A look at how different Hindu groups celebrate the New Year.
Many people follow the Gregorian calendar and celebrate the New Year each January 1st. However, Hindus have a different method of welcoming the New Year. There are various Hindu traditions in different regions in India that dictate the type of festival that is celebrated to welcome the New Year. According to the Hindu calendar, the New Year is celebrated in line with the solar and lunar system.
The New Year celebrations in India are done in different times as well in different regions and occasions in the month of April. In every region, there is a specific culture that Hindus abide by. Celebrations are during spring, which is in mid-April in South Asia, when crops are harvested. Here’s a list of some of the traditions celebrated in different regions of India.
Ugadi is used to signify the start of an age and is celebrated in the state of Karnataka, Maharashtra, as well as Andhra Pradesh. Indians prepare for this festival by buying new clothes and eating good food. Ugadi pachadi is a special type of dish that is prepared specifically to welcome the Telugu New Year. It is prepared with a combination of many different flavors that symbolize what to expect in the New Year. Ugadi is usually observed in the months of March or April although the dates may vary depending on the Hindu calendar system.
During this festival, Indians say “Puthandu Vazthukal” to wish each other a Happy New Year. It is observed on Tamil Month and as a tradition, Tamil New Year is celebrated at mid-April on either April 13-14th. During this day, mangai pachadi food is prepared, which is made from raw mangoes, jaggery and a combination of neem flowers.
The festival celebrates the Assamese New Year which marks the beginning of the agricultural season. Bohag Bihu is the most crucial festival celebrated in Assam and is observed by abundance, joy and faith.
In India, the Bengali New Year festival is observed by Hindus living in hilly regions of Tripura. The Nabo Barsho festival is also celebrated in mid-April and people gather and celebrate with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. It is a time for cultural programs, prayers and shopping. It is also considered an auspicious time for marriages.
The Gudi Padwa festival is observed on the first day of Chaitra month (March-April) and is celebrated by Indians who are Konkanis or Maharashtrians. During the celebrations, a Gudi is usually hung out on the right-hand side of the house main entrance. In simple terms, a Gudi is a bright yellow cloth that is tied on the tip of a long bamboo, with a copper pot that is inverted on it, along with a sugar garland.
Baisakhi is a harvest festival that is observed by states across Northern India. They refer to it as the Punjabi New Year and is usually celebrated either on April 13-14th, commemorating the formation of the Sikh Khalsa. During these celebrations, Indians gather at the Golden Temple in Amristar and the birthplace of Khalsa.
Thaipusam, a colourful annual religious festivalImage source: www.telegraph.co.uk
By Annesha Das Gupta
As history progressed, it has brought along with itself the sporadic expansion of Hinduism and its ethnic originals from India. Among the many countries it covered, one of the oldest affiliations has been with the terrains of Malaysia.
A country divided into two-halves, the Malaysian Borneo and the Malaysian Peninsula, with South China Sea filling up the gap, the regions boast of multi-cultural and multi-religious pockets deep within its veins. Though, it is in the western peripheries of the peninsula that one will come across the larger settlements of Hindu and Indian communities.
Consisting an impressive 9% of the total population, the Hindus have instilled themselves in the hustle and bustle of the urban and the rural lives. Exhaustive studies have revealed that the first Indians landed on the shores, sometime back around 1,700 years. The relations further flourished with the heavy trading exchanges that, was taken on by both the countries.
It is also should be known that the city of Negeri Sembilan has the leading Hindu percentage while Sabah has the lowest.
Tracking the history – The Hindu presence
As mentioned above, the spread of the Hindu culture initially took place with the development of trading relations. Not only, this, brought the Malays into close contact with the religion but also with its people and the language of Sanskrit. So much so, that the temples were coming into existence in this then foreign land but also surprisingly that the rulers of the Malayan world adopted the title and started recognizing themselves as ‘Rajas’.
The second wave of Hindu migration came with the ‘Indenture period’ of the 19th and 20th centuries under the colonialism of the British Empire. Most of the Hindu laborers used to work in the mining or plantation industries. And some of these people who are regarded as trustworthy by the British were ordained to recruit their kin and kith to join them in the labor work under the ‘Kangani’
Most of those who came to Malaysia were seeking a permanent residence with a better life and livelihood. Though the truth hit home for them, when the community has to face severe discrimination and alienation. The Indians were not allowed to mix freely with the other ethnicities like that of the Chinese Buddhists and Christians. Nor were they permitted to relocate themselves in the more luxurious European settlements.
The majority of those who decided to transfer themselves into Malaysia were the Tamils, along with the Sri Lankans and the masses of North India. It was seen that, there was an upsurge after the introduction of the Tamil Immigration Fund in 1907.
When the Malaysians gained their independence in 1957, the political and judicial ambience was unfortunately not favorable to the non-Muslims and decreed the return of the Indians, Chinese and Portuguese to their native lands. Now the total Hindu population rests lower than the 12.8%, which saw it eventually decrease beginning in the decades of the 1950s.
Wary of the law – ‘The Outsiders’
The Constitution of Malaysia cites that the official religion of the land is Islam but gives the right to practice the other religions as well. At first, it may be seen as liberal and secular, though one will be hoodwinking themselves then. It is legal for someone belonging to Hinduism or may be Christianity to convert into Islam but it is strictly prohibited for the Muslims to do the same.
In 1957, the State refused to acknowledge anyone as the official citizen of the country if that person does not belong to the religion of Islam.
Following a riot between the Hindus and the Muslims in Penang, the Malay Government asserted that all ‘unlicensed’ temples and shrines will be scrapped. Fortunately though, no action was taken regarding the matter, any further.
In the months of April and May 2006, the Government unprecedentedly ordered out bull-dozers to be sent across the country and pulling down the Hindu temples. Such incidents repeated itself for several days till a number of Hindu organizations and NGOs finally protested against such illicit actions taken by the State.
In 2007, HINDRAF took a rally protesting the demolition of the temple in Kuala Lumpur demanding that the world take into out their petition against the Government of United kingdom stating that every Malaysian Indian deserves to receive a total of US $1 million for “withdrawing after granting independence and leaving the Indians unprotected and at the mercy of majority Malay-Muslim government that has violated their rights as minority Indians”. About 20,000 people participated in the rally and over 300 were arrested. Though till now the British government has denied of ever receiving any such petition.
Declaration of Cuisine and Festivals – The Hindu influence
In almost all of the nooks and crannies of Malaysia, one will readily come across ‘Mamak’. These are the small makeshift eateries primarily owned by the Indian families. The delicacies will be covering from the appetizers like magi goring to the main course of tandoori chicken and naan to of course the desserts which will please anyone’s sweet-tooth craving for mysore pak or else that of ghee balls. It should be keep in mind though that the cuisine is heavily influenced by the Tamil population as the names of idli, vada and dosa are now common instances in the food menus.
The various ramifications of the Hinduism like the cult of Hare Krishna and that of the Shaivite are practiced by many of the Malaysian Indian community. Among the significant festivals there is main attraction of Thaipusm dedicated to Lord Murugan and is most famously celebrated in the Batu Caves of Kuala Lumpur. Among other celebrations include the festival of lights ‘Deepavali’, the Telugu new year Ugadi and that of the Makar Sanskriti.
Annesha Das Gupta is a student of Sociology, pursuing her degree from IGNOU, Kolkata. She has a special interest in the branches of Feminism, Sexuality and Dalit Studies.
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT – An ancient Hindu phallic symbol believed to be more than 1,000 years old has been found at a local temple in Tha Sala district.
A ‘shiva linga’ with flowers carved in relief on its base was discovered at Wat Nang Tra in Tha Sala district of Nakhon Si Thammarat on Wednesday. Nutjaree Rakrun
Anat Bamrungwong, director of 14th Regional Office of the Fine Arts Department in Nakhon Sithammarat, said Thursday the shiva linga or Hindu phallic symbol is believed to be about 1,300-1,400 years old.
Hinduism thrived in Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat around the 10th-12th centuries, Mr Anat said.
He was speaking as he was inspecting the stone sculpture and other artefacts found at Wat Nang Tra in Tha Sala district.
The shiva linga has a base which is about 47cm wide and 1 metre long. Its base has flowers carved in relief which in the Tawaravadee style, Mr Anat said.
The sculpture was in good condition with beautiful flowers on it, he added.
“It is a treasure trove of the South,” he said.
Phra Kru Supakittayaporn, the abbot of Wat Nang Tra, said he hired a contractor to improve landscaping in the temple’s compound in preparation for construction of a religious tower.
In the process, workers used a backhoe to dig down about three metres and found the symbol, an ancient jar and 20 Buddha coins on Wednesday.
Phra Kru Supakittayaporn said he was alerted of the discoveries by a foreman overseeing the work.
The abbot said he had inspected the discoveries in the field and brought them to his quarters for safekeeping.
He contacted the 14th Regional Office of Fine Arts Department in the province to alert them of the discoveries and asked the department to examine the findings at the temple.
A group of believers reportedly flocked to the temple to observe and worship the ancient symbol.
The phallus has been regarded as a symbol of power and fertility by many cultures around the world, including Hindus who worship it.
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Srinagar: A representative body of displaced Kashmiri Pandits has asked Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, to push for reopening of Sharda Peeth, a revered place of Kashmiri Hindus in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), for pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir and beyond.
“While she has been bating for enhancing tourism between India and Pakistan through Jammu-Sialkot route she should not forget that Kashmiri Pandits have been denied the right to travel to PoK for pilgrimage to ancient and historic Sharda Peeth temple located in the village of Sharda in PoK ‘even as other local Kashmiris are being issued travel documents to visit their relatives and pilgrimage centers there,” the All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC) said in a statement in Jammu on Tuesday.
To visit Sharda near Muzaffarabad to pay obeisance at one of their most revered religious places and important, ancient seats of learning has been a cherished dream of many Kashmiri Pandits.
A senior government functionary in Muzaffarbad, Sardar Sayyab Khalid, had told this correspondent way back in November 2004 that it would not only throw Sharda open to Kashmiri Pandits but also facilitate their visit. Another, the then PoK’s minister for tourism and archaeology, Mufti Mansoor, who represented Sharda in the area Assembly had said, “If they (Kashmiri Pandits) can wait for some time they might even use the bus route once the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road is reopened.” Nothing tangible followed.
Sharda is about 150-kms from Muzaffarabad and is a breath-taking green spot at an altitude of 1981 meters. Shardi and Nardi are actually the two mountain peaks overlooking the valley, named after legendary princesses Sharda and Narda. It has a captivating landscape with numerous springs and hillsides covered with thick forest. Over the right-bank, opposite to Sharda, the river Neelam (known as Kishan Ganga on the Indian side of the LoC) is joined by the Surgan mountain stream along which a track leads to the Noori Nar Pass and through it to Kaghan valley. In Sharda, the ruins of an old Buddhist monastery and a fort are located. It was also an important learning seat of Kashmiri Hindu and the old script of Kashmiri language Sharda has derived its name from the place having the historical background.
Reacting to the recent statement of Ms. Mufti that she wanted to create a historic monument at Jammu-Sialkot border, the APMCC said that she must also create history like her father by pushing for reopening of Sharda Peeth in PoK for Kashmiri Pandits. It added “She must emulate her father in providing healing touch to all the sections of the society particularly Kashmiri Pandits”.
Taking up the matter of reopening of the Sahrdha Peeth yatra through Uri-Mzafarabad with the concerned authorities would serve a major Confidence Building Measure (CBM) for Kashmir Panits paving way for their dignified return and rehabilitation in Valley, it asserted.
Asal Uttar is a village of memorials. There are all sorts — big ones, small, by the roadside, in the fields. These, apart from the occasional dilapidated bunker, are probably the only signs that Asal Uttar, a village 12 km from the international border with Pakistan in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, was the battlefield where Indian and Pakistani armies fought one of the fiercest tank battles of the 1965 war.
This is where Pakistan’s 1 Armoured Division was stopped in its tracks after a decisive battle with the Indian forces, thus earning the village and its surrounding areas an entry into the official history of the 1965 war as the place where the ‘Battle of Asal Uttar’ was fought.
Early in September, the Pakistani Army had captured Khemkaran town, 5 km from the border and 7 km from Asal Uttar. But as they moved towards Asal Uttar and neighbouring villages, the Pakistani troops were pushed back by the Indian 4th Mountain Division and later decimated by the 2nd Armoured Brigade of the Indian Army in a decisive battle between September 8 and 10. The Pakistan Army lost 97 Patton tanks, its showcase US-made hulks, in this encounter.
A war memorial at Asal Uttar, the site of one of the fiercest tank battles of 1965 (Source: Express photo by Jaipal Singh)
Abdul Hamid, Param Vir Chakra
Fifty years later, it’s hard to imagine this as the theatre of war where the Pakistani Pattons and the Indian Shermans kicked up dust and fear in equal measure. Asal Uttar and its neighbouring areas have their share of war stories — of how Pakistani tank crews fled with the engines of the Pattons and how an entire armoured Pakistani regiment surrendered to the Indian Army.
After the war, the captured Pattons were displayed near Bhikkiwind, a town that’s about 10 km from Asal Uttar, and the place briefly came to be known as ‘Patton Nagar’.
On the outskirts of Chima, a village neighbouring Asal Uttar, lies the final resting place of Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid who was awarded the nation’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra, for shooting down three Pattons. He was killed barely 100 metres from where his grave now lies, when he was taking aim at a fourth tank.
Paiara Singh is the caretaker of Hamid’s grave and of a memorial the Army set up to honour the soldier. “My brother used to look after this grave and now I do and after me my son will do the same,” he says, adjusting the chadar on the grave. The green chadar that flutters in the wind bears the formation sign of the Army’s 7 Infantry Division which is responsible for the defence of the area.
“Had the Pakistanis not been stopped by ‘them’ here, they would have had a clear run till Amritsar,” says Paiara, reverentially referring to Hamid in third person. Piara gets Rs 5,000 a month for his job and an occasional dole of rations from the Army.
Lt Col Nagindar Singh (retd), a former commanding officer of the Indian Army’s 3rd Cavalry who took part in the Battle of Asal Uttar as a young captain, says that everyone was highly motivated to take on the enemy and stop them in their tracks. “Our regiment was at the forefront with three squadrons deployed there in Asal Uttar and a fourth one in Rajatal near Attari,” he recalls. The regiment won several gallantry awards in the battle along with a Mahavir Chakra for the Commanding Officer, Lt Col Salim Caleb.
The town of Khemkaran remained under Pakistani occupation despite attempts by the Indian Army to retake the town. An attack mounted by the Indian Army in the dying hours of the war failed and Lt Col Anant Singh, Commanding Officer of 4 Sikh, and his troops were captured by the Pakistan Army.
Residents of villages near Khemkaran say they fled their homes when the Pakistani troops moved in and only returned several months after the war.
But 50 years later, people in these villages, even those of the post-1965 generation, have run out of war stories to tell. At Rattoke Gurdwara, a village that was occupied by the Pakistani Army, Niranjan Singh and Jagir Singh would rather talk about the poor drainage in the village and the erratic electricity supply than about ‘threats’ from Pakistan. “Come with us and see how we live in unhygienic conditions. No government official or politician bothers about us,” says Niranjan.
Battle of Haji Pir
Haji pir Pass served as a vital link between Pakistani infiltrators in Poonch and their bases in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. India’s 19 Infantry Division along with the 68 Infantry Brigade launched a pincer movement (two sides of simultaneous troop movement closing together behind enemy forward positions) to annihilate the enemy.
Operation Bakshi, the Northern pincer, consisted of the advance of 1 PARA from Uri to Sank and further to Lediwali Gali in order to reach Hajipir Pass. 19 Punjab was to take the Bedori approach to the Pass. Operation Faulad, the Southern pincer, was to be undertaken by 93 Infantry Brigade of 25 Infantry Division. It was essential to capture these intermittent features to open the axis to Haji Pir Pass.
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The task was daunting, as even while being under heavy enemy fire with constant threat to life, the Indian soldiers had to climb steep mountains. The assault was carried out in pitch darkness, made worse by the non-stop rain which made the terrain slushy and slippery.
Undaunted, Haji Pir was captured on August 28, 1965. Major Ranjit Singh Dayal of 1 PARA, who launched the final assault on the Pass, advanced from an unexpected direction and caught the enemy by complete surprise. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for displaying outstanding courage and leadership.
Battle of Dograi
On September 12, India’s 54 Infantry Brigade was ordered to plan an advance up to Ichhogil canal astride GT Road, which involved the capture of Dograi. The main Pakistan defences were along the Ichhogil canal and Dograi. On September 21, 3 Jat carried out extensive patrolling at Dograi which was to be attacked that night. They found that the Pakistanis were well-entrenched, “some huddled over machine guns in pill boxes and others tucked into the buildings of Dograi behind light machine guns and rifles, with piles of ammunition and grenades to hand”. The forming up place was just 400 metres from the nearest enemy trench, and to reach it, 3 Jat had to pass through the minefields in a single file. Suddenly, the Indian forces were subjected to intense fire, setting off a fierce battle along the east bank of Ichhogil canal. The company charged the bank undaunted by the enemy minefield. Grenade and hand to hand fighting took place inside the enemy defended locality. The price paid by the Jats was heavy, the survivors were only one officer and seven men but the enemy company was completely wiped out.
Officers from the Cultural Heritage Preservation Center (BPCB) discovered on Thursday a Mahakala statue and the foundation of a building at a temple excavation site in Gunung Wijil, Giriroto village, Ngemplak district, Boyolali, Central Java.
The statue, suspected to be a relic of the Hindu Shiva era of the 9th century, was found just 30 centimeters under the ground’s surface. The discovery is not far from the location where a Nandeswara statue was discovered at the end of March.
“We suspect that the building is a temple,” Muhammad Junawan, the head of the center’s excavation team, said.
The statue has been taken to the BPCB headquarters in Prambanan, Central Java, for further examination.
Junawan said a thorough investigation of the statue would be conducted only after the BPCB had completed its excavation of the site. He said the concrete brick-made foundation and the Mahakala statue indicated that the building was an archaeological remnant of the ancient Hindu Mataram era of the 9th century. In Hindu Shiva culture, Mahakala was the protector of a temple gate.
“Currently, the excavation process has reached the temple’s leg, which is 25 square meters in width, and 1.5 meters in height. It is likely there are two temples at the site. The first temple is the main temple and the other one is a companion temple. They stand face to face,” said Jumawan.
Jumawan said Boyolali was an area that may contain many ancient objects from the Hindu period. It was probable that the latest discovery in Ngemplak was related to previous discoveries in several areas across Boyolali.
“What I can tell you is that the use of concrete bricks as the main structure of temple buildings was common in the era after Mataram civilization moved to East Java,” said Jumawan.
A Ngemplak resident, Tego Dwi Widadi, said the temple site was found on land set to be used as a residential complex.
Apart from the Mahakala statue and the concrete brick-made foundation, several other archaeological objects have been found at the location, including a large stone with the shape of an animal followed by Hindus.
“We support the BPCB’s move to excavate this site. I hope this can bring benefit to the local people living in the area around the site,” said Tego (ebf)
Hindu Americans Ask California Government for Fair Equality and Justice and Dignity of their Hindu Heritage
Hindu Americans of all types converged on Sacramento yesterday to voice their concerns about the California Department of Education Instructional Quality Commission’s (IQC) plans to accept problematic edits made by a small group of South Asian studies faculty. These proposed edits would have largely removed references to India and Hinduism, and replaced them with the terms “South Asia” and “ancient Indian religion,” respectively.
Some of the proposed edits included removing mention of Hinduism’s acceptance of religious diversity, re-linking Hinduism with caste, and removing mention of the contributions of Hindu sages of different backgrounds, such as Valmiki and Vyasa.
The IQC voted to reject some of the proposed changes after public awareness campaigns, including letters from professors of religion and history, disputed the faculty group’s assertions. During the public comment period, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), other Hindu organizations, and community members, as well as non-Hindus, testified about both the inaccuracies in the proposed edits and the last-minute process by which they were initially uniformly accepted – after prior recommendations from numerous academics were rejected. They argued that edits would erase their religious and cultural histories and urged the commission to reject the changes. Moreover, they asked the commissioners to adopt a more inclusive and culturally competent frameworks document.
California is home to the country’s largest Hindu population, with roughly one million of diverse cultural, racial, and national backgrounds.
In addition, Hindu American school children from across the state spoke out about the impact of inaccurate and culturally illiterate content on their lives. Academics such as Barbara A. McGraw of St. Mary’s College of California, an award-winning scholar and former American Academy of Religion president, and Sofia University philosophy professor Kundan Singh also testified.
For Hindu American youth, the frameworks adoption was about ensuring that their identities wouldn’t be minimized or presented in a way that adversely reflected on them. Some pushed back against the faculty’s suggestion that Hindu history was patriarchal, and expressed that their lived experiences were being ignored.
“Having studied the Vedas, I proudly wear my sacred thread as a symbol of my earnest study and scholarship, as did my mother and foremothers before her,” said 12-year-old Vaidehi Dandekar, a 7th grade student from El Cerrito, CA. “As a young woman, I am proud that my enthusiasm and achievement in studying the Vedas is simply reflective of the long tradition of scholarship and oral storytelling by women….and men…..in India’s rich history. The accurate portrayal therefore in our classroom, of women in India’s history as leaders, sages, scholars, and often spiritual authority figures for families and communities is incredibly important for all members of my learning environment.”
While HAF and other groups believe progress has been made, concerns remain about the way in which the edits were accepted.
“Our concerns remain with how many of these edits were accepted, particularly in the commission’s apparent privileging of one group of scholars over the views of many others,” said Murali Balaji, HAF’s Director of Education and Curriculum Reform. He noted that the commission had previously ignored a virtually identical set of proposed edits by the same group when it was submitted by one individual scholar, but then accepted it after the submission was rebranded as the “South Asia faculty group.”
“I think we all support free and vigorous academic discourse and diverse views on how religions and cultures evolved,” Balaji said. “But giving esteem to one group over the views of many other distinguished academics is troubling. Moreover, academic battles shouldn’t necessarily be fought in a 6th and 7th grade curriculum document. Such battles can impede upon teachers’ ability to provide accurate and culturally competent instruction to their students, which in turn will adversely impact both Hindu and non-Hindu California students.”
The IQC will publish its revised set of recommendations two weeks before the May 11 State Board of Education hearing. HAF will continue to work with both community members and educators, along with various officials, to ensure that the Board adopts a document that is inclusive of Hindus and a better resource for teachers across the state.
Please direct media inquiries to HAF’s Senior Director, Samir Kalra, Esq., atsamir@hafsite.org.
One of the world’s oldest forms of faith, Hinduism has an unbroken trajectory of beliefs and rituals that have passed on for many millennia through the footsteps of pilgrims and the pedagogies of theologists; through myth, science and politics. But what does all that mean to the modern Hindu today asks Hindol Sengupta in this special series – Being Hindu. Watch Sengupta in conversation with Lord Meghnad Desai, a self-proclaimed atheist.
I was once asked: ‘Is it true that the Hindus believe in dancing gods? This was at the Harvard Club in Manhattan where I was giving a talk. ‘Is it true,’ I was asked by a polite elderly gentleman who was a distinguished member of the club. A nearly naked dancing god – was that part of Hinduism? He was talking about the the Natraj, from CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research which is home to the Large Hadron Collider, and was intrigued by the presence of this statue.
We had a long conversation about the relevance of the dancing Shiva in which I tried to explain to him the philosophy of the Natraj: the representation of the constant chain of creation and destruction in the universe. As the art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy has also written, the dance represents the god Shiva’s five activities—creation and evolution; preservation; destruction and further evolution; illusion and rest; and release, salvation and grace2. What to Western eyes is a wild-eyed image of a man— in a tiger skin, dancing dervish-like, drum in hand, his matted locks in a storm—was in reality the succinct representation of relentless creation and destruction, and the creation again of life itself. A fascinating belief system, yet packaged in caricature to audiences.
Over the years that I have pondered about writing this book, I have always been fascinated by many of the curious beliefs about Hinduism; some funny, some fantastical, almost all unrecognizable to practising Hindus like me.
As I spoke to people, friends and strangers, around India and the world—on Delhi streets and Kolkata bookstores, in Mumbai restaurants and Bangalore clubs, waiting for the train at Notting Hill Gate station, in a village in Rajasthan, at a bar in Copenhagen, outside the Harvard Club in New York— wherever I could, I’d work a question or two about Hinduism into the conversation. The answers I received sometimes amused, sometimes perplexed me.
In a lot of the answers, I heard, naturally, much about yoga (yet not much about the spiritual principles behind it), about cows, the caste system and the refrain of ‘many gods and goddesses’, but it seemed that the ‘colour’—as we journalists would say—more often than not obscured any understanding about the richness of the philosophies, some of the oldest, most evolved principles known to man. The caricatures, it seemed to me, had hardened into prejudices that blurred the core philosophies.
It occurred to me that in many ways the general lack of knowledge about this multitudinous, multilateral faith with its numerous sub-belief systems and also one great, foundational narrative was almost impossible for most people outside the country—indeed, even inside the country—to comprehend and communicate. In this specific context, most Hindus have experienced a simple unwavering quality in their faith, which has seen them through 800 years of Islamic and British rule, as well as hundreds of invasions. But ask most Hindus to explain the principles, history and belief systems of their faith and they would struggle. There is a reason why this is true. Conversion or proselytizing has never been core to the worldview of Hinduism in any shape or form, as it is an essential practice in Islam and has largely been, and still is in some places, in Christianity. Ask a Hindu if he/she knows of verses, scriptures or even practices of proselytizing or active efforts to convince and convert—and the answer would mostly be no.
The idea of conversion or spreading of faith by inducting more followers is not a characteristically Hindu way of thinking. The emphasis in Hinduism is on the personal, the private, and so the spread of the collective has less meaning. There are some fringe groups like the Hare Krishna movement which actively seek ‘members’, but this is not central in any way to the manner in which most Hindus access and address their faith. The lack of proselytizing zeal means that the average Hindu is far less articulate about distilling his/her vast polytheistic philosophical ideals than in monotheistic faiths. At an everyday level, I’ve observed, the Hindu relies not so much on scriptural texts but on life experiences.
A Hindu would find it easier to describe his relationship with the divine, with the spiritual part of his life rather than explain the faith in its totality. Since the subtexts are so diverse (remember those 33 million, some say 330 million, gods and goddesses?), ordinary worshippers are often not able to identify and articulate the dominant themes of Hinduism. They can, however, talk about their personal, empirical faith.
In no way does this imply that there aren’t dominant or core themes and values embedded in Hindu literature and rituals, because they are often deeply complex and nuanced theological ideas. What happens more often than not is that the believers or the practitioners, people like me for instance, tend to get obsessed with the rituals at the cost of understanding the philosophies. We will address some of these themes through the book, but for the moment, let us return to my initial discoveries of what many people think about Hinduism.
For instance, I learned that some shared the point of view that the great Hindu epics—the Mahabharata and the Ramayana—were ‘fantasy stories’, essentially fiction with no intrinsic historical value. Some even said that to offer any historicity to mythology is illiterate and imbecilic. However, I disagree; my examination finds this not to be quite correct. I do not, naturally, believe that every idea and thought in every so-called Hindu text should be accepted as the truth. That to me would go against the Hindu idea of relentless enquiry, that it is our duty to question everything before believing in it.
Let us take an example from the lectures delivered by D.R. Bhandarkar on ancient Indian history (specifically the period between 650 and 325 BCE) at Calcutta University in February 1918. In his exploration of antiquity, Bhandarkar constantly points out how references in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, written as they were by men who attempted to capture the zeitgeists, help confirm many historical facts. I shall illustrate only three points from Bhandarkar’s lectures as examples.
For instance, in one lecture, Bhandarkar talks about a Kshatriya (the warrior caste of the four primary Hindu castes) tribe called Bhoja. He confirms their existence from references in Kautilya’s Arthashastra—which is the great ancient Indian socio-economic treatise predating Florentine Niccolo Machiavelli’s advice on statecraft, The Prince, by around 1,600 years—to the Mahabharata and the Harivamsa, one of the important appendices to the Mahabharata.
Then there is a reference to the Ikshvakus, a major ruling clan from the north of India. Bhandarkar confirms the presence of the Ikshvakus from three sources: first, inscriptions that have been discovered by archaeologists from the third century which talk about the reign of King Madhariputra
Sri Virapurushadatta of the Ikshvaku family; second, from the Ramayana we know that Lord Rama—the hero of the text—was part of the Ikshvaku race, and finally, Buddhist texts tell us that so was the Buddha.
My final example from Bhandarkar’s teachings has to do with the Brahmin sage, Agastya. Now, Agastya is mentioned in the Ramayana as among the first to have crossed the Vindhya mountains and is admitted by all Tamil grammarians as the founder of the Tamil language, the great Tamirmuni, or sage of the Tamils. Also, Bhandarkar points out that if you read Robert Caldwell’s Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages, there is mention of a hill where Agastya retired after his work in bringing forth the Tamil language.
This hill, called Agastier (Agastya’s Hill) by local tradition and later adopted by the British, can still be found in the Tinnevelly district of Tamil Nadu. Caldwell was a Christian missionary and linguist in the second half of the nineteenth century. The point is simply this: it is erroneous to suppose that myths and legends are not intertwined in history. What might be considered a mere myth might often be about deep connections with history, with real events and real people.
Now what Bhandarkar says about these examples is of prime importance, ‘I am not unaware that these are legends. It is however a mistake to suppose that legends teach us nothing historical.’
This is exactly the point of revisiting ancient mythology from a historical point of view. It is to ensure that we make the relevant connections between the myths and our everyday landscape so that the legends do not remain fantastic and far away.
That Charlie Hebdo editorial was Islamophobic paranoia at its extreme. But here’s an exercise for you: cut and paste a rough translation of the editorial into your Word document, replace the word *Muslim* and its variations with *Hindu* and its variations and read it. That there staring you in the face is the Indian liberal agenda.
In the last week since I joined a growing chorus of Hindus asking why their temples are being stormed, when Indian law protects against interference on matters of the Waqf board, religious properties of the Church or the Parsis or the Sikhs, I have been called everything from mentally unhinged to bigot and been referred to Modi to get what I want.
Because you see for liberal India, the same who believe the violent acts of rogue terrorists cannot be equated with Islam, even if the perpetrators insist on doing so themselves, the voice of non-violent Hindus who have concerns or fears, and those concerns can always be debated, is always and unequivocally to be equated with violent fascism. Right.
So what has Indian liberalism achieved for Hindus? There are laws that outlaw discrimination on the basis of caste, which is good. New debate suggests outlawing discrimination on the basis of gender, which is good. Temples have been nationalised, lands redistributed and wealth, formed entirely of the private donations of patrons and devotees based on religious needs, audited. Temples are required to indulge in secular development activity.
And as recent outrage shows, choosing not to invite a Muslim DC is now against the principles of templehood. The anti-superstition bill prevents the guileless masses from believing in any unscientific gibberish the priest may throw at them. The Income Tax appellate will not exempt temples as Hinduism is a way of life not a religion, so no excuses there as made in the past, when kings made endowments that were to be used for public good.
The Waqf is also required to use their income for public good, but it is for Muslim public good, not general public good. All great temples for instance offer free food, which is a legacy of the past generosity integral to the religion. And temples are open to all faiths. Dress codes are seen as outrageous.
Though mosques still require you to follow protocol and those demands are seen as culturally appropriate. Temples under state and central government administration are now the personal treasuries of corruption, revenue from lands being used to line the pockets of government officials, and with a paucity of funds for any real research, learning, commentary, thinking or even propagation of actual Hindu texts.
As Trimbakeshwar Temple shuts its sanctum to men, the interference in Hindu religious matters has reached its peak.
The architectural heritage of the Hindus commands some of the highest prices in the antiquities smuggling market. None of this is unrelated and this is all progressive and great. Hindus should move beyond idol worship anyway.
What makes a temple a place of Hindu worship then? Why is it not, say, a library?
While all of these changes are undeniably progressive, and some such as those against caste discrimination are required to be enforced far more aggressively, no questions asked, with the Maharashtra government bringing in the social boycott bill to reinforce implementation, the question it begs is: Is the entire definition of liberalism to rest only on Hinduism?
Club the above with the fact that there is not a single modern reputed institute of Indic studies in all of India today. The debate over Pollock is also the fear that all academic research on India’s Hindu past is only emerging from overseas, and thus leaves the mainstream Hindu thinking with no scholar worthy enough to counter or debunk it – this itself speaks of the lack of institution building.
Most books on Vedic culture emerging from within India today, even well funded ones like the Poddar library collection are hagiographic, unattributed, and lack chronology, detail, source, which are important – the bhashyas or commentaries are so self important they manage to be insufferable bores.
One assumes this is by design and not because there is a lack of a market. Because otherwise there wouldn’t exist the level of interest there is in popular writers like Amish Tripathi, Devdutt Pattanaik and Ashok Banker or Bibek Debroy, let alone in badly made television episodes on Indian mythology.
The middle level – well-researched works that examine mainstream concepts and figures of Vedic culture and are well written – have not been funded, published or encouraged in 60 years. Rather, they have been systematically avoided in that time. Quiet research out of corners like Melkote, Mysore, Kanchipuram, Trivandrum, Varanasi are too concerned with embalming the past rather than finding a modern pulse within it to work with.
So the fearful-of-not-being-heard mainstream of Hinduism descends into chest thumping, protectionism and tokenism, while nothing that propagates actual thinking is permitted to grow. At the same time, the law insists on progressiveness, which is the obligation of the Hindus.
This would be fine if it were equitably enforced to ensure a progressive society. But all other religions are encouraged by laws framed in an era when the thinkers believed silos had to be maintained for harmony. That liberalism meant those within the silos would never have to adapt to a changing world. And this was fine. Frogs in their wells, all’s right with the world.
So the self-critical thinking across India today is restricted to “hey, we didn’t do it” for Muslims, “paedophile priests the Vatican pardons. And Mother Teresa is a saint” for Catholics, “make more babies of pure bloodline” for Parsis. Yes, internal questioning of codification exists for the Catholics but even they are not obliged to align with the Constitution. That they do so now is a function of who their Pope is.
So Muslim women can go file petitions asking for entry into dargahs or to end female genital mutilation but the court is not confident it has the authority to intrude and hence postpones verdict. Especially when the Supreme Court has declared the Jamait Ulema-e-Hind has rights to intervene in matters of Muslim women.
So institutions like Kodai International School in Kodaikanal have the right to ask for parents to sign on a piece of paper ensuring all children who study there will be brought up in the Christian way, but no Hindu institution that is not a Vedic pathshala would be within their legal rights to do so. While temple land was nationalised and redistributed the Catholic Church in Kodai, my hometown, has the freedom to continually acquire properties, especially of those now lying derelict after the dissipated British population left it with no heirs to inherit it. Instead of nationalising it, like everything else, these lands were reverted to private Church control.
So, it’s not the right to acquire individual property that is questionable but the right to acquire community property. Which, every time a non-vegetarian is not permitted to rent or buy a flat owned by a vegetarian, typically Hindu, who has bought it out of personal funds carved over a life time of savings, with no discount from a panchayat or church or Waqf Board such that no constitutional amendments may apply to them, is touted as Hindu oppression. This enshrines the liberal belief that not only is the right of Hindus to own community property suspect, individual rights must also be put under lock and key and regulated.
As Trimbakeshwar Temple shuts its sanctum to men, the interference in Hindu religious matters has reached its peak. It functions without understanding that in all religions, some roles are given to men and others to women. These are roles integral to religious participation – yet Hindu women have fought for and won rights to be priests, to perform funereal rites and to chant Vedas, thus indicative of a larger more expansive and well-functioning critical process within Hinduism itself which is not to be underestimated or shunned.
Muslims, Catholics, Parsis, Sikhs have their own gender-based roles within their religious duties. If they were all secular and afforded gender parity and rational scientific ideals they wouldn’t be religions anyway, they’d be sciences. The function of religion is faith, and to dictate the rationality of one religion’s faith (when human rights are being regulated) is not just wrong, it is oppressive and by design engineered to wipe out the religion.
Unlike other religions, Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism does not even excommunicate those who do not abide by their way of life. No priest can take away your authenticity as a Hindu. So the freedom to disbelieve a certain practice is enshrined in Hinduism itself and thus does not require constitutional intervention.
If you believed Shani was necessary to your spiritual growth, you must believe the myths associated with him. If you don’t, why do you need him at all? Walk away with no punitive action against you.
If the Hindus may not have a say in regulating administration funds, religious practises of Muslims, Catholics, Parsis none of which are devoid of patriarchy of racism or are obliged to progressive critical thinking that aligns them with constitutional rights… The question is why are the Hindus?
So, it follows that the only real obligation – legal, constitutional, social – to be truly liberal, is the Hindus’.
Brick by brick, the idea of liberalism in India today stands on the need for Hindus to be liberal. If the Hindus choose, as many individuals are doing today, to be illiberal, Indian liberalism has no other recourse to existence. It will die.
This is why there is so much “liberal” panic at the Hindus who choose not to be liberal today. And yet, there is no incentive or indeed any means for them to protect their inherent pluralistic way of life. It is a snake eating its own tail. As Indian liberalism furthers this idea of Hindu-only progressiveness, it kills the very institutions that propagate and protect that way of life. In response, the Hindus become more insular.
If your entire idea of liberalism is based on Hinduism staying so: here’s a thought – stop killing it.
Participants, organizers and volunteers at the Vedic Fair – 3 held on Saturday, March 1.
Click here for photo collage
By Malay Vyas KATY: ‘Ashirwad A Blessing’ organized the third Vedic Fair at the Cinco Ranch High School on Saturday, March 1. ‘Ashirwad’ translates into “Blessing” and the temple’s mission is to preserve age-old Spiritual knowledge and impart the same to the next generation”. The Vedic fair went a long way in further enhancing the strength and value of the mission that Ashirwad is built on. The idea of a community outreach event based on the ‘Veda’ and ‘Puranas’ – the ancient scriptures of Hinduism is unique to the Ashirwad temple and its founder Geeta Ravulu. Hosting an event like this in a suburban high school speaks volumes of Ashirwad’s commitments to its own mission.
Winner Ruthvik Jonna
The Cinco Ranch High school was a calm setting as one drove into the parking lot. Hindustani Classical music wafted out of the single speaker set at the entrance. After appreciating the banners that invited the visitors, one couldn’t stop and wonder how the grand rotunda of the school was converted into ‘Kailash’ Mountain , abode of lord Shiva. Visitors including young children stopped in front of the faux and yet impressive replica of Kailas Mountain to take pictures with ‘live’ Shiva and Parvati seated in the middle of the diorama. Aptly called “Kool Kailash”. The physical structure of Kailash and Mansarovar was built by IACHF architects Sachin Sharma and Sukhi Kohli. Where did they draw their inspiration from? Sachin said “When Geetha and Sri narrated the theme of Vedic Fair-3 to us, we started to visualize Mahadev’s abode and started thinking about how many of us ever dreamt of visiting Kailash. That is when we decided to take on this mammoth task to replicate Kailash and bring it to Houston community”. Sukhi added” It is over 6 months of intense hard work at Sachin Sharma’s house, working most of the weekends, resulted in over 15 feet of magnificent work of art. It was at this Kool Kailash that young Vamshith Kundoor shared her experience of visiting 18 shakthi peetas along with archana kumkum (vermillion) with many visitors.
Winner Anika Ravishankar.
Going past the main rotunda, the left hallway hosted numerous food booths serving fresh vegetarian food. There were tables lined up for convenience of the visitors and it was refreshing to see all three generations of same families sitting down for a hearty meal after enjoying the fair. You could see youngsters in deep conversation with their grandparents on the significance of ancient Hindu scriptures. The hallway to the right accommodated the various vendors that have been supporting the Ashirwad temple for a long time. From little toys that would entice small children to traditional Indian jewelry and even Lengha-Cholis for girls and women were available for purchase. The bookstalls carried books on varied topics in Hindu religion, philosophy and ancient scriptures. It was encouraging to see young visitors to the Vedic Fair stopping and glancing through various books at these bookstalls. In total there were more than fifty exhibitors at the Vedic Bazaar. At 4 PM India Exhibit Presentation Competition began where 50+ diverse presentations on Gods, Temples, Places, Festivals, Lifestyle, Yoga, Health, Languages, Rivers, Dance, Music, Kings Scientists were excellently presented by young generation of Indo-American descent. Divena Donthi was winner and Anika Ravishankar was runner up in 10 and above category. Ruthvik Jonna and Vishnu Nataraja were winner and runner up in 9 and below category. Cooking Competition winner was Manjari Guturu for her dishes: Cranberry Fiber Rice and Quinoa Veggie Delight (Salad)) and Renu Ahuja was runner up for her dish Dahi Gujia.
At 6 PM Vedic Fair 3 Talent Showcase started with Sloka-thon recitation of Vishnu sahasranama slokas without seeing by Ashirwad’s students Rhea Bhat, Shreya Sarathy, Pritam Hegde and Saanika Halapeti. This was followed by classical music performance by Swarasudha Music Institute students and a flamboyant Bho Shambho dance performance by Abhinaya School of Performance Arts students choreographed by Guru Indrani Parthasarathy. At 6:30 PM Ashirwad’s Vedic Walk a colorful show case of Shiva Puran Icons by 25 kids (4 to 10 years) was cheerfully applauded by the audiences. During the course of the Vedic Fair, there were numerous workshops hosted for the benefits of the participants – the ‘How To’ workshop aimed at explaining little nuances of Hinduism such as basic puja to complicated procedures such as ‘conducting a Hindu wedding. The Sanskrit workshop was another popular workshop that was well attended by the young and old alike. Other informative “how to” workshops covered subjects such as Yoga, Classical Dances, Styles and Ways of Wearing Sarees, Meditation, Importance of Ayurveda, how to adorn a dhoti, drawing a rangoli as well as Dandiya. The highlight of the evening was the play “I am Shiva – The Mahadev”. In tune with the tradition that has been followed every year, Ashirwad puts one particular Hindu diety in focus for every Vedic Fair. Vedic Fair 2 saw the theatrical presentation of “Arjun the Chosen”. “I am Shiva – The Mahadev” was a dance – drama created and directed by Geeta Ravulu. She was also an actor in the play. Before the play opened, there were recitals and bhajans inside the auditorium. Chants of Hare Rama Hare Krishna echoed through the highschool hallways. The play with a cast of 46, opened with creatively set screen backdrop with tranquil scenery and calm music. This year’s play was even more interesting because it was on ‘Shiva’ – the Mahadev. Often misunderstood as the “destroyer” or the “angry god who chopped off his son’s head”, this play showed the human side of the “Neelkanth”. Geeta Ravulu and her onstage cast as well as the back stage crew ensured that the play including the audio visual part of the show went off without a hitch. The Vedic Fair is also a brain child of Geeta Ravulu – she has been teaching Hindu Spirituality and Puranas for over ten years now. The challenge was to get the kids to retain more of the heritage knowledge and information imparted to them. Just teaching them from books wasn’t helping. The Vedic Fair helps the children from the Ashirwad Temple School learn and present on various topics of heritage and spirituality. It enables the older children to work one on one with the younger children benefitting both the age groups. The Ashirwad temple school started with six children – now there are over a hundred students. “We want to involve people of all ages – little kids to senior citizens but the idea behind hosting the Vedic Fair in a highschool is to involve middle and high schoolers” adds Geeta. As was evident from the Vedic Fair attendees, there were a lot of young volunteers working enthusiastically to make sure that such a spiritual event was a success. Geeta explains that the initial challenge was to explain to the community what the Vedic Fair was about. Once she and her excellent organizing committee overcame the ‘reaching out’ challenge, Vedic Fair 2 and 3 were well attended. Infact, Geeta added “we are already planning for Vedic Fair 4 in March 2015. Next year along with India exhibits and Workshops, they will show case the diorama of GOLOK and the prime time play will be “KRISH – The Blue Man” . The Ashirwad Temple school along with Geeta Ravulu and Sri Ravula, are very thankful and appreciative of the support provided to them by their sponsors and volunteers. Sponsors such as Shri Sita Ram Foundation, IACHF, ISKCON, Hindus of Greater Houston, Mandap Creations, Katy Indian Cultural Association, Frontier Consulting and Voice of Sanatan Hinduism ensured that the Vedic Fair was a success. It is because of such sponsors that a sense of competition is generated amongst the participants. The winning presentation amongst more than fifty exhibits this year won a handsome prize of $1001. As the Vedic Fair wound down, parents were amazed by the enthusiasm of their children towards the various events. As R. Ramalingam of Katy explained “my teenage daughters rushed out of the LEGO movie to get here on time”. It is probably inherent amongst Indian parents to pass on the legacy of spirituality to the younger generation. The Vedic Fair is a unique event on the Houston Calendar – it is an independent event that has seen success because of the participants and the organization. The Ashirwad Temple firmly believes in enriching the community by spreading the knowledge of Hindu Spirituality. The belief of Ashirwad Temple is “One-ness of God” and the Vedic Fair shows us how. Houston now looks forward to Vedic Fair 4 where the theme is Golok (land of the sacred cows) with “Krish-The Blue Man” as the main play. For updates visit FB page facebook.com/VedicFair or AshirwadABlessing.org.
