tulsidas, Surdas), ornate rīti courtly poetics, and 20th-century progressive movements.
• It explores devotion, love, ethics, nation, and social critique, yielding a canon both regionally rooted and cosmopolitan.

• Recognize and interpret key terms (e.g. yog, āsan, prāṇāyām) in living usage, enriching your study and practice.
• Engage directly with Hindi-speaking yoga teachers and community in India. 

• HINDI 101 | Elementary Hindi I, our beginner class taught by our highly regarded instructor, Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, begins the week of September 15, 2026. Attend live on Zoom, or watch the recordings and study at your own pace. 

We only open our 101 courses once a year, so don’t miss out!