Hinduism and Judaism are among the oldest religions in the world, with some common denominators; but the qualities they have bred in their people are a study in contrast. When they perceive any threat, big or small, real or imagined to their religion or the Jewish State, the Israelis react with a ferocity that belies their small size as a nation. Hindus, on the other hand have to be among the most placid of people.
But no longer can we stand by and let things happen to us; times have changed, and sadly, our religion is not in step with today’s world, and unless we make some significant changes, Hinduism will decay and die a natural death. Should we let that happen?
Here are some facts.
· The population of Hindus is relatively declining; with no provision for conversion, the future of the religion is in question, with smaller families becoming the norm.Preview
· Casteism has forced the lower castes to convert to Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
· We are without leadership, Hindus are not united.
· There is no organized way by which we teach Hinduism to our young people,
· There are no teachers of the religion.
· Political parties professing to protect the Hindu way of life have proven to be ineffective.
· To many Hindus, the practice of Hinduism consists of going to temples and watching the Pujari perform pujas without understanding the meaning of the mantras or rituals. It becomes mechanical, ritualistic and without meaning.
· Hinduism as practiced in ancient times may not be possible in today’s highly industrialized and globalized societies. This does not mean we cannot distill the essence of our religion and put into practice the core beliefs.
· Hinduism does not have an active social responsibility element within it. Who does one go to for advice if a teenager is considering abortion; a couple is considering divorce etc. What are our religion’s guiding principles? Why are serving fellow men, the poor, uneducated, malnourished not a part of our societal responsibility?
Most Hindus will express dismay and sorrow at the state of our religion. Although it is a religion of profound thoughts, we are not able to communicate it well to our own as well as others.
Can we do something about this? I think that all of us who feel this pain and frustration about our religion should come together and do something about it. We need to launch a reformative movement of our religion. Like in Protestantism, lay people rather than religious Swamis and Acharyas should lead this movement.
I am suggesting the following as core elements of reforming Hinduism:
1. Key to the Reformation of Hinduism is the concept
of congregation. Such a congregation will meet once a
week perhaps on a Saturday or Sunday morning, with
an invocation by a Preacher/Teacher and follow up
with a sermon to last no more than an hour- there
should be the thread of religion and its application to
day to day issues. The purpose of the congregation is
to bring all Hindus, regardless of caste, languages
and sampradayas under one umbrella- the average
Hindu must realize that he/she is Hindu first, before
any of the above distinctions come into play.
2. The concept of a preacher is new to Hinduism- at
the moment, the priest for the most part is ore of a
person of rote learning, more like a technician who
has learned all the right prayers to chant for
the right occasion. In contrast, the preacher/teacher
has to have the ability to communicate, passionate,
sincere, with some knowledge of our scriptures, but
also cognizant of social issues- we may have to train
such preachers.
3. While Hinduism is multi faceted, we need to agree and establish the core beliefs and fundamentals of Hinduism - create simple books, tapes and other communication tools to teach these ideas to Hindus. We need to know our religion.
4. The barrier of caste has had a stranglehold on Hinduism- we MUST break it. I am not sure we can eradicate castes immediately. We can certainly ensure that one’s caste is not a barrier to his or her participating in a common congregation. All participants must be fully accepted and respected.
5. Concept of conversion without proselytism. While Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj have vehicles available for conversion, we can adopt their practices for anybody who chooses to convert. We may need to come up with a process for conversion along lines of Judaism. All converts should be welcomed and made to feel a part of the congregation. Converts should be assisted in establishing themselves in our faith.
6. Protection of Dharma. This is what the reformation is all about. It is to ensure the protection, sustenance and continuity of the religion of our forefathers. Every Hindu must learn and practice Dharma. Every Hindu must actively participate in spreading the message of Hinduism, must resist actively negative stereotyping of the religion. We need to bring muscularity to the protection of Dharma.
7. Social & Political activism. Hindus needs to be active in society and politics. The congregation is a vehicle to actively encourage this participation. The Congregation must also inform society at large of what Hinduism is all about. This can include participation in inter faith dialogues, allowing others to visit the congregation etc.
8. Social Service. Social services must be a big part of the movement. First we must serve all of our own people. Educating our children, providing social services wherever needed to take care of the needy should be our agenda.
9. Social decrees: Discussion and decrees on social issues such as abortion, gays rights, human rights, death penalty, divorce, widows, etc. The congregation must initiate dialog with scholars, religious teachers and pundits to come to recommendations on the congregations’ standing on each social issue.
10. The need to learn Sanskrit for all. Religion and language are tied together. In my mind, Hinduism cannot exist without Sanskrit. It is so with Islam, where all Muslims learn Arabic. Children should be given at least three years of Sanskrit education.
11. In this reformation, I am not suggesting the Hindu walk away from any of our traditional practices. We can and should continue with our respective practices we have inherited from the past. What this reformation movement does is to bring all Hindus together as one people.
12. Our name, at least for the time being can be ‘Hindus without Barriers”
If anything I have said strikes a chord with you, let us start this movement together.
We owe that much to our progeny. If you support such a movement, please send an email to HindusWithoutBarriers@gmail.com.
Ram Ramaswamy
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